210 FIELD CROPS 



highest acre value is that recorded for Nevada, $36.33; and 

 the lowest, that for Kansas, $10.56. In general, the higher 

 acre values are found in the New England, Rocky Mountain, 

 and Pacific states, and the lower in the Central and Southern 

 states. 



260. Cost of Production. The reports of about two 

 hundred correspondents of the Bureau of Crop Estimates as 

 reported in the Crop Reporter for October, 1911, show that 

 the average cost of producing an acre of barley in 1909 in 

 the United States was $10.05, divided as follows: preparing 

 ground, $1.84; seed, $1.14; sowing, 46 cents; harvesting, 

 $1.28; preparing for market, $1.50; rental value of land, 

 $3.17; other items, 66 cents. As the average value of an 

 acre of barley that year was $12.15, the crop shows a net 

 return of $2.10 an acre for the grain alone. In California, 

 the average cost was $10.46, with a value of $16.35; Minne- 

 sota, $9.43, value $10.43; and Wisconsin, $12.49, value 

 $15.18. The cost of a bushel of grain averaged 36.4 cents for 

 the entire United States, 31.7 cents for California, 37.7 cents 

 for Minnesota, and 41.6 cents for Wisconsin. As with other 

 crops, production costs are now (1918) much higher. 



RELATION TO OTHER CROPS 



261. Place in the Rotation. In the Mississippi Valley 

 states, barley occupies about the same place in the rota- 

 tion as oats; that is, it usually follows corn and precedes the 

 grass crop. As with other grain crops, the heaviest yields are 

 usually obtained when barley is grown after corn, potatoes, 

 or some other cultivated crop. Excellent results are also 

 obtained when it follows a leguminous crop, such as field 

 peas in the North and cowpeas in the South. !Barley yields 

 better after corn than after oats, when these three crops are 

 grown in a rotation. 



262. Use as a Nurse and Smother Crop. On account 

 of its early maturity and the fact that it draws rather lightly 



