184 FIELD CROPS 



172. Acre Yield. The most important wheat-producing 

 states are by no means the states with the highest acre 

 yields; in fact the reverse is usually true. Of the ten leading 

 wheat-producing states, Washington holds first place on 

 the basis of acre yield; Nebraska, second; Ohio, third; Illi- 

 nois, fourth; Indiana, fifth; Minnesota, sixth; Kansas, seventh; 

 Missouri, eighth; South Dakota, ninth; and North Dakota, 

 tenth. The average yield in the United States in the ten 

 years from 1908 to 1917 was 14.7 bushels to the acre. Nevada 

 has the highest average yield for the same period, 28.6 bushels 

 but this is only on 30,000 to 40,000 acres. North Carolina, 

 South Carolina, and Georgia have the lowest average yield, 

 10.6 bushels. Under favorable conditions, yields of 30 

 bushels or more may be obtained in any of the states. The 

 average is kept down by poor methods of culture, insects, dis- 

 eases, storms, and unfavorable weather conditions. The 

 largest yield per acre of wheat ever recorded, so far as ascer- 

 tained by the Bureau of Crop Estimates, is 117.2 bushels, 

 produced in 1895 on an 18-acre field in Washington. The 

 variety was Australian Club. The field consisted of black 

 sandy loam and clay subsoil and had previously been in 

 pasture and potatoes. The average value of the wheat crop 

 to the acre is not in exact proportion to the yield, for the 

 price per bushel varies greatly in different sections, according 

 to distance from terminal markets. On account of high 

 average yield, the highest average acre value of wheat, as 

 shown by statistics is in Nevada. 



SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 



173. Soils. Wheat is adapted to a very wide range of 

 soils, and grain of excellent quaUty is produced on very light 

 as well as on very hesLvy soils. The type of soil does not seem 

 to affect the crop greatly, either in quality or quantity, so 

 long as the needed plant food and moisture are available. 

 These conditions may be supplied on almost any arable soil, 



