SMALL GRAINS 91 



and Minnesota. In this region the rainfall is low and summers 

 dry and hot, conditions favorable for production of hard 

 wheat spring wheat north of Nebraska, and winter wheat 

 in the remaining states. In the Wheat Belt the average yield 

 per acre is low, but the acreage is so great that nearly half 

 of the wheat crop of the entire country is produced here. 

 Extensive wheat farming is made possible by long stretches 

 of level, comparatively cheap land. 



The third area, which includes the Pacific States, is natu- 

 rally adapted in many places to wheat growing. Here the 

 winters are mild, the springs wet, and the summers dry. 

 These conditions are favorable for a large production of the 

 soft varieties of wheat. In this region, the high yield per 

 acre makes wheat a profitable crop, even on rather high- 

 priced land. 



Soil. Well-drained loam and clay loam are the soils 

 best suited to the production of wheat. Sandy soils are 

 generally too coarse to retain sufficient moisture, and heavy 

 soils are too compact to allow aeration and drainage. Wheat 

 is said to be a " delicate feeder"; that is, its plant-food 

 material must be readily available. For example, organic 

 matter should be well decomposed. 



Relation of wheat to a system of farming. From the 

 foregoing discussion it is seen that wheat may be grown in 

 nearly every section of the country. The demand for wheat, 

 imposed by the Great War, extended the wheat acreage into 

 many places that were formerly devoted to other crops. 

 The use of wheat as a farm crop is not so much a question 

 of whether it will grow well, as it is whether it will contribute 

 to the profits of the farm. 



The cost of raising a bushel of wheat, in 1909, has been 

 estimated as fifty-five cents for the Pacific Coast region, 



