26 THE AGRICULTURAL BLOC 



the opportunity afforded by an expanding mar- 

 ket. He, therefore, began to work under high 

 pressure, not realizing that when the United 

 States should enter the war later he would be 

 expected to continue this increased rate of en- 

 deavor as a means of aiding our own country 

 in the conflict. 



The growth in American farming as indicated 

 by the total acreage in 15 principal crops is 

 shown in the following table : 



1910 290,000,000 acres 



1914 300,000,000 " 



1915 309,000,000 " 



1916 310,000,000 " 



1917 321,000,000 " 



1918 350,000,000 " 



iWhile the increase was steady but slow dur- 

 ing the period preceding 1917, amounting to 

 about 3% per cent from 1910 to 1914 and 6 per 

 cent from 1914 to 1917, the great increase came 

 in 1918 after our entry into the war. 



The increase in production of some of our 

 principal crops from the average of 1910 to 

 1918 was not as great as the increase in acre- 

 age would indicate. The corn crop of 1918 

 was a little less than that of the pre-war period. 

 The wheat crop while amounting to 917,000,000 

 bushels was less than the great crop of 1915 



