ACRE YIELD OF OATS 183 



improved farm area annually planted to oats in the ten lead- 

 ing states are shown. These percentages are based on the 

 annual acreages as shown in Table XI, and on averages of 

 the acreage of improved farm land as shown by the Census 

 of 1900 and that of 1910. The diagram shows that oats are 

 relatively more important in Wisconsin than in any other 

 state, more than one-fifth of the improved farm land being 

 planted to this crop. The oat crop is sown on about one- 

 seventh of the improved farm land of Iowa and Illinois, 

 and on one-tenth or less of that of the other seven states. 



IOWA I^HHHMHHHHBMBHMHB 



ILL. i^*m*m*mm^am^mmm*mm*m*^*^^m 13.41% 



WIS. MMIMMil^MIM^HMHm 



Fig. 61. The percentage of the total oat crop of the United States produced 

 in the states of largest production, 1902-1911. 



About one-fourteenth (7.13 per cent) of the entire acreage 

 of improved farm land in the United States is annually 

 devoted to oats. 



226. Acre Yield. The states which rank highest in acre 

 yield are those in which the acreage is comparatively small, 

 both because large areas still remain to be developed within 

 their borders, and because oats are grown almost entirely 

 on irrigated land, which comprises only a small proportion 

 of the total acreage. The combination of favorable climatic 

 conditions, including abundant moisture supplied at the 



