THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 1 67 



wheats have a horny character and are rich in protein. Such are the hard 

 spring wheat (Fife and Bluestem), the hard winter wheat (Turkey and 

 Krastov) and the durum wheat (Kubanka). Out of the durum wheats 

 are manufactured macaroni, spaghetti and vermicelli. 



Adaptation. Wheat is best adapted to growth in moderately dry 

 temperate climates. It is not grown in regions with a growing season less 

 than ninety days, nor in regions having less than nine inches of annual 

 rainfall. Wheat is grown on a wider range of soils, but the famous wheat 

 soils of the world are of high fertility and of fine texture, such as silts, 

 silt loams and clay loams, usually rich in humus. Black soils rich in 

 nitrogen generally produce wheat with a higher gluten content, as those 

 of the cherzonem of Russia, and the northwestern prairie soils of Canada 

 and the United States. There are many varieties of wheat, some being 

 winter annuals, sown in the fall and harvested in early summer, while 

 others are sown in the spring and harvested usually ten to twenty days 

 later than the winter varieties. The United States produces slightly less 

 than one-fifth of the world's wheat and about one-half of the whole crop of 

 the United States is produced in the North Central states west of the 

 Mississippi River. 



Rotation. Rotations are best, although not always profitable, because 

 continuous cropping with wheat reduces soil fertility. In winter wheat 

 sections, wheat may follow corn, oats, potatoes or tobacco. Wheat 

 requires a firm, fine and moist, seed-bed whether it be sown in the fall, or 

 the spring. When wheat follows corn, potatoes, or tobacco, the ground 

 should be plowed thoroughly for these crops in the spring of the year and 

 the crops grown should receive thorough and regular cultivation, as 

 long as possible. After the crop is harvested, double disking should put 

 the ground in an ideal condition for the sowing of wheat. When winter 

 wheat follows oats, the stubble should be plowed, as early, as possible. 

 The results of Utah, North Dakota and Minnesota in plowing in fall and 

 spring for spring wheat are only slightly in favor of the fall plowing, so 

 far, as yield is concerned, but early fall plowing is generally advocated by 

 these stations in the interest of weed and insect destruction, and more 

 economical farm management. Spring plowing has given better results in 

 Manitoba than fall plowing, while summer fallowing has given better 

 results than either. The five course rotation of maize, oats, and wheat, 

 each one year, and timothy and clover two years, is considered standard in 

 many sections. The winter killing of winter wheat is often a source of 

 great loss in the United States. 



