164! THE AGRICULTURAL BLOC 



the production of the American farmer exceeds 

 that of any other farmer, per man, the peak 

 of agricultural production per capita of popula- 

 tion was passed in 1898, nearly a quarter of a 

 century ago. To the uninformed, the answer to 

 this check in the growth of production is further 

 expansion, but we are face to face with the 

 fact that our best lands are already under cul- 

 tivation and expansion can occur only at the 

 high cost of reclamation or the improvement of 

 less desirable lands. The improvement in pro- 

 duction through added acreage cannot alone 

 keep pace with our needs. 



We need to observe how highly concentrated 

 is the production our principal crops. A recent 

 survey of the ^ve leading states producing cer- 

 tain crops shows the following interesting 

 figures : 



The leading five states for each crop pro- 

 duced in 1921 : 



66.8% of the Cotton Crop 42.4% of the Corn Crop 



78.4% of the Spring Wheat 72.5% of the Market Apple 



Crop 62.7% of the Barley Crop 



53.5% of the Winter Wheat 42.4% of the Potato Crop 



Crop 97.7% of the Flaxseed Crop 



We also face new hazards not heretofore met. 

 New countries have the minimum loss from the 

 ravages of insects and plant diseases, but we 



