STATISTICS 



53 



cereals, and the product is of greater value than any other 

 crop in the United States. Table IV, which shows the aver- 

 age acreage, yield, and farm value of some of the leading 

 farm crops during the five years from 1913 to 1917, inclusive, 

 effectively illustrates their relative importance. 



Table IV. Average acreage, yield, and value of the leading farm crops 

 in the United States during the five years from 1913 to 1917, inclusive. 



(a) tons; (b) bales; (c) pounds; (d) average for four years, 1914-17. 



Another basis on which the importance of the corn crop 

 in the various states may be judged is by the proportion of 

 the improved farm acreage which is annually planted to it. 

 Figure 16 shows graphically the percentage of this acreage 

 which was planted to corn during the ten years from 

 1908 to 1917 in the five states of largest production. Corn 

 occupied 21.09 per cent of the improved farm land in the 

 United States, as compared with 10.35 per cent in wheat and 

 8.02 per cent in oats. In Illinois and Iowa corn is planted 

 on more than one third of the improved farm land, while 

 in several other states it is grown on more than one fourth of 

 the improved acreage. These figures are based on the aver- 

 age annual acreage of the various crops in the ten years from 

 1908 to 1917, as reported by the Bureau of Crop Estimates, 



