SOLDIERS OF THE SOIL 



275 



tions where these crops are known to do 

 well. Barley can be relied on in the 

 proved areas of Wisconsin, Minnesota, 

 Iowa, the Dakotas, and Montana, while 

 oats have a much wider range. 



The ease with which barley may be 

 substituted directly for wheat in human 

 food and its usefulness to replace wheat 

 milling by-products as feed in the pro- 

 duction of the milk supply render its 

 abundant production important. Barley, 

 where it succeeds, yields a larger weight 

 of feed per acre than any other small 

 grain crop. 



With an abundance of oats and barley 

 available, much closer milling of wheat 

 than at present could be practiced, if nec- 

 essary, without endangering the milk sup- 

 ply, which constitutes so important an 

 element in the dietary of consumers. 



The place of rye under present condi- 

 tions is an important one. The crop this 

 year should be harvested and utilized 

 with more than the usual care. Consid- 

 erable acreage is planted in some sections 

 for plowing under in the spring for green 

 manure. Where conditions are suitable, 

 part of this acreage might well be held 

 for harvesting, and followed with a suit- 

 able summer or fall crop for plowing in 

 later. 



Buckwheat may be planted later than 

 any similar crop, and often does well on 

 old meadows or waste land that can be 

 broken after the more exacting crops are 

 planted. 



In some sections, where experience has 

 demonstrated that the cereals, except rye, 

 cannot be relied on, buckwheat is a crop 

 of considerable importance. The acreage 

 could well be increased, especially in por- 

 tions of New York, Pennsylvania, and 

 New England, where the crop now is 

 grown to a considerable extent. 



Rice at present prices provides more 

 food value for the money than most of 

 the other cereals. Fuller appreciation of 

 its value should stimulate production 

 quickly in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, 

 and California to an extent that would 

 increase the total food supply greatly. 



EXPAND THE CORN ACREAGE 



Corn is the leading food and feed crop 

 of the United States in geographic range 



of production, acreage, and quantity of 

 product. The vital importance of a large 

 acreage of this crop, properly cared for, 

 therefore, is obvious. Because of the 

 prices obtained for the last crop and the 

 world demand for this grain, its profit- 

 ableness to the American farmer during 

 the approaching season is clear. The 

 10 5>95-b 000 acres planted to corn in 1916 

 yielded 2,583,000,000 bushels, or more 

 than 400,000,000 bushels less than the 

 large crop of 191 5, and considerably less 

 than the five-year average — 2,732,457,000 

 bushels. 



Conditions now warrant the planting 

 of the largest acreage of this crop which 

 it is possible to handle effectively. 



Although fall is the proper time for 

 breaking sod for corn, there are many 

 unproductive and foul meadows and in- 

 different pastures in Illinois, Indiana, 

 Ohio, and the Middle Atlantic and North- 

 eastern States that, under existing condi- 

 tions, can be broken and planted now to 

 advantage. The resulting reduction of 

 hay and pasture would be more than re- 

 placed by the corn stover, ensilage, and 

 grain produced. 



Earliness of maturity, other factors be- 

 ing equal, is advantageous in the case of 

 practically all grain crops. Relatively 

 early maturing varieties should be se- 

 lected where possible, and the planting 

 should be done at the earliest suitable 

 date. With the small grains an advance 

 of three or four days in stage of maturity 

 frequently saves a crop from serious 

 damage by rusts. With corn a similar ad- 

 vantage is obtained by early maturity, 

 when severe droughts are encountered 

 and when killing frosts occur toward the 

 end of the season. 



COW-PEAS AND SOY-BEANS VALUABLE EOR 

 POOD 



The usefulness of cow-peas and soy- 

 beans as human food has been recognized 

 only recently in this country. Existing 

 conditions warrant the planting of all the 

 available seed of varieties known to do 

 well in the several sections. The soy- 

 bean, in particular, has proved sufficiently 

 resistant to cold in spring and to adverse 

 weather during summer to warrant heavy 



