THE FARM 



329 



SUMMARY 



The leaves of the wheat plant like those of corn are lance-shaped and 

 parallel veined, and at their base form a sheath about the stem. The 

 roots, too, are fibrous as in corn, but the stems are hollow rather than 

 filled with pith. The general characteristics are such as to class the 

 wheat plant among the grasses. The same is true of the cereals gen- 

 erally. The hollow stem of the grains gives a maximum of strength 

 for the amount of material necessarily provided by the plant in the 

 growth of the straw. 



An increase in the wheat-growing areas of the world through develop- 

 ment of varieties of wheat suited to regions where it cannot now be 

 grown successfully; an increase in the yield per acre of the varieties now 



LEADING COUNTRIES 

 /M ACREAGE 



rr/LLIONS OF ACRE'S 



/f JO 4S 60 



BUSHELS PER ACRE 



Russian Empire 



United States 



/nd/a 



Argentina 



France ._ 



Austria Hungary 



Italy . 



Canada 



FIG. 109. Wheat production of various countries, and bushels per acre- 

 In 1916 the world production was 3,823,667,000 bushels. (U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture.') 



raised; and the maintenance unimpaired of the fertility of wheat- 

 growing soils, are problems of the greatest importance in feeding the 

 world's population now and in the future. 



While other cereals such as rice and corn are rich in starch, the large 

 content of protein in the gluten of wheat makes all the wheat foods 

 especially valuable as body builders. 



On the great wheat farms of the United States and in Canada so 

 much of the labor of raising the crop is done by machinery that the de- 

 mand for labor is small except at harvest. At that time the crop must 

 be gathered within a few days' time to prevent loss. Not infrequently 

 harvesting goes on during moonlit nights. The extra help needed dur- 

 ing the harvest must at other times of the year find employment else- 

 where. Diversified farming on the other hand provides employment 

 for laborers the year around. 



