WHEAT 179 



but as soon as these people become wealthy enough they 

 demand wheat. One reason why wheat is so highly 

 esteemed is because it makes light bread and can be 

 cooked in so many forms. This factor depends on the 

 gluten that it contains. Chemically, wheat does not seem 

 to be much better than some other foods, but it is prob- 

 able that it contains some substance that makes it more 

 palatable and healthful. Some recent investigations seem 

 to indicate that this is the case. 



The wheat crop of the world is very differently dis- 

 tributed from the corn crop. Europe produces twice as 

 much as North America. Europe secures about twice 

 the yield per acre, so that it is able to compete with Amer- 

 ica in wheat-production. 



In this country, wheat is largely grown on new lands 

 by a one-crop system. This usually ceases to be prof- 

 itable after wheat has been grown 30 to 60 years, so 

 that the wheat region continues to move westward. 

 Considerable wheat is also grown in crop-rotation in the 

 older sections. The regions that are now being exploited 

 by wheat-production are western Canada and Argentina. 



167. Types of Wheat. There are six rather distinct 

 types of wheat from the commercial standpoint: soft 

 winter wheat, semi-hard winter wheat, hard winter wheat, 

 soft spring wheat, hard spring wheat, macaroni wheat. 



The wheats of the humid region are soft, those of the 

 drier regions are hard. The hard spring wheats of the 

 Dakotas and Canada and the hard winter wheats of 

 Kansas and Nebraska are highly prized for flour. The 

 best grades of flour are made from the hard wheats or 

 from mixtures of these with the soft varieties. Durum 



