10 LIFE ZONES AND CROP ZONES. 



of the corn, 95 per cent of the barley, 93 per cent of the oats, and from 

 eight-tenths to nine-tenths of the wheat, rye, buckwheat, tobacco, 

 potatoes, and hay produced in the entire country." This certainly is 

 an unfortunate state of affairs, and one which, in the light of present 

 knowledge of crop adaptations, seems unnecessary. At the same time, 

 it is well to keejD in mind the distinction between crops raised for home 

 consumj)tion and those raised for ex^Dort. If, for instance, the twenty- 

 five States and Territories now producing collectively less than 5 per 

 cent of the total output of cereals can, by selecting proi)er varieties, 

 grow enough for their own use, they maj^ be able to raise for export 

 fruits or other crops far more valuable to them than an excess of 

 cereals. 



For several years prior to 1897 ^ the price of wheat in the North and 

 West was so low. as hardlj^to cover the cost of harvesting, while in the 

 Southern States not enough was raised for local consumption, and the 

 price was correspondingly high. Thus, in 1894 the price of wheat on 

 the farm in the Dakotas, Oregon, and Washiugton ranged from 39 to 

 46 cents per bushel, while in South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia 

 it brought fi'om 76 to 87 cents, and in Ai-izona fl. If a wheat can be 

 found which may 1)e depended upon to mature a gootl yield on suit- 

 able soils in the Southern States great benefit to the people should 

 accrue therefrom. Recent investigations carried on iu the Biological 

 Survey by ]*rof. C. S. Pluml) show that Fultz wheat and the spring or 

 May wheals (including red May, early May, late May, big May, and 

 others) may be grown successfull}', except in the lowlands, in what 

 is known as the Austroripai-ian zone, a belt which covers the greater 

 part of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, 

 and central Texas; and tliat Sonoran an<l Australian wheat do well iu 

 the Lower Sonoi-an belt in Arizona and soutliern C/alifornia. Similarly, 

 oats, in the main a Northern crop, lias been found to do well in 

 the Austroi-iparian belt of the Southern States if proper vai'ieties are 

 chosen; and these varieties are the liurt and Red Rust Proof. In the 

 case of corn, Moseby's Prolific, Golden Dent, and White Gourd Seed 

 seem well adapted to the same belt. So there appeai-s to be no reason 

 whj'^ cereals can not be grown in the Southern States in (juantities 

 more than sufficient for local consumption. 



Cotton is the staple crop of the South, far exceeding all othei'S in 

 money value. But during 1897 the price of cotton was so low as to 

 yield no profit, while at the same time wheat was so high that if a 

 fair division of acreage ha<l been made between the two, the Southern 

 I)lanters would have realized handsome profits instead of suffering 

 financial distress. Attention must be called also to the fact that in 



'In 1897 the price of wheat was so high that iu Oregon and Washnigton the 

 farm value was 70 cents per bushel, and the crop was so large (mori- than ;?8,00().000 

 bushels) that its farm value in Washington was $13,()84,7G1, and in Oregon 

 $13,071,62-3. or a total for the two States of nearly $27,000,000. 



