324 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



and starch content of wheat are extremely sensitive to 

 climatic factors, although in an inverse ratio. Low al- 

 titudes with an abundance of moisture produce soft wheats, 

 whereas the hard red wheats are found in the relatively 

 dry, elevated plains of the central West. As either ocean 

 is approached the grain becomes softer and of lighter color. 

 An excellent illustration of the influence of climate on the 

 physical properties of wheat is to be found on our Pacific 

 coast. When produced directly on the coast the kernels 

 are soft, dark and thick-skinned. The physical characters 

 shade off gradually to the inland district where the kernels 

 are very hard and thin-skinned. The best quality to- 

 gether with the highest yields of wheat are possible only 

 in regions of cold winters, followed by long, cool, moder- 

 ately wet spring seasons and dry sunny weather during 

 ripening. 



398. Soils. Wheat makes its best growth on clay 

 or clay loam soils. It will not give profitable returns on 

 deep sandy soils, nor on sour or acid soils. Sandy soils 

 should never be used for wheat -growing, and acid soils 

 should be used only after the application of from 1000 to 

 2000 pounds of slacked lime, or 2000 to 4000 pounds of 

 ground limestone, to the acre. In the cotton-belt the 

 best wheat soils are the reddish clay or clay loams of the 

 Cecil series occurring extensively in the Piedmont region 

 of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, 

 the limestone valleys of the above states, the black waxy 

 lime lands of north central Texas, northeastern Mississippi 

 and central Alabama and the red lands of northern Lou- 

 isiana. Wheat is a relatively weak feeder and demands a 

 fairly rich soil of good physical constitution. Hence the 

 soils above mentioned must usually be much modified by 

 the addition of vegetable matter in the form of animal or 



