CHAPTER XV 

 WHEAT 



WHEAT is the most valuable of the important food plants of the 

 world, though in actual tons of production it is exceeded by both 

 potatoes and corn (see p. 3). Europe alone produces about one- 

 half of the world's wheat, and North America about one-fourth. 



The Production of Wheat. The wheat crop of the world for 

 the five-year period, 19091913, is shown by the following table, as 

 reported in the 1920 Yearbook, U. S. Department of Agriculture: 



1909-1913 



Continent Bushels 



Europe 1,806,104,000 



North America 893,805,000 



Asia 518,479,000 



South America 184,977,000 



Australasia . . 92,828,000 



Africa 77,754,000 



Total 3,573,947,000 



The principal wheat-producing countries (Fig. 39), together 

 with the average yield per acre for two decades, are shown in the 

 next table. 



Yields Per Acre in the Leading Wheat- growing Countries 



Average yield per Average yield per acre 



annum, 1917-1921, 1909-1913, 1917-1921, 



Country busheis bushels bushels 



United States 814,876,000 14.5 13.7 



Russia A 522,794,000 10.3 



India 312,066,000 12.0 10.5 



Canada 236,032,000 19.8 12.7 



France 219,185,000 19.4 18.8 



Italy 164,505,000 15.6 14.9 



Argentina 163,920,000 9.9 10.1 



Spain 137,889,000 13.6 13.4 



The United States and Eussia are the leading wheat-producing 

 countries. They also lead in oat production (Chapter XX). Ger- 

 many is also a great oat-producing country, but much lower in total 



1 Figures for Russia are for 1909-1913. 

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