DISCOVERT OF MARQUIS WHEAT 251 



at the very moment when the late food crisis attained its 

 climax. 



The increased wealth accruing to the United States this 

 year, 1918, through the increase in the sowing of Mar- 

 quis since 1914, cannot be exactly calculated as the neces- 

 sary statistics will not be available for some months. 

 However, Mr. Carleton E. Ball, of the Office of Cereal 

 Investigation at Washington, has estimated that Marquis 

 this year will form 65 per cent, of the wheat crop in the 

 chief spring-wheat States and possibly a little more.^* 

 We thus see that Marquis is making a gain of about 50 per 

 cent, over 1917 by increased sowing. It is also estimated 

 that this year the United States will produce about 90,- 

 000,000 more bushels of spring-wheat than in 1917.^'^ 

 It is certain that a great proportion of these extra bushels 

 will consist of Marquis. Taking all these facts into con- 

 sideration, one appears to be justified in estimating the 

 gain in wealth in the four chief spring-wheat- States in 

 1918, obtained by increasing the cultivation of Marquis 

 since 1914, at upwards of 15,000,000 bushels valued at 

 30,000,000 dollars. 



Any calculation of the full monetary worth of Marquis 

 to the United States should include an allowance for the 

 4 per cent, of Marquis already grown in the chief spring- 

 wheat States in 1914 and another allowance for Marquis 

 grown in States other than Minnesota, the two Dakotas, 

 and Montana. These gains should be added on to those 

 already recorded. However, they cannot be calculated as 

 the necessary data concerning them are not available. 

 We shall therefore ignore them and content ourselves with 

 the following conclusion which surely must be a conserva- 

 tive one. Through the replacement of lesser-yielding va- 



28 Estimate in a letter to the writer. 



29 Monthly Crop Report, Washington, August, 1918, p. 87. 



