GENERAL AGRICULTURE OF BUFFALO COUNTY 
63 
Barley ranks fourth in acreage, 24,911 acres in 1909 giving 
632,422 bushels, or an average yield of slightly over 25 bushels 
per acre. Barley is grown on most of the soils of the county, 
except the extremely sandy types. It appears to do better 
than oats on sandy and fine sandy loam soils. The acreage on 
the Knox silt loam has been decreasing more rapidly than on 
some of the other types, probably because of the growth of the 
dairy industry on this type. As in the case of oats, grain of 
the best quality is produced on light-colored soils. 
Rye is one of the most important crops on the light-textured 
soils of the county, though it is grown to some extent on prac¬ 
tically all of the cultivated types. The acreage in 1909 was 
4,663 acres and the production 67,511 bushels, or slightly over 
14 bushels per acre. This crop is better adapted to sandy soils 
than the other grains grown in the county. 
In 1909 wheat was grown on 4,575 acres, with a production 
of 88,302 bushels, or about 19 bushels per acre. The crop is 
grown mainly on the Knox, Lintonia, and Bates silt loams. Some 
of the fine sandy loams also are used for the production of wheat. 
The Knox silt loam produces a very good quality of wheat, as 
well as of other small grains. 
Potatoes are not grown on a commercial scale, except in a 
few instances. The potato patch seldom covers more than an 
acre or two. According to the census, 1,423 acres were devoted 
to the crop in 1909, producing 177,849 bushels, or about 125 
bushels per acre. During favorable seasons yields of 250 bushels 
an acre are obtained from fields which have received special at¬ 
tention. 
In the vicinity of Alma and Fountain City small fruits and 
grapes are grown successfully, and the trucking industry has 
been developed to a small extent. In the southern part of the 
county about Marshall and also in the northeastern part about 
Mondovi there is a little trucking carried on, and it would seem 
that this industry might be profitably extended. Peas and beans 
are not extensively grown, but cucumbers, chiefly for pickling, 
are grown in various parts of the county, Alma and Fountain 
City having pickling stations. Raspberries, currants, strawber¬ 
ries, etc., do very well. Many farmers have small apple orchards 
from which fruit of good quality is usually obtained, but apples 
