166 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



VIII. 



WHEAT. 



IN many parts of our country wheat is the most important crop 

 the farmers grow. Its importance is due to the following 



facts : 



1st. It is a crop which always commands the cash, and is 

 always in demand. 



2d. It divides the work so that a single team can do much 

 more work on a farm where wheat and corn are grown in about 

 equal proportions than where corn is the sole or principal crop. 



3d. It can be successfully grown on rolling lands, which, if 

 continuously cultivated in corn, would soon be ruined by 

 washing. 



4th. It gives an opportunity to start clover to occupy the 

 land, and furnish plant food for succeeding crops, and is, there- 

 fore, an almost essential crop in any good rotation. 



5th. It can be easily stored ; there is little risk of injury 

 from dampness, and, almost no loss from shrinkage, and at the 

 usual prices, a team can take to market four or five times as 

 many dollars worth of wheat as of corn. 



6th. Probably no farm crop grown gives such certain and 

 large returns for manure as this, and at the same time, under 

 proper treatment, leaves the land in good condition for a suc- 

 ceeding crop. 



7th. It furnishes the farmer with a large bulk of straw, 

 which can be utilized for food, bedding, shelter, and as an ab- 

 sorbent for liquids, which would, without it, on many farms, be 

 wasted. 



8th. As wheat is exported to a large extent, and can be 

 held for one or more years, if desired, it is less subject to flue- 



