SOIL SURVEY OF WRIGHT COUNTY, IOWA. 



13 



mained in open ran^^es. Cattle were driven in from Hamilton and 

 Franklin Counties in the snninier to graze and were taken back in 

 the fall. 



With the advent of railroads in 1880 and 1881 settlers began com- 

 ing in very rapidly. At that time only 29.9 per cent of the land of 

 the county was under cultivation. At present 93.6 per cent of the 

 area is in farms, and about 90 per cent is improved. At first spring 

 wheat was the principal cash crop, but with the introduction of oats 

 and early varieties of corn these crops became more important. 



Grain growing and the raising of live stock have, since the very 

 first settlements, been the main agricultural industries. 



The table given below shows the acreage and production of the 

 principal field crops as reported in the United States census of 1880 

 to 1920. inclusive. 



Acreage mid prodiiet'ron of pvlnoiijul field crops, census JSSO to 1D20, inclusive. 



A very large increase in the total acreage in crops has occurred 

 since 1880, owing in great measure to the reclamation of poorly 

 drained areas. Corn has been the leading crop since the early 

 eighties, and at present nearly 35 per cent of the improved land of 

 the county is annuall}' planted to this crop. The average yield in 

 the five years covered by the census ranges from 35 to 38.9 bushels 

 per acre. Except for a phenomenal increase from 1880 to 1890, the 

 acreage of oats shows about the same rate of increase as the acreage 

 of corn. Oats is an important cash crop. Until after 1900 wheat 

 was one of the more important cash croi)s. Since that time its 

 production has rapidly decreased. 



Until the late eighties the prairie was open range. The inclos- 

 ing of this open range accounts for the 871 per cent increase in hay 

 and forage crops cut in 1879 and 1889. Barley is grown on a 

 considerable acreage, but has shown a steady decrease since 1900. 

 The average yield, as reported by the 1920 census, was 22 bushels 

 per acre. Flax was formerly raised on a large acreage, but its pro- 

 duction has gradually decreased until now only an occasional crop 

 is grown on sod. Very small acreages of buckwheat, rye, and emmer 

 are sown. 



