WATER CONTENT OF DRY-FARM CROPS 263 



more valuable pound for pound than the moister hay, 

 and a difference in price, based upon the difference 

 in water content, is already being felt in certain sec- 

 tions of the West. 



The moisture content of dry-farm wheat, the chief 

 dry-farm crop, is even more important. According 

 to Wiley the average water content of wheat for the 

 United States is 10.62 per cent, ranging from 15 to 7 

 per cent. Stewart and Greaves examined a large 

 number of wheats grown on the dry-farms of Utah 

 and found that the average per cent of water in the 

 common bread varieties was S.46 and in the durum 

 varieties 8.89. This means that the Utah dry-farm 

 wheats transported to ordinary humid conditions 

 would take up enough water from the air to increase 

 their weight one fortieth, or 2^ per cent, before they 

 reached the average water content of American wheats. 

 In other words, 1,000,000 bushels of Utah dry-farm 

 wheat contain as much nutritive matter as 1,025,000 

 bushels of wheat grown and kept untler humid con- 

 ditions. This difference should be and now is recog- 

 nized in the prices paid. In fact, shrewd dealers, 

 acquainted with the dryness of dry-farm wheat, have 

 for some years bought wheat from the dry-farms at a 

 slightly increased price, and trusted to the increase 

 in weight due to water absorption in more humid 

 climates for their profits. The time should he near 

 at hand when grains and similar products should l)e 

 purchased upon the basis of a moisture test. 



