96 



DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



often better than it is in Kansas, but the Kansas belt is pre-eminently 

 the center of the hard winter wheat production. About 70 million bushels 

 have been produced there each year for the past three years. 



Intermountain Wheats. 



Proceeding westward from the hard red winter wheat belt, we come 

 to the intermountain area. The wheat of this belt may be considered as 

 intermediate between that of the Great Plains and that of California, 

 Oregon and Washington. In this belt we find a more or less heterogeneous 

 mixture of nearly all kinds of wheat, with a tendency towards the pro- 

 duction of a white, soft berr}^, thus resembling the grain of the belt 

 farther west. This we believe to be due largely to climatic and soil 

 conditions different from those of the Great Plains. Here, too, the 

 winter varieties predominate; in fact, it appears that before long winter 

 wheat will be grown almost exclusively in this area, and that what spring 

 wheat is grown will be confined to the durum group, since these are 

 practically the only varieties capable of withstanding the extremely hot 

 dry summers. 



We cannot say, as we did in discussing the previous belts, that this 

 area is typified by any particular variety or varieties. The lack of a pre- 

 dominating type is probably due to the fact that this region has heretofore 

 been somewhat inconsequential in the world's wheat markets. The 

 production has been entirely local and has attracted but little outside 

 attention. Since the recent development of arid farming is making possi- 

 ble an enormous output of wheat in this region, there is no question that 

 the same influences that work on the Great Plains will ultimately bring 

 about a uniformity in the wheat varieties here. In my judgment, the com- 

 ing wheats for this region will be the Crimean group for winter wheat 

 and the durums for spring. 



Greater Uniformity Necessary. 



Beyond all question, a greater uniformity must be brought about be- 

 fore the full possibilities of wheat production in the intermountain section 

 can be realized. This can be accomplished largely by discarding all of the 

 inferior varieties, by introducing new and superior types, and by improv- 

 ing them still further. 'With this in view, the Department of Agriculture 

 is establishing cereal stations at various places in the arid region and is 

 doing a large amount of work independently and in co-operation with 

 the state experiment stations. With the proper co-operation and support 

 of the farmers, this much-needed change can certainly be made, but 

 whether or not you are willing to discard entirely your soft white wheats, 

 it is certainly true that you must sooner or later grow a uniform variety, 

 be it hard or soft. Before you can attract a market, you must be known 

 as producers of some particular wheat. Fruit growers recognize this 

 principle of uniformity and profit by it. This point has also been forcibly 

 illustrated by the durum wheats in this country. When the durum wheat 

 was produced entirely in small local quantities it had absolutely no mar- 



