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IlfDtlSTOIAL

Ube Untwstrtal Series

EDITED BY G. E. CONDRA

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO

MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA
MELBOURNE

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD.

TORONTO

THE

WHEAT INDUSTRY

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS

BY
N. A. BENGTSON, A.M.

AND

DONEE GRIFFITH, A.M.

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND CONSERVATION
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

1920

Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1915.

Nortoool

J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

INTRODUCTION

The Industrial Series^ to which this text belongs, is
designed for the purpose of making use of industrial
studies in education. That the features of industry
should be employed more as a means in education is
now recognized. The organization of such data for
use in schools is a problem, however, of considerable
magnitude.

That the natural resources are of fundamental im-
portance in shaping industrial development is generally
understood. It is likewise known that the industries
based on the resources have relations to the life and
welfare of the people. Wheat is a resource of wide
distribution and great importance in agriculture, manu-
facture, and commerce. This book seeks to make it
of more use in education.

It is believed that industrial subjects of this kind
are needed in the schools, because, first, they afford
useful information, and second, they are in line with
vocational training. Yet larger purposes lie in the fact
that they stimulate interest, call for action and clear
thinking, and thereby increase the efficiency of school
work. Such industrial studies at this time are a part

vi INTRODUCTION

of the regular work of many schools. This text is
designed for use in the upper grades of elementary
schools.

The authors of this volume, Professor N. A. Bengt-
son and Miss Donee Griffith, have an intimate first-
hand knowledge of the wheat industry, including all
its processes of the farm, commercial movements, and
manufacture. They have taught the subject in the
elementary school, normal school, and university.

The editor is indebted to Professor R. D. Scott and
Miss Myrtle Keegan for assistance in the preparation
of the manuscript for the publisher.

G. E. CONDRA, Editor.

PREFACE

"The Wheat Industry " is written in response to a
demand for a connected treatment of the activities of
wheat production. The almost universal use of wheat
as a food places it in a position of exceptional interest.
Its importance is realized, therefore people desire to
know the story of the processes leading to its produc-
tion. Wheat is a product entering largely into the
channels of trade, and so is of great commercial inter-
est. The great countries of the world can be studied
with advantage from the standpoint of wheat. Thus
we emphasize two major lines of thought in this vol-
ume--the processes of production, and the regional
distribution of wheat.

The method used in the treatment of this industry
is based upon the experience of successful teachers of
industrial geography. It calls for active work on the part
of the students under the guidance of the teacher, and
uses the processes and products of wheat as objects of
thought. This affords opportunity for excursions,
written reports, class discussions, and independent
work on the part of the students. The teacher should
not lecture to the class. She should guide the stu-

Vll

viii PREFACE

dents in their efforts and lead them and stimulate
them in doing individual work.

Relation to School Subjects. — In most schools this text
will be used as a reference reader. In others, it will
have a definite place in the seventh or eighth grade,
closely correlated with geography. This is in line
with the course of study which selects one or two
important industries for investigation each semester or
term. The relation to the regular school subjects is
definite.

Geography. — First, the study requires the frequent
use of geographies and atlases. In following the dis-
cussions on wheat regions and the markets and com-
mercial movement of wheat, a demand will arise for
the reading of the geography of the leading wheat
countries. This gives the student a new point of view
and leads him to see the countries in their industrial
and economic relations. By tracing the commodities
through their trade routes the student gains a clear
understanding of commerce.

Agriculture. - - Since the production is under different
conditions as to soil and climate, these in turn influ-
ence both the processes and the production. Thus
seeing the methods of wheat production in these coun-
tries, the student becomes better acquainted with the
life of the people and their institutions. This is real
geography closely related to agriculture.

Language. - • The study will call for reports from stu-
dents. These should be made in good form, whether

PREFACE ix

oral or written. The opportunity for language work
is practically unlimited.

History. — The interest of many students is in history.
Since wheat is a very old plant and its grain has been
of use so long, there is in this the possibility of devel-
oping a definite trend in industrial history.

Domestic Science. - - Domestic science now implies
more than the routine work of the kitchen. The
teacher or housewife is interested in wheat because it
enters into more food relations than any other cereal.
Understanding the processes of milling adds to her
intelligence and efficiency. She desires to know why
certain kinds of wheat make better flour for baking
purposes than other kinds. She also wishes to know
how methods of bread making and the shapes and sizes
of loaves differ in various countries.

Thus it is seen that the story of wheat is closely
related to a number of school subjects and that such
correlation will add interest and value to all.

Excursions. --Some may be content with reading about
wheat without asking questions or making excursions
to see the things described. By seeing wheat in the
field, by watching the binder and thresher, by studying
milling and other processes we, however, gain first-hand
knowledge. In some schools trips are made for this
purpose. It is difficult for some students to make
excursions and it is even more difficult for teachers to
find time to conduct them. Although it may often
be difficult for students, and even more difficult for

x PREFACE

teachers, to find time for these field trips, they should,
if possible, be made. The gain in power to observe
closely and describe carefully more than repays for the
time spent. It is hoped, however, that time can be
found for field trips, that the students may be courte-
ous to those who assist them, and that they will care-
fully write up the observations. The ideal of every
one should be to observe closely and to describe accu-
rately. Of course all observations should be carefully
written up, and it should be understood that excur-
sions made with the teacher are for a definite purpose.
They are school work in the field.

Perhaps the best results from field observations will
come from student trips which are made alone or in
small groups. Many observations of this kind may
be made while traveling at vacation time. Not all
have the privilege of travel, yet those who do may see
industrial things well worth the time and expense.
A trip to a big wheat farm of the West, or to a large
flour mill at Buffalo or Minneapolis, will be a pleasure
when made for a purpose.

Collecting Specimens.- The wheat plant in different
stages of growth may be collected from the field by
students or secured by writing to persons who live in
wheat-growing regions. Some school supply houses
sell these, as well as wheat products, for school use.
A very good place to see illustrative materials is in
commercial museums of cities. Some of the large
milling companies send specimens of wheat and its

PREFACE xi

products to schools upon request. These show the
grain, the flour, and each process in flour manufacture.
It is better, however, for the class to collect such speci-
mens while studying a mill and its operations.

Products such as breakfast foods, crackers, etc., can
be obtained from stores for the asking. Specimens
secured for class study should be used freely. Those
to be retained permanently by the school should be
labeled and placed in cases.

Questions and Exercises. - - At the end of each chapter
is a set of questions and exercises. The questions
serve to guide students in study and in class discussion.
They may be answered orally or in writing. Persons
reading the book for information and not making a
careful study are not expected to answer the questions.

The exercises are to be worked out or omitted as
the teacher and class may decide.

The authors have received much valuable assistance
in the preparation of this text. The Editor of the
series, Dr. G, E. Condra, has generously assisted in
outlining the discussion and has freely contributed
valuable suggestions. Miss Jeannette C. Nelson, De-
partment of Geography, University of Nebraska, has
assisted in gathering the data used in the text. Miss
Minnie Gant of the Lincoln, Nebraska, city schools
and Miss Mary Johnson of the Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia, city schools, have given helpful criticism from
the standpoint of grade work.

The illustrations are largely from photographs taken

xii PREFACE

by the authors. Many others, however, have kindly
assisted in furnishing views suitable for use. Special
acknowledgments are due the following: Frank H.
Shoemaker; R. A. Lindsay; Physiographic Labora-
tory, Cornell University ; H.J. Young; E. L. Currier;
Holt Manufacturing Company ; New York State Board
of Agriculture ; Pennsylvania Railway; Norfolk and
Western Railway; International Harvester Company;
Washburn-Crosby Mills ; Loose- Wiles Biscuit Com-
pany ; New Seattle Chamber of Commerce ; Canadian
Pacific Railway; Winnipeg Grain Exchange; Pan-
American Union (views on Argentina) ; Department
of Agriculture, New South Wales, Australia (views on
Australia).

The authors are indebted to Mr. E. D. Kiddoo for
the preparation of the index.

N. A. BENGTSON.

DONEE GRIFFITH.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. To THE READER i

II. THE WHEAT PLANT 5

III. CULTIVATION AND GROWTH . . . .18

IV. ~~HARVE STING 43

V. THRESHING .... . 65

VI. LOCAL TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE . . 84

VII. PRODUCTION ... 99

VIII. MARKETING .122

IX. MILLING . 144

X. THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS . . . 167

XI. INDUSTRIAL REVIEW 190

XII. THE WHEAT COUNTRIES, — AUSTRALIA . 205

XIII. WHEAT IN ARGENTINA- 217

XIV. WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES . . . 230
XV. WHEAT IN CANADA 269

XVI. WHEAT IN ASIA 287

XVII. WHEAT IN EUROPE 303

Xlll

The Wheat Industry

CHAPTER I
TO THE READER

THIS book is for students of the schools, but it
may be of interest to others. It is an industrial
story of wheat. Most people know that wheat is
an important plant in several countries, and we
have learned in geography that it is widely culti-
vated. The grain is what is meant, however, and
not the plant, when we use the term wheat in a
general sense.

The word story, as here used, does not have its
usual meaning. Industry has to do with resources,
labor, manufacture, and products. These are all
included in the wheat industry. The whole story of
wheat, involving everything done with it on the
farm, during shipment to markets, in the mills,
and in the factories, is included in this description.
Our book starts with the processes in wheat rais-
ing and follows the grain and its products through
the mills and markets. This is the reason for
calling it the industrial story of wheat.

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

People generally know something about the
wheat industry. Students in or near the country
see such processes as plowing, seeding, harvesting,
and threshing, and may be able to describe them.
These persons, however, may not have a knowl-
edge of how the grain is handled at the big markets

FIG. i. — The wheat field in its country setting.

nor how it is manufactured into flour at the mills.
Those of us who live in the city may have seen
large shipments of wheat at the elevators and mills.
Some of us may have visited mills where wheat
is made into flour, or bakeries where flour is made
into bread, yet we may know very little of how
wheat is grown. The agricultural processes are
no better understood by the city child than are

TO THE READER

the mills and markets by the country boy. So
it is that city folk and country folk alike do not
fully understand the whole story of the industry.
We do not all realize that wheat is extensively
raised in countries where methods of production
are very different from ours. To some of us,

FIG. 2. — City view showing elevators and railroads.

plowing carries a picture of a great steel machine
drawn by a traction engine ; to others the view
of a riding plow pulled by three horses is called to
mind. But many do not know that in parts of
Asia large fields are still prepared by crude wooden
plows pulled by oxen or camels. Threshing in the
Pacific Northwest is done by huge machines which

4 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

both harvest and thresh the grain, whereas in
some other countries the cradle and flail are still
in use. The seasons of planting and harvesting
are likewise different. Our harvest occurs during
the time of year when Argentina has its winter.
The people of Australia are cutting their wheat
when we are sitting around the fires and telling
stories of Santa Claus. These are illustrations
which merely indicate the world-wide importance
of wheat.

To learn of the different methods of production
practiced in other lands will lead us to a better
appreciation of the life and problems of other
peoples. Surely such a subject is of interest and
value.

Our story takes up the discussion in the natural
order, - - from the seed to the finished products
and their uses. The first part of the book deals
in detail with the processes employed in wheat
production. The latter part applies this discus-
sion to the chief wheat raising countries of the
world. Thus knowing the order in which the
processes come in the industry, we can make our
own outline of topics.

QUESTIONS

1. What is an industry?

2. Suggest several reasons why an industrial study of
wheat should be of interest to all.

CHAPTER II
THE WHEAT PLANT

BOTANISTS tell us that wheat is a grass. Its
development from a wild grass to that of the
domesticated plant of to-day is fairly well known
and forms an interesting study. From the stand-
point of industry, however, we are more concerned
with its present than its past. The wheat plant
is one of our leading life resources, for it yields the
world's greatest bread cereal. Let us become
better acquainted with this plant before taking
up the industry of which it forms the basis.

The Parts of the Wheat Plant. - -The plant is all
that grows from one seed, and its parts are the
roots, stems, leaves, and heads. These work
together in producing the grain. The young
plant appears to be for the most part leaves and
roots. The older plants have prominent stems or
stalks supporting heads, called spikes. In these
heads are formed the flowers and kernels. A brief
description of these parts will serve to show what
the wheat plant is like. Learning some of these
things will prepare us to understand the processes

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

in cultivation, harvesting, and manufacture, which
will be discussed in later chapters.

The Roots.
The roots are the
underground part
of the plant. As
the wheat kernel
germinates it
sends out a root
from its lower
end ; this is soon
followed by two
others ; and these
first three are
called temporary
roots , because
they serve the
plant for but a
short time. After
the stem has
pushed above
ground the per-
manent roots de-
velop. These
grow in whorls
from joints on the
stem a little be-
low the surface of the soil. They grow outward
to varying distances from the stem, and then turn

FIG. 3. — Wheat plants. Note roots, stalks,
leave0., and spikes. Several stems may, because of
tillering, grow from one seed.

THE WHEAT PLANT 7

sharply downward. These roots are branching fibers
which not only serve to hold the plant in position,
but also to gather from the soil moisture and food
materials which are later converted into plant and
grain. Few of us realize how extensive is the root
system of the wheat plant. Sometimes the roots
penetrate to depths of 4 to 7 feet, and the roots
of a single plant may, if laid end to end, measure
more than 1500 feet.

The Stems.- -The stems are, by some, called
culms. They are short and not very noticeable
in the young plant. As the plant becomes older
and the root system well developed, the stems
rapidly lengthen and become hollow, jointed tubes.
The length of the stem differs with varieties, soils,
climate, and seasons. Common wheat usually
grows from three to four feet high. The color
is green while the stem is growing but changes to
yellowish at harvest time.

As a rule each wheat seed produces several stems.
This is a desirable quality, for it makes possible a
large yield of grain for the amount of seed sown.
The method of growth which produces so many
stems is called tillering or stooling. Rich soil,
abundant moisture, early seeding, and thin stands
favor tillering. Sometimes fifty or more stems
spring from a single seed. In most fields, however,
the number is from four to eight.

The stem is quite strong and rigid, and holds the

8 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

leaves and head in the air and sunshine. It also
serves as a passageway to transfer food materials
from the roots to other parts of the plant. The
upper part of the stem remains green until late
in the period of ripening and seems to do work
similar to that of the leaves in manufacturing
food for the grain.

The Leaves. - -The leaves are long, slender blades
growing from the stem. They are close together
on young plants and become farther apart as the
joints of the stem lengthen during growth. The
leaves are small workshops as well as breathing
machines, and do a very important work for the
plant. They are filled with small canals through
which solutions flow, and the surface has innu-
merable pores which admit air. Moisture and
food material are transferred from the roots to the
leaves, and gases are taken directly from the air.
Within the leaves, with the aid of sunlight, these
food materials, gases, and moisture are combined
and changed into food substances such as starch,
sugar, and cellulose. The leaf products are carried
to the heads of the plant and built into fruit or
grain. With abundance of moisture and a rich
soil these processes make rapid progress with the
result that the plant acquires strong growth and
produces a heavy yield. If moisture is lacking
or the soil is weak, the work goes on more slowly or
for a shorter period. The lower leaves soon be-

THE WHEAT PLANT

come weak and inactive or they may die. The
early closing of several workshops weakens the
plant and results in a lessened crop and inferior
quality of grain.

The Heads or Spikes. - These bear the fruit.
The head or spike is composed
of several parts. Furthermore,
the heads of different kinds of
wheat are unlike in form, length,
size, and number of parts. They
may be flattened, square, taper-
ing, or club form. Some wheats
have long awns or beards and
in others the beards are of me-
dium length, short, or nearly
wanting. The appearance of
the head is affected much by
the position of the beards,
whether parallel or spreading.
Heads of beardless wheat ap-
pear smooth and easy to han-
dle. Figure 4 shows these
types of heads. Note how they
differ.

The head is made up principally of spikelets
(Fig. 5). These are attached to the upper part
of the stem, and contain first the flowers and
later the kernels. The kernels are inclosed in
scale-like coverings called ' glumes," some of

FIG. 4. - - Bearded and
beardless wheat.

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

which bear the beards. If there is an opportu-
nity, we should observe heads of wheat, and count
the spikelets, noting whether they are open,
compact, or crowded in the head. Opening the
spikelets, we should count the number of kernels

FIG. 5. — The upper end of a sphere (at the left) showing spikelets, glumes,

beards, and kernels.

in each and see whether they are held in position
firmly or loosely. Most wheats have two or three
kernels in each spikelet.

The Grain. - The most useful product of the
head is the grain. Do we know what a kernel or
grain of wheat is like ? Many people cannot tell
it from rye or barley and some cannot tell it from
corn.

THE WHEAT PLANT

-2.

Kernels of grain secured from the farm, elevator,
or the mill will show the following : the oval
form, the furrow or suture on the inner side, and
the germ or embryo at the lower end (Fig. 6).

By cutting the kernels we can learn of their
hardness. Some varieties are much harder than
others, and so wheat
is classified as hard
or soft on the mar-
kets. Imperfect ker-
nels are soft, light,
and chaffy. Grain
dealers call them
unsound.

The natural colors
of the grain are
whitish, yellowish,
reddish, or darker,
depending on the
variety and climate.
The natural color is
modified by rains
and other weather conditions at harvest time.

The Parts of the Kernel. - The wheat kernel
has three principal parts, the coatings, the embryo,
and the starchy interior called the endosperm.
We shall not fully describe these parts. Such a
study belongs to a department of agriculture
called agronomy. Our chief interest is in the

FIG. 6. — The wheat grain: /, cheek; 2,
suture ; 3, brush ; 4, embryo.

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

Aleurone
Layer

Seed Coats

Pericarp

quality and use of the grain. What we have
studied about the physiology of foods may help
us to understand the meaning of such terms as
cellulose, starch, sugar, fats and oils, and ash.

All of these mate-
rials are in thewheat
grain.

The kernel has
several layers in its

outer portion. The
outer ones are com-
posed principally of
cellulose. They produce the bran in flour mak-
ing. One of these layers contains considerable
coloring matter. The bran layers make up about
five per cent of the weight of the entire kernel.

Starch Cells ^^^je^> Germ

FIG. 7. — Diagram showing structure of wheat

—Pericarp or Outer Seed Coat

•--Inner Seed Coats
•"Aleurone Layer

••-Starch Cells

FIG. 8. — Highly magnified section of a portion of wheat grain.

Just inside the bran, between it and the endo-
sperm, is the cereal or aleurone layer of large
gluten cells. This division makes three to four
per cent of the weight of the grain.

THE WHEAT PLANT 13

The starchy interior is eighty per cent or more
of the weight of the kernel. Viewed under the
microscope, it is shown to contain cells filled with
starch grains. The cell walls are cellulose. Be-
sides starch, which is the principal material in
the cells of the endosperm, are protein, some oils,
and a little sugar. The term gluten, so often
used, is not a single substance. It includes two
or more kinds of the protein. The gluten is
important in wheat since it gives baking qualities
to flour.

Germ. - The germ is a miniature plant ready
to grow when it is planted. It is very appropri-
ately called the embryo. This part of the seed is
connected with the endosperm, from which it
draws food supplies during germination. When
man uses the grain for food he changes all this
provision of nature. The food materials in the
embryo are principally fats or oils, although there
is also protein, sugar, and starch.

By weight, ten per cent or more of the wheat
grain is water, though the amount varies greatly.
There is also some ash in each part of the grain.

The Kinds of Wheat. - The various kinds of
wheat represent to some extent the natural in-
fluences of the countries in which they have grown
so long. Yet they have been greatly modified by
man during recent years. The State Agricultural
Colleges and Experiment Stations have by careful

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

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THE WHEAT PLANT 15

selection, breeding, and cultivation developed
desired qualities in many varieties. Scientists of
our country have explored practically all wheat-
growing regions of the world and collected seed
for experimental work in the United States. In
this way wheat has been carried from country to
country and new varieties have been developed.
We now have wheats better suited to the soil,
climate, and seasons of the many regions. The
grain has also been changed as to its food values,
making it better suited for specific purposes. The
wheat we see is fully domesticated. It could not
survive if left alone. The old and unimproved
varieties are of little value.

The Types of Wheat. - The following outline
shows the eight divisions to which the 1000 and
more varieties of cultivated wheat belong. They
are called types (Fig. 9).

1. Einkorn is a very old type with one kernel in each
spikelet. It has little importance.

2. Spelt is a dry land wheat cultivated mostly in Europe
and used principally for stock feed.

3. Emmer has a compact, flat head bearing hard, reddish
grain. It is a dry land wheat extensively grown in Russia.
It is produced in the United States, where it is wrongly
called spelt.

4. Club Wheat, so named because of its form, has a com-
pact spike. Its short, stiff straw holds the grain remarkably
well, making it resistant to lodging. The glumes likewise
are stiff, do not open easily even when ripe, and thus tend

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

to keep the spikes from scattering and spilling the grain.
This wheat is well suited for cultivation in the Rocky
Mountain and Pacific Coast states where the grain is often
allowed to stand for weeks after it is ripe before harvesting.
The type is grown princi-
pally in Chile, Turkestan,
Abyssinia, and in the west-
ern part of the United
States.

5. Poulard Wheat is
drought and heat resistant.
It is related to the durum
varieties. It is raised for
experimental purposes only
in the United States, but
has importance as a crop in
Europe and Africa.

6. Durum or Macaroni
Wheat, is adapted to regions
of low rainfall. It is tall
and vigorous with wide
leaves, short, compact heads,
and long beards. The large
kernels are rich in gluten
content. This wheat is used
extensively in the manufac-

FIG. io. — Einkom, close view. This ture of macaroni. It is

is considered the most primitive of the erown widelv in various
wheats. ° J .

foreign countries and has

importance in the Great Plains Region of the United States
and Canada.

7. Polish Wheat is known also by the names Giant Rye
and Jerusalem Wheat. The grain is not very productive.
It is rich in gluten and low in starch. The type is grown

THE WHEAT PLANT 17

principally in southern Europe and used in the manufacture
of macaroni.

8. Common Wheat is the type of greatest commercial
importance. It is grown in most wheat regions of the world.
It ranks first because flour made from it is in greatest demand
for bread making.

The number of varieties is very great. In some
places they are merely classed as soft, medium,
and hard. They are also known as spring and
winter wheat. A fuller description of the kinds of
wheat is made in connection with the discussion
of the wheat-growing countries.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. What is a plant ?

2. Plant some wheat in a garden plot. If it is the winter
season, plant a few kernels in a shallow box which may be
kept in a window. Determine the length of time elapsing
before the leaves appear. Study the plant as to root system,
arrangement of leaves, and rate of growth.

3. (a) Why may leaves well be called workshops of the
plant ?

(b) What are the functions of the stem ?

4. What part of the wheat kernel is of greatest impor-
tance for flour ?

5. Through what agencies is the question of what wheats
are best adapted to certain regions being determined ?

6. Suggest a reason why Emkorn is so named.

7. Where is Club Wheat important ? What are its
advantages ?

8. Where is Durum Wheat extensively grown ? Why ?

9. Why is Common Wheat of greatest importance from
the standpoint of industry ?

CHAPTER III
CULTIVATION AND GROWTH

THE most ancient history of which we have any
knowledge makes mention of wheat as a promi-
nent food material. We know from this that it
was one of the first grains to be cultivated. No
one knows when it first became a domestic plant.
Probably wild wheat found favor with prehistoric
peoples because of its large kernels and agreeable
taste. They may have thought of assisting the
growth of the plant by crudely preparing the soil
and scattering seeds and by keeping out other
plants. In some such manner cultivation and
domestication came about centuries ago. Since
that time wheat has become so dependent on man
for its very existence that if left uncared for, it
could not survive. In its contest with other
grasses and weeds, wheat would be crowded out
and probably in a few years would almost com-
pletely disappear. But wheat is such a desirable
article of human food that man helps it in its
struggle with its rivals. The care given for the
sake of promoting growth and insuring yield is

CULTIVATION AND GROWTH 19

known as cultivation, and plants so grown are
called the cultivated or domestic plants.

The Cultivation of Wheat. - - Cultivation of
wheat consists essentially of three processes, -
preparation of the seed bed, seed selection, and
planting. The crop is grown in many countries
under diverse conditions of soil, climate, and even
of people. It is interesting, therefore, to study
the processes involved in wheat raising in our
country and to compare our methods with those
of foreign lands.

Plowing the Soil. - The first work in the prep-
aration of the seed bed is to loosen the upper por-
tion of the soil, usually to depths of from three to
eight inches. The tool for this work varies from
the crooked stick used by some of the savages or
semicivilized peoples to that of the large tractor
plows used on the Great Plains. A long-bladed
hoe is still in use among isolated mountaineers in
Switzerland, northwest Spain, and parts of Nor-
way.

Even in fairly important wheat sections of
Egypt, Asia Minor, and the Balkan States, some
very crude plows are used. One-handled wooden
plows with only a steel point are common in those
districts. These plows are drawn by cattle, don-
keys, or camels which work singly or in pairs and
sometimes in peculiar combinations. For instance
it is not an uncommon sight to see a farmer plow-

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

ing with a team consisting of a cow and a camel
or a cow and a donkey. In the United States
such teams would undoubtedly attract consider-
able attention.

The small steel walking plow with wooden

Countsy of International H
FIG. ii. — Plowing in Egypt with cows and camel. Wooden plow.

handles is common in our own country only in
regions of small fields. The use of this plow in
wheat growing is confined almost entirely to the
Eastern states. It cuts a furrow from twelve to
sixteen inches wide and is usually drawn by two
or three horses, the latter number always being
used with the larger sized plow. But very little

CULTIVATION AND GROWTH

wheat is grown In the United States for which the
plowing is done by only one horse. This method
is used only on small tracts in very hilly districts.
The single furrow riding plow predominates in
the mixed farming portions of the Central states.
There wheat is important, but is not the only

FIG. 12. — Plowing with the common two-bottom gang plow. Each cutting lay

makes a twelve-inch furrow.

profitable crop. It has keen competitors in corn,
oats, clover, and alfalfa. Land is high priced.
For these various reasons fields are moderate in
size, ranging usually from twenty to sixty acres
each. Hence the riding plow, locally called the
''sulky," seems to be best adapted to the farming
conditions. It cuts a sixteen-inch furrow, runs
on three wheels, and is pulled by three or four

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

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CULTIVATION AND GROWTH 23

horses. The driver rides, his chief work being to
guide the horses and to so regulate the machine
that it will plow at required depth. This is done
by means of a lever within easy reach of the
driver. In addition to the lever there is also a
foot lift by means of which the plow may be
raised entirely out of the ground. The foot lift
is convenient in turning at the end of the field
because then both hands are busy with the lines,
guiding the horses. Three or four acres is con-
sidered a fair day's work with this outfit.

Where large wheat fields prevail, as on the
High Plains from Texas to Canada and in some
parts of California, Oregon, and Washington, gang
plows are used extensively. From two to sixteen
plows are built on one frame, the whole being
referred to as a two-bottom or sixteen-bottom
plow. The two, three, or four bottom plows are
usually drawn by horses or mules, while, with the
larger sizes, either steam, gasoline, or kerosene
tractors are used. In the corn belt from Ohio to
Nebraska, where wheat is an important crop, the
two-bottom gang plow is quite common. It is
pulled by five or six horses, driven by one man,
who considers five or six acres a good day's work.
In the High Plains country west of this region ten
to sixteen bottom plows drawn by great tractors
are a common sight. There, over large areas, the
wiry, panting cowboy's pony has been supplanted

24 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

by the ponderous, puffing, iron horse. The large
gang plows also predominate in the great unirri-
gated wheat districts of California, Oregon, Wash-
ington, and Idaho. Wherever irrigation is prac-
ticed the fields are smaller and so large plows have
not generally proved economical.

The type of plow used varies somewhat with the
soil. It generally consists of a cutting edge
termed a lay or share and a moldboard. The
work is done by cutting under and turning over
the soil to whatever depth is desired, ordinarily
from four to eight inches. The moldboard type
of plow is used in regions of clay or sandy clay
soils and of fairly heavy rainfall. In regions
where the soil is more sandy and quite dry at
plowing time, another type called the disc plow
is extensively used.

The disc plow cuts downward with a rolling
motion, pushes the soil to the side, and partly
turns it (Fig. 14). This machine has the advan-
tage of doing its work somewhat more easily than
the common moldboard plow but is not as well
adapted to all conditions. Its most extensive use
in the United States is in California and the states
of the Northwest, though it is used to some extent
in the Central states.

The Time of Plowing. - - Autumn is the time
when the greater part of the plowing for wheat is
done. In winter wheat districts, this is of course

CULTIVATION AND GROWTH 25

necessary, and the plowman is impatient to have
the field cleared of the previous crop so that he
may do his work early. Careful studies seem to
show that early plowing is favorable to the best
yield for the succeeding year. It conserves mois-
ture and provides a better packed seed bed.

FIG. 14. — The disc plow. Instead of moldboards and lays, large discs are used
to cut and turn the soil. Some farmers prefer this kind.

In spring wheat districts, the ground is usually
plowed in the fall because the wheat needs to be
sown as early in the spring as possible. This is
particularly true where the growing season is
short as in Minnesota or the Dakotas. There
the seeding is done as soon as the ground is free
from frost. The soil is well ventilated by the

26 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

plowing and then settles during the winter so that
a compact bed is provided for spring seeding.
There are some places of longer growing season
and heavier soil, where spring plowing is in high
favor.

The Preparation of the Seed Bed without Plowing.

- In the corn belt region some farmers sow
spring wheat in old corn fields without using the
plow at all. In such cases the soil is stirred by
means of a cultivator or disc harrow. Generally
where this is practiced a quick rotation of crops
is desired and spring wheat is thought to pay
better than oats.

Winter wheat is raised in some localities with-
out the use of the plow. In the corn belt the
wheat is sometimes planted by a five-hoe drill
between the corn rows. There is no special
preparation other than that furnished by the
drill. The ground has been prepared by the
cultivation of the corn. This is possible only
where the fields are free from weeds, where the
stalks have not been blown down to any great
extent, and where the soil is quite mellow. It is
not a method in universal use nor one that can be
depended upon in a given locality. In some
instances the corn is cut and shocked as fodder
and the wheat sown in the vacated field without
special preparation. Where the ground is weedy
or the soil not loose enough for a seed bed, the

CULTIVATION AND GROWTH 27

field is stirred with a shovel cultivator and tooth
harrow or with a disc harrow. The practice of
sowing winter wheat in corn fields is, however,
limited. Generally the yield is not so good as on
plowed ground. Its advantage lies in furnishing
a quick change from corn to wheat, both profitable
crops, without using the usual connecting link,

FIG. 15. — Harrowing, the final process in preparing the soil for sowing.
In many cases, the driver walks behind the harrow instead of riding upon it
as shown here.

oats, which, in many instances, has not proved to
be profitable.

Another plowless method of seed-bed prepa-
ration is employed quite extensively in the High
Plains region where wheat is grown on the same
ground several years in succession. Instead of
plowing, the soil is merely stirred with the disc
harrow. Usually the field is double harrowed,

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

the second time at right angles to the first. Gen-
erally speaking, this method is used only where
the soil is light and the rainfall scant. As a rule
even in such regions the land is plowed every
other year.

Harrowing the Soil. - - After plowing, the land
is smoothed down, the clods pulverized, and the

FIG. 16. — Harrowing the ground before drilling the wheat. This harrow, drawn
by five horses, takes a strip twenty feet wide.

soil packed to some extent. This is accomplished
by harrowing. The harrow is commonly of the
toothed type ; that is, iron spikes set in pipes or
bars (Fig. 16). The size of the harrow varies
from the small one-section four-foot width, drawn
by one horse, to the four-section twenty-foot
width, pulled by five horses. With the larger
outfit one man and a team can cover 60 acres in a

CULTIVATION AND GROWTH

day and, with the smaller, five acres is a good
day's work. Usually in the wheat belts of our
country the harrow used is the three-section 18-
foot width, drawn by four horses. Ofttimes a two-
wheeled cart is attached to the rear of the harrow
or a seat is arranged on top to furnish riding

FIG. 17. — Discing the plowed ground. This cuts and crushes the clods, and
assists in preparing a good seed bed.

accommodations for the driver. Sometimes an
extra horse is used on which the driver rides.
More often, however, the harrowing is done by
boys who walk behind the machine. This method
is widely employed where the small one-horse or
two-horse harrows are used.

In the corn belt area of the wheat section,

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

where several weeks intervene between plowing
and seeding, heavy rains and luxuriant weed
growth necessitate more vigorous stirring of the
top soil. This calls for the use of the disc harrow
prior to that of the tooth harrow. Where this is
the case the harrowing is usually delayed until
about seeding time. This is in contrast to the

FIG. 18. — A field ready to be seeded to wheat. Note the smooth seed bed.

method followed in the drier districts, where
harrowing follows soon after plowing, often the
same day. In some cases it is even accomplished
by a small harrow attached to the plow. In this
way clods are immediately crushed and a loose
surface mulch provided which assists in retaining
moisture. This is a great advantage where rain-
fall is likely to be deficient. It is, however, a

CULTIVATION AND GROWTH 31

disadvantage where heavy rains occur, for in such
case a smooth crusted surface results which is
difficult to pulverize and prepare into a suitable
seed bed. Thus we see how closely man's activ-
ities even in this small detail are related to climatic
conditions.

Methods of Seeding. — Two processes are in-
volved in planting the grain : sowing and covering.
These processes may or may not be performed by
the same machine. Where seed is scattered rather
evenly over the ground, the process is known as
broadcasting; where the seed is sown in rows the
method is termed drilling.

In most places where wheat is grown only in
small tracts, the seed is sown by hand. The
sower usually holds a bag of seed on his left arm
and scatters the grain with his right hand (Fig.
19). Sometimes he carries the seed in a trough-
like box hung from his shoulders, leaving both
hands free to use in scattering the seed. Sowing,
then, consists in ' casting abroad," which has
given rise to the term broadcast. Considerable
skill is necessary to scatter the seed evenly, and
the worker presents a pleasing sight as he ad-
vances with measured tread and rhythmic swing.
This scene furnished the inspiration for Millet's
famous painting, The Sower.

Wherever wheat is grown on a larger scale,
machine seeding is employed. The broadcast

32 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

methods may be in this case done by machinery.
Small hand machines like those used in sowing
grass seed or machines fastened to wagons and
driven by power transmitted from the turning
wheels are often employed. This latter type is
known as the end-gate seeder and was formerly
used extensively for sowing spring wheat in old

FIG. 19. — Sowing by hand. A method now used only for small fields or where
primitive agricultural methods are still employed.

corn fields. The common broadcast seeder, a
separate machine drawn by horse power, consists
of a hopper connected with a series of scattering
devices which spread the seed evenly over the
ground. Such a machine is of light draft and is
made in various widths from eight to twenty-four
feet.

CULTIVATION AND GROWTH

Wherever broadcast sowing is practiced, some
method of covering must be employed. In plowed
ground this is done with the common harrow.
For corn fields or for firmly packed soil, the shovel
cultivator or disc harrow is employed. This is

FIG. 20. — Sowing wheat with a press drill. Some press drills are so made
that the weight of the machine is carried on the rear wheels, hence no side wheels
are necessary.

followed by the common tooth harrow for leveling
the land.

Drilling is more general than broadcast sowing
in the great wheat districts of the United States.

Wheat drills are of three general types : Hoe
drills, shoe or runner drills, and disc drills. The

34 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

hoe drill consists of a series of small shovels which
open the ground to permit a stream of wheat to be
introduced just back of them so that the soil
settles back in place covering the seed. This
form of drill is well adapted to heavy soils which
are naturally inclined to pack closely. For more
friable soils the furrow is usually opened by means
of a runner or disc, either single or double. The
seed is introduced just behind the furrow opener
and the furrow is closed by a wheel which follows
and compacts the soil. The pressure is applied
either by a spring on the wheel or is caused by
the weight of the machine resting on the rear
wheels (Fig. 20). These machines are known
as press drills and are extensively used in the
districts of sandy or friable soils. They have
proved of great value in furnishing carefully pre-
pared, compacted seed beds for a large part of the
great wheat-producing area of the West. They
seem to be the kind best adapted to the soils in
which wheat thrives best.

Time of Sowing. - The best time for sowing
wheat varies with so many factors that it is
difficult to state any general rule. For winter
wheat districts, early seeding prevails in the
northern parts ; late, in the southern. The sow-
ing must be early enough to give time for a fairly
sturdy growth, otherwise the wheat is unable to
withstand winter hardships. There is also a dan-

CULTIVATION AND GROWTH

ger of too early seeding in that the growth becomes
so rank that it lessens the powers of resistance,
and, in many cases, exposes the wheat to the
ravages of the Hessian fly. Inasmuch as the
proper growth is the thing desired, it is readily
seen that the factors which promote growth also
make late seeding possible. Hence later sowing

Courtesy International Harvester Co.
FIG. 21. — A large size modern drill.

can be more profitably practiced in fertile soils
than in soils less fertile ; in carefully prepared
ground than where poor seed bed is provided ;
and where moisture is ample than where it is
somewhat scarce. For the wheat belt in the
neighborhood of latitude 40° north and from alti-
tudes of 500 to 1000 feet, the most favorable
time for sowing is from September 10 to 20.

36 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

North of that the sowing time is earlier ; to the
south it is later, even as late as November in
some cases.

In general where spring wheat is raised, it is
best to sow it as early as possible. Seeding time
then necessarily comes later to the northward.
March sowing is not uncommon in Nebraska and
Iowa, and in some of the Canadian provinces
sowing is not finished before May 25. Though
these dates apply to our own country, we shall
later learn that seeding is going on somewhere
during every month of the year.

Cultivation after Sowing. - - Usually no culti-
vation is necessary. Man contributes his influ-
ence in preparing the seed bed and in planting.
Once placed on a secure footing, wheat is able to
overcome plant competitors and weeding is un-
necessary. In that respect it is stronger than
corn, for it covers the ground early in its life
history. Harrowing winter wheat in the spring
is sometimes tried, but the advantage of such
work is problematical. Where the upper soil has
formed a hard crust, harrowing may prove benefi-
cial because it loosens the soil and conserves mois-
ture. Generally speaking, the injury to a large
number of wheat plants must be considered care-
fully when we judge the value of such work.
Where the soil is very loose, rolling winter wheat
in the spring has been found profitable. Pastur-

CULTIVATION AND GROWTH 37

ing winter wheat in very early spring is also
claimed to help compact the soil without injuring
the wheat plant. This practice must be carefully
watched, however, so that it is not permitted
when the ground is too soft or that it may not be
continued too late in the spring. As a general
rule wheat receives no further labor after seeding
until time of harvest.

The Growth of Wheat. - Though wheat is not
cultivated after planting as is corn, still it
receives much attention. In the autumn the
farmer watches its growth with interest. The
wheat comes up in a week or ten days after seed-
ing if the weather and soil conditions are favorable.
Winter wheat grows to be a small grassy plant
before the ground freezes ; and the fields viewed
from a distance appear green. If the fall growth
is good, an extensive root system is developed and
the plant will likely survive the winter. The
greatest danger lies in a very dry autumn, which
prevents the proper growth, or in the presence of
the Hessian fly. This latter is a small insect
which attacks the wheat plant near the base, caus-
ing the leaves and stem to turn yellow and die.
While it works some damage in the autumn, a
more serious menace lies in the fact that the
mature insects are developed at this time. When
these insects infest the wheat field, there is grave
danger of their becoming so numerous the next

38 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

spring that they will ruin the crop (see Figs. 60 and
61). Some farmers sow a " catch crop," a strip of
early sowing around the field. When this strip
has become infested with the fly, the ground is
plowed, and in this way the insect is killed. The
main field, sowed later, is thus in a measure
protected.

The wheat plant remains green late into the
winter. Before spring, however, the older leaves
have turned brown and sometimes in late winter
the field may show practically no evidence of life.
Then the farmer is anxious. He fears that his
wheat has been winter killed. He probably ex-
presses his fears to others. Reporters hear the
rumors and express the same feelings through
their papers. Soon the price of wheat rises on
the market as a result of these ' bear : stories.
In a short time spring opens. The weather turns
warmer, the snows melt, and the rains come.
Then with a rapidity almost startling the brown
field changes to green. The farmer watches for
even coloring, for he wants no bare spots in the
field. Sometimes because of insufficient rainfall
or drifting snow, parts of the field will come
through the winter better than others. But with
favorable conditions the even stand which results
brings joy to the farmer's heart.

The winter crisis has passed. The spring growth
is well started. If spring wheat is sown, it soon

CULTIVATION AND GROWTH 39

comes up and henceforth passes through the same
stages and meets the same dangers as does the
winter wheat. In the spring the farmer wishes for
plenty of rain, for this is the growing season.
He realizes that several dangers are still to be
passed before his crop can be considered safe.
Drought and hailstorms are feared. Where irri-
gation is practiced the water is applied freely,
and the farmer feels that he has overcome the
greatest obstacle to success in that region. But,
since irrigation is more costly than is natural
rainfall, the expense of production is higher. But
with favorable weather and moisture either by
rain or by irrigation, good growth is assured. The
field looks like a well-grassed meadow. The
stems are growing rapidly, the wheat is soon ready
to 'head out.' This is a critical period, for a
year's crop is at stake. Do you wonder that, if
it is becoming dry, the farmer looks anxiously
for the rain clouds to appear ? He fears the hot
winds which may come and literally dry up his
wheat in the field. When clouds do appear he
watches them intently. Even then the danger
is not past. In many sections hailstorms or
severe winds may come which will ruin a crop in
less than an hour. The farmer visits his field
frequently at this time for now it is that the
Hessian fly may reappear. He looks in the
field for broken straws which indicate the pres-

40 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

ence of this pest. He examines many stalks at
the places where the leaves join the stem. This
is the favorite position for the fly to get its nour-
ishment from the wheat plant when it is approach-
ing the flaxseed stage. If the season is dry,
the chinch bug is also to be feared. The losses
caused by the chinch bug to the wheat grow-
ers of the Mississippi valley have in some years
amounted to many millions of dollars.

Fortunately fairly effective methods of fighting
these pests have been discovered and farmers do
not now feel as helpless as they formerly did.
These problems and difficulties must be mastered
by the wheat growers if they are to succeed.
Thus we can readily see that wheat farmers must
be thinkers, men of brains as well as men of brawn.

But the season advances. The dangers are
passed one after another. Rainfall has been
sufficient. The wheat heads out, passes through
its blossoming period unnoticed, for it is a self
fertilizing plant, and finally forms the seeds, the
grain, in the heads. When they first reach a
fairly good size they are plump and soft and are
filled with a milky fluid. Then they become
solid, though not hard. The plant loses its green
coloring and the field changes slowly to lighter
hues. At last comes the golden yellow which
marks readiness for harvest. The period of growth
is ended and the period of reaping is at hand. The

CULTIVATION AND GROWTH 41

appearance of the field now is difficult to picture
in words. The color is rich golden, and the gentle
winds sway the stems into billows which resemble
those of the sea. No more inspiring scene can be
found than that offered by the wheat fields at

FIG. 22. — Alongside a wheat field. It is nearly ready for harvest.

time. For miles and miles, they undu-
over hills and valleys or stretch out like a

harvest

late

blanket over the level plains.

The farmers are happy, but they are not alone
in their happiness. Business in general quickens

42 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

with the touch of prosperity offered by the assured
wheat crop.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Why do we speak of wheat as a domestic plant?

2. Of what does cultivation of wheat consist ? Explain
how this is of assistance to the plant.

3. What is the purpose of plowing?

4. Suggest reasons why the moldboard plow is more
generally used than the disc plow. Which is the more
widely used in your locality ? Why ?

5. How may the preparation of the seed bed be accom-
plished without plowing ?

6. What is the purpose of harrowing ?

7. Under what conditions is it wise to harrow immedi-
ately after plowing ?

8. What methods of wheat sowing are in general use
in your vicinity ?

9. How does the amount of cultivation given wheat
compare with that given corn ? Suggest reasons for this
difference.

10. What are the enemies and dangers encountered by
wheat before it is ready for harvest ?

11. Write a brief story of the cultivation and growth of
wheat in your home region. Let your story include methods
of plowing, harrowing, sowing, and kinds of wheat raised.

CHAPTER IV
HARFESTING

The Methods of Harvesting. - The harvest
consists of cutting the wheat as it stands in the
field and bringing it together as bundles, shocks,
or stacks. This still requires both hand and
machine work, although the amount of hand
work has been very greatly reduced by the use of
modern machinery. There has been a gradual
development in the methods of harvesting until
at present it involves the use of the most complex
agricultural implements made. Primitive meth-
ods, however, are still followed in some places.
Because of this fact, the following machines are
all now used in the harvest of the world's wheat
crop : sickle, cradle, reaper, binder, header, and
harvester-thresher or " combine."

The Sickle and the Cradle. - The sickle is used
in the small fields of parts of Palestine, northern
Spain, Norway, on some of the small islands bor-
dering Great Britain, and in other isolated dis-
tricts. It consists of a curved knife fastened to a
short handle and resembles the small sickles used

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

in trimming corners of lawns. The laborer usually
grasps a handful of the wheat in his left hand and
cuts it with the sickle held in his right. The cut
wheat is then laid in well arranged bunches to be
bound later, usually by women or children. This
method is slow and difficult and is now employed

Courtesy International Harvester Co.
FIG. 23. — Harvesting wheat with a sickle.

only in very remote places. The cradle, an imple-
ment somewhat less primitive, is used in cutting
the wheat of larger fields in the same regions
where the sickle is in use, and also in some of the
more hilly sections of our own country. It re-
sembles a scythe but has arms above the cutting

HARVESTING

edge to assist in keeping the grain well arranged.
Much skill is necessary in handling a cradle so
that the swath may be even and that the grain
may be left in bunches which can easily be bound
into bundles. Two or three acres makes a hard

FIG. 24. — Harvesting wheat with a cradle.

day's work for one man. The most skillful
cradler is the harvest hero in communities where
the wheat cradle rules. The work of binding the
grain is often done by young boys or women.
The bunches are gathered and arranged into

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

bundles of a size convenient for handling. The
worker then takes a handful of the straw, and,
by a double turn movement, twists the heads
together and locks them. This movement forms
a straw band nearly twice as long as a single
wheat plant. This band is passed around the
bunch of grain and drawn tight. The ends are
then twisted together and fastened by pushing

them under the band.
The wheat bundle thus
formed is called a sheaf.
These sheaves are then
set in groups called
shocks and are left
standing in order to be-
come thoroughly dry.
Skillful binders can
make beautiful sheaves.

FIG. 25. — A hand-bound wheat

sheaf. Binding grain by hand is be- The term Self-binder
coming a lost art in the wheat regions. , . ,

later became applied to

machines which did this work. Still later the term
became shortened to the binder as we have it
now. Generally the only hand binding done in
our country is that of the occasional bundle which
the binder misses. For this reason in the larger
wheat sections the hand-bound sheaves are not
always perfect (Fig. 25).

Modern Machines. - - Both the sickle and the
cradle have been displaced in all but the smaller

HARVESTING 47

places by the larger harvesting machinery. The
machines used where wheat is produced in com-
mercial quantities are the reaper, self-binder,
header, and the combined harvester-thresher.
These have several essential things in common.
In each, the cutting device consists of a number
of triangular sections, two sides of which are
ground to knife edge and serrated. These are
then fastened to a bar in the manner of saw teeth.
This whole device is known as the grain sickle.
This sickle moves rapidly back and forth through
stationary guards as the machine is drawn through
the field, and the grain is held against the sickle
by a reel or set of rakes. As it is cut the grain
falls upon the platform with straw parallel. The
power for this work is derived from the turning
of a large wheel, known as the master wheel, on
which the greater paft of the weight of the machine
rests. The sickle can be raised or lowered while
in motion by a lever so placed as to be within
easy reach of the driver. The swath to be cut is
separated from the remainder of the field by
a grain point so that no grain is run down or
broken.

The above outlined essentials are common to
all grain-harvesting machines. Marked differ-
ences are found, however, in working out the
details of their operation.

The Reaper. - This term is used to define a

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

harvesting machine which cuts the grain, gathers
it into loose bunches which can be dropped in
cross rows called windrows. In some cases these
bunches are bound by hand, in others they are
stacked without binding. The machine is quite
light, cuts a swath about four and a half feet wide,

FIG. 26. — Harvesting wheat with a reaper.

and is pulled by two or three horses. The size of
the machine and its light weight make it well
adapted to fields of small size, of irregular shape,
or of steep slope. Hence the use of the reaper as
a wheat-harvesting machine is limited in this
country to the hilly lands of the Eastern states.
In the wheat harvest of the central plains or the

HARVESTING 49

Western states, where the fields are large and the
topography gentle, very few reapers are in use.

The Binder. - - By far the greater part of all
small grain, including wheat, is harvested by the
self-binder. The grain is held against the cutter
bar by means of a reel whose motion deposits the
cut grain on the platform canvas by which it is
conveyed to the elevator. The elevator, consist-
ing of two endless canvases, one above the other,
carries the grain between them and deposits it on
the opposite side of the master wheel, where it is
caught by steel-arm packers, made into a trim
bundle, and bound with twine.

The twine used is a coarse twisted cord made
from the fiber of hemp, flax, or sisal. The hemp
twine is more extensively used than that made
from any other material. The cost of the twine
is from ten to twelve cents per pound and it takes
about one pound of twine for each ten bushels
yield although this varies with seasons. The
binding apparatus operates as soon as released by
the pressure of the bundle against a trip. Hence
the size of the bundle may be regulated by increas-
ing or decreasing the amount of pressure required
to trip the binder. The knotter is one of the most
ingenious devices imaginable. It makes a knot
which is very difficult to untie. As soon as the
bundle is tied, a knife cuts the twine, the bundle
is thrown out by a couple of iron arms known as

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

am '.at

FIG. 27. — Harvesting wheat with a binder (front view).

FIG. 28. — Harvesting wheat with a binder (rear view) .

HARVESTING

kickers and is deposited on a bundle carrier
fastened low at the side of the machine. The
carrier can hold four or five bundles and is oper-
ated by the driver, who with his foot handles it
so as to dump the bundles into rows for conven-
ience in shocking.

Binders are made in different sizes, usually
cutting swaths six, seven, or eight feet wide. The
smaller machines are
drawn by three horses, the
larger ones by four or five.
In some cases a gasoline
engine which does the
work of operating the ma-
chinery is attached at the
rear part of the binder.
In this case the horses
merely pull the machine
over the field. This is
especially advantageous when the ground is so soft
that it is difficult for the drive wheel to secure
footing. The driver occupies a seat well back on
the machine where he can watch all the working
parts, and at the same time keep the horses moving
at a uniform gait. After the grain is cut and bound,
it is shocked. This is usually done immediately
by one or two men whose work is to follow the
binder. The bundles are set heads up in pairs or
in round shocks. There are usually ten to twenty

FIG. 29. — A wheat sheaf bound by
a self-binder.

52 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

bundles in a shock. Where rain is frequent and
winds are not strong, one or two bundles are
placed on top of the shock as cap sheaves. This
is not generally followed in the West because rains
are not so likely to occur and there is more wind.
There cap sheaves are very likely to be blown
from the shock.

FIG. 30. — A "windrow" of unshocked bundles. Shocks are shown in the

distance.

The binder is adapted to a greater variety of
conditions than other harvesters and it is also the
machine best adapted to conditions prevalent in
the wheat-growing regions. This accounts for
its wide use. A binder costs the farmer from $140
to $160 completely equipped, and, if properly
cared for, should last ten years or longer. Many

HARVESTING

machines, however, due to excessive use or careless
handling, last only from three to five years. Dif-
ferent makes of binders vary in details ; some
have minor advantages ; but all are pretty well
standardized in essentials.

After the grain is shocked it is left standing in

FIG. 31. — Beginning the shock.

the field until it is thoroughly dry. It is then
either stacked or threshed.

The Header. - - Very different from the above
is the header. Like the reaper, it delivers the
grain unbound, but it neither bunches nor keeps
it suitably arranged for binding, as does the
former machine. The header cuts a swath, usu-
ally ten or twelve feet in width, and is moved by

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

the power of four or six horses applied at the rear
of the machine. The back part of the machine,
where the driver stands, is supported by a wheel
which can be turned by him at will. Thus he
steers the course of the header through the field
much as a pilot steers a boat by means of the

rudder. The
grain is cut to
leave a high stub-
ble in order that
there will be no
more straw than
is necessary to
handle. This
tendency to clip
the heads of the
wheat has given
the name to the
machine.

When cut, the
grain falls upon

a moving platform canvas which conveys it to
the spout where it is caught between the upper
and lower elevator canvases. By these it is de-
livered to a specially prepared rack. This rack,
unlike a hayrack, is usually boarded solid, with
one side much lower than the other. This is
known as a header box. The header box drawn
by a team is kept even with the header ; and

FIG. 32. — Boys sometimes assist in shocking
wheat.

HARVESTING

the grain is cared for by a man known as the
loader, who later pitches the grain into the stack.
The racks or header boxes are often driven by
young boys, since there is no hard work involved.
In some cases the grain is then unloaded into
small bunches or shocks but generally it is at

FIG. 33. — The completed shock. A typical illustration of the round shocks

without cap sheaves.

once made into rectangular shaped stacks. These
stacks are from 16 to 48 feet long and two or
four of them in a group are known as a setting.
In some cases where the wheat is very dry it is
threshed directly from the header box. This re-
quires four or six headers at work in the same field.
The use of the header in harvesting is rapid

56 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

and involves a minimum of hard labor. It is
practical, however, only where the grain can be
allowed to stand until dead ripe, where it ripens
evenly and is free from weeds, and where rainless
harvests are expected. It is a method employed
extensively in regions where wheat grows so short
that binding is impossible. This condition we
find frequently occurring in parts of the western
Great Plains.

The Combined Harvester-Thresher.- - In the ex-
tensive Sacramento valley of California and on
the plains of Washington and Oregon, a thresher
is combined with the header or binder into one
machine. The machine cuts a wider swath, 18 to
30 feet, and the cut wheat is elevated into the
front end of the threshing mechanism. This
combined machine is pulled by 28 to 36 horses or
mules, or by a large tractor engine. The straw
is scattered over the field and the grain is put up
in bags. From four to six men constitute a work-
ing gang, and an outfit can cut, thresh, and bag
from 500 to more than 1000 bushels per day.

These machines, called combines, are adapted
only to districts which are free from harvest rains,
and in which fields are large. In some of the
regions mentioned they are gradually disappearing
because the extensive wheat ranches are being
divided into smaller units and farming is becoming
more intensive.

HARVESTING

Stacking the Wheat. - Throughout the more
humid wheat-growing districts, much of the
wheat is stacked before threshing. This is be-
cause it has not been considered economical to
have machines enough in the community to
thresh all the wheat promptly when dry. So

FIG. 34. — Loading wheat bundles into the rack to be hauled to the stack.

while some thresh out of shock, many others stack
their grain rather than to wait several days or
weeks for a threshing machine. They know that
during this wait their yield may be impaired both
in quantity and quality by rain.

The stacks are made by arranging the bundles
so as to protect the heads and shed the rain.
Hence in stacking, the butts of the bundles are

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

placed outward and the central part of the stack
kept high. This gives the straw an outward and
downward slant. The shape of the stack may be
round or rectangular and it is made as high as a
man can conveniently pitch the bundles from a
rack, usually 24 to 30 feet. Stacking is hard
work both for the one who pitches the bundles

FIG. 35. — Stacking wheat in the field.

and for the stacker. The straw is dry, usually
the sky is cloudless, and the air quite calm. With
the thermometer standing between 90 and 100
degrees in the shade the worker is likely to feel
that shock threshing after all would have been
preferable. But when after a few days a heavy
rain falls, he realizes that his grain in the stack is
much better protected than that of his neighbor
who left his in shock waiting for the thresher.

HARVESTING

Shocks standing in the field for a considerable time
are likely to suffer from wind and rain. Sheaves
which have been blown down and are left lying on
the ground, if rained upon do not dry out promptly.
The wheat kernels are then likely to sprout and
become damaged. Prolonged wet weather may

FIG. 36. — Stacking wheat in the farmyard. Pitching bundles to the top
of a nearly finished stack is hard work.

even cause the wheat to sprout in the shock, which
injures it both in weight and quality. Prompt
stacking thus protects against exposure and re-
sulting losses. Many farmers even claim that
stacked grain improves in quality.

Soon after being stacked the wheat goes into

60 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

sweat, a moist condition which dries out in
the course of three or four weeks. Grain thus
cured is less likely to suffer or spoil in storage.

The Date of Harvesting. - - In most places wheat
is cut as soon as it is ripe or nearly ripe. The
proper time is usually considered to be when the
wheat grain is hard enough not to be crushed

FIG. 37. — A shock after standing in the field for several weeks. Note the
bundles that have been blown down.

between the fingers, yet may be indented by the
thumb nail. Generally the culm is still a little
green and not thoroughly dry. This time marks
the opening of vigorous activities, for the grower
is anxious to have his grain in the sheaf or stack
as soon as the work can be done without injury
to the grain. If it is allowed to become overripe
there is thought to be some slight loss in weight,

HARVESTING

and there is undoubtedly considerable loss from
shattering and spilling in the field. There is also
prolonged danger of loss due to storms. Hence,
when once started in a given field, the work of
harvesting continues with but little interruption
until completed. Holidays are forgotten and long

FIG. 38. — In some places it is customary to bring lunch to the harvest workers.

hours are observed, fourteen working hours a day
being common. Where the harvest comes early
in July, Fourth of July celebrations are neglected
or limited to evening festivities. Many people
even work Sundays, regarding the wheat harvest
as a type of necessary labor that can be performed
without breaking the spirit of the Sabbath.

In those sections where the season is rainless,

62 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

as in parts of California and Spain, the harvest is
prolonged and not marked by any great haste.
Since the kind of wheat grown, club type, does
not shatter nor lodge readily, it is allowed to stand
for weeks after ripening. The grower in such
places takes holidays at his pleasure and is not
worried over possible losses. Needless to add,
there festal occasions and Sundays are diligently
observed.

Wheat is being harvested somewhere all the
time. The United States Crop Reporter presents
the following interesting table, which shows the
time succession in the harvest of the world's
wheat crop. Note where your state belongs and
what countries harvest at the same time. Also
note where the harvest is in full swing at the
time you are reading this.

January: Chile, New Zealand, Australia.

February and March: Upper Egypt, India.

April: Lower Egypt, India, Persia, Asia Minor, Cuba,
Mexico.

May: Texas, Algeria, Morocco, China, Japan.

June: California, Utah, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas,
Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina,
North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Spain,
Southern France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey.

July: Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa,
Southern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, In-
diana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New England,
Southern England, Germany, Southern Russia.

HARVESTING 63

August: Montana, the Dakotas, Central and Northern
Minnesota, Canada,- England, Belgium, Netherlands,
Central Russia.

September and October: Parts of Western Canada, Scotland,
Scandinavia, Northern Russia.

November: South Africa, Peru, Northern Argentina.

December: New South Wales, Burmah, Argentina.

Thus it is seen that the wheat harvest in the
United States begins in Texas in May and ends
in the Dakotas in August. All through this
season the hum of the harvester measures pros-
perity to a great section of our country. For as
soon as the wheat is cut it can be used as the basis
of credit. Money can be secured by loans if the
owner does not care to sell. When the wheat is
cut, the income from it is fairly certain, as there
is then but slight chance of failure to secure the
grain, the wheat of commerce. Only one great
process in production remains to be accomplished.
It is that of threshing.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Suggest conditions in which sickles or cradles would
be the tools best adapted to the wheat harvest.

2. What are the essential parts common to different
harvesting machines ?

3. To what wheat field conditions is the reaper well
adapted ?

4. How did the term binder come to be applied to the
machine of that name ?

64 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

5. What makes of binders are in favor in your locality ?
Where are they manufactured ? If several makes are in
use, it is interesting to study how they differ.

6. Why are wheat bundles shocked ?

7. By inquiry try to learn how many acres one man
can shock in a day. What wages are generally paid for this
work ?

8. What are the essential differences between a binder
and a header ?

9. What is the advantage of leaving a high stubble in
cutting wheat ?

10. Why are combines used so extensively in parts
of California, Oregon, and Washington ?

11. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of stack-
ing wheat. Is this plan generally practiced in your part of
the country ?

12. (a} Why does the harvest occur in Argentina in
December and January ?

(b) Explain why the wheat harvest occurs in Texas
in early June, and in Canada it occurs in August.

13. What rainfall conditions are preferable during the
harvest season ? Why ?

14. If you live in a wheat-growing locality, endeavor to
determine the cost per acre of harvesting. This will, of
course, involve the cutting, twine, shocking, and stacking.

CHAPTER V
THRESHING

The Methods of Threshing. - The purpose in
threshing is to separate the grain from the straw.
The wheat of the harvest is left, as we have learned,
either loose or bound. If the binder is used, the
bundles are in shocks or in stacks ; if the header
is used, the product is stacked without binding.
In either case the grain is still in the heads, with
each kernel wrapped in its glumes. The harvest
product is largely straw as to bulk. Several dis-
tinct processes are involved in obtaining the
grain, but they are all included under the name
threshing. The products of threshing are the
wheat grain and the straw. The latter consists
of the stems, leaves, and the chaff which is made
up of glumes, beards, and small bits of other parts
of the plant. The work of separating these
products is accomplished in several ways as we
are to learn.

Primitive Methods. - - When man first began to
use wheat he probably extracted the kernels by
hand, rubbing or crushing the heads between his

F 65

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

palms or fingers, and blowing away the light fine
stuff, the chaff. From the suggestions afforded
by this very primitive method grew the use of
sticks to beat the grain out of the heads and the
use of the wind to carry away the chaff. This
method is still preserved to us in some places by
the use of the flail.

FIG. 39. — Threshing with a flail.

The Flail. - The flail consists of a short strong
stick, used as a handle, to which another heavy
stick is fastened by means of a piece of strong
rawhide or rope. Striking a bunch of wheat with
this device shatters the spikes and causes the
grain to sift through to the floor. The chaff is
removed by dropping the mixed grain and chaff
in a draft of wind. Threshing by this method is

THRESHING

hard, tedious labor. Eight to ten bushels is
considered a good day's work. It is used only in
places remote from trade routes, where fields are
small and civilization is not very complex.

FIG. 40. — The threshing floor.

The Threshing Floor. - The simplest form of
power threshing is where the wheat is spread over
the hard ground or upon a board or stone floor

68 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

specially prepared for the purpose, and cattle or
mules are driven over it. The hoofs of the ani-
mals crush out the grain by repeatedly stepping
on the heads. In some cases a crude sled is
dragged over the wheat in order to assist in the
shattering process. By means of the hands or a
fork, the mixed straw, chaff, and grain are then
thrown into the air when a breeze is blowing.
The separation is accomplished by the settling
of the heavy grain first and by the blowing a little
farther on of the lighter parts. This method is
called winnowing and is used extensively in Asia
Minor, in parts of Palestine and Egypt, and to some
extent in many other countries. Although this
method is faster and less laborious than the flail,
it is too slow and takes too much hand labor to
compete with modern methods. For this reason
it is not adapted to the needs of extensive wheat-
growing regions.

The Thresher. - The principle of the modern
threshing machine is the same as that of the early
types just described. Its function is to shatter
the spike and separate the wheat grain from
the straw and chaff. Machines of this type
were not introduced until 1800 and did not
come into general use in our country until about
1840.

The modern thresher has added several attach-
ments so that now the complete machine consists

THRESHING 69

of a self-feeder, band cutter, thresher, separator,
straw stacker, grain elevator, and weigher.

The sheaves are pitched upon the self-feeder ;
and this carries them to the band cutters which
cut the twine, and thence to the shakers which
loosen the straw and feed it into the cylinder.
There the straw passes between the rapidly ro-
tating cylinder and the stationary concave, which

FIG. 41. — General view of threshing out of shock.

are both set with teeth. These teeth thoroughly
shatter the spikes and loosen the grain. When
it has passed the cylinder, the straw is pounded
by a set of beaters which shake it up. It then
hits a deflecting board or canvas causing it to
fall upon a set of slatted racks. These racks
have a violent motion up and down as well as
back and forth. This work is to shake the straw
thoroughly free from the grain and conduct it to
the rear of the machine. Here it is caught by

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

the stacker and
conducted
awa y . The
grain falls part
through the
grates below
the cylinder
and part be-
tween the slats
of the racks,
upon the vi-
brating grain
board which
slants toward
•3 the rear of the

1 machine.

| Along this

2 grain board it
slides to the
sieves, which

£ hold back the
coarser parts
and let the
grain and fine
particles
through. In
being sifted,
the grain
passes through

THRESHING 71

a strong draft produced by a rotating fan situated
below the grain board. This draft blows the chaffy
material to the back part of the machine into the
stacker. Some of the grains which have not been
entirely freed of the glumes (chaff) will not pass
through the sieve and are also too heavy to be
blown into the stacker. To avoid losing these, a
trough is provided which catches and discharges
them into a tailings elevator by which they are
carried to the front end of the machine and are
sent through a second time. The grain, rid of
impurities by sifting and fanning, is collected into
a trough and discharged into an elevator. This
elevator carries it to a weigher at the top of the
machine which weighs and registers, then dumps
it into wagons or bags. The stacker, which was
mentioned as the device which carries the straw
from the machine, may be a belt elevator. It is
more usually, however, a ' blower ' or wind
stacker, a tube through which the straw is blown
by a strong current of air produced by a fan at
the base. Where the blower is used, it can be so
swung about from time to time that the straw can
be built into fairly good stack? without manual
labor on the straw stack. Where the belt elevator
is used, two or more men are needed to take care
of the straw. The larger machines now use the
blower almost exclusively.

The sizes and capacities of threshers vary in

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

different sections of the country. Large fields
make big machinery profitable. Where fields
are small the machinery is also small. The
width of the cylinder is always much less than
that of the separator behind it. This is a neces-
sary arrangement, for much space must be pro-

FIG. 43. — A typical four-stack setting ready to thresh.

vided if the straw is to be shaken thoroughly and
thus rid of all its grain. Cylinders vary in width
from 1 8 to 42 inches. The width of corresponding
separators is 36 to 70 inches, respectively.

The Power Thresher. - - In the early threshers,
attempts were made to use water power as the
motive force. This did not prove successful,
chiefly because such machines could not be lo-

THRESHING

cated conveniently for the fields. Hence the
necessity for a portable thresher became evident.
Horse power soon came into use, and machines
were built in such a way that they might be
moved from field to field. Treadmill horse pow-
ers were used at first, but they soon gave way to
the sweep powers which still are rather common
in some regions. The sweep powers used in

FIG. 44. — Some farmers prefer to make rectangular stacks.

threshing are usually built for eight or ten horses,
but both smaller and larger sizes are in use. The
horses are hitched two abreast and one driver
attempts to keep them all going at an even and
uniform gait. Since the farmers furnish most of
the horses used on the power, the driver seldom
has a trained set to handle ; and uniformly cor-
rect speed is therefore almost impossible. Another
objection to this source of power is that since the
threshing is largely done during the hot months

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

the horses soon become warm and tired. It is
easily seen that horse power can not hold its
place in competition with the steam engine.

The most generally used power for wheat
threshing is now furnished by steam traction
engines. These are built in sizes ranging from
six to sixty horse power. They use straw, wood,

FIG. 45. — Pitching bundles into self-feeder on the threshing machine.

or coal as fuel, coal being by far most common.
The advantages of the traction engine are : de-
pendability for long hours of continuous oper-
ation ; the readiness with which the proper rate
of motion may be maintained ; economy, - - it
being a cheaper source of power than horses ; and
its adaptability to quick change of location.
Often it requires not more than five or ten min-

THRESHING 75

utes for a large steam threshing outfit to be pulled
up and set in a new location.

Tractors which burn kerosene or gasoline have
also come into general use in many places, especially
where they are used for other farming activities.
In some places the same gas tractor is used in
plowing, seeding, cutting, threshing, and hauling

FIG. 46. — The steam traction engine. Power for operating threshers is furnished
also by horses and by engines, but steam tractors are the most common.

the wheat to market. This, however, represents
the extreme usage of the gas engine in the wheat-
producing industry and is not typical in many
countries. The horse is still the most generally
used power in all but the threshing operation.

The Rate of Work. - - With the smaller threshers,
500 bushels per day is considered a fair day's
output. With moderate size machines 2000 bush-

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

els per day, and with the largest size 4000 bushels
per day, are not unusual. These figures are for the
outfits that make threshing a business during the
season. In some districts there are individually
owned machines with capacities of only 200 or

300 bushels per
day, but they
have not met
with much favor
in the wheat
countries of the
New World. In
some European
countries, espe-
cially France
and Germany,
the smaller out-

FIG. 47. — The straw stack as built by the wind- fits are Widely
stacker or blower. It is well named, the strawpile. ,-p,,

used. 1 hey in-
volve more hand labor than the larger threshers,
inasmuch as they are not supplied with automatic
band cutters, feeders, grain weighers, and elevators,
or straw stackers. All this work must therefore
be done by hand. Where labor is cheap and
plentiful, this is not a serious objection ; but
where labor is high, and sometimes almost im-
possible to obtain at the season of the year
when most needed, it gives to the automatic de-
vice a decided advantage.

THRESHING 77

The Time of Threshing. — The time of thresh-
ing, like that of mode of harvesting, is directly
related to prevalent rainfall conditions of the
respective districts. In regions subject to fre-
quent rains during the harvest season, only a
small part of the wheat is threshed out of the
shock, most of it being stacked as soon as dry
enough and threshed at opportune times later in

FIG. 48. — A steam tractor threshing outfit pulling into a field.

the autumn. Sometimes it is not threshed until
late in the winter. This method of threshing from
the stack rather than from the shock is the one
preferred because wheat can be stacked when it
is too damp to be threshed. Another reason is
that stack-cured wheat is not likely to suffer
injury in storage, while wheat threshed out of
shock must be very dry if it is to be safely kept.
Wheat goes into sweat from 3 to 7 days after

78 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

stacking and usually does not become thoroughly
dry again until about four weeks have passed.
It is not advisable to thresh during this period as
too much grain is lost in the straw. Grain threshed
at this time is also not well fitted for bin storage.
As soon as the wheat is out of the sweat, it is
ready for threshing ; it can, however, remain in
the stack without injury until the winter is well
advanced. The actual time of threshing will
then depend largely on the conditions of weather,
roads, and markets, as well as on the farmer's
convenience and the community practice. A
farmer rarely likes to be the only one in a com-
munity whose wheat is not threshed.

Where the harvest season is fairly free from
rain and the wheat is bound, threshing out of
shock is the general practice. In such regions,
large machines are popular, for all are anxious to
have the jobs finished as quickly as possible.
Then threshing begins about a week after the
wheat is cut and the end of the cutting period
usually marks the beginning of the threshing
season. That is the season of early rising. The
shrill blast of the steam engine whistle at four
o'clock in the morning wakens the farmer from
his slumber, and shortly afterward the threshing
is in full swing. At top speed the work usually
continues, with but an hour's noon intermission,
until after eight o'clock in the evening.

THRESHING 79

In some parts of California, Oregon, and Wash-
ington, combined harvesters and threshers are
used. There the threshing season, though a busy
one, is not marked by the almost feverish haste
which is so evident where threshing is done out
of shock.

The Threshing Crew. - The number of men in
a crew varies widely. It depends on what the size
of the machine is and whether the threshing is done
from the shock or stack. In the latter case
fewer men are necessary. With the outfits in
common use from 9 to 30 men are employed.
They are in three groups, the machine, the field,
and the grain men. The first group includes a
fireman-engineer, a coal and water boy, and a
thresher tender. The field men are those who
deliver the grain in the straw to the machine ;
from four to six are employed in stack threshing,
from ten to twenty in shock threshing. The
grain men are those who care for the threshed
wheat and haul it to market or to the farm
granaries.

The machine crew remains with the outfit, going
with it from place to place. The field and grain
crews are generally furnished by the farmer. In
some places, however, the field crew is hired by
the thresher owner and always accompanies the
outfit. In such cases a complete threshing outfit
includes the traction engine, fuel wagon, water

8o THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

tank, thresher, cook shack, and dining tent. The
men usually sleep in straw stacks or barn lofts.

Wages paid to the men are fairly good, ranging
from one to four dollars per day and board. The
field men usually receive $1.50 to $3.00 per day,
the water boy receives less, and the engineer
and thresher manager are generally paid larger
amounts. Wages vary in different parts of the
country and in different seasons, but in view of
the fact that board and lodging are provided in
addition, are always fairly good.

Where the farmer furnishes the field crew,
exchange of help is the custom, neighbors assist-
ing each other in turn. There first arrivals take
the more preferable duties, and late comers
draw the more disagreeable ones. Before the
use of wind stackers the work in the straw pile was
invariably the fate of the sleepy one, the dust and
chaff making it a place to be avoided whenever
possible.

When the noon whistle sounds the men all
hurry to the farmer's home for dinner. They
are dirty, sweaty, and grimy, and so the wash in
the basins of cold water provided outside is re-
freshing although it is not always carefully done.
A dinner of roast beef, fried chicken, salmon balls,
potatoes and gravy, navy beans, green peas,
beet pickles, bread and butter, honey, plum pre-
serves, grape jelly, peach sauce, custard pie, cake,

THRESHING

and coffee is a model of quality and abundance.
This has been prepared by the farmer's wife,
with the assistance of two or three neighbors, and
is usually placed at once on the table, which will
accommodate about twelve people. Of course
there is a scramble for places at the first table.
The men are hungry after
the forenoon's work. But
there is plenty of food for
all and those who eat at
the second table have as
great variety as those at
the first. The men help
themselves without for-
mality, and the prosper-
ity of the season as well
as the health of the work-
ers is reflected in the
hearty appetites. It is
a happy occasion, and the

Sallies Of rural Wit passed FlG- 40- -The wheat farmer at thresh-

ing time.

between the diners are

met with uproarious laughter. The meal finished,
there is but very little rest before the whistle calls
the men for the afternoon's work, and by evening
they are ready for as bounteous a supper.

The Cost of Threshing Outfits. - Threshing out-
fits are usually owned by individuals who do the
work for as many of their neighbors as they can.

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

Competition keeps the number of outfits about
right both for economy and efficiency. The cost
of engines varies from $1000 to $2000 and for
the threshers from $850 to $1175. Thus the
cost for an ordinary sized outfit such as is widely
used in the Central states is from $1850 to $3175.
The selling price of the combined harvester-
thresher is from $1725 to $4200.

FIG. 50. — The Combine. A combined harvester-thresher pulled by a gasoline

traction engine.

The price charged for threshing wheat varies.
Where the field crew is furnished by the farmer
and the threshing is out of the stack, it ranges
from four to five cents per bushel. Where the
field crew is furnished by the thresher owner and
the threshing is out of the shock, from eight to
ten cents a bushel is the usual charge. Prices
must of course be sufficient to pay wages for men
and operating expense of machine. The latter

THRESHING 83

includes insurance, depreciation, and interest on
investment.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. What is meant by threshing wheat?

2. Explain the use of the flail.

3. In what ways is the threshing floor an improvement
over the flail ?

4. By making inquiry of farmers and implement dealers,
learn what makes and sizes of threshers are used in your
locality. If possible study a threshing machine and try to
learn the names and uses of its essential parts. It is interest-
ing to tell the story of what happens to wheat inside of a
thresher in operation.

5. What advantages have steam engines over horses
as power for threshing ?

6. What is the busiest threshing month in your vicinity ?

7. How many men usually make up a threshing crew ?

8. About how many bushels is considered a good day's
work in threshing ?

9. Suggest reasons why exchange of labor among farmers
is often preferred to hired help.

CHAPTER VI

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION AND
STORAGE

Field Haulage before Threshing. — The first
haulage of wheat occurs in the field. The un-
threshed wheat must be brought either to the
stacks or' to the thresher. In some cases the

threshing,
whether from
stack or shock,
is done in the
farm lot. This
is a convenient
arrangement, for
in most cases
the straw can
be delivered di-
rectly into barns
or sheds where it is to be used. It also has an
advantage over field threshing in that it delivers
the grain nearer the home storage bins or wagon
roads. The disadvantage of this system is that

FIG. 51. — Wheat bundles are bulky to haul.

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 85

the unthreshed wheat is bulky to haul long dis-
tances. This plan is therefore generally followed
only where the regions are made up of small

FIG. 52. — The wagons are arranged side by side at the thresher to receive the

grain.

fields or where the straw is to be used either as
rough feed or bedding for cattle.

Where farms are large, the threshing is per-
formed in the field. If threshing is done out of
shock, different settings are made in order to lessen
the haulage of the unthreshed wheat ; if out of
stack, the stacks have been grouped in different
parts of the field for the same reason. The dis-
tances vary from a few rods to a mile or more, but
generally field haulage of unthreshed wheat does
not average much more than a quarter of a mile.

86 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

Field Haulage after Threshing. - Loose Wheat.
— The grain is hauled from the field in farm
wagons, by many called lumber wagons. They
are filled by the thresher-elevator, which weighs
the wheat, usually in half bushel lots, registers
amount, and dumps it into the wagons. The
driver levels the grain in the wagon box until it is
about evenly filled. While the elevator is de-
livering to one wagon another is driven alongside,
and when the first is filled the delivery spout is
moved to the second. The first load is then
hauled away and another wagon takes its place.
Usually the grain can be delivered at either side
of the thresher, so the side most nearly free from
dust is, of course, the one used.

The capacity of the wagon is from 50 to 70
bushels where two-horse teams are used for pulling
the loads. This amount naturally varies with the
conditions of the roads in different sections and
seasons. In very hilly or very sandy regions from
25 to 30 bushels make a full load. If greater quan-
tities are carried, more power is applied, and four
horses are often used instead of two. In some of
the fields of the smooth plains regions of Mon-
tana, North Dakota, and Canada, larger wagons
holding 150 bushels and drawn by four or six
horses are commonly found.

The lumber wagon, with capacity of 50 or 60
bushels, previously mentioned, is, however, the

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 87

most generally used for haulage from field to
granary or to the local market. When roads are
good a man may often be seen driving one such
wagon fully loaded, and leading a team pulling
another one.

FIG. 53. — The grain is leveled in the wagon until the box is about evenly filled.

Sacked Wheat. - - In the small farm sections of
eastern United States and in the large fields of
the northwest, especially California, Oregon, and
Washington, wheat is often sacked at the thresher.
That plan is not, however, generally followed
in the Central states or in the High Plains
region.

Sacking wheat puts it into convenient form for
handling and involves very little waste. It has
been found practical in the Eastern states because
quantities are small and there is considerable

88 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

local shipment in less than carload lots. Also
where grain-tight bins cannot readily be pro-
vided, the sacked wheat presents less difficulty
in storage and handling than does the loose
grain.

In the Northwest, the sacked wheat is in favor
because of the export trade. This trade, though
important, has not caused the establishment of
great terminal facilities which are equipped for
handling loose grain. Such facilities have been
provided for Eastern markets.

Local Storage. - - After the wheat is threshed it
may either be sold at once or held for a time by
the producer in what is known as local or farm
storage. Thus the time of disposal of the wheat
is closely related to the stage of development of a
country, to the quantities produced, and to the
relative importance of the wheat crop compared
with other farm products. The great wheat dis-
tricts of the High Plains, of the Pacific Northwest,
and of Canada are regions of recent development.
The land is still new, crops are large, but facilities
for handling them are meager. Other possible
sources of income not having been developed to
any great extent, wheat is by far the most impor-
tant crop. These combined factors cause the
wheat to be marketed as soon as threshed and
there is relatively but little local storage. The
farmer sells his wheat because he has a large

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 89

surplus and no place to keep it, and because he

needs the money. During the rush of some mar-

keting seasons in Canada the only means of stor-

age has been the placing of wheat in great piles

along the railroad tracks in small towns. This

unintentional and ruinous form of storage was due

to inability to

obtain sufficient

cars for prompt

shipment. In-

crease in amount

of wheat grown

has been so rapid

in some of the re-

cently developed

parts of Mon-

tana and Canada

that the railroads

fniinrl it -a ^IG- $*• — ^e wheat 's hauled from the field in
farm wagons. This load was fifty-eight bushels.

serious task to

move the crops. As conditions are becoming better

understood this problem is being solved.

Storage in Sacks. - - Local storage in sacks for
brief periods is customary in parts of California,
Oregon, and Washington. Great quantities are
often piled out of doors awaiting shipment. Some-
times board covers are laid on the pile, though
often no cover is provided. Such arrangements
are possible in this country because of the almost

90 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

complete absence of rains during the late summer
season. Wheat stored in such manner must
necessarily be disposed of before the rains of
autumn begin, so the period of storage is brief.
If the owner expects to hold his crop for a longer
time, he places it in a warehouse. There are few
warehouses, however, because the practice is that
of selling immediately after harvest.

The conditions just described are in rather
marked contrast to those in the smaller wheat
farm districts of Eastern states. There, local
storage both in bins and sacks is quite common.
This is due to the fact that the quantities grown
by each farmer are not large, and that he has
other crops which also help to furnish his income.
Marketing here is quite generally done with local
mills and bears a close relation to their demands.
These conditions tend to discourage early selling.
Other reasons why farmers favor holding wheat
are because it can be readily converted into cash
at any time, and because frequently the rise in
price, a few months after harvest, yields an in-
creased return to the producer. Where farmers
have other sources of income many defer selling
because of such possible increase.

Storage in Granaries. — In the Central states
local storage is very important. This is partic-
ularly true in the older, more densely settled por-
tions where good farm buildings prevail. There

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 91

granaries are considered essential parts of the
farming equipment. On moderate sized farms,
buildings of from 2000 to 5000 bushels storage
capacity are common, and some farmers have
built granaries holding as much as 10,000 bushels.
These are used mainly for wheat since corn is
stored in the ear in
cribs. Sheet steel
granaries or bins are
in favor in many
parts of the country
and especially so in
this section. These
bins are cylindrical,
the diameters vary-
ing from 6 to 1 8
feet, height from 6
to 12 feet, and ca-
pacity from 135 to
2500 bushels. Their
advantage is due to
their low cost, safety
from fire, freedom from rats and mice, and their
moisture-proof qualities. The principal motive
for farm storage in this section is to take ad-
vantage of the rise in prices expected after the
main rush of marketing in the Northern and
Western districts has passed. Sometimes the rise
does not occur or is not high enough to satisfy the

FIG. 55. — A sheet steel granary.

92 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

producers. Then the wheat may be held until
the following year, and sometimes, though not
often, for two or three years.

The Methods of Unloading. - The grain is
unloaded into storage by shoveling into the bins
of the granary. This is hard work, but more

FIG. 56. — A typical farm granary. The elevator is also shown with wagon

in position for unloading.

labor is necessary later when the wheat in order
to be marketed must be reloaded by shoveling
back into the wagons. On the better equipped
farms, elevators are provided. In this case the
grain can be unloaded by raising the front end of
the wagon, opening the back end gate, and allow-
ing the wheat to slide into a hopper from which a

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 93

belt conveyer carries it to the top of a bin and
discharges it. The team used in pulling the load
from the field is hitched to a small horse power
and thus serves to operate the unloading ma-
chinery.

A few farmers have built granaries arranged
with overhead driveways so that the load can be
driven directly over the bin and there dumped.
Such equipment adds so much to the cost that it
is not ordinarily considered profitable.

In general, manual labor prevails for unloading
into farm granaries. Power plants and elevated
driveways are, in most cases, considered too ex-
pensive to be profitable. But there is a strong
tendency at this time toward the use of mechanical
unloaders in the Central states.

Good Roads in Relation to Farm Storage. - A
matter of vital relation to farm storage is the
condition of the roads to the local market. If
the roads are good at threshing time, many farm-
ers will sell at once rather than store at home and
take chances on finding roads in bad shape when
later they wish to sell. On the other hand, when
roads are poor at threshing time, home storage is
thereby encouraged. This is an especially marked
control, since a large part of the wheat-producing
section of our country is almost entirely without
macadamized roadways ; and, in much of this
region, but little attention has been given to

94 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

maintaining even good earth roads. The farmers
have recently begun to take positive steps toward
road betterment because they now realize that
good roads reduce the cost of marketing. The
importance of good country roads in wheat dis-
tricts is clear when we know that it is necessary
for farmers to haul as far as eight to ten or even
twenty miles to a shipping point.

Storage in Town Elevators. - - At the shipping
stations, grain-handling buildings called elevators
have generally been built at the side of the rail-
road tracks. These have several bins with a
combined storage capacity of from 5000 to 20,000
bushels. The elevator is a tall building from 45
to 70 feet high, bearing some resemblance to a
tower. It is usually painted red. In the smaller
places the elevators are ordinarily the most prom-
inent buildings in town. The farmer first hauls
his load upon the scales, which are either separate
from the main building or are connected with it.
The load is weighed, wagon and all, then driven
upon a platform in the elevator where it is un-
loaded by dumping. This consists of opening a
trap door in the platform, taking out the rear
end gate of the wagon and tilting the platform,
which swings on an axis, so that the grain slides
into a bin below. When the wagon is empty it is
again weighed, and in this manner the net amount
of grain is determined. Driving the wagon out of

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 95

the elevator causes the platform to resume its
horizontal position and become locked, leaving it
ready for the next load. The grain in the lower
bin is then removed by means of endless bucket
elevators to upper bins or into railroad cars
near by. In this way a large quantity of grain
can be cared for in a very short time and with very
little labor.

Because of the uncertainty in the condition of
the roads at a time when the farmer may wish to
sell, he sometimes arranges to haul his grain
directly from thresher to elevator and store it
there rather than to make immediate sale. In
such case he pays storage on his wheat and, of
course, depends on increased price to reimburse
him for the amount of storage paid, as well as to
pay interest on the money tied up in the wheat.
There is an apparent advantage in this arrange-
ment since the wheat is weighed at time of delivery
and the owner avoids the loss due to shrinkage.
When it is stored on the farm the owner must
stand this loss directly. Storage charges usually
take this into consideration, however, so that the
gain is more apparent than real.

Local elevators usually have a very limited
capacity for storage. The desirability of accom-
modating all customers has led to a practice
sometimes resorted to of shipping the wheat to
storehouses in large centers. Thus, it has been

96 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

found that some small town elevators would show
by their records that they had in storage four or
five times their capacity, while an investigation
would disclose the fact that most of the bins were
empty. The farmers held certificates stating that
they had stored a certain number of bushels. They
could sell at any time, a possibility which then
meant that they could exchange their wheat cer-
tificates for cash on demand based on current
wheat prices. This has been called wheat bank-
ing. It shows how country roads, wheat crops,
and farm and elevator storage are intimately
linked with business operations and reach into
numerous channels of trade.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Why are wheat stacks in most cases built in the field
rather than in the farmyard ?

2. Describe loading the wheat at the thresher.

3. What are the advantages of handling the wheat in
bulk instead of in sacks ?

4. Suggest conditions which make it preferable to sack
the wheat.

5. Under what conditions are farmers most likely to
sell their wheat as soon as threshed ?

6. Why are granaries usually not numerous in newly
settled wheat regions ?

7. What are some advantages of sheet steel granaries ?

8. How do the conditions of the roads affect farm
storage of wheat ?

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE 97

9. Suggest some advantages of storage in town elevators ;
some disadvantages.

10. What are the factors that the farmer must take into
consideration when he is contemplating placing his wheat
in storage ?

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

CHAPTER VII
FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION

THERE are three important factors to be con-
sidered in the actual production of wheat : the
land, located where soil and climatic conditions
are favorable ; the machinery for tillage and
harvesting ; and the power for driving the ma-
chinery. Since these factors vary greatly in the
different wheat-growing regions, the production,
both in the items of cost and quantity, is directly
concerned with each of them.

Wheat-producing Areas. - The principal wheat-
producing countries are in the temperate zones.
They lie between parallels 30° and 60° north and
27° and 40° south latitudes. The exceptions to
this are the three plateau-like areas including
parts of India, Egypt, and Mexico. In these
plateaus the higher altitude offsets the effect of
tropical location.

The Effect of Climate on Wheat Production. -
Though wheat may be grown in warm latitudes,
it is of commercial importance only in countries
which have warm summers and moderately cold

ioo THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

winters. The effect of temperature is clearly
shown. Wherever wheat is produced on a large
scale, it makes its early growth during the cool
and moist season of the year and has a warm and
relatively dry season for ripening.

Wheat requires only a moderate rainfall during
its growing period, a great deal less than some of
the other cereals. Thirty inches per year, prop-
erly distributed, is ample for any of the commer-
cial varieties. Some of the drought-resisting
wheats, such as Durum Wheat or Club Wheat, are
successfully produced where the annual rainfall is
even less than 15 inches. Commercial production
is most important in temperate regions of moderate
rainfall, and of relatively dry harvest seasons.

The form in which the moisture is likely to
come, together with winter temperature conditions,
determines whether winter or spring wheat will
predominate in a given section. If winter tem-
peratures rarely drop to more than 20° below
zero, winter wheat is grown regardless of the
amount of prevalent snowfall, because such a
degree of cold does not prove injurious to the
hardier varieties. Where the temperature dur-
ing the winter. season falls much below the point
mentioned, unless a snow cover can be depended
upon to protect the ground, spring wheat is
grown. Thus because of the cold winters and
light snowfall, spring wheat is raised in North

FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION 101

Dakota. Here the winds in sweeping over the
open plains country blow the snow into drifts,
and the fields, deprived of the protecting snow
mantle, are exposed to the extreme cold. The
value of the snow cover is shown by the fact that
winter wheat is grown in some parts of north-

FIG. 58. — A snow cover on the ground serves to protect winter wheat.

central Wisconsin, a region of heavy snowfall,
while in the southeastern part of the state, with a
milder winter temperature but a lighter snowfall,
spring wheat is raised.

Where the normal rainfall is insufficient to
make wheat crops reasonably certain, irrigation
is practiced. This is available only for restricted
areas because of water supply or of unfavorable

102 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

location or topography. Though irrigation adds
materially to the cost of production, it reimburses
the outlay by giving much greater returns per
acre. On the whole the amount of wheat raised
under irrigation is small. Yet in many valleys
in the Western states it is an important industry.
The greater part, however, of the wheat of com-
merce is grown under natural rainfall conditions.

The Soil and Wheat Production. - - Wheat
thrives well on a number of soils of widely differ-
ent characteristics, ranging from those of heavy
clay to those of light sandy content. Its adapta-
bility to different climatic and soil conditions
makes possible its extensive cultivation. In the
United States the soils of the principal wheat-
growing area are of four general classes. These
are glacial drift, loess, high plains soils, and
valley bottom soils. Generally they are all rich
in the elements needed as food by the wheat plant,
and contain them in available form. Where
winter wheat is grown, silt loam soils are favored,
as they are somewhat less liable to heaving than
the more friable sandy loams. Heaving of the
soil is caused by successive freezing and thawing.
This often partially uproots the wheat and causes
it to be winterkilled.

Ordinarily soils that are adapted to wheat are
also suited to corn and other cereals. Climate
and prices are the chief controls which determine

FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION 103

the choice of wheat, corn, oats, rye, flax, and
barley./

Enemies -and Diseases that affect Wheat Pro-
duction. - - Related to both soil and climate, and
seriously affecting the production of wheat, are
its enemies and diseases. Like all living things,
wheat must struggle to live. It is hindered by
weeds, plant diseases, and insects.

From Rlley, 7th Missouri Report.

FIG. 59. — The chinch bug : adult, a, b, eggs ; c, newly hatched larva with
enlarged tarsus at d ; e, larva after first molt ; /, larva after second molt ;
g, pupa ; h, i, j, leg, tarsus, and beak of adult bug.

Weeds. - - Weeds interfere with the growth of
wheat by choking it out, thus lessening the yield,
and reducing the quality of the grain. Of the
many weeds that attack wheat fields the most
persistent are those commonly known as Chess,
Russian Thistle, and Wild Mustard. In these the
seeding methods are so well perfected that their
extermination is difficult. The general methods
employed in combating weeds and thus prevent-

IO4

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

FIG. 60. — The Hessian fly : adult female at the left, adult male at the right -

both enlarged several times.

Rearranged by M. H. Swenk, from Webster, Marla.lt, and Washburn.

FIG. 61. — The later stages of the Hessian fly: a, four larvae changing to the
flaxseed stage, enlarged four times ; b, flaxseed or puparium, much enlarged ; c,
larva taken from flaxseed, much enlarged ; e, infested wheat plant showing
emergence of pupa: and adults, enlarged.

FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION ioc

ing crop destruction are applicable in the case of
wheat. The best rules are, - - first, see that the
wheat seed is clean ; second, provide a carefully
prepared seed bed ; third, keep the weeds killed
which tend to grow on vacant ground in and about
the fields. This lat-
ter precaution also
assists in holding in
check the insect
enemies, --the
chinch bug and
Hessian fly. These
pests, since they also
feed upon weeds and
grasses, are sure to
find harboring places
here.

Smut and Rust.-
Fungus diseases are
more difficult to
combat . In the
first place they usu-
ally have a firm hold upon the wheat plant before
they are discovered and, second, they are not so well
understood. The most common of these enemies
are known as smut and rust. These are tiny
parasitic plants which develop within the wheat
plant. During the process of reproduction, how-
ever, parts of these plants worm their way to the

From Plant Diseases — Freeman.

FIG. 62. — Rust on wheat stems. Note
the spots which indicate the growth of this
fungus which lessens the vitality of the plant.

io6

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

air and the spores appear on the outside. Rust
spores then appear upon the leaves. Smut spores,
which appear about the time when the wheat is in

flower, cover the spike.
Spores have the same
relation to parasitic
plants that seeds have
to higher plants ; and,
since they are innu-
merable, these diseases
spread rapidly. Smut
spores attack the grain
in different ways.
Sometimes they fill the
grain, making what
are called smut balls.
Sometimes only the
stem of the plant is
affected. This weak-
ens the plant and
consequently the grain
yield is small. Rust
living within the plant
does its damage by
using the food ma-
terials which are neces-
sary for the growth of the host. In this way the
wheat plant is weakened and a low yield and
shriveled grain is sure to result.

From Plant Diseases — Freeman.

FIG. 63. — Stinking smut of wheat :
/, an infected spike ; 2, smut infected
spikelet ; 3, smutted kernels.

FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION 107

There is no known remedy for wheat rust.
Preventive measures, however, are quite effec-
tive. Much the same methods are employed as
are used in combating weeds. The seed wheat
should be clean and should be selected from grain
that has been free from rust. All weeds and
grasses that aid the growth of the rust should be
destroyed. Smut, likewise, is destroyed by treat-
ing the seed with preparations which kill the
smut spores without injury to the grain. A crop
which is thoroughly infested with smut cannot
be saved. This makes vigorous preventive meas-
ures necessary when the seed wheat is even sus-
pected of infection.

The Size of Farms which produce Wheat.- -Wheat
is a product of the small farm as well as of the
large. In Italy and Greece, five acres is a fair-
sized field. In Sweden, ten to twenty acre fields
are common, while in the Western plains region of
the United States there are many fields of from
300 to 2000 acres. The size of the farm depends
upon density of population and upon isolation
of the country. Fields in Belgium and the Neth-
erlands, because of a very crowded population, are
small. In certain remote parts of Asia Minor,
the fields are likewise small from the very fact of
their isolation. Here lack of transportation facil-
ities compels the people to raise their own wheat
and grind their own flour. Furthermore, their

io8 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

implements are crude and each man is able to
produce only a small quantity. Under these
conditions he would find a large field useless. A
marked contrast is this condition with that of
Kansas, the Dakotas, or Canada. There, railroad
transportation is well developed, modern imple-
ments are used, each man is able to produce
abundantly, and large farms are the rule. The
great bulk of the wheat of commerce comes from
countries in which regions of large farms abound.
These are found in Russia, Argentina, Australia,
Canada, and the United States. In these coun-
tries the per capita production is high and the
local population does not use all the wheat pro-
duced. A surplus, therefore, available for export
purposes is the result. Wheat is likewise a favor-
ite crop in newly settled regions because it gives
large yields and quick returns. In new regions
the price per bushel is lower than near the great
markets, but the low price of the land more than
offsets this disadvantage.

The average area of wheat on the farms in the
United States is reported by the Thirteenth Cen-
sus as being 30.3 acres. That different sections
vary greatly from this average is shown by the
fact that the average wheat acreage per farm in
Massachusetts is 1.3; in New York, 8.4; in
Nebraska, 41.4; in North Dakota, 137.9; and
in Washington, 152.8 acres.

FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION 109

The Farm Machinery. — The implement equip-
ment for wheat production varies with the size of
the farm. The machinery used where fields aver-
age less than 15 acres is simple. Much hand
labor is usually involved. Where walking plows,
small harrows, and seeders are used, the cost per
acre for implements is nearly as high as in places
where larger farm units prevail. Without giving
much attention to the equipment used on either
extremely large or extremely small wheat farms,
it is of interest to know the implements needed
for typical conditions. Let us take as the basis
the average wheat acreage per farm in 1909.
This was reported by the census to be 30.3 acres.
A fair equipment for raising wheat on such a
farm would be :

Three horses, $150 value each $450.00

One plow 40.00

One harrow 25.00

One drill 5°-°°

One binder (six-foot cut) 125.00

One rack for hauling bundles 20.00

One wagon for hauling grain 60.00

Total $770.00

Where such farms prevail the threshing is hired
done, so no investment is needed for that part of
the work. Much of this machinery would be
used for other farm purposes as well as for wheat,
and therefore the cost should not be considered as for

i io THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

wheat alone. In fact fields of 3O-acre size are
only common in the corn belt states, and there
other small grains and corn are also extensively
grown.

The equipment needed in the regions where
wheat is the principal crop is more extensive.
Fields there are usually 100 acres or larger. For
such conditions, the wheat-raising outfit consists
essentially of the following :

Six horses, $150 each $900.00

One gang plow 64.00

One harrow (24 feet) 24.00

One disc 40.00

One drill 105.00

One binder (eight-foot cut) 150.00

Two racks for hauling bundles, $50 each . . . 100.00

Two wagons for hauling grain, $85 each . . . 170.00

One elevator for unloading and loading grain . . 175.00

Total $1728.00

For larger fields the equipment is increased in pro-
portion. Thus the cost per acre of necessary
equipment is not materially reduced.

Threshing outfits are usually owned by a farmer ;
only a few machines, however, are owned in each
community. These few can easily take care of
the work because the working capacity of a thresh-
ing machine is so much greater than that of the
other machinery involved in wheat growing. The
cost of the machine is likewise relatively high.

FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION in

To hire the threshing done is the economical plan.
It is prevalent in all sections except on the
' bonanza farms," found in some parts of North
Dakota, California, Washington, and Canada. For
wheat farms of

500 acres or
more, the
grower generally
provides his own
thresher.

The Power
used in Wheat
Raising.
Horses consti-
tute the chief
power used in
the world's pro-
duction of
wheat. How-
ever, in the more progressive countries, and partic-
ularly in sections where large fields predominate,
much of the work which was formerly done only by
horses, is now done by steam and gas engines.
Tractors are used for plowing, seeding, harvesting,
threshing, and even marketing. The cost of this
method is usually not much less per acre than that
of horse labor, but the daily capacity is much
greater. Since wheat needs prompt attention, this
is the great point in its favor. But even in such

FIG. 64. — A binder left standing in the field
for many weeks after the harvest is done. A poor
practice.

ii2 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

regions a great deal of the work is done by
horses.

In contrast to the conditions described there
may be mentioned some of the countries such as
Palestine, Asia Minor, and Egypt, where other
animals are used. Here cattle are quite generally
made use of to pull the plows. In Egypt a team
made up of a cow and a camel is so common that
the sight arouses no comment. Here, likewise,
for seeding and harvesting hand labor prevails.
In the Mediterranean countries, manual labor is
cheap and therefore plays a much more prominent
part in wheat production than it does in the
United States or Canada.

We may consider, then, that the power employed
in the world's wheat production varies from the
cow and camel method to that of mighty machin-
ery, great engines, and practically no hand
labor. These are real and interesting extremes.
But after all the bulk of the world's wheat is
produced by men who use up-to-date machinery
of moderate size with horses as the pulling force.

The Importance of Machinery.- -Few of us
realize the tremendous saving in time and expense
that we enjoy because of modern machinery. It
is estimated that as recently as 1830 the average
amount of human labor required to produce a
bushel of wheat in the United States was about
3 hours and 3 minutes. In 1899 it required but

FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION 113

10 minutes.1 This difference is due largely to the
increased use of machinery. In 1830 the plow was
a clumsy wooden affair, the seed was sown by hand
and was harrowed into the ground by drawing brush
over it. Furthermore the grain was cut by cradles
and hauled to the barn, where it was threshed some
time during the winter by beating it with flails,
and separated by hand fanning mills. Now the
ground is turned by steel plows and pulverized by
discs, the seed is sown mechanically, and the grain
is cut and threshed by steam-driven machines of
great capacity. All this change has come in less
than a century.

The Yield of Wheat.- -The United States and
Russia are the greatest wheat-growing countries in
the world. The United States in 1914 produced
891,017,000 bushels of wheat, and Russia in 1913
produced 962,587,000 bushels. In both of these
countries wheat farming is carried on extensively
and large fields are common. But the yield per
acre is much less in these countries than is the
average in some other regions. Note for example
the average yield per acre in the following countries
for the years 1901-1911 inclusive:

United Kingdom 32.8 bushels

Germany 30.7

France 20.1

twelfth Census Report, Vol. X, p. 352.

1 14 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

Austria-Hungary 19.9 bushels

United States 14.3

Russia 10.0

The reasons for the relatively low yields re-
ported by the United States and Russia are, - - (i)
extensive rather than intensive cultivation, (2)
continuous wheat cropping, (3) small amount of
fertilizers used, and (4) large acreage grown where
climatic conditions are not favorable for heavy
yields. The last reason is often overlooked. Its
importance, however, cannot be questioned. Re-
gions of somewhat scanty rainfall may produce
only moderate yields yet be more profitably de-
voted to wheat than to other crops. Population
in such places is scattered, fields large, and land
low-priced.

The differences in yield per acre in the wheat
countries of the world are very similar to those of
different sections of the United States. Kansas
and North Dakota are the two states leading in
total production, but they are far down the scale
in yield per acre. In 1913, a year of very high
wheat production, the yield per acre in Kansas
averaged only 13 bushels, in North Dakota 10.5
bushels, while Maine reported an average of 25.5
bushels per acre. Yet no one would question that
wheat is a very profitable crop in the first named
states. Although low yields may be profitable in
some places, higher yields are desirable and so there

FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION 115

is need for studying methods of increasing the
yield.

The Effect of Tillage. — Careful preparation of
seed bed is essential. Extensive farming often
involves working a part of the ground when con-
ditions are unfavorable. Because of the size of
the field, only part of the plowing is done at the
right time, - - part of it must be delayed. When
the remaining part is plowed, sometimes the soil
is too dry, at other times it is too wet. Large
acreage is depended upon to make up for the
lessened yield per acre, caused by such conditions.
With a denser population and the consequently
increased competition, greater care in planting
and preparation becomes necessary.

The Importance of Seed Selection. - -Conditions
in the wheat-growing regions of North America
are so diverse and settlement in many parts so
recent, that the varieties best suited to different
localities are still in doubt. Constant experimen-
tation is in progress that lines of improvement may
be found for these cases. With more complete
adaption of variety to local soil and climate con-
ditions, higher yields will follow.

The Rotation of Crops. - - Wheat farmers are com-
ing to realize that continuously planting to the
same crop on the same soil soon causes decreased
yields. This is due to the fact that the amount of
available food material necessary to the particular

ii6 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

plant is diminished and crop rotation or summer
fallowing prolongs the period of high productivity
by maintaining a favorable physical condition of
the'soil.

The Use of Fertilizers. - - The soil must possess
in available form the essentials for plant growth,
viz., (i) sufficient though not excessive moisture,
(2) lime, and (3) the indispensable elements of
plant food, nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash.
The last three are usually contained in barnyard
manure, which is considered an excellent fertilizer.
The old sections of the United States, as well as
most European countries, have ample rainfall,
but long-continued cropping has reduced the supply
of available plant food in the soil. In order to
raise paying wheat crops the deficiency must be
overcome. This may be done by applying pre-
pared mixtures which are high in the particular
plant foods needed. Such mixtures are known as
commercial fertilizers. The cost of this fertiliza-
tion is heavy, but the returns are so materially in-
creased that the farmer is much more than repaid
for his outlay.

In the more newly settled regions commercial
fertilizers have not proved profitable. The soils are
naturally very fertile and cropping has not continued
long enough to deplete the available plant food.
This condition is generally true of the states west
of the Mississippi River. Here to most of the

FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION 117

farmers the term commercial fertilizer is practi-
cally unknown. Such is not the case, however,
in the Eastern states. There fertilizers present
an important item of cost in wheat production.
The following table shows some marked contrasts
in the cost per acre in selected states.1

Commercial Fertilizers in Wheat Production, 1909

STATE

COST PER
ACRE

STATE

COST PER
ACRE

Maine ....

$5.00

Nebraska

$ -09

Pennsylvania .

2.83

Kansas ....

.06

New York . . .

2.50

North Dakota

.06

Ohio

I.76

Oklahoma

•03

Minnesota .

.18

It is readily seen that the states which can pro-
duce profitable crops without the use of commer-
cial fertilizers have a distinct advantage in cost
of production. In such regions care should be
taken to postpone as long as possible the time when
the use of such fertilizers will become necessary.
Careful tillage, scientific crop rotation, and the
use of barnyard manure should be practiced.

The Effect of Irrigation on Wheat Production. -
Where the supply of moisture is deficient, irriga-
tion is necessary. This is the case in many of the
valleys of the western mountain states. Al-

1 Crop Reporter, May, 1911.

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

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FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION 119

though the cost of production is greatly increased,
the yield is not only large but certain, thus making
satisfactory returns possible. This method in-
volves very intensive farming and a much greater
amount of manual labor. For this reason acreages
are not high. Under such conditions other crops
are often more profitable and wheat is crowded
out. In many such districts it has given way to
fruit and alfalfa.

The Cost of Production. - The cost of produc-
ing a bushel of wheat differs greatly in the various
states. The table on p. 118, made up of states
chosen as typical of the different sections, clearly
illustrates this fact.

The data in the foregoing table are of interest
chiefly to show the importance of several factors, —
(i) where fertilizers are used the yield is relatively
high and thus compensates for the extra cost ; (2)
farm values per bushel are highest near the Eastern
markets ; (3) land rentals are lowest where yields
are low, thus offsetting, in part, the disadvantage ;
(4) land rental is everywhere an important factor
in the cost per bushel of wheat production.

Special investigations were carried on by the
Nebraska Experiment Station in 1909 and 1910
for the purpose of determining, as accurately as
possible, the cost of producing wheat in that
state. The results are given in the following de-
tailed form :

120

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

Cost of Wheat Production in Nebraska

Year

1909

1910

Average

Number of replies .

139

150

289

Interest and taxes (or rent)

$4.463

$5.098

$4.780

Plowing

1.273

1.272

Harrowing

.286

.270

.282

/ 7

Discing

.A AT.

.4-O4.

.4.2'*

T-TJ

•T T"

•*r*"J

Seed

1.461

1.34-2

I.4.OI

1 • JT

Twl

Seeding

.4.^

.188

.4.21

•TJ J

•T-**

Harvesting

2.456

2.IIO

2.283

Interest and depreciation

on machinery

•505

.685

•595

Miscellaneous ....

.727

•734

•731

Total cost per acre

$I2.O67

$12.313

$12.188

Yield per acre ....

22.9 bu.

21.6 bu.

22.2 bu.

Cost per bushel

52.7 cents

57 cents

54.9 cents

Nebraska Experiment Station,
Bulletin No. 122.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. What are the three great factors to be considered
in wheat production ?

2. What climatic conditions are most favorable to wheat
production ?

3. Where is irrigation important? What are its ad-
vantages and disadvantages ? Suggest reasons why, in the
United States, other crops are grown more extensively under
irrigation than is wheat.

4. What are weeds ? How are they injurious to wheat ?

5. How do rusts and smuts injure the grain ? How

FACTORS IN WHEAT PRODUCTION 121

may these pests be controlled ? Infer the significance of
the term rust.

6. In general what is true of the size of farms where
commercial wheat is produced ?

7. What relation exists between density of population,
size of farms, and export of wheat ?

8. About what is the average size of farms in your locality
or state ?

9. What machinery is used in wheat production in your
home region ? Find cost of equipment and compare with
that given in the text.

10. Account for the fact that wheat may be a profitable
crop in regions where the yield is very low.

11. By what methods may the wheat yield in a given
locality be increased ?

12. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages
of extensive wheat farming ?

13. By inquiry find the approximate cost of wheat pro-
duction in your locality and compare with that given in the
published tables.

CHAPTER VIII
MARKETING

The Methods of Marketing Wheat. - - Methods
of disposing of the wheat crop differ in the various
countries. The exchange of wheat for flour at
small country mills is the custom in many of the
smaller European nations and even to some ex-
tent in the United States, although rarely is this
done in the greater wheat-producing districts.
The exchange or trading of wheat for other prod-
ucts has generally given way to selling ; and the
selling scheme, i.e., marketing, varies from an
operation which is very simple to one which is
very complex.

Wheat sold to Local Mill. — The simplest method
of marketing wheat is that of selling to the local
mills. Flour mills are quite generally found
throughout the older settled wheat districts, yet
in most cases they do not* buy directly from the
farmers. Direct selling, that is, selling from
producer to mill, is prevalent now in this country
only where fields are small and where the total
production in a community does not greatly
exceed the consumption. In such a region of small

122

MARKETING 123

fields where numerous small water powers are
found, the building of many mills of low capacity
serves to favor direct marketing. Such conditions
exist in some of the Eastern states, particularly in
the Piedmont and Appalachian provinces. In
these localities there are many swift streams and
good dam sites which render cheap power avail-
able for operating the mills. The country, which
was settled early, supports a fairly dense popula-
tion and farms are not, as a rule, very large.
Selling directly to the mill is not only the simplest
method but under these conditions is the most
economical. But wheat thus sold does not enter
largely into commerce. The local mill manufac-
tures it into flour which goes back directly to the
people of the community. Since circulation is
chiefly local, little or no railroad transportation
is necessary.

Shipment to Large Mills or Markets. - - Let us look
at a contrast to the conditions just described.
The great wheat areas of the Central and Western
states and of Canada are very different from those
of Virginia and Pennsylvania. Here a large sur-
plus of wheat is grown each year for which distant
markets must be sought. In the newer portions
there are few mills, and even in the older sections
the supply of wheat far exceeds the local demand.
This has caused the development of large milling
centers and of markets so located that they are

i24 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

convenient for export purposes or that they may
supply the trade of Eastern sections. The farmer
can sell to these distant markets either directly
or through marketing agencies which have sprung
up, usually in the form of elevator companies.
Let us consider the processes involved in each of
these two plans.

Direct Marketing. — Farmers who live but a
short distance from town are inclined to haul
directly from the thresher, since only a small force
of men is necessary to handle the grain thus.
From farms which are 6 to 10 miles from town this
custom does not exist. Here the large number of
haulers needed because of the longer distances
involved makes it difficult to obtain a sufficient
force of men to dispose of the wheat as fast as it
is threshed.

In direct marketing the hauler loads the wheat
into the cars by hand, by means of a scoop shovel
holding about a fourth of a bushel. With the
shovel he throws the wheat from the wagon into
the car. This is hard and tedious labor. The
loaded cars are then sent to the large milling or
market centers, which, depending on the locality,
may be Minneapolis, Chicago, Omaha, Kansas
City, or St. Louis. When the car arrives at its
destination, the purchasing company pays the cur-
rent market price and remits by draft to the sender.

The theoretical advantage of this plan is the

MARKETING

125

elimination of the grain buyers, a class of men who
are not producers but who profit by handling the
wheat. In spite of its theoretical advantage the
plan is not generally followed in practice. The
reasons for this are: (i) results have not proved

FIG. 65. — Hauling wheat to market. Sometimes the family goes along.

better than when sold through organized dealers ;

(2) slower returns and greater risks are involved ;

(3) there is an inability to sell in less than carload
lots ; and (4) manual labor is necessary where
car-loading devices are not provided.

126

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

Marketing through Elevator Companies. - -The sell-
ing plan followed generally in the more important
wheat regions of the United States and Canada
is through the elevator companies. The farmers
take their grain to the nearest town. There eleva-
tors have been
built alongside
the railroad
tracks. These
are so arranged
that the load can
be hauled into
the building,
weighed, and
then dumped
into a pit whence
bucket elevators
convey the grain
into storage bins
or cars . The
whole process of
weighing loaded
wagon, unload-
ing, and weigh-
ing empty wagon can be accomplished in four or
five minutes. The elevator is also provided with
a screening and fanning apparatus which removes
the dirt and chaff from the grain and thus improves
its market qualities. The storage capacities of

FIG. 6t>. — The elevator is a tall, towerlike
building.

MARKETING 127

country elevators usually vary from 8000 to
20,000 bushels, although some are much larger.
Gasoline or steam engines are used as power for
operating the machinery.

The elevators are in charge of a buyer, known as
a grain dealer, who grades each farmer's wheat
and pays him as soon as it is delivered. This
transaction completed, the farmer's direct interest
ceases. He takes his money to use for living ex-
penses, and the surplus is often used for buying
equipment to raise more wheat. He buys more
land or more up-to-date machinery, and in either
case looks forward to increased production. He
has made his contribution to commerce.

The Market Grades of Wheat. - -The price received
by the farmer depends somewhat on the quality
of the wheat. The larger market centers have
adopted standard requirements for different grades
so that the wheat of commerce is now purchased
and handled as No. i, 2, 3, 4, or Ungraded. It
is also classified as to whether it is Spring or
Winter wheat and Hard or Soft. This classifica-
tion further includes in a general way the color, -
white or red. Thus a typical market description
for Kansas wheat would be No. 2 Hard Winter
Red.

The grade requirements are not uniform in all
countries of the world, and not even closely uni-
form in the different market centers of the United

128 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

States. In a general way, however, the following
is considered a fair statement of grade require-
ments, and illustrative of differences between the
commercial grades :

Classification of Wheat adopted at the Merchants' Exchange,

St. Louis

Choice White. — Bright, sound, dry, plump, and well-cleaned

pure white winter wheat and to weigh at least 62 pounds

per measured bushel.
No. i White. — Sound, dry, well-cleaned pure white winter

wheat to weigh at least 60 pounds per measured bushel.
No. 2 White. - - Sound, dry, white winter wheat reasonably

cleaned, to weigh not less than 59 pounds per measured

bushel.
Choice Red. — Bright, sound, plump, dry, and well-cleaned

red or red and white mixed winter wheat to weigh at

least 62 pounds per measured bushel.
No. i Red. — Sound, well-cleaned, dry-red or red and white

mixed winter wheat free from rye, to weigh not less than

60 pounds per measured bushel.
No. 2 Red. — Includes all sound, dry, reasonably cleaned, red

or red and white mixed winter wheat below No. i red and

to weigh not less than 59 pounds per measured bushel.
No. 3 Red. — To include dry red, white or mixed, or

bleached winter wheat free from must, to weigh not less

than 57 pounds per measured bushel.

Grading the Wheat. - - The local buyer in order to
determine its grade is usually required to test a
typical sample of each load. This is done by tak-
ing handfuls of wheat from different parts of the

MARKETING 129

load and filling a standard measure. The correct
amount is obtained by heaping the measure and
scraping off the excess by means of a straight-
edge. The vessel used is generally in the form of
a cylinder about 5f inches deep, 5f inches in
diameter, with a capacity of two quarts. It is
so graduated that weighing it by the steelyard
scheme, the reading is given in pounds per bushel.
The volume of a bushel is 2150.42 cubic inches and
the standard weight in most states is 60 pounds.
Where the weight of a volume bushel exceeds 60
pounds, the wheat is over weight, where it weighs
less than 60 pounds it is under weight. Referred
to this same standard, wheat is known as heavy
or light.

In order to be full weight, the grains must be
of good size and quality and the wheat dry and
free from dust, chaff, and bits of straw. Since
cleanliness is very important in affecting weight
and appearance, and since both of these facts
are considered in determining the market grade,
the work of the thresher should be well done. In
many instances the wheat delivered by the farmer
to the elevator, because of insufficient cleaning,
lacks just a little of belonging to a higher grade and
a lower price results. In this event the grade can
be raised by recleaning. in the elevator, and the
expense of the extra work is more than met by the
increased price which is obtained for it. The

1 30 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

grain is bought at the grade shown by test, which
grade the buyer, after the grain is his property,
will try to improve. The reason for this appears
when we know that each grade usually has a
market value of two to three cents per bushel above
that of the next lower grade.

While grading wheat follows general rules, ex-
perience is necessary to become proficient in the
work. Much depends on the judgment of the
buyer since he must be fair both to the seller and
to the purchasing company.

The Ownership of Elevators. - - In the earlier
years the elevators were owned and operated by
individuals. Many were ex-farmers who pre-
ferred business to active farming and thought it
an easy way to make money. Others were bus-
iness men attracted to that line of work. Some
were highly successful, and those who lacked
business sagacity or were careless in management
failed. Competition between rival concerns in
the same town or in near-by towns forced operators
to buy on very close margins. The buyer pur-
chased independently, making himself the owner
of the wheat in transit to central market. If
the price advanced he was the gainer ; if it fell he
suffered loss. Buying thus became intimately
related to market tendencies, and many men failed
because they did not guard against falling prices
by buying with sufficient margin. When prices

MARKETING

were rising there was a tendency to buy on a
margin so low that rise in price was necessary to
avoid loss on the transaction. Sometimes the
expected advance failed to come and the dealer
suffered serious loss. When a sharp rise occurred

FIG. 67. — Loading freight cars for shipment from local elevators to central or
terminal markets. In this case the elevator machinery was operated by steam.

the profit was large and this often stimulated a
speculative desire which later frequently led to
recklessness and disaster.

Individual ownership of elevators resulted in
close buying, and hence full returns to the wheat
grower. The competitive conditions, however,

132 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

did not endure, for the successful operation of one
elevator enabled the owner to buy another from
some one less fortunate and soon the advantage
of organization became apparent. Companies
were formed which bought all the elevators along
a given line of railroad or in a certain territory.
These became known as Mine elevators." They
were managed by men who were expert in following
market conditions and who were able to find the
best places to sell. The large volume of grain at
their disposal was of advantage not only in securing
the best prices but also in obtaining cars when
needed.

A local manager was placed in charge of each
elevator. His business was to weigh the grain,
look after the mechanical work, and submit daily
reports on the business done. He had no dis-
cretion as to prices, for daily instructions were
sent from company headquarters. In the event
of sudden changes in the market, telegraphic
instructions were sent. An important task of
the manager in this case was to keep the good will
of the farmers.

Conservative buying, close watch of market
conditions, and keen business methods through-
out are strong arguments in favor of the exten-
sive elevator companies. In some localities all
the elevators passed into the hands of one com-
pany ; and, since, having become accustomed to

MARKETING 133

selling to the elevator, the farmers would not sell
by direct shipment, the company was thus given
a virtual buying monopoly. The elevator, once
established in the community, became a public
service necessity. Monopoly of ownership often
resulted in the charging of excessive rates, - - in
other words, buying at too high margin. This,
of course, resulted in giving the producer a lower
price than that to which he was entitled. Indi-
viduals were unable to remedy this since they
could not compete with the powerful organizations.
Many companies never abused their advantages
and were content with the profits resulting from
good business management. The abuses of some,
however, placed nearly all of them under suspicion.
Out of this condition grew the organization by
farmers of local companies which built so-called
' farmers' elevators." Since the strength of the
concern lay in its membership, shares of stock
were sold to as many farmers in a community as
possible. The business of the local companies
was placed in charge of a board of directors who
hired a man experienced in grain dealing as man-
ager. To him was intrusted the working out of
details subject to the approval of the directors.
Each subscriber pledged himself, if prices were
equal, to sell to his own elevator. If the line
elevator paid higher prices than the farmers'
elevator he would sell there ; in such case he

134 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

would probably pay a small percentage of the
gain to his own company. This served to estab-
lish a fund which would tide it over dull periods.
This fund was important, since it was planned
that grain should always be bought at a reasonable
profit and never at a loss. These conditions
would insure competitive conditions for the line
elevators. Although, early in the days of organ-
ization, many farmers' elevators failed because of
poor management, the general effect has been
good. At present they are usually successful
throughout the Central states. Experience and
organization have rendered them efficient. Com-
petition is not now between individual elevators
but between strong rival companies, and business
methods have been greatly improved. Out of
this condition greater economy and efficiency have
resulted.

Railway Transportation. - Wheat in the ele-
vator or in the cars is an article of commerce.
Usually it has passed from the ownership of the
producer to that of an agent who has in turn
intrusted it to the carrier. Railways haul the
wheat to mills, to central markets, or to terminal
elevators. These elevators are usually situated
where water transportation can first be employed.
This carrying work is spoken of under two heads,
the short haul and the long haul. The former
includes shipments to local mills and from small

MARKETING 135

towns to the central markets ; and the latter, the
shipments from the central markets to the terminal
elevators. The typical central markets for wheat
in North America are Winnipeg, Minneapolis,
Omaha, Kansas City, and St. Louis. These are
all inland cities situated in the wheat country and
are focal points of numerous railroads. The
wheat in carload lots is shipped from adjacent
territory, hence the term short haul. From these
cities it is sent by trainloads to terminal markets
or export centers. This involves greater distances
and so the term long haul is applied. The prin-
cipal terminal cities in North America are San
Francisco, Portland, and Seattle on the west coast ;
Quebec, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore
on the east ; and Galveston and New Orleans on
the south. Because they also have a large export
trade by water route, Duluth, Chicago, and
Buffalo are called inland terminals. The terminal
cities which are located near the great wheat-
producing districts likewise naturally receive a
great deal of grain by short haul.

If distance is considered, the short haul rates
comparatively are much higher than those of the
long haul. For instance, the rate from central
Nebraska to Omaha is 8 cents per bushel for a
distance of about 200 miles, while the rate from
Omaha to Galveston is only 11.7 cents per bushel
for a distance of 1338 miles.

i36

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

2
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J3
u

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13

t/5
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MARKETING 137

Water Transportation. - The Great Lakes High-
way. - The Great Lakes, connected with the
Atlantic Ocean by rivers and canals, constitute
the greatest inland water highway in the world.
It reaches deep into the interior of North Amer-
ica and practically touches the heart of the

FIG. 69. — A steamer carrying wheat for export.

wheat region. Lake Superior furnishes an easy
outlet for the wheat areas of south central
Canada and the north central United States,
while Lake Michigan competes with the Gulf of
Mexico for the trade of Oklahoma, Kansas, and
Nebraska. The Great Lakes, connected with
Quebec through the St. Lawrence, and with New

138 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

York City through the Erie Canal and the tidal
Hudson River, are thus linked with the two east
coast cities of greatest exporting importance.
They serve to bring the markets of Europe nearer
American producers since water freight rates, even
where canals are used, are much cheaper than
those of the railroads. This is clearly shown by
comparison : for instance, the all rail rate on a
bushel of wheat from Chicago to New York City
in 1912 was 9.73 cents ; by lake and canal it was
5.38 cents.

The Mississippi River. — The Mississippi River
is the only other inland waterway in the United
States of any great commercial importance to the
wheat industry. It has, however, not been able
to enter into very serious competition with the
railroads. This is probably due to the facts that
a comparatively short haul is involved, an in-
direct route is necessitated, and a considerable
railroad haul is at any rate necessary in order to
bring the wheat to river ports. In other words
lack of navigable tributaries reaching into the
wheat districts has proved a serious drawback to
the commercial importance of the Mississippi River.

Ocean Routes. — For wheat, as for other agricul-
tural products, the ocean is the great highway of
water transportation. Since Europe furnishes the
market for the greater part of the wheat exported
from the countries of the western hemisphere, the

MARKETING 139

Atlantic Ocean has the distinction of being the
greatest waterway in the world for this cereal.
The freight steamers which are used in hauling the
grain are immense slow-moving boats. They are
loaded at the terminal elevators by chutes through
which the grain slides into the hold of the vessel and
are unloaded at the European seaports by electric
shovels operating from cranes. But little hand
labor is used and expenses are kept at a minimum.
All this makes possible very low rates in compar-
ison with railway charges. The freight rate from
New York to Liverpool varies from 3 to 7 cents
per bushel. From New Orleans to Liverpool it is
from 6 to 15 cents per bushel. Wide differences
in rates for the same haul are due to a lack of
organization of ocean traffic. Rates are not reg-
ulated by any commissions. If a ship finds diffi-
culty in obtaining a cargo, it will reduce rates. If
shipping is active, rates are raised. Sometimes
wheat has been carried from New York to Euro-
pean ports without charge because outward
bound vessels had no cargoes in sight. It was
cheaper to haul wheat free than to buy gravel to
serve as ballast. This uncertainty of ocean
freight rates does not help the farmer. Market
prices always take into account the highest freight
rate that is likely to be charged. If lower rates
can be secured, the exporter is the gainer, not the
wheat producer.

140 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

The Terminal Elevators. - - At each of the
central and terminal markets immense elevators
have been built whose chief business is storage.
They also serve to transfer grain from railroad
cars to freight vessels. With their storage capac-
ities, which vary from 500,000 bushels to 2,300,000
bushels, they serve as great reservoirs into which,
during the market rush following the harvest, the
wheat can flow and be held ; and from which it
can move as the milling and export trade demands.
Companies operate these elevators for the profits
which are derived from storage charges. They
do not take the chances of speculation. When
the elevator runs short of stored grain, the com-
pany is likely to buy enough to refill, but it im-
mediately sells for future delivery with storage
charges added. This is called covering. It not
only removes the company from danger of
loss due to falling prices, but also prevents the
chance of gain as a result of advance. The grain
may then change ownership many times and still
remain in the same elevator. Sometimes it re-
mains in storage in this way for a year or more.

The Wheat Exchange. - The buying and sell-
ing of wheat for future delivery has given rise at
various places to speculative markets. The most
famous of these in this country is the Chicago
Board of Trade. Here many forms of farm
products are handled, but wheat because of its

MARKETING 141

world relation is probably the most typical. A
part of the exchange dealing with wheat is known
as the wheat pit. The big wheat and flour men
as well as the brokers dealing there are in close
touch with all the wheat countries of the world.
During the critical period preceding and during
the harvest season, telegraphic reports give them
detailed accounts of the wheat outlook. They
are informed of approaching storms that may
injure the crop. During all the growing season
influences which tend to injure or improve the
wheat are constantly reported. The price on the
exchange is thus related not only to the visible
supply, the stores of known wheat, but also to
general world prospects for the future. Such a
detail as the matter of prospective change in
ocean freight rates to Liverpool, Constantinople,
or Hong Kong will cause a price fluctuation. The
dealers in the pit who are hoping for advance in
prices are known as bulls, those who wish for de-
cline as bears. If a man has bought wheat and
desires to sell he naturally seeks an advance,
hence he joins the bulls. On the other hand, a
man, provided he puts up a sum of money to
guarantee the contract, may sell without actually
owning any wheat. Then he may sell a quantity
of wheat at a high price when he expects the
market to break or decline. This he hopes to
buy back later at a lower price. Such a deal

i42 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

depends for its success on lowering of prices and
the group of men conducting it are known as
bears. All this suggests, as is actually the case,
that much more wheat is bought and sold than is
ever raised. A large percentage of the sales
conducted by the grain exchange is only on paper.
Very little actual wheat changes hands. Yet the
relation of the exchange to the markets is close
since any of the deals which are made could be
carried out should the seller prefer to dispose of
the real commodity.

Conditions which affect the price of wheat are
so numerous that dealing in wheat futures is as
uncertain as that of stocks and bonds. Since the
uncertainty has its fascination for many business
men, there are times in the wheat pit of the
Chicago Board of Trade which are as exciting as
those in the Stock Exchange of New York City.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Why is exchange of wheat for flour not practiced
much in the great wheat-producing regions ?

2. What conditions in a region favor the development
of numerous small mills ?

3. Explain how short distances to market favor the sell-
ing of wheat direct from the thresher.

4. What difficulties have been experienced by farmers
who have tried shipping direct to distant markets ?

5. How is grain graded for market purposes ?

6. What are the market grades of wheat ?

MARKETING 143

7. Explain the functions of the elevator in wheat market-
ing.

8. What conditions led to the organization of line
elevators? What advantages can you see in such an
arrangement ?

9. What are the farmers' elevators ? What causes have
led to the general organization of farmers' elevator com-
panies ?

10. What is meant by the terms short haul and long haul
as applied to freight ?

11. What are the chief central wheat markets in North
America ? Where are they located with respect to the wheat-
producing regions ?

12. What are the principal terminal cities for wheat ex-
ports in North America ?

13. What ocean is of first importance in the wheat trade
of the world ? Why ?

14. Of what importance are the terminal elevators in the
marketing of wheat ?

15. Briefly explain buying and selling in the wheat ex-
change.

CHAPTER IX
MILLING

The Milling of Wheat. - - Perhaps no part of
the story of wheat is more fascinating than that
of milling. Very little whole wheat is used for
food. Practically all of it is ground in some
manner, and the parts of the grain are separated
before it is prepared directly for the table. The
processes of making flour and other wheat products
are exceptionally interesting. This interest may
be due, in part, to the fact that milling was the
operation in the wheat industry which first was
done outside the home. The necessity of more
power for the operation of the mill than could be
supplied in the home favored the establishment
of village mills, and this method very early became
the prevailing form of the industry. These mills
were usually located where power could be derived
from a stream or from the wind, although, some-
times, cattle or horses were used. They came to
be known as gristmills, because the miller was
paid by taking as toll a part of the grain, giving
back to each customer the rest of his wheat as

144

MILLING

flour and bran. The miller thus became an im-
portant and respected personage in the community,

FIG. 70. — An old mill by a stream.

the people being dependent upon him for an
essential food. Then, too, the stability of his
business usually made him well-to-do. Many

146 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

writers have eulogized the miller and given voice
to his sturdy character. The familiar Miller of
the Dee is one of the many examples, where an
author has made clear the popular figure's char-
acter and standing.

'There dwelt a miller, hale and bold,

Beside the river Dee ;

He wrought and sang from morn till night,
No lark more blithe than he."

The poet tells of the miller's discussion with the
king in which the king says,

"'Thy mealy cap is worth my crown,

Thy mill my kingdom's fee !
Such men as thou art England's boast,
O Miller of the Dee!'"

Modern methods of handling the wheat and the
development of a variety of industries has pro-
duced many changes and has lessened the old
close relation among producer, consumer, and
miller. Most farmers now sell their wheat to
grain buyers and in turn buy flour from the stores
as they need it. Gristmills are, however, still
operated in some sections. Peculiarly enough,
the character of the miller has not changed greatly
and he is still held in much the same regard as of
old.

Primitive Milling. - - The Handstone. - - It is in-
teresting to learn something of the stage of devel-

MILLING

opment of different peoples as indicated by their
methods of milling. The handstone is used by
some Indian tribes. Here the grain is placed
in a hollow stone and the women pound it with
another stone. The grain by this method is not
reduced to a powder, but is merely broken into
rough fragments.
This is undoubt-
edly one of the
most primitive
methods and
seems to be the
one early used
by all peoples,
for specimens of
these handstones
are f o u n d in
many parts of
the world. Some
tribes use two
stones so shaped
that they may
be easily handled. The crusher is oval and the
container is rounded and deep. When of such
forms they are called the mortar and pestle. The
latter sometimes has a handle made of wood. This
form of mill was used for many years by the early set-
tlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. In these primi-
tive methods the milling was done by the women.

FIG. 71. — The handstone used in grinding wheat.

148

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

The Quern. - - In parts of Europe and Asia the
quern is used. This is an improvement over the
handstone and also over the mortar and pestle.
In this method the two stones are mechanically
united so that the upper stone fits into and revolves
upon the lower. A hole is bored in the side of the

upper stone and
a handle inserted
by which it is
turned. A n-
other opening at
the top admits
the grain, which
passes through a
hole to the lower
stone. There, as
the upper stone
is turned in a
half circle, the
grain is crushed.
This motion
likewise works
the crushed grain
to the edges, whence it drops into a bowl or other
container. In early times the women usually did this
work with the smaller querns, while cattle were used
to turn the larger ones. This method came into
general use about the dawn of the Christian era.
It was the first British flour mill and is also men-

FIG. 72. — The quern.

MILLING 149

tioned in early American history. The handstone,
mortar and pestle, and quern, thus, all belong to
the type of mill in which grinding is the method
of reduction and human energy is practically the
only power. In ancient times the work in each
method was largely done by women. Later on,
however, slaves and criminals were used.

Buhrstone Mills. - - Buhrstones, or millstones,
used by small mills in almost every country, repre-
sent another type of milling. By this method
the grain is cut and crushed and emerges as a
much finer product. The surface of each stone is
cut so that the grooves of one fit into those of the
other, and by the sharp edges of these grooves the
grain is cut to pieces. The power used is from
cattle, wind, or water. Sometimes they are run
by steam power or electricity. These mills are
larger than the quern and others previously de-
scribed. The grain is ground for the village or
community, the miller charging a toll for grinding.

These simple mills were common in the early
history of the United States, and the improved
gristmill was the prevailing type until about 1880.
Small mills were located wherever water power
was available. Towns near power sites served as
locations for the larger ones. In general, mills
were scattered and they were of moderate size.
As population and wheat production increased, it
became necessary to produce more flour. Mills

ISO THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

with several pairs of stones then became common.
During the period immediately after the Revolu-
tion, the flour mills of Delaware were among the
best known. Twelve mills upon the Brandy-
wine, with 25 pairs of buhrstones, ground 400,000
bushels a year. Improved methods of handling
the grain and flour were also invented. About
1785 the elevator and conveyer were introduced,
thus eliminating much hand labor. Development
was so rapid that in 1808 Pittsburg had a steam
mill with three pairs of buhrstones.

The Development of Modern Milling.- The
roller mills, which use the gradual reduction pro-
cess in the manufacture of flour, represent the
modern type. Though they were not introduced
until about 1880, they have now come into gen-
eral use in all the great milling centers of the
world. This process of milling originated in
Austria, and it is interesting to review the prob-
lems that led to its adoption in the United States.
In the old processes, the millstones were at first
set very close together so as to produce as much
flour as possible at one grinding. This produced
friction and heat and often brought about chemical
changes which injured the color, taste, and quality
of the flour. Wheat, which was hard and rich in
gluten, could scarcely be used at all, for it was
difficult to separate the flour from the bran. The
soft starchy wheats thus brought the high prices

MILLING 151

since when they were used the bran was more
easily separated and the flour was whiter.

The opening of new wheat regions in the North-
west, where large quantities of hard spring wheat
were produced, increased the demand for other
milling methods. A method was required which
would produce a good flour from their product.
The first step toward this end was the invention
of the middlings purifier. This is a method,
which, during the milling process, separates the
parts of the kernel. The middlings are the coarse
particles coming from the part of the kernel be-
tween the bran covering and the starchy central
part. In the old process middlings were avoided,
and as much flour as possible was obtained from
the first grinding. Now by setting the stones far
apart the purpose is to make at the first grind a
large percentage of middlings and to eliminate the
bran and first flour, which is of a low grade. The
middlings, which are then purified and reground,
make the high grade flour. By this method the
hard spring wheat gave a high percentage of
middlings and immediately came into favor.

The increasing number of breaks that be-
came necessary, though, demanded improved ma-
chinery. Representatives from the leading mills
in the United States visited Europe and there
studied the Hungarian methods of milling. This
study resulted in the adoption of a roller system

1 52 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

of machinery which, with many improvements,
has come to be the modern process. By this
method the grain, instead of being ground in a
single pair of millstones, is run through six or
seven sets of rollers and is sifted and graded after
each break. The first pair of rollers are so far
apart that they merely crack or break the grain.
The second pair are a little closer together, the
third pair still closer, and thus they continue, the
distance between them being decreased with each
successive pair. The old process aimed to get as
much flour as possible at one grinding ; the new
seeks to get as little flour as possible at the first
two or three breaks. The old process sought to
avoid middlings because they meant loss of flour.
The new process seeks to produce as much mid-
dlings as possible, because the high grade flour is
produced by grinding them. By the old process
but little of the gluten could be separated from the
bran, which resulted in a weak flour since gluten
gives it its rising quality. By the new method of
milling a large part of the gluten is saved and thus
a better flour for bread making is produced.

In order to understand clearly the processes of
modern flour making we should visit a mill. There
by close observation and study we may gain a
clear idea of how flour is made. To prepare our-
selves, let us together make an imaginary trip,
then if possible, follow it with an actual one.

MILLING 153

A Visit to a Large Mill.- -As we approach the
milling plant, we find ourselves contrasting the
group of four or five factory-like buildings with
the picturesque mills of the artist. These, with
their huge vanes and great water wheels, do not
harmonize with the matter-of-fact group before
us. There is but little of the poetic in the build-

FIG. 73. — A modern milling plant.

ings, - - the power house, warehouse, elevator, and
mill.

We enter the office and ask if we may see the
mill. We are pleased when the miller himself
comes in- to act as our guide. He is still the
" dusty miller," for his white suit and white skull
cap are covered with flour. He is pleased to take
us through, for he is proud of his mill. We follow
a winding stair to an upper floor. Here he
shows us how the wheat is received, cleaned, and
tempered. No one needs to be there for the work

i54 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

is all done by machinery. We are here shown
several purifiers and dust collectors also. There
is so much noise that it is hard to hear expla-
nations. But we are interested in the dust collec-
tor, for we have read that in the old-time mills
there were disastrous explosions caused by the
fine flour dust which filled the air. We resolve
that later we shall find out more about this.

Now we hurry down to the other floors to see
the processes of reduction. Two floors are occu-
pied by mills and screeners or scalpers. As we
pass along we see them labeled: ist break, 2d
break, ist middlings, and so forth, each machine
in turn labeled to indicate its special function.
We watch the material through a glass window
as it comes in to each machine ; and, by opening
a small door below, we catch some of the product
as it leaves and note what change has taken place.
We find that the products are transferred from
floor to floor by conveyers. Very few assistants
are about. We see one going from place to place
and are told that he is making tests. The flour-
is tested at every stage of the process, for it must
be uniform from day to day.

Then we are taken to see the bolting. At first
we are afraid to enter the room for the shaking
bolters make us dizzy. We soon get used to
them, however, and immediately become inter-
ested in the silk bolting cloth which the miller is

MILLING 155

explaining. It is so finely woven that it seems
impossible for flour to go through it. He shows
us how screens made of this cloth are fitted into
the great tank-like cases, which are really silk
bottom sieves. These are shaken by machinery,
and thus the flour is sifted through the cloth.
This process is called bolting.

Coming down again to the first floor, we stop for
a while to watch the sacking of the flour. The
sacks are stamped with the name of the mill and
the grade of the flour. They are filled automati-
cally. Men, however, handle the filled sacks and
sew them up. We stay here for some time, for
this is fascinating work. The man lifts the sack
from the filler and weighs it. He then takes a
thread from his belt and, threading it through
the needle, wraps it about one corner of the top of
the sack, thus making an ear. Lightning-like he
sews up the opening, makes the other ear, takes
off the remaining thread, and lifts the sack to the
truck. This is all done so quickly that we hardly
distinguish the processes. It looks like a sleight-
of-hand performance and we remain until we can
follow his rapid movements.

The miller tells us that many large mills turn
out 1500 barrels of flour per day. This, compared
with the few bushels of poorly ground meal that
the old mills produced, is enormous.

Our tour of the mill is finished. We feel that

FIG. 74. — Sectional view of a modern mill : i, scales, for weighing wheat as
it is received ; 2, receiving separator, for separating other kinds of seeds from
wheat ; 3, storage bins, for reserve supply of wheat in advance of mill require-
ments ; 4, mill separator, for further separating foreign seeds from wheat ; 5,
scourer, for removing dust from wheat kernels ; 6, cockle cylinder, for removing
all round seeds ; 7, wheat washer, for thoroughly cleansing the wheat ; 8, wheat
dryer, for drying wheat after washing ; Q, first break rolls, for rupturing bran, en-
abling bran and germ to be separated from interior; 10, first break scalper, for
sifting middlings through bolting cloth to separate from bran; //, second break
rolls, for further loosening the middlings from bran ; 12, second break scalper, for sep-
arating more middlings from bran ; / 3, third break rolls, for further loosening
middlings from bran ; 14, third break scalper, for final separation of middlings
from bran; / 5, bran duster, for sifting low grade flour from bran ; 16, bran bin,
for packing bran for shipment ; 17, grading reel, for separating middlings by sift-
ing through various sizes of bolting cloth ; 18, dust collector and purifier, for cleaning
and purifying middlings by air and sifting ; ig, smooth rolls, for grinding purified
middlings very fine to flour ; 20, flour bolter, for sifting flour from purified mid-
dlings ; 21, second reduction rolls, for further grinding of purified middlings ; 22, flour
bolter, for separating flour from purified middlings of second grinding ; 23, flour
bin and packer, for packing flour for shipment ; 24, elevator, for raising products to
the various machines. .

MILLING 157

we have seen so much that we must think it over
carefully before we can understand it all. We
brush the flour from our clothes and thank the
miller for his kindness. We leave, realizing more
fully than we did before that milling is no longer
a simple home industry, but that it is, rather, a
complex factory system which supplies millions of
people with one of their most common food
materials.

This has given us a bird's-eye view of the
processes of flour making. As yet, we hardly
understand why so many steps are necessary.
In our hurried trip, we could not stop to learn
the whole story of each process. Let us now
study them more in detail.

The Mill Elevator. - - In order to keep busy at
all times a supply of wheat must constantly be
kept on hand. This is stored in a tall building
called an elevator (Fig. 73, building to the right
and rear). The capacity of this elevator may
be large or small. It usually corresponds in
this respect to the size of the mill. A surplus is
also carried because it is of business advantage to
buy when wheat is at a low price. The grain may
be purchased either in carload lots from central
markets or in some cases directly from the farmers.

Cleaning the Wheat.- -The wheat is brought to
the mill from the elevator by a conveyer. The
miller knows that in order to have a high grade

158 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

product he must start with clean grain. The
first step, therefore, is to separate the wheat from
husks, dirt, weed seed, and other undesirable
matter. This separating is accomplished by
screening processes. After screening, the grain
goes through scouring machines, where wheat
hairs, loose particles of bran, and any foreign
matter which may be clinging to the kernels is
removed. Some millers even wash the wheat
during the scouring process.

Tempering the Grain. — The grain thus purified
and cleaned must go through a tempering process.
The purpose of tempering is to put the grain in
the best possible condition for milling. Just what
this condition is depends upon the product desired
and the details of the milling method used. Heat
and moisture are always applied in some form.
Tempering toughens the grain and so conditions
it that, in grinding, the bran will remain in large
pieces and the various parts of the interior will
break up in such a way as the miller may desire.

The Reduction Process. - - After the tempering
process the wheat is then passed through six or
seven sets of steel rollers, the first sets of which
are corrugated. Each passage through a set of
rollers is called a break. The rollers must be kept
cool since, if the flour is heated during the process
of reduction, it becomes dark. After each break
the product is sifted through silk screens. The

MILLING 159

parts removed, called middlings, are sent through
the purifier. The part which does not go through
the screen goes on to the next break. Since the
first break rollers are set far apart, the grain is
here merely flattened and slightly broken up.
The sifting gives a small amount of fine flour.
This comes from the center of the grain and, as
has been previously stated, makes a poor grade
flour. This is sent through the purifier, which
removes particles of bran, fuzz, and dirt, and the
product is called first break flour. First break
flour is not added to the middlings but is sold as a
low grade flour. Sometimes it is added to the
shorts and used for animal feed.

After the first separation the bulk of the grain
is still left and goes through the second break.
The rollers here are closer together and other parts
of the interior of the grain break down under this
process. These parts are separated by sifting and
the product here is known as second break mid-
dlings. This, in turn, is sent to a purifier. The
remainder, which now looks quite like bran, goes
to the third break, which reduces other portions
of the interior of the grain so that they may be
separated as third break middlings. Inasmuch
as this process continues through 6 or 7 breaks,
practically all of the interior part of the wheat
grain is broken and removed, leaving the tough
outer part as bran.

i6o

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

MILLING 161

The middlings from the various breaks, after
going through the purifier, are further reduced by
being passed between several sets of smooth rolls.
The flour product of each reduction is then bolted.
This consists of sifting the flour through silk
screens of closer and closer texture, until a very
fine-grained flour is the product.

Bleaching the Flour.- -The flour from some
wheat as it comes from the bolters is dark. White-
ness in flour is as much desired as is whiteness in
sugar or yellowness in butter. The demand by
buyers for a white flour has brought about the
bleaching process. Under the old method the flour
had to be stored for about three months in order to
whiten it. This was a natural bleaching process,
but it was very slow. Flour that was to be sent
abroad could be bleached in this way, as it would
whiten during the period of transportation, but a
method which required a shorter time was deemed
a necessity.

The Alsop process, invented by Alsop in 1904,
is the one now generally used in the big mills. In
England it is known as the Andrews method. Its
advantage is that it prepares the flour for imme-
diate use and thus saves the expense of storing.
The treatment consists of subjecting the flour to
the action of nitrogen peroxide, a gas which is
made up of nitrogen and oxygen chemically united.
As the flour in a thin stream is emptied into the

l62

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

bleaching chamber, it is sprayed with air which
contains this chemical. Nitrogen peroxide has
the property of decolorizing the oil in the flour.
How the flour is actually affected by this method
of treatment has been a matter of dispute ever

FIG. 76. — General view of the

since it first came into use. In 1910, the Lexing-
ton Milling Company of Lexington, Nebraska,
shipped 625 sacks of bleached flour to Missouri.
The question was then brought into court by
government inspectors. It was claimed that the
flour contained foreign injurious substances and
was thus in violation of the pure food law. Four
years were spent in preparation for the case and

MILLING

163

finally the court decision was announced by Jus-
tice Day on February 24, 1914. The court held
that there was no injurious effect observed from
the use of this bleached flour. This decision of
the highest court was a great victory for the

Minneapolis milling district.

millers of the country. It permits them to ship
bleached flour to other states without violation
of the pure food laws.

The By-products of Milling. — The leavings from
the various screenings and boltings consist of bran,
the germ, and a low grade flour. The two latter
products mixed together are known as shorts.
Sometimes the germ and a part of the flour screen-

1 64 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

ings are put into the bran. Each miller has his
own plan, being influenced by the market for the
product. The germ, though high in food value,
must be removed from the flour since it contains
much oil. This oil would in time become rancid
and thus affect the keeping quality of the flour.

The Development of Milling Centers. - - In
about 1835, the mills of Rochester, N. Y. were
taking first place among the mills of the United
States. Rochester was surrounded by about 2300
square miles of fertile valley land which was pro-
ducing wheat that took prize medals in European
exhibitions. The Erie Canal, Genesee River, and
Tonawanda Railroad brought to the Rochester
mills not only the wheat of this valley but also
that of Ohio and Canada. Within the city limits
of Rochester the Genesee River has successive falls
aggregating 268 feet. These wonderful falls serve
as a great source of power for milling. Rochester
because of these natural advantages came to be
known as the Flour City.

The next milling centers to develop were to the
west and south. By 1865 the leading wheat-pro-
ducing states were Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin,
and Ohio. Transportation was down the Missis-
sippi to New Orleans. St. Louis thus developed
as a receiving and milling center, and held first
place until 1880. Surrounded by wheat-produc-
ing areas, with easy transportation in all direc-

MILLING 165

tions, it has maintained a large and steady milling
trade since that time.

The introduction of the middlings milling sys-
tem stimulated the production of spring wheat in
what was then called the Northwest. The millers
of Minneapolis being in that locality were among
the first to adopt roller machinery. The develop-
ment and rapid growth of their mills was remark-
able. The Red River valley has been called
" the bread basket of the world," and Minneapo-
lis controls the gateway to it. With the power in
the falls of St. Anthony, the nearness to the wheat
country, and the transportation conveniences, the
result was inevitable. Minneapolis is now the
greatest flour-producing center in the world.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. What is meant by a gristmill ?

2. Why are the handstone and the quern referred to as
primitive milling devices ? Where are they in use now ?

3. What methods of milling were in- common use about
the time of the Revolutionary War ?

4. About when were modern milling methods intro-
duced ?

5. What are the essential differences between the old
buhrstone methods and the present gradual reduction pro-
cesses ?

6. Why do many mills have large wheat elevators as
part of their equipment ?

7. How is wheat made ready for grinding into flour ?

8. Describe the essential processes in manufacturing

166 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

flour. What is meant by break? Why are so many breaks
necessary ?

9. What are the by-products of milling ?

10. What is the purpose of bleaching flour ?

11. Trace the development of milling centers of the
United States.

12. If possible visit a flouring mill and write a story,
tracing the wheat through the various processes of manu-
facture into flour.

CHAPTER X
THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS

WHEAT is so closely associated with flour and
bread in our minds that we do not think of its
other products and uses. Among the products
of wheat, bread, because of its importance in the
diet of all civilized people, will, no doubt, always
have first place. Some parts of the wheat, how-

FIG. 77. — Some farmers burn their straw stacks.

ever, cannot be used as flour, and likewise certain
wheats have been found to be better adapted to
the manufacture of other products. The demand
for variety has also led to the manufacture of
many less common wheat foods. Furthermore
straw has various uses both in feed and in manu-
factures. Thus we see that wheat and its prod-
ucts enter into many industrial activities.

167

1 68

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

How the Wheat Straw is Used. - - In the big

wheat regions thousands of tons of straw are
burned every year. Smaller wheat districts burn
25 to 75 Per cent of the straw. This makes of
the straw almost a total loss and therefore such
a method can be only temporary. Although
there are many minor uses for straw, no means of

utilizing the
bulk of the
product has
yet been gener-
ally accepted.

Some farm-
ers scatter the
wheat straw
over the fields
as a top dress-
ing in order to

D T C V C n t the

blowing of the
soil. Sometimes the grain stacks are placed in
groups near gullies ; and, as the threshing is
done, the straw is piled into them to prevent
erosion. The straw stacks tend to check the water
in the gullies and so prevent their further growth.
Others place the straw on lower parts of the land,
then plow deeply, and thus improve the drainage.
These methods of using straw are all better than
burning it.

FIG. 78. — A straw stack placed at the head of a
gully to prevent erosion.

THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS 169

Wheat straw is fed to farm animals as a fod-
der. It is low in protein and fat and high in
carbohydrates. Its composition suggests that it
has much food value. This, however, is not the
case, since to digest and assimilate the nutrients
in the wheat straw, it takes practically as much,
energy as it furnishes. When other feed is scarce
a good deal of straw, however, is fed. Although
it has but little fattening value, it maybe valuable
in carrying stock through a period of famine.

Dry Matter and Digestible Food Materials in 100 Pounds of

Straw

FEEDING STUFF

TOTAL
DRY MATTER

PROTEIN

CARBOHYDRATES

FAT

Alfalfa Hay .
Wheat Straw

91-6%
90.4%

I0.58%

•37%

37-33%
36-30%

1.38%
•40%

In general the chief value of the straw lies in
its use as a fertilizer and an increasing amount is
so used each year. The nitrogen, phosphoric
acid, and potash which it contains are the im-
portant constituents which growing plants need.
If purchased as commercial fertilizer, the amount
of these elements which is found in a ton of wheat
straw would cost about $2.50. On this basis the
straw from an average 4<>acre field is worth $100.
This is a much higher value than can be obtained
from any of the other uses that we have discussed.

170

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

Straw that is to be applied as fertilizer serves
a double purpose. It is first used as bedding for
stock and is then returned to the soil as a manure.
Experiments upon lands that have been fertilized
in this manner have usually shown a decided in-
crease in crop yields.

Wheat straw is also used in a number of manu-
factured articles ;
for example,
mattresses, door-
mats, paper, and
hats. S t raw
pulp for the
manufacture of
paper is also an
important article
of commerce.
The production
of wood pulp,
however, has
lessened this use of the straw, since the wood
pulp is cheaper and is more easily utilized. The
manufacture of straw pulp is now practically con-
fined to Germany. It is used for the purpose
of making cheap printing paper harder and more
opaque. Manufacturers of straw hats likewise
depend largely upon wheat straw for their raw
material. The finest straw for this purpose comes
from the vicinity of Tuscany in Italy. There the

FIG. 79. — After the wheat has been cut,
weeds and grasses spring up in the stubble, afford-
ing autumn pasture.

THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS 171

straw is an important product of the wheat plant.
The plaiting of the straw, furthermore, gives em-
ployment to thousands of women and children.
Most of the plaits are sent to the factories of
England and some are imported by the United
States.

Wheat Grain as Stock Feed. - -Wheat grain not
only is relished by all kinds of farm stock but is
a valuable food. It is only within recent years,
however, that it has been so used to any great
extent. Since it costs more to produce wheat
than corn, wheat is not likely to become common
stock feed, but there are times when it can be
profitably used. A shortage of corn and an over-
production of wheat may bring about market con-
ditions that would warrant its feeding. Damaged
wheat, likewise, should be fed rather than sold at
a low price ; for, although the flour value, which
determines the price, may be very low, the feed-
ing value may be high. Wheat is fed as an
appetizer by mixing it with other grains. Since
it is so hard it should usually be ground or soaked
before feeding.

In the milling of wheat for flour, several by-
products are produced. These are usually known
as shorts and bran, and are important stock
feeds. Their composition varies in products from
different mills. In general, shorts contain most
of the germ and the screenings from the various

172 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

grades of flour. Bran is composed of the outer
coats of the kernels and of such portions of the
inner parts as are not separated in the milling
processes. The scourings from the grain are
usually added to the bran. Shorts and bran are
both concentrated stock feeds.

Wheat as a Food.- The wheat grain has its
largest use as a human food and in this capacity
has rapidly replaced the other grains. This is
due to its palatability rather than to its superiority
in sustaining life.

Sometimes the whole wheat is used. In this
case the grain is cleaned and cooked until it is
soft and then served with milk and fruits added.
This was the primitive method of preparing wheat.
Now it is usually more or less broken up and
separated according to its composition.

The Use of Wheat for Macaroni. — Macaroni
is an Italian preparation. It is made from hard
wheats, which have a high gluten content. They
are often called macaroni wheats, of which Durum
is a typical example. They are grown in nearly
all the wheat-producing countries. Some of the
very best macaroni wheats are grown in Russia
and Italy. Although originally an Italian indus-
try, macaroni is so widely used that many coun-
tries are now manufacturing it. In the United
States, from home-grown Durum wheat, about
100,000,000 pounds of macaroni are made annu-

THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS 173

ally. This quantity supplies only about one half the
demand. The industry is growing rapidly, how-
ever, and the products are being widely advertised
as " the best in the world," and " made in America
from American-grown wheats."

In the manufacture of macaroni the grain is
ground into a coarse granular product, called
semolina. This is put into a large mixer and boiling
water is added. The 'mass is stirred and then
kneaded into a dough. This is put into a cylinder

174 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

which has a perforated plate at the bottom and is
then forced through this plate. As the strings of
dough appear they are cut into desired lengths
and are then hung over poles or are spread out on
tables to dry and temper. There are various
names for the different forms of this substance.
If fine threads have been produced it is known as
vermicelli ; if it is in the form of thin sticks or
pipes it is called spaghetti. Sometimes the dough
is rolled thin and shaped into, various forms as
stars or discs. These forms are baked and are
sold either in package or bulk under the name paste.

Some of the macaroni made in European cities
is sun dried. It is placed on racks which are
sometimes left out in the streets until the product
is dry. This unsanitary method has been severely
criticized and so in recent years there has been much
improvement.

Most of the macaroni factories in the United
States are models of cleanliness. Their product
is kiln-dried and is handled by machinery. The
label, ' Made in the United States," indicates
high quality in macaroni.

The Use of Wheat in Cereal Foods. - - The manu-
facture in commercial quantities of cereal foods
made from wheat is of American origin. The
production of such foods is a prominent industry
in Battle Creek, Michigan, and in Niagara Falls,
New York. The high favor gained by cereal foods

THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS 175

has caused manufacturing plants to be established
in a great number of other cities throughout the
country.. This is especially true of the Mississippi
Valley region. Since the germ portion of the
grain is a by-product in milling, flouring mills
have frequently found it profitable to produce
certain kinds of wheat foods, particularly such
as make use of this germ portion of the grain.

Wheat foods are of many kinds : those which
are whole wheat and those which use but parts
of the kernel ; those which are cooked and those
which are uncooked. All are in general favor.
The reasons for their popularity are not hard to
find. Not only are they nutritious, palatable, and
inexpensive, but they are readily and quickly pre-
pared for table use. Because of their dryness
they are also easily kept fresh.

The factories where these cereal foods are made
are generally very sanitary. In the first process
all dirt and other foreign matter is removed and
the wheat is thoroughly cleaned. This cleansing
is accomplished by sifting, fanning, and scrubbing.
Then the clean wheat goes through the various
processes of preparation and finally the product
comes out ready for market. In the whole pro-
cess of preparation it has not been touched by
human hands. Even packing the food into the
cartons or packages is in nearly every instance done
by machinery.

176

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS 177

Total and Digestible Nutrients and Fuel Value of
Wheat Breakfast Foods l

PROPORTION OF TOTAL WATER

PROPORTION OF DIGESTIBLE

AND NUTRIENTS IN FOOD

NUTRIENTS IN FOOD

NAME OF FOOD

;» tn

O W «

pa —

> O

§ <

ij ^

K£W

O
oj

< Q

y ^

UH PH

Per

Calo-

Cent

ries

Whole Grain . .

10-5

11.9

2.1

71.9

1.8

Cracked Wheat .

IO.I

I I.I

1.7

73-8

1-7

1.6

8.1

I-S

68.7

1.2

1501

Rolled Wheat,

steam-cooked .

10.6

IO.2

1.8

74.1

1.8

I-S

8.5

1.6

70.7

I.I

1541

Flaked and

crisped, ready

to eat . . .

9-4

12.2

1.4

72.7

i-9

2-4

8-9

1-3

67.9

1.8

1500

Flaked, crisped,

and malted,

ready to eat .

9.0

12. 1

1.4

73.0

1.8

2.7

9-i

1-3

68.4

2.0

1526

Coarsely ground,

parched at

factory . . .

8.0

I4.2

3.1

72.3

I.O

1.4

11.5

2.8

70.1

I.I

1699

Shredded Wheat

8.1

10.6

1.4

76.0

2.1

1.8

7-7

!-3

7I.I

1.4

1521

Farina ....

10.9

II. 0

1.4

75 -9

•4

8-9

i-3

72-9

•3

1609

Crumbed and

malted . . .

5-6

12.2

I.O

77.6

1-7

1-9

9-1

•9

73-7

1.4

1923

Cereal foods of all kinds have been extensively
and ingeniously advertised and those made from
wheat have been given particularly wide publicity.
The claims sometimes made for them are aston-
ishing. When these foods first appeared on the
market, it was impossible to tell whether such
claims were true or fanciful. Investigators at

1 U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin 249.

178 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

experiment stations have studied their composi-
tion and food value so that now definite information
about them is available. The composition of the
various cereal foods made from wheat is about
the same. There 'are slight variations because of
differences in the grain used and in methods of
preparation. The main differences are in ap-
pearance and flavor. The table on page 177 shows
the average composition of the various breakfast
foods, the proportion of digestible nutrients which
they supply, and their energy values.

Because there is a bewildering number of trade
names, there has been no attempt made to use
them in this table. Instead there are used descrip-
tive terms which correctly group the foods and
answer the same purpose. An examination of
any special brand as to its appearance and physi-
cal characteristics will determine the class in which
it is included. A study of the table shows that
these foods are dry materials, for the average water
content is only about 10 per cent. They are
rather high in protein and are especially rich in
carbohydrates.

The Use of Wheat for Flour. — The uses of wheat
thus far described are of minor importance if we take
into account the quantities consumed. The great
bulk of wheat is made into flour which is used
not only in making bread but also for a variety
of less important foods. Because of differences

THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS 179

in the wheat and in methods of milling, there are
many kinds and grades of flour.

Flour made from Hard Wheat. - - Hard wheat
flour is the great bread flour. This fact is not due
to any especially high nutritive value but to the
fact that bread made from it is, on account of its
lightness, easily digested. The gluten content
of a flour largely determines its bread-making
qualities. When water is added, the gluten binds
the particles of flour together and the dough, in-
stead of being flaky, as in soda biscuit dough or
pie crust, is made tenacious. This gives it ability
to expand. If, on the other hand, the flour con-
tains too much gluten, the dough is sticky. It is
gluten in dough that gives it the quality of stretch-
ing and rising as the gas from the yeast develops
within it. Thus a light loaf is made.

Flour made from Soft Wheat. - - Soft wheat flour
has more starch and less gluten than that which
is made from hard wheat. It has its greatest
value in the making of foods in which tenacity and
expansion are undesirable or unnecessary. Soft
wheat is better for crackers, cake, and pastry.
Bread made from this flour is white, but is likely
to be heavy.

Flour made from Durum Wheat. - - Durum wheat
flour is very high in gluten. It is used chiefly in
the manufacture of macaroni. Dough made from
Durum flour is sticky and hard to handle. The

i8o THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

bread is yellow and has a peculiar, nutty taste. It
holds moisture better than bread made from other
flours. Durum flour is likewise of value in blends.
The successful blend does away with the stickiness
of the dough and lightens the color. It gives a
moist bread of good flavor. Although the grain
is so hard that it has presented difficult problems,
the use of Durum flour has increased rapidly in the
last few years. When the problems of milling and
baking are overcome, Durum wheat will undoubt-
edly come into much more general use.

Graham Flour. - - Graham flour is simply wheat
meal ; that is, the entire grain ground into a pow-
der. Since the branny portions will not reduce
as easily as the inner parts, they remain coarse.
To overcome this objection, the bran is sometimes
ground separately. Graham flour is also used
chiefly for bread. We frequently hear that bread
made from graham flour is more nutritious than
that made from white flour. Experiments and
tests seem to show that, since nutritive value de-
pends upon composition and digestibility, white
flour yields the more nourishment. There is not,
however, a great difference. Graham flour has
high protein content, but also contains a large per-
centage of indigestible matter.

Whole Wheat Flour. - - Entire or whole wheat
flour suggests a product identical with the graham.
This is not the case, however, for, in whole wheat

THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS 181

flour, the outer branny layers of the grain are re-
moved. Entire wheat flour is also not as coarse
as graham. Much of the so-called whole wheat
flour is merely a mixture of patent flour, middlings,
low grade flour, and germ. Bread made from this
flour yields more energy than that made from gra-
ham and less than that made from white flour.

Composition of Breads as shown by Experimental

Studies 1

MATERIAL

PROTEIN

FAT

CARBO-
HYDRATES

ASH

Bread made from Oregon Wheat
Flour.

Standard Patent
Entire Wheat . .
Graham ....

8.32%

9-49%
9-94%

1-37%
1.82%

1-83%

88.93%
87.24%
85.72%

1.38%

i-45%
2.51%

Bread made from Oklahoma
Wheat Flour.

Standard Patent
Entire Wheat
Graham ....

16.24%
18.06%

1843%

1.02%
1-77%

i-94%

82.03%

78.75%
77.12%

•71 %
i. 60 %

2.51%

White Flour. - -White flour is the flour which is
most widely used. It contains about 73 per cent
of the kernel of the wheat. The germ and the
bran are both removed in the milling and the re-
mainder is made very fine by repeated grinding

1U. S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin No. 389.

182 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

and bolting. It makes a whiter, lighter loaf
than is made by either graham or entire wheat
flour.

There are many brands and grades of white
flour. By sorting the various parts of the wheat
during its reduction, each mill produces several
grades, all of which differ in composition and
texture. The highest grade is called Best, Fancy,
Patent, or some similar name. Other grades are
Standard, Choice, and Family. The several grades
manufactured by each miller are peculiar to his
mill. These differences are due to the physical
and chemical character of the wheat used, to mill-
ing methods, and to the skill of the miller. Each
miller must keep his products uniform so that
the baking qualities of the different grades of
flour will remain constant day by day. Bakers
are so particular about this that they test each
fresh lot of flour and report any variation in quality
that they find. The housekeeper likewise prefers
a brand with uniform bread-making qualities and,
when one proves unsatisfactory in this respect,
usually changes brands.

Of all the forms in which wheat has been used
as human food, bread has proved the most satis-
factory. It is palatable and easily served in a
variety of combinations. It is well digested with
very little waste. The protein content is too low
for it to serve as the sole article of diet, but, eaten

THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS 183

with other foods, it is invaluable and well deserves
its title, " the staff of life."

Methods of Bread Making. - - In past years bread
making was done almost exclusively in the home,
but, like many other domestic arts, it has been
largely taken over by the factory. The home has,
however, only with a great deal of reluctance
given up the baking of bread. Until recent years
the home-baked loaf was far superior to the prod-
uct of the factory. This was shown in the con-
tempt that people had for baker's bread and in
the delight that patrons of bakeries expressed when
afforded an opportunity to eat home-made bread.
Though now factory-made bread is usually of excel-
lent quality, the reputation of the home-made arti-
cle is still superior. The strength of this opinion is
shown in the fact that practically every town and
city has a bakery using the label ' ' Home-made '
or " Mother's Bread ' for its product.

Although bakeshops are as old as history, for
many centuries there was but little progress in
them. Within recent years, however, the baking
business has been revolutionized to such an extent
that even the men who have been responsible for
the rapid changes are still marveling at them.
While some bakeries still exist in which there are
few indications of progress, in the great majority
of cases new and better ways are displacing the
old.

i84 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

Scientific Methods of Bread Making. — The house-
wife and the old-time baker recognize that a cer-
tain amount of luck enters into each baking. They
cannot produce a uniform product. Modern bak-
ing is scientifically done. Nothing is left to
chance. The baker has studied the principles of
baking and understands the working of the laws
that govern his product. In his bakery there is
a laboratory where with microscopes, tubes, bal-
ances, and other instruments, the materials to be
used are tested by experts. By this means baking
qualities of the flour are determined and uniform-
ity is maintained by blending flours whose con-
tents are known. The temperature and the
humidity of the mixing room are likewise controlled
to such an extent that uniform conditions are
maintained regardless of weather changes. Flour,
yeast, salt, milk, sugar, - - everything put into
the vat is weighed in exact proportions. Should
the flour or yeast vary or should a slightly differ-
ent product be desired, the baker knows just
what treatment is needed to produce the desired
results. He is guided by scientific laws.

Sanitation in Bread Making. - - The teachings
and demands of modern sanitary science and the
desire to cut down manufacturing expense have
been factors which have acted as a spur to both
machine men and bakers. Both of these causes
have stimulated a demand for automatic processes

THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS 185

of bread making. These processes are in turn
being improved each year. Now no hand need
at any time come into contact with the bread.
The materials are weighed, tempered exactly, put
into the mixers, thoroughly combined, and forced
into troughs in the fermenting room. When the
dough has reached the desired lightness it is
dropped out of the troughs into the divider, where
it is cut into pieces of the weight desired. These
pieces are then carried on a canvas belt to the
rounder, by which they are rolled into balls. They
are then conveyed into the proofer. This is an
inclosed vat where the balls are moved slowly up
and down until they recover their lightness.
From the proofer they are carried through the
molder, where they are given proper shape. The
molder drops them into the baking pans, which
are placed on racks until ready to be transferred
into the ovens. After the loaves have been taken
from the oven and cooled, they pass through the
wrapping machine. Then they are ready for the
delivery wagon.

The bread delivery wagons are familiar sights
in every city and even in some rural districts.
An up-to-date bread wagon has a closed box
which is lined with canvas to keep out the
dust. The loaves rest on trays and the whole
interior is kept scrupulously clean.

The strictly modern bakery is a model of sani-

1 86

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

tation. Walls and floors are white and are kept
free from dirt. The workmen, before beginning
their tasks, are required to put on white suits sup-
plied by the bakery. There is little opportunity
for contamination of the bread. It is true that
such care is not evident in every bakeshop, but

FIG. 82. — Modern method of delivering bread. The loaves are wrapped
in waxed paper by machinery at the bakery.

rigid inspection is rapidly eliminating unsanitary
conditions.

The Making of Biscuits or Crackers. - In
Europe all articles of food in the shape of small
sweetened or flavored cakes made from flour are
called biscuits. Such cakes were at first unknown

THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS 187

in the United States, and the term generally
applied to the first crude productions made of
plain and unsweetened dough was cracker. In
this country the term cracker has continued
to be used for the plain, crisp, unflavored product.
But when our crackers were introduced into

Courtesy Loose-Wiles Biscuit Co.
FIG. 83. — A large factory where biscuits, or crackers, are made.

Europe, they were included under the title of
biscuits and to some extent this general classifica-
tion has been adopted here. Both names are still
in use.

The first cracker which was produced in the
United States was the pilot or ship bread. This

188 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

was a large, clumsy, hand-made crisp loaf, which
was baked on a piece of sheet iron placed on the
floor of a tile oven. To-day the manufacture of
biscuits is a large industry and it has reached a
high rank in efficiency. Machinery has altogether
taken the place of hand labor. The European
sweetened cake is also produced in this country,
where altogether over five hundred varieties of
biscuit are manufactured. Although we have an
increasing export trade with the West Indies,
Central, and South America, our crackers and
cakes are largely consumed at home. Attempts
have been made to introduce new brands into
European markets but they are soon produced in
English ovens and the American trade declines.
This is because of the almost prohibitory com-
petition of foreign, cheap labor.

The manufacture of biscuits demands intelli-
gence and business sagacity. New specialties are
constantly being produced, and a host of artists
are kept busy originating attractive and suitable
labels and coverings for the various packages in
which the goods meet the public. An afternoon
tea or luncheon is not complete without some of
these dainty biscuits. Ice cream parlors use them
in enormous quantities. Not a picnic party plans
an outing without calling on the grocer for a sup-
ply of biscuit. Every vessel that crosses the ocean
carries them in its storeroom. They are used

THE USES OF WHEAT PRODUCTS 189

almost everywhere as an important article in food
supply.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Why do we usually think of wheat whenever ref-
erence is made to bread ? From what other grains is bread
made ?

2. In what ways is wheat straw commonly disposed of?
What manufactured articles in common use are made of
wheat straw ?

3. Why is wheat not generally used as stock feed,
particularly in the United States ?

4. Suggest reasons for the popularity of macaroni as an
article of diet. Discuss methods of its manufacture in
American factories.

5. Why have cereal breakfast foods come into such
general favor ? Generally what is true of the sanitary con-
ditions under which they are made ?

6. Make a list o'f the wheat foods sold in your locality
and learn where each is made.

7. What is the principal use of flour ? How do flours
made from hard and soft wheats differ in baking qualities ?

8. What is the most important use of flour made from
Durum wheat ?

9. Compare graham flour and the so-called whole
wheat flour as to their content and uses.

10. By inquiry of grocers and flour dealers, learn what
brands and grades of flour are manufactured or sold in your
town. At what different prices are they sold ? Try to find
out why some grades sell at higher prices than others.

11. Visit, if possible, a large bakery and write the story
of "The Baking of Bread." Compare methods with those
used in the home.

CHAPTER XI
INDUSTRIAL REVIEW

The History of the Wheat Plant. - - Wheat early
became a cultivated plant. Its origin precedes
human history. It was cultivated by the Chinese
3000 years before the birth of Christ and, accord-
ing to their legends, is a direct gift from heaven.
A field was plowed each year by the emperor in
preparation for the planting. Thus he expressed
his appreciation for the gift, and by his work he
dignified labor.

The Egyptians have a legend attributing the
origin of wheat to Osiris, the goddess of the Nile.
A tomb at Thebes built probably about 1500 B.C.
bears a painting which shows some of the early
cultural methods of the Egyptians.

Wheat is often referred to in both the Old and
the New Testaments. Job xxxi, 40 indicates that
some of the wheat pests were known, for it reads,
' Let thistles grow instead of wheat." In the
third chapter of Matthew we get a hint of early
threshing methods : : Whose fan is in his hand,
and he will thoroughly purge his floor and gather

190

INDUSTRIAL REVIEW 191

his wheat into the garner." These references
prove that wheat was cultivated and was an im-
portant food at least among the peoples of ancient
Egypt and Palestine.

The accounts of Strabo, the Greek historian,
and of Lippert, a Chaldean writer, point to the
valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates as the original
home of wheat. The most widely accepted theory
holds that there it was first domesticated. From
this center it spread over western Asia, Africa,
Europe, and then to the New World.

Wheat in America. - - So far as is known, wheat
was not grown in America before the discovery
by Columbus. It is said that a few grains were
found in some rice which was used as food by
Cortez and that these were sown before 1530.
Missionaries introduced wheat into California in
1769. Gosnold, in 1602, brought some wheat into
the eastern part of the continent, where it was
planted on the Elizabeth Islands off the southern
coast of Massachusetts. Although wheat was
first cultivated in Virginia in 1607, the region of
its first commercial importance in North America
was northern Maryland and southern Pennsyl-
vania. Baltimore was the first great wheat-ex-
porting city of the North American colonies.

Motive Power in Wheat Production. — Man.

- Man's own energy was the only power used in

cultivation for a long time. To us this seems a

192 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

low type of development. Progress was very
slow and each step forward covered much time.
As long as man was using his own energy as mo-
tive power, he had little left to expend for other
purposes and, thus unable to invent better means,
he continued to scratch the soil with sticks. Bar-
barous and semicivilized people are still found
in various parts of the world who raise wheat in
much the same manner as did prehistoric man.
Among them, conditions are such that human
labor is indeed the most economical.

The Use of Animals in Raising Wheat. - The
utilization of animal power marks a great step in
advance. Then with the advent of the use of
oxen, camels, mules, and horses, man was relieved
of much of the drudgery of farm work and was
required to make higher use of his intellect.

The Use of Steam and Gas Power in Raising Wheat.
— Next came the use of steam and gas power,
forms which are now of great importance in the
large wheat regions. Though they have been
applied to many phases of wheat production, they
are most widely used in plowing and threshing.

Plowing. - The most primitive plow known
was merely a crooked stick that man used in
loosening the soil. Some of the early plows had
a piece of wood attached which projected forward
so that two men could pull it. Two men likewise
held the plow in the ground by means of a handle

INDUSTRIAL REVIEW

behind. This was hard work, and the plowing
was poorly done. The plow pictured on Egyptian
monuments was better shaped and was tipped
with iron. Long before the time of Christ, how-
ever, plows were made so that animals could be
hitched to them. Plows are now of various kinds,
adapted to the various types of soils as well as to
the various forms
of motive power.
The depth of
plowing also can
be regulated to
suit varying con-
ditions. Thus in
contrast with the
old, the modern
plow is a fairly complex machine.

Sowing. - - Following nature's method of seed-
ing, man first scattered the grain over the ground.
Practice made the sower so skillful that the re-
quired amount of wheat was scattered evenly over
the field. Pictures of the ancient sower clearly
bring out the rhythmic tread and the swing of
the arm as he threw the grain from the bag which
hung from his shoulder. This method of sowing
was called broadcasting, and is still followed where
farms are small or where the standards of farming
are low. Hand sowing was hard and tedious work.
In time mechanical broadcasters came into use

FIG. 84. — The wooden plow in use during
colonial times in North America. The iron point
was the most costly part.

194 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

and such machines are still found in operation.
Where large areas are to be sown the wagon
broadcaster is the most popular of these machines.
With this implement over a hundred acres can be
sown per day, whereas by hand one man can sow
only about sixteen acres. The machine may also
be regulated to sow thick or thin as may be de-
sired. A later method of planting which devel-
oped is drilling. This has an advantage over
broadcasting in that the seed is not scattered by
the wind, and is planted at a uniform depth.

Harrowing. - - Some method of leveling and
pulverizing the soil has always been used as far
back as we are able to trace the story of agricul-
ture. The oldest method known was to drag a
branching limb of a tree back and forth over the
field. Sometimes several branches were fastened
together, thus covering a wider area. This method
is common even now in some countries. Later,
wooden pegs were fastened into branches, making
thus a crude harrow which, drawn over the fields,
would comb and rake the soil to an even surface.
Such harrows were used by the Romans before
the Christian era. They resembled in their essen-
tials the modern machines. Improvements have
added to the effectiveness of this implement and
it is now made in sections so that it will better
reach uneven surfaces. Likewise in the modern
implement the teeth are so adjusted by means of

INDUSTRIAL REVIEW 195

a lever that they may be set at the proper angle
for best results.

Harvesting. - - Means of gathering the crop
seem to have presented the greatest difficulty,
and very radical changes have taken place even
within recent times. The fundamental princi-
ples involved in the other machinery were applied
in the most ancient times. Harvesting methods
remained crude and inadequate through all the
early centuries.

The Sickle. - - While the first method of gather-
ing grain was probably by pulling it up and break-
ing off the heads either by hand or with a crude
comb, the use of simple machinery began early.
Sickles of bronze and iron have been found among
ancient ruins in Europe. Egyptian harvest
methods in use long before the Christian era are
represented in their ancient paintings. There
sickle-like implements were used, and the grain
was either cut just below the heads or was cut
low down and bound into sheaves. Ancient
Chinese, Japanese, Greeks, and Romans also used
sickles. The earliest form of sickle seems to have
consisted of a slightly curved blade of iron or
bronze fastened at one end to a straight handle.
Soon the blade became serrated, strengthened,
and more curved. The sickle also became lighter.
A man cut on an average about an acre a day.
Usually the grain was gathered into sheaves and

196 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

bound with a handful of straw. Even though the
sickle was one of the earliest instruments, it is still
used in small fields in Palestine, China, Spain, and
other places.

The Cradle. - - Another ancient reaping instru-
ment was the cradle. It was operated with both
hands and carried a framework to collect the grain
as it was cut. Americans perfected the cradle ;
and, in the perfected form, the cradle rapidly
replaced the sickle. It seems strange that so
simple an implement and one used in prehistoric
times should not sooner have reached a perfected
form. For thousands of years the sickle and the
crude cradle had been practically the only har-
vesting implements used in the wheat harvest.
The American cradle came into use during the
Revolutionary War. It marked the beginning of
inventions which have led to the complicated
machinery of to-day.

The Header. - - Ancient writings give an ac-
count of a crude harvesting machine which was
used in Gaul about 70 A.D. According to Pliny's
description this was a header. It consisted of a
box mounted on two wheels. In front of the box
was a set of teeth made of sticks and set close
together. An ox yoked to the rear moved this
implement through the field. The teeth tore off
the heads of the wheat, which a man then raked
into the box.

INDUSTRIAL REVIEW

197

This machine fell into disuse and was forgotten
for many centuries, but its history seems to have
served as the basis for the first English inventions.
An early English header was planned by William
Pitt, and constructed about 1786. It had a re-
volving cylinder set with teeth by means of which
the heads of wheat were caught and carried over

Courtesy International Harvester Co.
FIG. 85. — The first reaper.

into a box at the rear. This was the first of a
series of machines which led to the perfection of
the modern header sixty-three years later.

The Reaper. - - In the meantime a set of ma-
chines built along different lines was invented.
These machines were called reapers. The first
reapers made by the English had not proved very
successful, when, in 1803, American machines
began to appear. These soon became the leading

198

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

reapers both in the United States and in Europe.
Although they are seldom used now in harvesting
the grain in the United States, the American
reapers are still the best on the market. Reapers,
when the grain is cut, leave it about the field in
loose bunches. This grain must then be bound

FIG. 86. — Modern harvesting methods. So:

into sheaves by hand. In the United States,
labor was scarce and large land areas favored ex-
tensive cultivation. Because of this condition, the
demand for a binding attachment in connection
with the reaping machines became urgent and
served to stimulate invention. These inventions

INDUSTRIAL REVIEW

199

have resulted in the present self-binding harvester,
an American product. It is really a combination
of the good points of all other types of machines
with a binding device added.

The Self-binder. - The story of the struggle to
make the machine bind the grain is a very inter-

s several binders are pulled by one tractor.

esting one. The first attempts were made about
1850, but the efforts were not rewarded with success
until more than twenty years later. The process
looks so easy now. We watch the binder collect
a bunch of grain, encircle it with twine, tie the
knot, cut the twine, and drop the bundle ; and we

200 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

are apt to lose sight of the fact that hundreds of
attempts to solve this problem were made before
success came.

We have seen that the credit for working out the
foundation principles of harvesting machinery
belongs to English inventors. American genius,
however, improved and perfected the machines
and thus made them practical. The English
originated the idea, but the Americans brought
about the real development of harvesting
machinery. American harvesting machines are
the most nearly perfect in the world and are being
used in all wheat countries.

Threshing the Grain. - - In threshing, no doubt,
the first grain was shelled out by hand. There
are, however, records of many other primitive
ways of securing the wheat. Probably one of the
first was to pound the grain out with the sticks
or to beat the sheaf upon the ground. As produc-
tion increased, these methods became too tedious.
The ancient Egyptians spread the loosened sheaves
on a circular inclosure of hard ground from fifty
to one hundred feet in diameter and drove animals
round and round over it so as to tread out the
grain. This inclosure was usually an elevated
piece of ground so that the wind could be utilized
in clearing away the chaff. Since such a method
was injurious to the grain, the threshing sledge
gradually took the place of treading. This device

INDUSTRIAL REVIEW 201

was either a platform with a grooved bottom or a
heavy spiked roller which was drawn over the
threshing floor by oxen. The Greeks likewise
used the sledge and it is even yet doing service in
some countries. A crude thresher now used in
Italy appears to be a descendant of the sledge.
It is a tapering roller fastened to an upright pole
located at the center of the threshing floor and
pulled around at the outer end by oxen. Both of
these methods have been used in the United
States.

Horses were used in early times to tramp out
the grain, and sledges were found as late as 1830.
The flail, which was in common use as late as 1860,
probably grew out of the early method of beating
with sticks. It consisted of two shaped sticks
fastened together at one end with stout thongs. One
stick was the handle, the other the beater. In 1 73 2
a Scotchman worked out what was then considered
a wonderful invention. He united a large num-
ber of flails which were driven by water power.
All the early machines following this were produced
by the Scotch, and they really furnish the principles
of the modern thresher.

The first threshing machines merely shelled out
the grain. Improvements which involved years of
experimental study were gradually added. Fully
five to ten per cent of the grain was lost in these
hand methods of threshing and the first machines

202 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

did no better. The modern machine catches practi-
cally all of the grain. A cleansing device was an
early addition to the thresher by which all straw
and chaff was removed in the one process. Other
improvements reduced the noise and lessened the
power necessary to run them. Then came the
self-feeder, the band cutter, and the straw stacker.
These attachments not only reduced the number

FIG. 87. — The new method of threshing — the combine.

of men needed but saved time and added to the
efficiency of the work. Threshing machines began
to come into common use in England about 1820
and were widely used in the United States in 1835.
At first the threshers were run by water power or
by wind. Later horse power became common.
It was not until about 1876, however, that steam
began to come into use. Practically all the

INDUSTRIAL REVIEW 203

threshing in large wheat areas is now done by
steam or gas power.

The Development of the Wheat Industry. - The
extensive fields of the New World served as the
direct incentives for the invention of wheat-
producing machinery. Population was small ;
labor, scarce ; and opportunities for production
were great. Mechanical means for assisting
human labor were necessary and so inventive
genius responded. Modern machinery is the re-
sult. In other new fields machinery likewise
made production profitable, so that the wheat-
raising industry led to rapid settlement of Australia
and Argentina. The Old World found that machin-
ery could do much to increase the amount of
production and lower the cost. Thus modern
methods are characteristic of every great wheat
country. These methods must of course vary
with local conditions.

It is interesting in this respect to learn how the
different nations take their places in the produc-
tion and utilization of the world's wheat crop.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Suggest reasons why the Chinese regard wheat as
a direct gift from Heaven.

2. How do the legends of the origin of wheat show
similarity in recognizing its qualities ?

3. Account for the fact that wheat was one of the first

204 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

grains planted by the Virginia colonists. Where was the
seed wheat grown ?

4. Why was improvement in methods of tillage very
slow as long as man did all his work by hand ?

5. Contrast the primitive methods of plowing with the
modern.

6. How are seeds planted by nature ? How has man
improved nature's method of planting wheat ?

7. What were the primitive harvest implements ?

8. Give a brief resume of threshing operations showing
development of methods from ancient to modern.

9. Explain how the large fields of the New World
served as incentives to progress in wheat production methods.

10. How did the increasing population of European and
American countries serve to stimulate inventions ?

11. Explain how improved methods of production have
affected the settlement and development of new wheat lands.

CHAPTER XII
THE WHEAT COUNTRIES

Now that we have studied wheat, its form,
the manner of its growth, and its uses, we are
ready to learn what it means to the life of different
peoples. It is of interest to know where wheat is
grown, to what extent, and why. So we are to
study briefly those countries that rank high in the
production of this crop, for the purpose of learning
how wheat contributes to their prosperity and how
it affects other countries by entering into the
markets of the world. Although wheat is grown
to some extent in nearly every country, our study
must necessarily be confined to the countries
where wheat is of considerable commercial impor-
tance. By this is meant either the countries which
produce much wheat to sell or those which buy
from other countries and so are important as
markets for wheat. For illustration, Greece,
China, and Brazil produce wheat, and they also
buy some wheat and flour, but since in those
countries the wheat trade is not very important,
we omit them from our list.

The various wheat regions have different con-

205

206

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

THE WHEAT COUNTRIES 207

ditions of soils, climates, and peoples, hence
methods of producing and handling the crop
are greatly varied. Since the discussion of wheat
production has been based largely on the methods
practiced in our own country, the contrast will
be more vivid if we begin with the wheat regions
which are far from the United States. For our
first studies we have selected the countries of the
southern hemisphere. These will be followed by
those of North America, Asia, and Europe in the
order named.

WHEAT IN AUSTRALIA

Australia. — Location and Extent. — In a position
on the globe almost directly opposite that of
the United States, lies Australia, which may
be called either the largest island or the small-
est continent. Until commerce became important,
it was almost completely isolated from all other
lands. Its native plant and animal life is char-
acterized by forms which are found on no other
continent. Its geographical position is stated
as latitude 10° 39' to 39° n' south and longi-
tude 113° to 135° east. Its approximate length,
east and west, is 2200 miles and its breadth,
north and south, 1300 miles. Although it has an
area nearly equal to that of the United States
proper, its population is only one eighteenth as
great. Its importance in the wheat industry is

208 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

shown by the fact that it generally exports nearly
three fourths as much wheat as does the United
States.

The Location of the Wheat-producing Area. — The
wheat-producing regions are confined at present
almost entirely to the southeastern and south-
western parts of the continent. Of the two, the
southeastern district is by far the more important.
Some wheat is raised in the interior under irriga-
tion, but its quantity is not great. Still, in spite
of the localized areas, wheat is the most important
crop grown in Australia. This is shown by the
fact that of the arable land about 63 per cent is at
present planted to that crop, while there is but
17 per cent in hay, 6 per cent in oats, and 14 per
cent in other crops.

The Climate of the Wheat-producing Area. — The
climate is the chief factor which controls wheat
production. The northern and eastern parts of
the continent lie in the region of the southeast
trade winds. These winds bring moisture to the
eastern portion. To the westward there is a range
of mountains called the Australian Alps whose
altitude is so great that it serves to condense the
moisture on the east slopes and highlands and
leaves the western slopes dry. Since the western
plateaus are not high enough to cause condensa-
tion of moisture to any great extent, these condi-
tions produce a very dry, desert-like interior of

THE WHEAT COUNTRIES

209

'&MA&&&&&'*

—•^ mnl ^/^J^w&Kmjt M 'u;!'

Bfa

Courtesy Dept. of Agriculture, New South Wales.

FIG. 89. — Harvesting methods in Australia : / and 2, use of the binder ;
J, the stripper-harvester, strips heads from stalks ; 4, wheat in sacks ; 5, threshing.

210

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

the continent. This interior region is often called
the Dead Heart of Australia. The monsoons
bring some moisture to the northern coast region
as do the west winds to the southwest coast.
Winter is the season of most abundant rainfall
in the southwestern part of the country, and for

FIG. go. — Wheat in shock in New South Wales. Shocks there are generally

called stocks.

the southeast districts a large part of the rainfall
occurs in the spring. In considering Australia, it
must be remembered that the seasons there are
the reverse of those in the United States. Our
winters occur during their summers. The tem-
perature is generally warm. The lowlands in
the southern part of the country are never cold,
and the northern part is of course tropical.

THE WHEAT COUNTRIES 211

The Methods of Cultivation. - The chief reason
for the extensive growth of wheat in this country
is that it will yield fairly well even with an annual
rainfall as low as 18 or 20 inches. This leads also
to extensive rather than to intensive farming.
Fields are large, and population low. The acreage
per capita is about four times that of the United
States.

Wheat growing in Australia must contend not

•

FIG. 91. — Hauling bundles to stack.

only with uncertain rainfall but also with insect
pests and rusts. The latter are very active and
live through the winter on the seed wheat. Scarc-
ity of labor at harvest time is another difficulty,
this being especially true in seasons of heavy
yields.

The Use of Machinery.- -The work is done al-
most entirely by machinery. Plowing and seeding
are done in very much the same manner as in the
United States. In many districts the harvesting

212

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

is performed by huge machines which cut or
strip and thresh at once. These are drawn by
engines in which straw, because of its cheapness,
is usually used for fuel. One of the first stripper-
threshers was an Australian invention. These
machines strip the heads from the plants and leave
the straw standing in the field. Such methods of
reaping require the wheat to be dry, ripe, and
fairly clean of weeds. Both the colonial and

FIG. 92. — Stacking wheat in Australia.

English home governments have offered bounties
and prizes in order to encourage thorough and
progressive methods of labor. The harvest season
lasts from December to January.

The Production of Wheat in Australia. --Australia.
produces about the same yield per acre as the
United States, the general average being from 12 to
15 bushels per acre. The yield, which depends on
the seasons, fluctuates very much from year to
year. The total production in 1911 was 98,109,000

THE WHEAT COUNTRIES

213

bushels, but dropped to 73,894,000 in 1912. 1
This fluctuation is not unusual in amount.
Generally speaking, the total production of
Australia is about the same as that of Kansas.
White wheat is used almost universally as seed,
and the varieties of commercial importance have
all been introduced from foreign lands. The
grain is of a bright, clear color, of even texture, is
rich in gluten, and is of fine milling quality.

Production of Wheat, 1913

STATE

ACREAGE

TOTAL CROP

YIELD PER
ACRE

Queensland

I25,OOO

2,038,000 bu.

16.2 bu.

New South Wales

2,231,000

33,499,000

15.0 "

Victoria

2,085,000

27,050,000 "

12.9 "

South Australia

2,o8o,OOO

22,174,000 "

10.6 "

Western Australia

793,000

9,457,000

11.9 "

Tasmania

25,000

6^0,000 "

260 "

Total Australia

7,339,006

94,868,000 "

12.9 "

The Transportation of Wheat. — Roads and Rail-
roads. — Transportation facilities are still inade-
quate. Since there is but one partly navigable
stream on the whole continent, chief dependence
must be placed on roads, many of which the state
builds and maintains with convict labor. The

'Year Book of U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1913.

214 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

railways are also owned largely by the states.
Unfortunately, however, the various states have
different gauge roads, a fact which causes reload-
ing at state lines.

The Exportation of Wheat. - - Although her total
production is not much greater than that of one
of the largest wheat-producing states of our own

• .. • .'j#**«^-^.--^sw4iAi&tgm, . .'.. -.,,:- *-i.:-.

FIG. 93. — Characteristic wheat stacks in Australia.

country, Australia exports large quantities of
wheat. This is because of her small population.
The exports in 1911 amounted to over 63,319,000
bushels. The amount which was exported by the
United States in the same year was 83,330,000
bushels. The principal export centers are Mel-
bourne and Sydney. The latter city is the terminal
for many steamship lines. Most of the export
trade is to Great Britain and to British colonies,

THE WHEAT COUNTRIES 215

especially those of South Africa. This has be-
come especially true in recent years because of
the enactment of tariff laws which make this
mutual trade very advantageous. The raw wheat
is exchanged in the mother country for manufac-
tured articles which are needed in Australia.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Where is Australia located in comparison with the
United States ? How large is it ? Of what country is it a
colony ?

2. Explain how the climate of Australia limits wheat
raising to certain portions of the continent.

3. Suggest reasons why large wheat fields predominate.

4. What are the chief problems of successful wheat
production which the Australian farmer must meet ?

5. How does the English government encourage Austra-
lian agriculture ?

6. Why is England vitally interested in promoting wheat
growing in Australia ?

7. What is true of the quality of Australian wheat ?

8. Why is the average yield per acre not very high ?

9. Why can Australia export a large per cent of the
wheat she produces ?

10. What countries and colonies serve as the principal
markets for Australian wheat ? Explain the advantages of
this marketing situation.

2l6

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

-50

75° Longitude ^0, AV'e&t Cape Horn from 60' Greenwich 55'

FIG. Q4. — • Map of Argentina.

CHAPTER XIII
WHEAT IN ARGENTINA

Position and Extent of the Country. - The
Argentine Republic is the greatest wheat-producing
country in the southern hemisphere. Although
we may remember its location fairly well from
previous study, it will help us to look up its lati-
tude and longitude position in some geography
textbook. We shall then note that its north and
south extent is greater than that of the United
States. We shall note also that it is situated nearly
as far south of the equator as the United States is
north. Because of this position, the seasons there,
as in Australia, are the reverse of those in our own
country. It has an area of 1,139,979 square miles.
This is more than one third the area of the
United States proper. With its population of 7,080,-
ooo (1912) it thus averages only 6.2 inhabitants
per square mile.

The Location of the Wheat-producing Area.-
The region of most successful wheat production is to
the west of Buenos Aires. It extends as far north
as latitude 30°, and on the south the limit has not
yet been reached. The greater part of the wheat

217

218 THE -WHEAT INDUSTRY

is, however, raised between parallels 30° and 40°
south latitude. Prior to 1877 not enough wheat
was grown to supply home needs, but since that
time Argentina has been regularly an exporting
country. In 1912 the wheat area was 17,089,000
acres, and even then it is estimated that only
twenty per cent of the possible area for wheat was
used. Wheat growing is moving southward and
westward. With increased population and the
building of new railroads, the wheat-growing
region is rapidly being extended, so that within a
few years the acreage promises to be doubled.

The Topography of the Area. - The wheat-grow-
ing region is a vast plain. It is broken by few hills,
and slopes from the Andes and other lofty moun-
tains in the west and north gradually toward the
Atlantic. The soil is for the most part fairly deep,
is quite fertile, open, and favorable to natural
drainage.

The Climate of the Area. - The climate is such
that the soil can be tilled at almost any time of
the year. Unless it is a cold, dry winter and the
pastures become bare, the farmer is able to work
his animals throughout the winter with very little
dry feed. In the wheat region the yearly rainfall
varies from 9 to 48 inches. If a wet summer is
followed by a warm, open winter, the wheat is
likely to suffer from the resulting heavy growth of
weeds. When there is rain during the warm winter,

WHEAT IN ARGENTINA

219

this condition is made much worse. Cold fogs
and frosts which occasionally come late in the
spring also cause serious losses to wheat growers.
The summers, likewise, sometimes become ex-
ceedingly hot, a case in which plants must be very
strong and healthy and be well rooted if they are

FIG. QS. — Fifty harvesting machines going into the wheat field from a small

town in Argentina.

to produce crops. Since the winds are not usually
severe, this menace is not great. Droughts, how-
ever, in many sections of the country often work
great damage.

The Kinds of Wheat grown in Argentina. -
The wheat-growing region may, on the basis of

220 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

kind of wheat produced, be classified into three
main divisions : the hard Durum, the semi-soft,
and the semi-hard wheat districts.

The Durum Wheat. - The hard Durum, or
macaroni wheat, district is the northernmost
division, lying approximately between parallels
29° and 32° south latitude. There, the general
dryness of the air, the warm temperature, and
the sandy soil favor wheat of this kind. The
district is not large and the wheat produced is
almost all used for home consumption in the form
of macaroni and similar foods. North of this
district wheat production has not been found
profitable.

The Semi-Soft Wheat. - The semi-soft wheat
district, which is by far of greatest importance
now, lies in central Argentina, between parallels
32° and 38° south latitude. This is the region
nearest Buenos Aires ; and, for this reason, mar-
keting conditions have been more favorable than
for the newer sections to the south. The common
bread wheats are here grown. Of these there are
numerous varieties, among which the Barletta,
Russian, Hungarian, and French are the best
known. The Barletta wheat is especially worthy
of note, for it has proved to be the most popular.
It resembles the Turkey Red of Kansas and
Nebraska, although it is not so hard. It was
originally introduced from Italy and has proved

WHEAT IN ARGENTINA 221

well adapted to Argentine conditions. The grain
is smooth, fat, dark colored, and keeps well in
shipment, a quality very desirable in export
wheats. It is grown to some extent in all the
regions, but its quality varies somewhat with the
soil and climatic conditions under which it is
grown. The Barletta wheat which is raised near
Buenos Aires is not as hard, and not of as good
milling quality, as the same variety is when grown
farther south. Another valuable feature of Bar-
letta wheat is its ability to stand long after it is
ripe without shelling out. Since labor is often
scarce in Argentina and the harvest is necessarily
prolonged, a wheat that can stand delay is in
demand. Barletta also resists climatic hardships
such as frost, drought, .and heat, and is less likely
to be damaged by rusts than are some other va-
rieties. Russian wheat has also proved successful,
especially in the south, although since its resist-
ance to shelling is not strong, it must be harvested
promptly when it is ripe.

The Semi-Hard Wheat. - The semi-hard wheat
district lies to the south, at this time from latitude
38° to 42° south. This area, which was formerly
not thought to be wheat country, has been proved
by recent results to be well adapted to this crop,
and so the boundaries of the region are now being
pushed still farther southward. The climate cor-
responds to that of the hard winter wheat section

222 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

of the United States. The rainfall is low, varying
from 10 to 20 inches per annum. In some cases
irrigation is practiced and dry farming methods
are also employed. The largest yields in any part
of Argentina have been reported from the territory
of Chubut, 700 miles south of Buenos Aires. The
wheats grown there are of the same varieties as
those grown farther north, but because of the
coolness of the climate and the moderate rainfall,
the yields are higher and the qualities are better.
It is also true that the farther from the equator
wheat is grown the more quickly does it mature.
This is due to the fact that it has longer intervals
of sunlight just when light has the most effective
influence. Barletta wheat grown in Chubut some-
times weighs sixty-six pounds to the bushel. The
development of this area has been slow. This is
because there is a large area to the north which has
seemed more attractive because of being nearer
the export centers and well served by railroads.

The Methods of Cultivation.- -Plowing.- The
plowing is done with riding and walking plows
which are very similar to those used in the United
States. In much of the country single walking
plows drawn by oxen are used. Usually from two
to two and one half acres are plowed per day.
The work is done in this leisurely way because the
land can be plowed at almost any time during the
year. Experience has shown that, after the first

WHEAT IN ARGENTINA 223

one or two years, the land should be plowed twice
for each crop in order to get the best results. The
first plowing should be 8 or 9 inches deep immedi-
ately after the removal of the previous crop. This
would be from February to April. The second
plowing should be shallow, 3 or 4 inches, and
should be done just before sowing, which would
be from May to August.

While the foregoing method is the one that
should be used, more than one half the wheat is
planted on land that has been plowed but once
just before planting. The plowing is usually from
3 to 4 inches deep and is also badly done. The
furrows are crooked, are of uneven depth and
width, and look as if they had been made with a
primitive wooden plow. The field looks as though
an ordinary corn cultivator had been run through
it rather than that it had been plowed for planting.
Deep plowing has been followed in Chubut by a
colony of Welsh farmers, and the largest yields of
the best wheat have there been secured.

Methods of Seeding. — Most of the seeding is
done by broadcast seeders or by hand. The seed
is covered by harrowing, and often the work is
poorly done. Only about one eighth of the sow-
ing is done by drills. The amount of seed wheat
used per acre varies from three fourths of a bushel
to one and one half bushels. The time of seeding
varies with the latitude of the region. It begins

224

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

north of Buenos Aires, about May 15, and it ends
in Chubut in August.

Harvesting the Wheat. - - Harvesting begins about
the middle of November in the north and progresses
southward, so that the wheat is all harvested by
about January 15. Ordinarily 80 per cent of
the crop is harvested in December. Most of the

FIG. 96. — Threshing wheat on a large wheat farm in Argentina.

wheat is cut with binders, is shocked, and stacked
much as it is done in the United States. The
stacks are often poorly built and thus permit rain
to soak in and damage the grain. Headers are
extensively used for cutting the wheat in the
northern section.

Threshing the Grain.- -Threshing begins soon
after the stacking and continues until March.

WHEAT IN ARGENTINA 225

Steam power threshing outfits, imported both
from the United States and Great Britain, are
used. It is conceded that threshers manufactured
in the United States do the best work, but the ob-
jection is made that they require skilled mechan-
ics to operate them. Hence the British machines,
being much simpler though less efficient and

FIG. Q7. — Wheat awaiting shipment, Argentina.

costlier, are preferred. The farmers of Argentina
are largely south Europeans and many of them do
not have the ability to handle machinery that
characterizes the north Europeans, who constitute
the wheat farming class of the United States.

The cost of harvesting wheat is from 9 to n
cents per bushel. This does not include the
expense of sacks, which is quite an item, since the
a

226 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

grain is all sacked and hauled directly from field
to market. Because of this method there is like-
wise no farm storage in granaries.

The chief difficulty with the harvest in Argen-
tina is the lack of sufficient help. Fields are large,
labor scarce, and wages high. The farmer who has
planted more than he and his family can care for
finds it a difficult task to save his crop.

The Production of Wheat in Argentina. —
Wheat production in Argentina has shown a
general steady increase since 1870. In 1912 the
total crop amounted to 198,000,000 bushels.1 The
yield varies from 10 to 38 bushels per acre, the low
yields generally occurring in the northern districts,
the high yields in the southern. The cost of
production has been estimated to be from $7 to
$10 per acre, which would make 50 to 60 cents per
bushel. It is interesting to make comparisons
with our own states or localities in the matter of
yield and cost of production.

The Exportation of Wheat. - - Exports, which
began in a small way in 1878, have increased
steadily and so rapidly that Argentina now ranks
as one of the greatest wheat-exporting countries
in the world. She is favored by having vast
areas of easily tillable and highly productive land
which is suitable for wheat. Her position on the
Atlantic seaboard gives her easy access by water

l" Argentine Republic," Pan-American Union, August, 1913.

WHEAT IN ARGENTINA

227

route to the great European market centers,
Bordeaux, Havre, Liverpool, and Hamburg.
Much wheat is also sold to Brazil through the
ports of Bahia and Pernambuco.

Absence of navigable streams extending into
the interior, however, necessitates extensive rail-

FIG. 98. — Docks and elevators, Buenos Aires. Export facilities are excellent.

way systems. While improvement along this line
has been rapid, much of the country still feels the
need of railroad development. Along such rail-
roads as exist, shipping facilities are poor, ware-
houses are few, and as a result much wheat await-
ing shipment is stored in piles along the tracks.
The government is now attempting to remedy this

228 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

condition by compelling the railroads to build
suitable warehouses. This does not entirely
remedy matters, for even where warehouses are
built, they are often not used because the Italian
farmers refuse to pay the storage charges. Ter-
minal facilities are good. Large wheat elevators
of the most modern type have recently been built
at Buenos Aires.

Considerable milling is done in the larger cities
and some flour is exported. On the whole, how-
ever, it is not the flour, but the wheat from Argen-
tina, that enters into the commerce of the world.
Its quantity, 96,000,000 bushels exported in 1912,
makes it a strong factor in determining market prices.

The Development of the Wheat Industry in
Argentina. - - Argentina needs capable agricultur-
alists with some capital who will improve farming
conditions. Half of the farmers now raising wheat
there have no intelligent idea of how it should be
done. The government is taking steps to assist in
the improvement of agricultural conditions by
organizing schools and establishing experiment
stations. It is now generally agreed that Argen-
tina has a promising future, though it will come
through a slow laborious evolution rather than by
a sudden development. This condition could not
be otherwise because of the character of the
population out of which agricultural progress
must be worked.

WHEAT IN ARGENTINA 229

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Contrast the location of Argentina with that of the
United States.

2. In what part of Argentina is the region of most
successful wheat production ?

3. Briefly describe the climatic advantages and dis-
advantages of Argentina.

4. In what parts of Argentina is Durum wheat most
extensively grown ? Why ?

5. What qualities serve to make Barletta wheat very
popular in Argentina ?

6. What is the leading wheat harvest month of Argen-
tina ? State why the harvest season occurs then.

7. How does the type of farming population affect the
threshing methods ?

8. When did Argentina become inportant as an exporter
of wheat ?

9. What countries serve as the principal markets for
Argentine wheat ?

10. What is the attitude of the government of Argentina
towards agriculture ? What effect will this have on the
future wheat production ?

CHAPTER XIV
WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES

AMONG all the countries of the world, the term
"first in wheat ' is one which may be correctly
applied to the United States. While Russia
sometimes excels her in amount produced, this
country can still claim first honors because of
steady production and high quality, and because
wheat is the principal breadstuff for all the Amer-
ican people. Although its relative importance
varies widely in different sections of the country,
wheat is raised in almost every state in the Union.
Since conditions are so diverse, it is first necessary,
in order that the wheat situation may be viewed
fairly, to study the different wheat regions sep-
arately. The dividing of the country into these
regions also becomes a problem, since any basis of
classification must include soil, topography, cli-
mate, and the kinds of wheat produced. Further-
more, because of the variation in all these factors
there is likely to be difference of opinion concern-
ing where to draw the division lines. The follow-
ing regions, however, may be suggested : north-

230

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 231

232 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

east, southeast, northeast central plains, northwest
central plains, southwest central plains, western
valleys and plains.

Wheat Production in the Northeast Region
of the United States. - This region includes the
New England and the Middlet Atlantic states.
Only spring wheat is raised in the former. In
general it may be said that neither New England
soil nor climate is very favorable to wheat pro-
duction. The summers are short, moist, and
cool ; the winters, long and severe. The balance
of the region, however, is important as a winter
wheat producer, this being especially true of New
York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. There the
soil is generally more favorable, the summers
warmer and longer, and the winters less severe.

The rainfall of the region is high, from 40 to 50
inches annually, and is fairly well distributed.
The percentage of sunshiny days is here not so
high as it is in the interior states, and the harvest
season not so free from rain. Largely because of
these climatic conditions, soft wheats are grown.

Methods of Cultivation. - Throughout much of
the region the land is hilly, and the fields are small.
This condition accounts for the fact that much of
the plowing is done with walking plows, pulled by
two or three horses. The autumn is the plowing
season. For winter wheat, the ground is harrowed
soon after plowing, but for spring wheat that

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 233

XI
a

•o

a
£

4-*

—

4-1

234

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

operation is deferred until just before the spring
sowing. The sowing, where land is rough, is done
by hand. Under other conditions small drills are
used. Because of the late autumns, winter wheat
is sown in September, or even as late as October.

FIG. 101. — A wheat field in New York. Note that only two horses are
used to pull the binder. In general, small sized machinery is used where
fields are not large.

Spring wheat is sown as soon as the frost leaves
the ground, usually in March or early April.

Harvesting the Wheat Crop. - The harvesting of
winter wheat begins early in July ; of spring wheat,
about a month later. Self-binders are generally
used, those with the six-foot cut being the most
common. In some of the very hilly sections, where
steep slopes prevent the use of reapers and binders,

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 235

236 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

the cradle is, however, still the prevalent harvest-
ing machine. Where these conditions prevail the
fields are small and the wheat produced forms but
a small part of the total production.

The threshing is usually done with small ma-
chines operated by six to twelve horse power
engines and, since much of the grain is stacked,
it usually continues until late in the autumn.

The Wheat Supply and Demand in This Region.—
In the geography of wheat, this region, which
embraces the most densely populated part of the
United States, is more important as a consumer
than as a producer. Its production is only about
5j per cent of the total for the United States. Thus
with its dense population this region in wheat
production falls far below the amount adequate
for its needs. This condition exists in spite of
the fact that we here find intelligent, intensive
farming, the extensive use of fertilizers, and a very
high average yield per acre. Maine in 1913 re-
ported an average yield of spring wheat of 25.5
bushels per acre, and the winter wheat in Pennsyl-
vania for the same year averaged 17 bushels per
acre.

Very little of this wheat is exported. It is
mixed with western wheat and used for milling
purposes. Prices received for it are higher than
those received for wheat in the western regions.
The farm price per bushel in New York state is

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 237

generally from 20 to 25 per cent higher than in
Nebraska or Kansas. This difference in price is
not due to a difference in quality, but to the facts
that markets are nearer and that there is a shortage
in local supply, and it must be borne in mind that
the cost of production is also higher in this region.
This higher production cost is caused by the care-
ful methods of tillage and use of commercial ferti-
lizers.

The Southeast Wheat Region of the United
States. - - All the states south of the Potomac and
Ohio and east of the Mississippi are grouped to-
gether in this region. Notwithstanding the fact
that there are within this region strong differences
in soil and topography, there is a general similarity
in climate and in the kinds of wheat raised. Win-
ters are mild, and summers are not excessively
hot. The rainfall is heavy, averaging from 40
to 60 inches per year, and the humidity is high.

The soils vary from sandy to very heavy clay,
and they are generally lacking in some of the
constituents necessary for wheat. Commercial
fertilizers are therefore used in every state. In
some places they are used in large quantities. The
cost of these commercial fertilizers averages from
one to three dollars per acre.

The Methods of Cultivation. - - Winter wheats
are grown exclusively, and of these all the varieties
raised are either of the soft or semi-hard types.

238 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

The fields here are generally larger than those of
the northeastern region, but are small com-
pared with those of the West. Ten to forty acre
fields are common. In the preparation of the
soil both walking and riding plows are used.
Among the latter type there is practically no usage

FIG. 103. — A typical wheat scene in the Shena

of the gang plow. The harrows vary from small
one-horse affairs to the eighteen-foot size which
are drawn by three to five horses. The small
sizes are the more common. Sowing, which takes
place between late September and early November,
is done by broadcast seeder or drill.

Harvesting the Wheat Crop. - -June is the harvest
month for the wheat of this region. The self-

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 239

binder is the most generally used machine, although
in the hilly sections places are found where the
wheat is cut by reaper, mower, or even by cradle.
Small threshing machines are the rule, and the
threshing takes place both out of shock and stack.
The latter is probably the more common method.

y, Virginia. Blue Ridge in the background.

The Wheat Supply and Demand in This Region.
-This region ranks low in production, only 5.7 per
cent of the 1913 crop in the United States being
credited to the ten states. Virginia, Kentucky,
and Tennessee rank highest, Florida and
Mississippi lowest. Here, as in the northeast,
the yields are not high, ten to fourteen bushels
per acre being the average, and not enough wheat

240

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

is raised to supply the local needs. This is in part
due to adverse soil and climatic conditions. The
yield, however, could undoubtedly be increased
were more improved methods of farming employed.
Most of the wheat is cared for by the local markets,
and the greater part of it is milled near the place
of production. Market conditions are .good. The

Courtesy Norfolk and Western Railway.
FIG. 104. — Harvest scene in the Great Valley of southern Virginia, near Roanoke.

price of wheat is higher in this section than any-
where else in the United States. The price per
bushel received by the farmers is from 25 to 50 per
cent higher than that received by the wheat
farmers of Kansas and Montana, and is generally
considerably above the prices paid even in the
northeastern states. In 1913 the wheat farmer of

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 241

North Carolina received 13 cents per bushel more for
his product than did the farmers in New York.
The explanation for this price condition is that
this is an importing region, and is not favorably
located to receive the wheat sent out by the
wheat regions of the West. The facts that the
local demand exceeds the supply and that location
conditions make wheat importation costly neces-
sarily result in high prices. One of the importation
difficulties becomes apparent when we realize that
the great export routes of the interior pass north of
this section and directly through the northeastern
states. Importation in that section is thus rendered
easy and consequently lower prices result.
% The high wheat prices, however, of the Southeast
are serving to increase the amount of production.
The region has many advantages and its difficulties
can be largely overcome. The future will prob-
ably see a moderate increase in its importance as a
wheat producer.

The Northeast Central Plains Wheat Region. -
This region comprises the states north of the Ohio
and east of the Mississippi rivers. Considering
the extent of the area, its unity as a wheat-pro-
ducing region is marked. The soil is nearly all
of glacial origin and varies from light sandy to
heavy clay. The greater part of it is a sandy loam
free from bowlders. Since the fertility is high,
commercial fertilizers are not used to any great

242

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

extent except in the older settled parts of Ohio
and Indiana. The topography is gently rolling,
and most of the land is well drained. The rain-
fall varies from 30 to 40 inches and is in ample
quantity during the growing season. The sum-
mers are warm ; the winters, moderately severe.
The growing season likewise is long enough for
any of the common wheat varieties.

FIG. 105. — Extensive wheat fields on the gently rolling glacial drift plains.
Typical of Iowa, northern Missouri, and eastern Nebraska.

The Methods of Cultivation. - - Semi-hard winter
wheat is the type most generally raised throughout
the whole region, though in places there is some
spring wheat grown. In Wisconsin, winter and
spring wheat are raised in about equal amounts.

The Northeast Central Plains region is one of
diversified agriculture and the farms are much

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 243

larger than are the fields which are given to any
particular kind of crop. Fields are generally of
moderate size. The area of the common wheat
field is usually not more than from 40 to 80 acres.
Such plows and harrows are purchased as may also
be used to advantage in producing other small
grains and corn.

FIG. 106. — Plowing for wheat on the loess plains of Nebraska.

Plowing, if for spring wheat, is done late in the
autumn or early in the spring ; if for winter wheat,
the favored season is early, even as early as July.
The two-bottom gang or the single-bottom sulky
is the type of plow used. The former is becoming
very widely used because it is a size well adapted
to the fields of this region.

The ground is harrowed immediately before

244 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

sowing. This is usually done by means of three-
section steel harrows which cover a width of
from fifteen to eighteen feet.

The winter wheat is usually sown in September
or October ; the spring wheat as early as possible,
March being the favorite month. Sowing is
generally accomplished by means of an eight to
twelve hole press drill, although in heavy soils
broadcast seeding is often practiced. In either
case from a bushel to a bushel and a half is the
amount of seed wheat sown per acre.

Harvesting the Wheat Crop. - The principal har-
vest month is July. In the southern part of the
region, however, the winter wheat is often ready
for harvest during the latter part of June. Al-
most all the wheat is cut by self-binders and is
then shocked and left to dry in the field so as to
be ready for stacking or threshing. The straw is
generally so heavy that from two to three pounds
of twine per acre must be used for binding the
bundles. Since there is danger of rain during the
harvest season, the grain is either stacked or
threshed as soon as it is dry. Some few thresh
directly from the shock, but inasmuch as there is
usually a delay in getting a machine, many stack
their grain rather than run the risk of rain while
it waits in the shock.

Moderate-sized threshers are used. The ordi-
nary capacity of an outfit is from 1000 to 1500

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 245

bushels per day. While larger-sized machinery is
used than in the East, yet it is not as large as that
used in the West.

The Wheat Supply and Demand in This Region. -
Ordinarily the Northeast Central Plains region
produces about 18 per cent of the total wheat
crop of the United States. Illinois, Indiana, and
Ohio are large producers. In Wisconsin, however,
wheat has declined greatly in importance. The
yield in good years for the region averages from 15
to 1 8 bushels per acre, the five states having nearly
the same average yield.

This section is situated very favorably with
respect to market conditions. The country is
well settled and the roads are generally good.
Many of the main traveled roads have been
macadamized. A network of railways also places
local shipping facilities within easy reach of prac-
tically all parts. This region includes many
great centers of population, - - Milwaukee, Detroit,
Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, Toledo, Dayton,
Indianapolis, and Columbus, which furnish good
home markets. Not only is this region crossed by
the great railroad trunk lines which lead to the At-
lantic coast, but it has also the benefit of the Great
Lakes waterway. Thus it has export facilities
which are not excelled by any inland region of like
size in the world. The importance of all these
factors is shown by the fact that the farm price

246 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

of wheat in these states is from 10 to 18 per cent
higher than in the states which are west of the
Missouri River. The value of a marketing advan-
tage to an exporting region is here well illustrated.

Because of keener demands for some of her other
products, this region has not in recent years been in-
creasing in wheat production. The new, cheap lands
of the West have increased the supply of wheat, and
other products have here become more profitable.
Since population is increasing rapidly and the new
lands in the United States available for wheat are
now largely under cultivation, this condition cannot
be permanent. Further development will center
about a higher yield per acre rather than more
acres, and in such a development this region gives
promise of playing an important part.

The Southwest Central Plains Wheat Region. —
Among the states west of the Mississippi River and
east of the Rocky Mountains marked differences in
conditions are found from North Dakota to Texas.
The transition, however, is a gradual one. In
general, the states south of the fortieth parallel
have sufficient similarity to be grouped into one
region. Of these states, the greatest wheat pro-
ducer is Kansas, which is followed by Missouri,
Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Arkansas, and New
Mexico in the order named.

The climate here favors the production of winter
wheat. The summers are hot. Temperatures in

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 247

northern Texas and Kansas in July frequently
exceed 100° F. Winters are fairly severe although
usually not cold enough to injure the wheat plants.
Although the summers show little difference in
temperature, the annual average is of course
higher in the southern than in northern parts of
this region. Rainfall varies from 18 to 35 inches,
with a general decrease from the eastern to the
western parts. Since certain varieties of plants
must secure moisture at certain times, the distri-
bution of the rainfall is an important factor. The
greater part of it here is favorable to wheat since
it comes during the early spring. There is usually
also a sufficient amount of moisture from Septem-
ber to November to give the wheat its autumn
growth.

The soil is generally very fertile. Dark, sandy
loams prevail, although in Texas and Oklahoma
there are some rather extensive areas of reddish
soils. Northeastern Kansas and northern Mis-
souri have soils of glacial origin which are fairly
free from bowlders. The land varies from gently
rolling to broad, smooth plains.

Methods of Cultivation. — Winter wheat is raised
amost exclusively, and the hard, red varieties are
held in highest favor. Turkey Red is the most
common, for it yields well and produces grain of
high milling quality. Kansas, Colorado, and New
Mexico produce some spring wheat, but the crop

248 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

is important only in the two latter states. Durum
wheat is grown to a considerable extent in the drier
sections of the Southwest, especially in western
Texas.

The methods of wheat production in the eastern
part of the region are similar to those of
Illinois and Indiana. Fields are generally of
moderate size, and diversified farming is the rule.

In the western parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, and
Texas and in the eastern parts of Colorado and
New Mexico, wheat is the principal crop. Fields
are large, 160 to 640 acres being common sizes
of wheat fields. Riding plows are in most general
use. The sizes vary from the two bottom to the
eight or twelve bottom gang plows with the two
or three bottom gangs most common. Early
plowing is practiced, and in the drier parts the
ground is harrowed soon after plowing in order
to conserve moisture. Seeding, by means of ten
to sixteen hole press drills, is done usually in
October, although in the southern part of the area
even November sowing has done well.

Harvesting the Crop. - Though the harvest be-
gins in the southern part of the region late in
May, June is the chief harvest month. The wheat
is cut with the self-binder and the header. The
binder is used almost exclusively in the eastern
part. Since the header is well adapted to short
straw and dry harvest conditions, it is used

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 249

extensively in the drier portions of the west. The
bound grain is shocked, and much of it stacked
before threshing. The headed grain is, of course,
handled loose and most of it is also stacked as soon
as cut. Occasionally, the wheat is dry enough to
be threshed at once. The harvesting machines are

CourUt,y r'uri iiayc^ ura.ii.cn, Kansas Agricultural College.
FIG. 107. — Harvesting with a header on the plains of Kansas.

of large size ; the binders of 7 or 8 foot cut and the
headers of 12 to 20 foot cut.

The labor problem at harvest time in this region
is often a serious one. The acreage is so great
in proportion to population that importation of
labor is necessary. A sufficient number of men
is often even then difficult to obtain. This is the
most southerly of our great wheat regions and its
harvest is the earliest, so here is the first assem-
blage each year of what is often called the " har-
vest population." Wages are good. The ordinary
prices vary from two to four dollars a day with
board and lodging in addition. A working army,
made up of men recruited from farms, cities, and

250 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

colleges, is here first set in motion and begins its
northward march which terminates in Canada in
September. Of course most of the men do not
follow it from beginning to end. Many do, how-
ever, and on the whole a harvest situation is here
presented that can be duplicated in no other
country. At the end of the season the men scatter,
but the next summer sees the same progress of
events. Although the new harvest population in
the region will present many new faces, the gen-
eral effect is the same as that of the preceding
year.

Threshing the Grain. - - Steam threshing outfits
are used throughout the region. Generally they
are of large size, and have a daily capacity of
from 1500 to 3000 bushels. Threshing begins in
July and is usually completed before October,
although since both shock and stack threshing are
practiced, the season may be further prolonged.

The Wheat Supply and Demand in This Region. -
The importance of wheat production in this region
is shown by the fact that it furnishes more than
one fifth of the wheat crop of the United States.
In 1913 it produced 23.3 per cent of the total crop.
Because of somewhat deficient rainfall and the
lack of intensive farming methods, the average
yield per acre is low. It is usually from 10 to 15
bushels, although some sections produce more.
This is particularly true of the irrigated fields of

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 251

Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico, where yields of
30 to 45 bushels per acre are often reported.

Much export wheat is produced. This region is
favorably situated to take advantage of the
Gulf of Mexico route to European markets and
thus lessen railway transportation. This makes
a great difference in freight rates. Galveston and
New Orleans are the principal export centers for
this region. (See Chapter VIII for comparative
freight rates from United States to European
markets.)

Land is generally low-priced in proportion to its
producing capacity. This, together with easy
tillage, has made the cost of production per bushel
relatively low. While the farm prices for the
wheat are not so great as they are to the east,
there is generally sufficient margin between cost
of production and the market price to make this
a very prosperous wheat growing region.

The Northwest Central Plains Wheat Region. -
The area between the Mississippi River and the
Rocky Mountains which lies north of the fortieth
parallel is included under the above head. In this
region wheat is an important crop in every state.

In general the summers are hot, and the winters
are quite cold. Because of the cold, open winters
which prevail, winter wheat can be grown success-
fully only in the southern and western parts of
the area. The rainfall, which varies from 15 to 35

252

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

inches, comes chiefly during the growing season
and is sufficient in the larger part of the region.
In the western part, however, the rainfall is hardly
adequate, and so drought-resisting varieties of
wheat are sought. There dry farming methods

Photo by E. L. Currier.
FIG. 108. — Wheat grown by dry farming methods on the plains of Montana.

are practiced and where water is available irriga-
tion is employed.

The topography is of the rolling plains type with
broad stretches of smooth land cut by a few deep
river valleys making up the western part. The
soil on the whole is fertile and well adapted to
wheat. The sand hill area of Nebraska and the
Bad Lands of South Dakota are conspicuous ex-
ceptions. There are also some mountain areas,
such as the Little Laramie, the Black Hills, and

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 253

the Little Missouri Mountains which mark dis-
tricts not suited to wheat. The greater part of
the western portion was formerly the land of cattle
ranges and much of it is still so used. During
recent years, however, wheat has made serious
inroads on the grass land.

The Methods of Cultivation. - - Both spring and
winter varieties are raised. North Dakota and
Minnesota lead in spring wheat production and
Nebraska leads in winter wheat. In Iowa and in
eastern Nebraska, corn is the most important
farm crop, but in the other states wheat takes
first place.

Since methods of production in the eastern part
of the region are about the same as for the North-
east Central states, detailed discussion need not
be given here. In the western section, however,
the work is for the most part done on a large scale.
The plowing is with gang plows varying in size
from two to sixteen bottoms. The larger plows are
pulled by either steam or gas tractors and the
smaller ones by horses or mules. Nearly all the
plowing is done in the autumn. Ten to eighteen
hole press drills are used for seeding, and about
a bushel of wheat is sown per acre. Most of the
winter wheat is sown in September. The spring
wheat is sown late in March or in April. Where
the soil is quite loose, the winter wheat land is
sometimes rolled in the spring in order that the

254 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

soil, which has become much loosened by the
freezing and thawing of early spring and winter,
may be solidly packed together.

Harvesting the Crop. - The self-binder is the
harvesting machine in highest favor. Headers
are used to some extent, particularly, as often
happens in dry years, when the wheat is very short.
July and August are the harvest months, the south-
ern part having, of course, the earlier date. Most
of the wheat is shocked, and in the west very little
of it is stacked. Threshing is out of shock, and is
usually done as soon as the wheat is dry enough.
Under this method, everybody wants to thresh at
about the same time and consequently many large-
sized threshing machines are owned in each com-
munity. Consequently in this region the thresh-
ing season is a short but extremely busy one. All
the machinery, both harvesting and threshing, is of
large size and great capacity. Thus, as a result of
large fields and a scattered population, the amount
of human labor necessary to produce a bushel of
wheat is reduced to the minimum.

Marketing the Crop. - The Northwest Central
Plains is a region of numerous country elevators.
The wheat is all marketed in bulk. Many farms
are likewise equipped with granaries in order that
the farmer may hold his product for favorable
market conditions. The wheat is hauled in wagons
of 50 or 60 bushels capacity either direct from

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 255

thresher or from the granary to the nearest rail-
road. One driver, by driving one team and lead-
ing the other, often handles two loads. Every
town has one or more elevators. The load is
driven upon a hinged platform, the rear end gate
drawn, the wagon tilted downward at an angle of
45° and the wheat dumped into a pit, from whence
it is elevated and discharged into railway cars.

FIG. 109. — Twenty stacks of wheat in one selling, Nebraska Loess Plains.

In this region there is operated a complete chain
of wheat-producing conveniences. It will be ob-
served that the ground is prepared, the seed
planted, the harvest, threshing, and marketing
performed, with but very little manual labor in-
volved. Power (either horses, steam, or gas)
and machinery, under the direction of man, do
practically all the work.

The yield per acre is from ten to twenty-five
bushels and the total production is about 38 per

256 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

cent of the entire wheat crop of the United States.
Since this is a region of scattered population and
heavy production, it is evident that it contributes
materially to the export trade.

The greater part of the wheat is sent eastward,
either by way of the Great Lakes highway or by
rail. Transportation facilities are very good ; the
greater part of the region is served by a maze
of railroads. Splendid transcontinental systems
give efficient service to the eastern and southern
export cities. Milling is well organized. Up-to-
date flouring mills are found in all the cities and
in practically all of the moderate-sized towns. In
addition to these smaller centers there is the great
milling center at Minneapolis. The principal
market centers for the region are Minneapolis,
Chicago, Omaha, Kansas City, and St. Louis.

The Western Valleys and Plains Wheat Region.
— Wheat is raised in all of the Western states.
Although it is of great local importance in the
irrigated valleys of Arizona and Utah, its areas of
great commercial importance are the Sacramento
valley of California and the high plains of eastern
Oregon, Washington, and western Idaho. These
two latter areas are the districts which contribute
to the wheat of commerce.

The climate varies greatly. In California the
winters are very mild, and in eastern Washington
they are quite severe. The average annual rain-

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 257

fall in the wheat-growing section is from ten to
forty inches. As it comes mostly in the winter
season, the harvests are fairly free of rain.

The topography varies from the broad river
valleys of California to some very broken lands in
Washington. Although the soil is rich in mineral
constituents in some places it is somewhat low in
humus.

Methods of Cultivation. - - Because of climatic
and soil conditions practically only soft, white
wheats are grown. Winter wheats predominate
in California and Oregon, and spring wheats in
Washington. Club wheats are the most common,
and are in favor because of their early maturing
and non-shattering characteristics.

The plowing is much the same as in the plains
regions, except that, in California, disc plows
pulled by steam engines are used to a considerable
extent. The use of these discs is not so common as
in past years, since many of the large farms have
been subdivided into smaller units. Plowing is
done during the autumn, and in California, when-
ever weather permits, may be carried late into the
winter. The plowing in this region comes in the
rainy season. In some parts disc harrows and even
steel-tooth harrows are used for preparation of
seed bed in lieu of plowing. This of course is a
quicker and cheaper method, but it ordinarily
results in lower yields.

258

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 259

The time of sowing is from September to April.
The latter date is true for the northern part of the
spring wheat district. The grain is sown either
by broadcast seeders located on wagon flats or by
disc drills. Broadcast sowing is more rapid than
drilling, but it does not result in an even covering
of the grain.

Harvesting the Crop. - - Binders, headers, and
combined harvester-threshers are used for har-
vesting the wheat. The harvester-thresher, known
as the combine, is used only where the wheat
farms are very large. Elsewhere headers and
binders predominate. Since most of the farms of
the Sacramento valley have been subdivided into
smaller units and are given over to intensive,
diversified farming, eastern Oregon is now the
most important large-farm wheat district. In the
smaller farms of the Sacramento valley, wheat is
coming to have only a subordinate place among
the crops, and wheat production has decreased
since 1900 about 80 per cent. In the large-farm
district of Oregon, however, the average field
covers from 640 to 1000 acres, while farms ex-
ceeding 5000 acres are not uncommon. In some
counties more than half the farms exceed 1000
acres in size. There the combines are used almost
exclusively, and the common self-binder is seldom
seen. Since the successful use of the combined
harvester-thresher depends on large-sized farms

260 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

and a rainless harvest season, eastern Oregon and
parts of Washington and California, fulfilling both
conditions, find this machine the practical one.

Threshing in all cases follows directly after the
harvest. When the binder is used, the grain is
threshed very soon after it is cut. When the
combine is used, the binding and threshing are of
course one operation. For the threshing only
large-sized machinery is used. The wheat must
be delivered to market before the autumn and
winter rains begin, but since the dry season ex-
tends late into the fall, ample time for marketing
is available. The harvest here is not marked by
the nervous haste which prevails throughout the
Central states.

The Extent of Production. - The yield per acre
of this region is high, averaging from 14 to 28
bushels. This high general average- is partly due
to the immense return from irrigated valleys in
the region where yields often run 40 or more
bushels per acre. The cost of production of non-
irrigated wheat is relatively low. It is estimated
at fro'm seven to ten dollars per acre. The former
figure applies to places where the ground is merely
harrowed instead of plowed before seeding. About
twelve per cent of the crop of the United States is
raised in this region.

Marketing the Crop. - - Wheat here is handled
almost entirely in sacks. There are no elevators

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 261

at the country towns ; and the seaports, Seattle,
Vancouver, and Portland, in place of having large
terminal elevators such as are seen at Chicago or
New York, have erected great warehouses in their
stead. At the thresher the grain is put into sacks
holding about two bushels and is then hauled to

Courtesy uf \ew Chamber of Commerce, Seattle.
FIG. in. — Along the water front at Seattle.

the railway station. Farmers are not equipped
with tight wagons, and farm storage is almost
unknown. Sometimes the sacked grain is stacked
piles alongside the railroad where it awaits

shipment. On the whole this method of handling
wheat is more expensive than the handling of it in
bulk, and so the present tendency is to provide for
the more economical method. Since this change

262

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY-

means replacing open wagons with tight ones,
warehouses with elevators, and the present store-
houses with modern terminal shipping facilities,
it must of necessity come slowly.

Farm prices for wheat are about the same as in

FIG. 112. — A large grain elevator at Girard Point, Philadelphia. Capacity,

1,000,000 bushels.

Kansas and Nebraska. Although some is sold to
Asiatic markets, the greater part of the export
wheat is sent by all-water route to Europe. The
Panama Canal will greatly lessen the distance to
Europe and will probably result in lower freight
rates. This, by making possible somewhat in-

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 263

creased prices for his product, will be of decided
advantage to the producer. Thus, with the rapid
growth of Pacific coast industries, the develop-
ment of Oriental markets, and the lowered freight
rates to Europe, the future of this wheat region

CouTttsy oj Pennsylvania Railroad.

Three ocean going steamships can be loaded at the same time at the rate of 60,000

bushels per hour.

seems promising. More intensive farming methods
will also gradually win favor and the result will
be that general production and prosperity will
become even greater than at present.

The Exportation of Wheat in the United States.
— In common with other exporting countries, the

264

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

United States finds her greatest wheat market in
western Europe. The price of wheat to the
American farmer depends very largely on the
demand which European countries make upon his
product. Thus large crops in other exporting
countries, such as Australia, Argentina, Canada,

Courtesy of New Chamber of Commerce, Seattle.

FIG. 113. — Elevators are being built along the waterfront at Seattle. The
one in process of construction at right of picture will have storage capacity of five
hundred thousand bushels.

India, and Russia, cause a lessened demand for our
wheat and lower prices result. The price likewise
depends to a large extent on the crops in the chief
importing countries : Italy, Germany, France, and
Great Britain. Bounteous crops in these countries
render large imports unnecessary and lower prices
naturally follow. In a similar way the greater

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 265

imports needed when their home production is low
causes high prices. So dependent on imports are
the European countries that even threatened
shortage in home production causes sharp ad-
vances of the wheat market. As an illustration
of this the lessened production anticipated in these
countries as a result of the European War caused
in 1914 the price of wheat in the United States to
rise from 25 to 40 per cent, although this was a
year of an exceptionally large world crop. How-
ever, since prices rose as soon as war became im-
minent, part of this rise was undoubtedly due to
speculation. Prices remained high because of the
increased demand for wheat. This demand was
at first based on prospective future needs rather
than on needs actually existing.

The armies of Europe, from the Napoleonic
wars of the early nineteenth century to the present
time, have largely depended on foreign wheat for
their breadstuffs. The United States now, as
before, is an important contributor to their
supply.

The wheat exports of the United States are
both the grain and flour. This is the only great
wheat-exporting country which contributes nearly
as much wheat flour as wheat grain to foreign
commerce.

The United States has, however, passed the
period of its development in which it ranked fore-

266 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

most as the source of wheat supply for foreign
nations. The total production, though steadily
advancing, has not kept pace with the consump-
tion. In 1900 this country far outranked every
other in the amount of its wheat exports. That
year she sent approximately 216,000,000 bushels
to foreign markets, a quantity three times that of
the wheat exports of either Argentina or Russia
in the same year. Since that time the wheat
exports of the United States have decreased ap-
proximately fifty per cent. This is in spite of a
slightly increased total production. The cause
of this decrease in exports lies in the tremendous
growth in city population during recent years.
This growth is largely due to heavy immigration.
Prior to 1900 our free or cheap lands attracted
north Europeans and produced a rapidly expand-
ing farming population. Immigration of this type
is more important as a wheat producer than as a
bread consumer, hence it created a large wheat
surplus for export trade. The greater part of the
immigrants since 1900 have been south Europeans
who have been attracted to cities rather than to
the farms, and so have become important as
wheat consumers but not to any great extent
as producers.

However, the situation is not discouraging.
The limit of production in this country is not yet
realized. With a better understanding of farming

WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 267

methods, lands made productive by irrigation and
by drainage, and crops which are better adapted
to climatic conditions, the future is secure. The
United States can double her present wheat out-
put and do it profitably as the demand for wheat
increases. As an exporter of wheat she must give
way to the less densely populated countries,
Australia, Argentina, Canada, and Russia. This
is in line with progress. The greater demand for
wheat at home is due to the increased number of
people to be fed. These people are actively en-
gaged in various industries, and as a result of their
activities we are able to contribute to commerce,
instead of raw materials, the finished product of
mill and factory.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Give some of the reasons which have led to the great
importance of wheat production in the United States.

2. Why is wheat of little importance in New England ?

3. Suggest reasons why the first centers of extensive
wheat production were in the valleys of the Delaware, Sus-
quehanna, and Mohawk rivers.

4. In general what is true of culture methods in the
Northeast region ? Account for the high average yield of
wheat there.

5. What states of the Southeast region rank highest in
wheat production ? In what part of the region are they
situated ?

6. Why are wheat prices comparatively high in the
Southeast region ?

268 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

7. Summarize the conditions which favor wheat pro-
duction in the Northeast Central Plains region.

8. Explain why winter wheat is in such high favor in
the Southwest Central Plains.

9. Suggest reasons why climatic conditions favor the
production of hard wheats in Kansas and of soft wheats
in the Eastern states.

10. In what parts of the United States is Durum wheat
raised ? Why is it not grown more extensively ?

11. To what conditions is the header best adapted ?

12. Why is threshing out of shock more prevalent in the
Western great plains than in the Eastern states ?

13. Why is the farm price per bushel of wheat lower in
the Western great plains than in New York ?

14. Explain why the combine is used so extensively in
Oregon and adjacent states.

15. What are the principal highways for wheat transpor-
tation in the United States ?

16. What foreign countries serve as the markets for the
export wheat of the United States ?

17. What are the chief wheat export cities? Where are
they situated ?

18. Explain how the price of wheat in the United
States is related to the crops in other exporting coun-
tries.

19. Suggest reasons why the percentage of flour exported
by the United States is relatively high.

20. What are the principal commercial routes for Ameri-
can wheat and flour ?

CHAPTER XV
WHEAT IN CANADA

WHILE the Dominion of Canada lies north of the
United States, one part, the peninsula of Ontario,
extends southward to about the latitude of central
Iowa. The northern part, however, lies beyond
the Arctic Circle and its extent east and west is
more than 3400 miles. The area thus exceeds
that of the United States even including Alaska.
These facts serve to suggest the reasons for the
great diversities in soil, topography, and climate
which exist in that country.

The Canadian Wheat-producing Area. - - Nine
tenths pf the wheat-producing area of Canada lies
in the south-central part, just north of the states
of North Dakota and Montana. Some wheat is
grown in the southeast provinces, Ontario, Quebec,
and New Brunswick. There its importance is
slight, however, compared with the area to the
west. Eastern Ontario is a region of diversified
farming. The farms are small and much atten-
tion is given to fruit raising, especially to apples
and grapes.

269

270

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

— *=*

WHEAT IN CANADA 271

Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta are the
great wheat provinces of the plains, and many
valleys in the mountainous province of British
Columbia are likewise well adapted to wheat
growing. The climate is the chief control. The
normal annual rainfall is about 22 inches in Man-
itoba, and from 16 to 18 inches in Saskatchewan
and Alberta. The rainfall, although not high, is
usually sufficient because the greater part of it,
50 to 65 per cent, occurs during the growing season.
June is the month of greatest rainfall. The sum-
mer temperatures are quite high, often reaching
90° F. ; and winter temperatures vary considerably

in the different parts of the provinces. Southwest
Alberta has a milder winter than districts to the
east and north. This is due primarily to the
chinook winds, -- westerly winds, which upon
descending the mountains are warmed by com-
pression, and thus reach the plains quite dry and
warm. The average winter temperatures in dif-
ferent localities from December to March are :
Calgary i7.i°F., Fort Chipewyan (northeast Al-
berta) 5°F., Winnipeg i.7°F. Another impor-
tant climatic factor is the high percentage of
sunshiny days. This high average of sunshiny
days and the fact that on these days the period of
actual sunshine is from__i6 to 17 hours make an
ideal condition for rapid growth. In fact more
rapid growth may be made here than under con-

272 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

ditions farther south, where the daily period of
sunshine is several hours less. Thus it will be
observed that climatic conditions favor good
yields of very high grade wheat, since sufficient
rainfall occurs in the early stages of growth, and
warm, bright, sunshiny weather prevails during
the later growth stages and through the harvest.

The prairie soils of Canada have become widely
known because of their fertility. Generally they
are deep, dark colored, and mellow. They con-
tain, as a rule, large percentages of all the essential
constituents required for wheat, and are also
characterized by exceptionally high humus and
nitrogen contend This may be accounted for
by a rainfall sufficiently high for plant growth but
not high enough to cause heavy leaching.

The Kinds of Wheat raised in Canada. - - Since
severe winters are prevalent over much of the

Canadian wheat belt, spring wheat is the type

most widely grown.,_ Hard spring wheats^ are
common in Manitoba, in the greater part of the
Saskatchewan, and in upper Alberta. Soft spring
wheats are grown in Quebec and New Brunswick.
Hard, winter wheat is rajsed in southern ^Alberta,
while soft winter wheats are grown in western
Ontario and British Columbia. Because of its
drought-resisting properties, some Durum wheat
is produced in southern Alberta and southwestern
Saskatchewan. Thus it will be observed that the

WHEAT IN CANADA 273

hard wheats are grown where there is moderate
rainfall and warm, sunshiny summer weather, and
the soft wheats are grown under more humid
conditions. The winter wheat district of Alberta
is a region of mild, open winters, and the winter
wheat of Columbia and western Ontario is grown
in regions where heavy winter snows protect the
soils from low temperatures.

Among the many varieties of wheat raised in
Canada the most generally known of the spring
wheats are the Red Fife and the Blue Stem. The
latter was introduced from Minnesota and al-
though it is a good producer, it has failed to be-
come well adapted to Canadian conditions. The
Red Fife is at this time the most popular spring
wheat grown. The kernels are pale red, plump,
short, and hard. This variety is remarkable
for its high quality, its productiveness, and its
power of adapting itself to varying soil and climatic
conditions. Among the hard winter wheats,
Turkey Red, Kharkof, and Alberta Red are best
known. The latter has proved very popular in
Alberta.

The Culture Methods. - - Although intensive
farming prevails in parts of the eastern provinces,
the great wheat crop of Canada is raised where
fields are large. The usual size of the farm is
from 1 6o_to_64O ac res , but fields of several times
that extent are not uncommon. The farmers are

274

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

generally men who, with some capital, have gone
there from the United States or else they are pro-
gressive north Europeans. Large farms handled
by intelligent labor and the use of modern machin-
ery characterize the wheat industry of Canada.

Plowing and Seeding. - - In the eastern part of
Canada a great part of the plowing is done with

Courtesy Canadian Pacific Railroad.
FIG. 115. — Plowing for wheat in Canada.

the small walking plow. This does not hold true
for the west, however ; there the two-bottom gang
plow, drawn by five horses, is the most common,
and the eight and twelve bottom gang with a
steam or gas tractor is not an uncommon sight.
Since in this country the season in which plowing
can be done is short, the work must be pushed
rapidly. For winter wheat the ground must be

WHEAT IN CANADA 275

plowed as soon as possible in the fall. This per-
mits the early seeding which is necessary to give
the plant its required autumn growth. Even for
spring wheat it is customary to plow in the fall,
since earlier seeding in the spring is thus made
possible. After plowing, the ground is dragged
by wide steel-tooth harrows. Sixty to seventy

acres is an ordinary day's work for one man.

After harrowing, the seeding is then done by means
of large press drills. About a bushel to a bushel
and a half of seed wheat is used per acre, and one
man can sow about 30 acres per day.

Harvesting the Crop. - - After seeding no further
care is necessary until harvest time. The winter
wheat^Jiarvest begins in Tuly and juns through
August. The spring wheat harvest begins __in_
July_iiL Ontario and much of it, especially in the

^.northwest, js not finished until September. In
some sections the harvest comes so late that the
crop is occasionally injured by frost before it is
ripe. In such sections early maturing varieties
are naturally favored.

The harvest is the busy season. Then the work
is rushed, labor is in demand, and long hours
are the rule. When the wheat ripens it seems as
though all the fields in the vicinity should be cut
at the same time. . If cut too early, the wheat
suffers serious loss from shrinkage ; if delayed too
long, the grain shatters and is wasted. The labor

276 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

which was adequate to do the plowing and planting
is wholly insufficient to handle this enormous
and immediate work. Importation of labor is
necessary. As noted before (Chapter IV) there is
in North America a class of labor which follows the
harvest as the wheat ripens from the south to
the north. This work begins in the southern part
of the United States in June and crosses into
Canada with the ripening grain. Although the
men who follow this are not skilled laborers, they
are at least trained to their work. Ordinarily they
are steady and industrious. Among their number
will be found many college students who spend their
summers working in the harvest fields. The work,
though hard, is healthful, and the wage, usually
from $2.50 to $4.00 per day and board, is above
the average for unskilled labor.

Most of the wheat is cut by self-binders. The
binder which takes a seven or eight foot swath is
the one most commonly in use. With this machine,
by changing horses and working as high as sixteen
hours, ongjoutfit can cut from 25 to 40 acres per
day. When labor is available the wheat is shocked.
It is often, however, left to dry out on the ground.
Of course this is true only of the western plains
section where the harvest season is usually quite
free from rain. Practically none of the grain is
stacked but is allowed to remain in the field until
it can be threshed. The header is seldom used

WHEAT IN CANADA 277

since, when the wheat is cut, it is not dry enough
to be threshed. It frequently is not dry enough
even to be put into stacks. In this region it has
been found that the best results are obtained by
allowing the wheat to become thoroughly dry in
the shock. This fact accounts for the almost

universal use of the self-binder in Canada.

Courtesy Canadian Pacific Railroad.
FIG. 1 1 6. — Harvesting wheat in Canada.

Threshing the Grain. - The wheat is hauled
from the shocks to the steam threshers. The
sizes of the machines vary greatly. Some have a
daily capacity of 3000 or more bushels, others less
than a thousand. The threshers are usually not
owned by the individual farmers, but by some
farmer in the neighborhood who hires his farm work
done while he devotes his time to running the
threshing machine. A careful and businesslike
operator may make money in this way. Generally

278 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

the thresherman hires his own help so that he
thus operates a crew. He then engages to go into
a man's field, gather the shocked grain, thresh it,
and deliver it to the wagon at a stated price per
bushel. The men of the outfit are generally well
paid, $2.00 to $3.00 per day with board and
lodging being the customary wage. A cook wagon
or tent is in this case a part of the regular equip-
ment.

Because of the abundance and cheapness of
straw as a fuel, straw-burning engines are often
used for power. An expense is added, however,
since, when straw burners are used, one man is
kept busy firing the engine.

When the grain is threshed, the separator de-
livers it into large wagons, sometimes called wheat
tanks, which hold 125 to 140 bushels. The wheat
is than hauled direct to the local elevator and
shipped to market. There is very little local
storage either in farm granaries or in sacks in
local warehouses.

Marketing the Crop. - - In the years following
1900, development of wheat .territory was more
that of railway facilities. This re-

sulted in serious losses since no adequate provi-
sion existed for local storage. Wheat was left on
the ground in large piles beside the railroad tracks
awaiting cars for shipment, and the delay was often
so great that large quantities were damaged. In

WHEAT IN CANADA 279

late years the railway facilities have improved to
such an extent that in the future such difficulties
are improbable.

The general practice of the farmer here is to sell
his wheat directly to the local elevator for cash.
Where competition in buying exists this results
in a fair price to the producer. Where, because of
monopoly in ownership or operation of line eleva-
tors, there is no competition, prices have not been
held to a reasonable figure. __In order to meet such
a condition, cooperative companies have been
organized which ship their own wheat and sell it
through commission merchants.

The great market center of Canada is the city
of Winnipeg. There most of the grading and
inspecting of wheat is done, and a large Board of
/Trade has been organized. The importance of this
city is partially due to the fact that it is situated
at the confluence of two navigable streams, the
Red River of the North and the Assiniboine.
Another and probably a larger factor which makes
it important is that it is the converging point
of the great Canadian railways. These factors
cause the bulk of Canadian wheat shipments to
pass through Winnipeg. Because of this fact it
has become an inspection point, - - wheat cars
are there opened, samples are taken and graded
and then used as a basis of sales. The great
elevators which mark the places of transfer and

280

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

WHEAT IN CANADA 281

the unloading of the freight cars, however, are
_lpcated at Fort William and Port Arthur, over 400
miles to the east on Lake Superior.

Regina, Calgary, and Edmonton are likewise
cities which have come to be of considerable im-
portance because of the development of the wheat
industry in various Canadian regions.

The Extent to which Wheat is Produced in
Canada. - The large plains of Canada seem to be
as well adapted to wheat growing on a grand scale
as any similar area in the world. Extensive, un-
developed wheat tracts lie in northern Alberta and
Saskatchewan. Likewise many valleys in British
^Columbia are also thought to be well adapted to
extensive wheat growing.

The total production in 1913 was reported to

_be 231,717.000 bushels ; in 1902 it was 100,523,000

bushels. Thus in a decade there is shown an in-

crease of more than 125 per cent. The average
yield in 1913 was 21.04 bushels per acre. This is a
low average, rather lower than the average yearly
yield, for 1913 was not a year of exceptionally good
crops. Yields as high as 40 bushels per acre
are not unusual in the wheat districts west of
Winnipeg, although on the other hand the crops
are sometimes reduced by drought or frost so that
10 or 15 bushels per acre is all that is produced.
In these regions, however, because of the favorable
soil, climate, and intelligent methods of farming,

282 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

the general average production per acre is high. It
even exceeds by five or six bushels the average
yield in the wheat regions of thFTrmtccT States.

Since the cost of production must include de-
livery to local markets, the profit very often is
influenced by the condition of the roads at market-
ing season. In the newly settled regions, road
building is not far advanced and distances to
markets are often great, - - as much as twenty or
thirty miles in some instances. The local market-
ing conditions vary so greatly in different sections
that any average costs of marketing that could be
stated would have little value.

Canada wheat lands have been low priced in
proportion to production values. It is evident
when one considers the interest on the money in-
vested that wheat can be raised more cheaply on
land that sells for $10 or $15 per acre than on land
valued at $150.00 per acre. At this time, with the
low-priced land and the high yield of wheat, the
average cost of production in Canada is estimated
to be about 40 cents per bushel. This, however,
does not include expense of marketing. Of course,
as the land becomes higher priced the cost of pro-
duction will be relatively increased.

The Exportation of Canadian Wheat. - - Canada
has become one of the great wheat-exporting
countries of the world. Her exports of wheat
and flour are now nearly as great as those of the

WHEAT IN CANADA 283

United States and the indications point to even
gFeater progress in the future. She exports an-
nually nearly one half of her total wheat crop,
most of which goes to the mother country, Great
Britain. Of her wheat exports only about one
fifth is in the form of flour, whereas flour constitutes

Courtesy Canadian Pacific Railroad.
FIG. 118. — Grain elevators in Canada.

nearly one half of the wheat exports from the
United States. This difference partially results
from the rapid extension of wheat growing in
Canada, which has been so rapid that milling has
not been able to keep pace with it. It is further
a result of the fact that flour can be made more

284 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

cheaply in England than in the New World, since
milling is there well developed and labor is cheaper.
Canada exports at present from 30 to 50 per cent
more bushels of wheat annually than does the
United States. On the other hand she exports
only about two fifths as many barrels of flour.

Extensive preparation has been made to care
for and develop this export trade. Canada has
five great railways whose chief interest lies in the
wheat traffic. Of these, the Canadian Pacific,
the Canadian Northern, and the Grand Trunk
are the most important. The Canadian Pacific
connects the Atlantic coast with the Pacific. It
also furnishes a direct line from Winnipeg to
Fort William and Port Arthur, the Lake Superior
terminals of the wheat traffic. The Grand Trunk
connects Winnipeg with Montreal and Quebec, and
Portland, Maine. Its summer port is Montreal,
and its winter port, because of the ice-bound St.
Lawrence, is Portland. It has recently built a
western line to Prince Rupert by which it con-
nects the wheat fields of Canada with the Pacific

Ocean. This connection with Pacific ports will
provide an all-year water highway for export
trade, and shipments of wheat can then be made
from western Canada by way of the Panama
Canal across the Atlantic to England. This will
prove a great benefit to the wheat regions of the
Canadian northwest, for they can then reach Euro-

WHEAT IN CANADA 285

pean markets much more cheaply than by the
long railway haul to eastern ports.

The natural outlet for Canadian wheat is the
Hudson Bay route. There is, however, even in
the summer the ever present danger of ice in
Hudson Strait, and the whole route is ice-bound
during much of the season when it is most urgently
needed for the wheat trade. The same is true to
a large extent of the St. Lawrence. Only a part
_of the year's export can be sent by way of Montreal
and Quebec before the river freezes over. This
results in the fact that much of the Canadian wheat
is sent through part of the United States ' in
bond." This means that the wheat is not to be
sold in United States markets, and that it is per-
mitted to pass through this country only to reach
an export city, where it is to be loaded into vessels
and sent to foreign markets. We can thus see
how Canadian 'climatic disadvantages serve to
assist the carrying trade of this country and in-
crease the volume of business of some of our
Atlantic seaports. The cities which gain most by
this condition are Portland, Boston, New York, and
.Baltimore.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Where in Canada is the greater part of the wheat-
producing area ?

2. Explain how the climate of this part favors the pro-
duction of high grade wheat.

286 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

3. In what parts of Canada are winter wheats success-
fully grown ? What climatic conditions prevail there ?

4. In general how do cultural methods of Canada com-
pare with those of the United States ?

5. When does the harvest season come ? Why are
early maturing varieties of wheat desired in some places ?

6. Explain, why imported help is necessary at harvest
time in order to care properly for the crop.

7. Why is large-sized harvesting and threshing machinery
in such general use in the wheat fields of Canada ?

8. Of what importance has modern machinery been in
the development of Canadian wheat lands ?

9. Explain how railroad development has affected the
wheat industry of Canada.

10. What is the great wheat-marketing center? What
causes have contributed to the supremacy of this city ?

11. Of what importance are Fort William and Port
Arthur ? Where are they located ?

12. How does the total production of wheat in Canada
compare with that of the United States ? the average
yield per acre ?

13. What country serves as the chief market for Cana-
dian wheat ? Why is most of the wheat exported unmilled ?

14. Trace the trade routes of Canadian wheat to Euro-
pean markets.

15. Give a brief report on the importance of Canada
as a wheat producer, present and future.

CHAPTER XVI
WHEAT IN ASIA

THAT Asia, the home of early civilization, should
be important as a wheat producer is to be expected.
Wheat is the most universally grown cereal on that
continent. To its early culture there and the favor
in which it was held, this grain owes its high place
in history and literature. Asia has presented
wheat to the world as symbolic of goodness and
prosperity.

Though wheat is produced in nearly every coun-
try of Asia, only two Asiatic countries are impor-
tant contributors to the wheat of commerce. The
reason is twofold : first, the dense population
which prevails over much of the territory uses the
local output ; and second, the primitive methods
of production which are still in vogue limit the
total yield. In China, Palestine, and the valley
of the Euphrates,- wheat is produced by nearly the
same methods as were used two thousand years
ago. It is a singular fact that the only two coun-
tries in Asia which export wheat are the two which
have most strongly felt European influence, -

287

288

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

Asiatic Russia and India [See map, Fig. 57]. This
becomes more significant when one considers that
these countries are typical of the northern and
the southern parts of the continent.

CupyriyM by Underwood and Underwood.
FIG. 119. — Threshing scene in the Holy Land.

The Wheat Region of Asiatic Russia. - - Location
and Extent. - - Russia in Asia may be considered
in three grand divisions : Siberia, which is
roughly estimated to contain 4,833,500 square
miles ; Central Asiatic Russia, which includes
Turkestan, Transcaspia, Bokhara, and Khiva,

WHEAT IN ASIA 289

with a total of 1,120,000 square miles ; and the
Transcaucasus province lying between the Black
and Caspian seas.

The Wheat Area in Siberia. - - Siberia is larger
than all Europe. In population, however, it
but slightly exceeds one person per square mile.
It extends across Asia in approximately the same
latitude as Canada. It is estimated that there
are about 500,000 square miles of fertile, black
soil which is well adapted to cereal production.
Two hundred twelve thousand square miles of
this soil lie in west Siberia, and about 288,000
square miles in east Siberia. Of the 103,283,000
bushels of wheat produced by Asiatic Russia in
1912, Siberia contributed much more than one
half. This is further localized in that at present
the principal grain-producing regions are those
in the western part of Siberia.

The Climate and Soil. - - In all the producing
area the two chief factors to be considered are
latitude and altitude. Of course in each case this
is largely a temperature control. The high plains
to the southeast because of their altitude suffer
from early frosts so frequently that grains cannot
be depended upon to mature. Likewise in the
lowlands of western Siberia the climate is un-
favorable for successful cultivation north of 61°
north latitude. The principal agricultural re-
gion thus lies between parallels 55° and 57°. This

29o THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

is the zone where the northern forests gradually
merge into the dry steppes of the south. This
belt is over 100 miles in width from north to south
and has an extent from east to west of more than
a thousand miles. The soil is a fertile, black
loam. Of this vast area only about 3 per cent is at
present being farmed. Immigration from Euro-
pean Russia has been going on rapidly, however, in
recent years, to such an extent that nearly half
a million people settled in this part of Siberia in a
single year. Farther eastward development has
not been so rapid as in the west.

The Machinery of Cultivation. - The tools and
implements of the Siberian peasant are of crude
and primitive types. The plow is large and
clumsy and is usually homemade. It turns a
wide furrow but in order to do so it requires the
combined strength of 3 to 8 yoke of oxen or teams
of horses. Sowing is by hand, and crude har-
rows are used to cover the grain. Almost all of
the wheat raised is of spring varieties. Of late,
however, modern methods are gradually being
introduced. American harvesting and threshing
machine firms are engaged in an educational cam-
paign which is designed to stimulate to better
methods of production, and thereby create a de-
mand for their machinery. Modern threshers are
also to some extent replacing the flail and threshing
floor.

WHEAT IN ASIA 291

The Extent of Production. - -Though the amount
of wheat produced in Siberia is steadily increasing,
the rate of increase is but little greater than that
of local demand. It is thus easily seen that un-
less the cultivated area is increased much more
rapidly than it has been in the past, and unless
more efficient methods of production are intro-
duced, the amount of export wheat from Siberia
cannot be expected to show a very rapid increase.

The Wheat Region of Central Asiatic Russia. -
This area is sometimes called Turkestan. It is
located east of the Caspian Sea and includes a
stretch of land which has an extent of nearly 1600
miles east and west and from 500 to 700 miles
north and south. Physically it consists of two
very distinct divisions, - - the eastern mountain
and plateau region .and the western low-lying
plains. In these plains there is a great deal of
loess soil.

The climate is dry and characterized by great
extremes of temperature. Although it is the
same latitude as Sicily, the winters are cold, and
the summer temperatures often exceed 100° in the
shade. The winter winds are likewise strong and
so the snow that falls is usually blown into drifts.
The annual rainfall is but 1 1 inches, and most of
this falls in the higher altitudes. The snow and
rainfall of the mountains, however, furnish a
continual flow of water in the rivers which traverse

292

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

the region and large irrigation projects are thus
made possible. In the province of Bokhara the
Amu River furnishes water for thousands of highly
productive acres which, were it not for irrigation,
would be barren wastes. It is estimated that in

this region nearly
4,000,000 acres
are now culti-
vated under irri-
gation.

The Methods of
Cultivation. -
Old methods of
cultivation are
here also still in
vogue. In any
part of the coun-
try it is a com-
mon sight to see
a camel and an ox
yoked together,
making a team

which pulls a primitive plow across the field. The
harvesting is done by the sickle and men labori-
ously cut the grain by creeping along on their
knees. They are followed by others who pick up
the grain stalks and bind them into sheaves.
These wheat sheaves are then loaded upon the
backs of donkeys, camels, or men and are carried

WHEAT IN ASIA 293

into huts made of dry mud. There they are
placed in storage until threshing time. The
bundles are then loosened ; the stalks of grain are
spread over the floor ; and the wheat is tramped
from the straw by the hoofs of cattle or donkeys
which are driven over it. Modern threshers have
not yet found their way to this part of Asia.

In noticeable contrast to European countries is
the fact that the work in the fields is all done by
men. Mohammedan restrictions forbid outdoor
labor for women.

The available statistics for this region give
18,104,000 bushels as the average annual pro-
duction for the years 1901-1908 inclusive. Re-
liable data are impossible to secure and so the
above is thus very little better than an estimate.

The Wheat Region of Transcaucasia. - - Un-
der this head is included the land which lies be-
tween the Black and the Caspian seas, an area of
approximately 180,000 square miles. This coun-
try has also a diversity of topography, soil, and
climate. Since the broad valleys of the eastern
slope are deficient in rainfall, they are not exten-
sively cultivated.

The western slope, on the other hand, with
fairly dependable rainfall and a fertile soil, is one
of the richest parts of the Russian Empire.

Methods of Cultivation and Transportation. -
Agricultural methods are primitive here also and

294 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

homemade implements are used. Wooden plows,
hand sowing, reaping by means of scythe or sickle,
and flail threshing, are the common operations.
Because so much hand labor is available and
because the work is so well done, the country
produces large crops of wheat, as well as of other
cereals, in spite of the primitive methods in vogue.

The development of any country is largely
dependent upon its transportation facilities. No-
where has this fact been better demonstrated than
in the case of Asiatic Russia. The isolation here
has been largely due to lack of adequate means of
commercial intercourse. The country, has, how-
ever, two great transportation agencies that must
be considered, - - its railways and rivers.

Of the Trans-Siberian Railway it has been
said, c It is destined to have a more far-reaching
political and commercial influence than any in-
dustrial and economic scheme that has ever been
executed." This great railroad extends from
Moscow in Europe to Vladivostok on the Pacific
coast. In its total length of 6100 miles it trav-
erses central western Siberia and extends the
entire length of the south border of eastern Siberia.
It furnishes an outlet both to the east and the
west for this enormous territory which it serves.

To the south has been built the Transcaspian
railway. It bears the same relation to Turkestan
that the Trans-Siberian railroad bears to Siberia.

WHEAT IN ASIA 295

That its influence is being felt is evidenced by the
fact that even now the caravan trade of the east
is being diverted from India into Russia. Both
of these great railways were built primarily as
military lines, but they are fast becoming highways
of commerce.

Siberia is characterized by her long rivers,
among which the chief ones are the Obi, the
Yenisei, and the Lena. The main trunks of these
streams extend southward 1000 to 1200 miles and,
with their tributaries, spread fanlike through an
immense area of country. The great drawback
to all the Siberian streams is that they flow north-
ward into a frozen sea. In spite of this fact
transportation, developed along the upper courses,
may be made tributary to railway lines. This
will partly solve the problem for a vast area of
country. Since the whole region is a vast plain,
the construction of roads will not demand any
great amount of engineering skill. Siberia, indeed,
is a country of vast and magnificent distances.

Most of the wheat exported from Siberia is
shipped by rail through European Russia to the
countries of western Europe. The principal mar-
kets have been in Germany. The export trade
has been hampered by lack of railroads, and
recent development has only partly overcome this
difficulty.

Commercially, wheat in Asiatic Russia is more

296 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

important because of its future prospect than for
its present supply. There are vast areas of cheap,
unused land which are fairly well adapted to
wheat raising. With the cultivation of these
lands and the building of railways and canals,
Asiatic Russia gives promise of producing a large
wheat surplus. The outlook then is for this
country to become of increasing importance in
the wheat commerce of the world.

The Wheat Region of British India. — Location
and Extent. - - British India extends from 8° to 37°
north latitude. Its northern extreme thus lies
farther south than does the greater part of the
United States. Its area is approximately one
half as great and its population is about three
times as large. The density of the population as
well as its position is in marked contrast with that
of Asiatic Russia.

Wheat is grown to some extent in nearly all
parts of India, but the great wheat district is in
the north, especially in the northwest provinces.
The wheat area of India is approximately one
ninth of that of the entire world.

The Punjab district, in northwest India, because
of the development of irrigation systems has come
to be of great importance as a wheat producer.
The methods of irrigation here vary from those
where wells and storage tanks are used to highly
developed river and canal systems. Because of

WHEAT IN ASIA 297

the smooth land and the low river banks in the
Punjab district, the system where canals from the
river are used has developed rapidly.

The Seasons. — The Indian year has three
seasons, - - the hot, the rainy, and the cool. The
hot season begins in March and lasts until July ;
the rainy season is from June to October, during
the southwest monsoon ; and the cool season
covers the balance of the year. During the rainy
season all of India except a strip along the east
coast receives much rain. During a single season
the variance in amount of rainfall for different
parts of India is decidedly great. Likewise the
amount in a single district varies greatly from
year to year. This uncertainty has caused many
crop failures and famines and has led to the use of
the irrigation systems.

Two crops are grown each year, - - the summer
crop and the winter crop. The summer crop is
sown in June or July and is harvested in October
and November. This crop is usually maize,
millet, rice, or other grain. Wheat, in "northern
India, is the so-called winter crop. It is sown at
the close of the southwest monsoon, September
or October, and is harvested from Feburary to
April. During the growing period of the wheat the
sky is clear and the weather cool and dry. Thus
the wheat ripens before the advent of the hot season.

The Soil of the Wheat Region. - - A great part of

298 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

the wheat-producing area of India is confined to
the large alluvial plains found along the Indus
river and its tributaries. Here, as elsewhere in
India, the success of the crop is due to the fact
that a highly fertile soil is found in a region where
there is a favorable climate.

The Culture Methods. - The varieties of wheat
grown here are only those which make good
white flour. The reason for this becomes evident
when we realize that nearly all the wheat is sent to
England and is there used in bread making. Thus
wheat which gives dark or inferior flour does not
find ready markets.

The soil is prepared toward the end of the
monsoon period by the use of crude, wooden
plows. Often several plowings are necessary.
The wheat is generally sown by hand. In the
south the harvest begins in February and advances
northward with the season until in April northern
India is reached. In many places reaping is still
done with the sickle or scythe, and the threshing
by treading the grain on an earthen floor and
winnowing by hand.

Although the English have introduced modern
machinery to some extent, progress is slow. This
is because of the small landholdings and the
poverty of the people. Few farmers have the
capital necessary to purchase modern implements
and, even were they able to do so, the native

WHEAT IN ASIA 299

Hindus would have difficulty in learning to oper-
ate complicated machinery. Slow progress is at
best all that can be expected.

The Production of Wheat in this Region. - The
total production of wheat in 1913 was reported to
be 358,314,000 bushels. This is about typical of
normal conditions. The average yield varies from
12 to 15 bushels per acre, though of course much
higher yields occur in many places. Because of
the small capital invested and the cheapness of
labor, the cost of production is very low. This
cheapness of labor may be in part explained by
the fact that standards of living are not nearly so
high among Indian wheat raisers as among those
of North America.

The Marketing of the Wheat. - - Because of the
hordes of moths and weevils which attack it dur-
ing the hot season, wheat in India deteriorates
rapidly. For this reason it must be marketed as
soon as possible after it is threshed. In the rush
following harvest, transportation facilities are
severely taxed. There are no elevators to care
for the grain ; and railway service is inadequate.
In some parts of the country the wheat is delivered
to the railway towns by bullock wagons or by
human carriers. In other cases where streams are
available, it is delivered to river and canal ports
by small boats. From these receiving stations it is
then carried either by rail or by boat to the larger

300 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

export centers and is there loaded into the ocean-
going vessels.

The Exportation of Wheat. - - Since the people
of India live largely on other grains, especially
rice, millet, and corn, a large percentage of the
wheat produced is exported. Much hand labor
is employed in loading the vessels, for native
workers are plentiful and wages are low. Indian
wheat is dirty and badly graded, in marked con-
trast to the clean and well-graded wheat from
Canada. The inferior market condition of the
Indian product is due to the circumstances under
which it is raised. Most of it is grown on small
peasants' holdings, is threshed by flail or is trodden
out by bullocks on a dirt floor, and is winnowed by
the wind. This growing of small patches in many
districts causes a mixingof the varieties, and the poor
threshing leaves it badly mixed with chaff and dirt.
For these reasons in English markets the Indian
wheat brings a lower price than that from Canada.

Although India has several good harbors, be-
cause of insufficient protection they nearly all
suffer from the winds and storms of the monsoon
season. The most important export centers are
Karachi, Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras. In
spite of the fact that its harbor is never safe for
large steamers during monsoon storms, Karachi is
India's greatest wheat-exporting center.

The harbors of India are not equipped with

WHEAT IN ASIA 301

large elevators such as characterize the seaports
of eastern United States. The ocean steamers
must lie at anchor some distance out in the harbor.
The sacked wheat is carried in small boats, called
lighters, from the shore to the freight steamers,
and is there reloaded for its long journey. This
is quite different from the methods employed in
American seaports. There the harbors are suf-
ficiently deep for the great steamers to lie along-
side the elevators and to be loaded by letting the
grain slide through chutes into the hold of the vessel.

The Export Routes. - - England furnishes the
principal market. Exports from India are sent
via the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea to
the English seaports, Southampton, London, and
Liverpool. Freight steamers usually make this
trip in from thirty to forty days.

The surplus wheat of India is exchanged for
the manufactured goods of Great Britain. India
thus serves as a market for the manufactures pro-
duced by English labor, and she is also an impor-
tant contributor to England's food supply. India,
Canada, and Australia are the great wheat-pro-
ducing colonies of Great Britain.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Of what importance is Asia in the early history of
wheat ?

2. Why are so few Asiatic countries important contrib-
utors of commercial wheat ?

302 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

3. How does Siberia compare in size with the United
States ? What part of Siberia is now important in wheat
production ?

4. What characterizes the cultural methods of wheat
production in Siberia ? Why are American manufacturers
interested in developing better methods there ?

5. Account for the primitive methods of cultivation and
harvest still in vogue in Turkestan.

6. Explain how Asiatic Russia is situated with reference
to natural transportation facilities. What steps have been
taken by the Russian government to remedy this condition ?_

7. How will improved transportation facilities affect
the development of the wheat industry ?

8. What countries serve as the markets for the wheat
exported from Asiatic Russia ? Trace the trade routes.

9. Where are the most important wheat districts of
India ?

10. What relation does the climate of India bear to its
wheat production ?

u. Why is modern machinery not used generally in
India ?

12. What conditions render early marketing of wheat
imperative in India ? Of what importance is climate in this
respect ?

13. Explain why India, in spite of very dense population,
is an important wheat-exporting country.

14. To what country is the greater part of the Indian ex-
port wheat sent ? by what routes ?

15. Compare the market condition of wheat from India
with that from Canada. Account for the difference.

CHAPTER XVII
WHEAT IN EUROPE

EVERY country in Europe produces wheat.
Even on the plateaus and mountain regions of
Montenegro, of Switzerland, of northern Spain,
and of Portugal, it is an important food supply.
In some of these places, however, where soil and
climate are unfavorable to the common wheats,
the small primitive type, Einkorn, is the only
kind that is grown. Commercially wheat is of
great importance only in the following countries :
Russia, Austria-Hungary, the Balkan States, Italy,
Spain, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
These countries are representative of all parts of
Europe.

The Wheat Region of Russia. - - Climate and
Soil. - - Practically all of European Russia south of
latitude 58°-6o°, as far as temperature is concerned,
permits wheat production. The actual wheat re-
gion, however, begins several degrees farther south.
The rainfall varies from less than 10 inches per
year in the southeastern part to about 24 inches
in the region near the Baltic Sea. The greater part
of the rainfall occurs during the growing season.

303

304

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

WHEAT IN EUROPE

305

The soil generally is fertile, that of the Black
Earth district being particularly so. Since the
Steppe region of the southeast is salty in many
places, and has a deficient rainfall, it is not fitted
for wheat production.

Culture Methods. - The methods of production
vary from the most primitive to the most advanced.

FIG. 122. — A wheat harvest in Russia.

Among the poorer classes of farmers, the small
landowners or tenants, the common plow is con-
sidered a luxury. With them, hand labor is in-
volved in every process, whether it be turning
the ground by wooden plows, harvesting the grain
by sickle or cradle, or threshing by flail. The
private holders of large estates and the larger
farmers employ methods which are similar to those

306 TltE WHEAT INDUSTRY

used in the United States. This class of producers
operate gang plows, press drills, and modern
binders and threshers. In fact during -recent
years southwestern Russia has been a good market
region for American-made machinery, particularly
for binders.

, Kinds of Wheat. - - Conditions are favorable
for winter wheat and it is grown extensively in
both Poland (western Russia) and in the vicinity
of the Black Sea. In Poland snows protect the
wheat from being winterkilled, and in the Black
Sea region the temperatures in winter are moderate,
and wheat is able to live through the season.

Generally, however, spring wheat is the more
important and is approximately four fifths of
Russia's total production. This is because of the
fact that during much of the time of the low tem-
peratures which occur in winter over a great deal
of the region, the ground is not protected by a snow
cover. These conditions are naturally unfavor-
able for winter varieties.

Russian wheats are of good milling qualities
and are much in demand in European markets
for flour purposes.

The Extent of Wheat Production in This Region.

- Because of the crude farming methods and the
lack of intensive agriculture, the yield is very
moderate. During the years 1908 to 1912 the
average yield reported varied from 9 to 1 1 bushels

WHEAT IN EUROPE 307

per acre. Nevertheless on account of the large
acreage the total production is high. In 1912 it
amounted to about 624,000,000 bushels. Among
the countries of the world Russia ranks second
only to the United States. With the opening of
wheat territory which now lies unused and the
introduction of modern farming methods, Russia
is in position to make a strong bid for the first
place in wheat production.

The Marketing of Wheat in This Region. - - Al-
though many elevators have been built during
recent years to facilitate the handling of grain,
the greater part of the wheat is still marketed in
sacks. Canals and railways furnish fairly good
market facilities. Nearly one half of the freight
tonnage carried by the railroads consists of wheat
or wheat products, and even then over 20 per cent
of the grain is carried on waterways. This empha-
sizes the fact that wheat is Russia's greatest com-
mercial asset.

In exports Russia takes high rank. In 1911
more than 150,000,000 bushels of wheat were sent
to other countries. This is nearly twice as much
as was exported by the United States in the same
year. The yield varies so much with different
years that comparisons are difficult, but Russia
is always one of the world's greatest exporters.
The chief export centers are Riga and Odessa.
The latter is now said to be the greatest wheat-

3o8

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

WHEAT IN EUROPE 309

exporting city in the world. Markets are found in
Italy and the countries ofwesternEurope. Wheat
is sent by rail to Germany and by way of the
Mediterranean to Italy, France, and Spain.

Russia has thus become one of the chief factors
in the production of the world's bread supply ;
and the crop in that country, because of its great
export relations, is important in determining the
price of wheat in every market of the world.

The Wheat Region of Austria-Hungary. - - Posi-
tion, Climate, and Soil. - The greater part of
Austria-Hungary lies between the 45th and 5oth
parallels. A narrow strip, however, extends south-
ward along the Adriatic Sea to latitude 42° north.

Moderate temperatures prevail, though great
differences exist because of the irregularity of the
surface, which varies from low-lying plains to high
mountains. In general the summers are hot and
the winters rather severe. The rainfall ranges
from 25 inches per year in the southeastern plains
to over 100 inches annually in parts of the Alps.

The plains of Hungary constitute the most im-
portant wheat region. There the land is quite
smooth and the soil well adapted to wheat.

The Culture Methods. - - Both spring and winter
wheats are grown, but the latter because of the
influence of climate is by far the more important.

Intensive farming predominates. The rural
population is dense and the fields are small.

3io

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

•*

WHEAT IN EUROPE 311

Most of the farms are less than 45 acres in extent.
Since great advances have been made in providing
machinery suitable for the small fields, hand labor
is now much less important here than in former
times. Small harvesters and threshers have quite
generally replaced the cradle and the flail. In
many cases several farmers unite in purchasing
one machine. Exchange of machinery is also
much practiced. By such methods the amount
of capital invested is kept low and still labor-
saving machinery is placed within reach of the
mass of the people.

The Production of Wheat in This Region. - - Al-
though the total amount of wheat produced in
Austria has increased over 75 per cent since 1880,
the production is still not equal to the home demand.
The total production in 1912 was 257,347,000
bushels and the yield per acre was 20.4 bushels.
The yield in the wheat centers of Austria and
Hungary is higher than the figure given, but the
average is reduced by the unfavorably situated
fields of hilly and mountainous sections.

The wheat is of exceptionally high milling
quality. This is a result of the hot, dry ripening
season. The harvests are almost free from rain
so that the grain is seldom bleached or damaged
by moisture. Flour is made throughout the coun-
try, and many small flouring mills are in operation.
Budapest, however, is the great milling center of

312 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

the empire. The most up-to-date milling machin-
ery is used there and flour of the highest quality
is produced. Austrian flour is normally in great
demand in English markets.

The Balkan States Wheat Region. - - Although
wheat is of local importance in all the countries
of the Balkan Peninsula, Roumania, Bulgaria,
and Serbia are the only ones which furnish much
wheat for export. Greece, Montenegro, and Al-
bania not only do not produce enough for home
consumption, but must even import in order to
meet their needs.

The Roumanian Field. - - Roumania, although
called a Balkan state, is really a continuation of
the Russian plain. It not only includes part
of the valley of the Danube river, but also the
greater part of its extensive delta region. The
wide central plain, a continuation of the Black
Earth region of Russia, has a warm, rich soil and
is well adapted to wheat growing. The country
is, however, one of extremes of climate. It has
very hot summers, with temperatures frequently
rising above 100°, long autumns and very cold
winters. Winter temperatures often drop to 20°
below zero. The spring season is very short.
Although the annual rainfall is 20 inches, much
of it comes in the winter as heavy snowfall. The
latter part of the summer is very dry.

Hard wheats are raised. Winter varieties,

WHEAT IN EUROPE 313

among which is the well-known Turkey Red, are
most profitable. Occasionally there will be an
open winter and because of the lack of snow cover
the wheat will winterkill. In this event spring
wheats are sown as early as the season permits.

Here the plow is a peculiar machine. Two
wheels are in front and the wooden plow proper
behind. The peasant yokes up his two or three
pairs of oxen with the old fashioned clumsy wooden
yoke and proceeds to the field. His boy acts as
the driver and he is left free to guide the plow.
The sowing is done by hand.

June is the harvest month. In harvesting the
men and women wield the simplest kind of reaping
hook or scythe and the children, following, gather
the wheat stalks and spread them on the field to
dry. When dry, the wheat is taken to the stack
or barn and the poor people who wish to do so may
come and pick up the stray stalks that are left in
the field. These people are known as gleaners.

The wheat, with the heads all pointing in one
direction, is spread out about an inch thick on the
floor and is threshed with the flail. The grain so
spread is called haulm. On the larger farms the
threshing is done by having a loaded cart pulled
over the haulm as it lies on the floor. Few steam
engines are in use, although they are beginning to
be introduced in some places.

Roumania produces between 75,000,000 and

3i4 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

100,000,000 bushels of wheat every year. Since
she sends out nearly three fourths of the wheat she
produces, her exports are important. In "1911
they were nearly as large as those of Australia.
Because of its macaroni qualities, much of the
wheat is sold in Italy. The data given illustrate
the importance of this small Balkan country in
producing the world's bread supply.

The Bulgarian Wheat Fields. - - Bulgaria lies in
about the same latitude as New York. Its wheat-
producing area covers about 4300 square miles
and the northern part of the country produces
the greater part of the crop. This area consists
chiefly of the plains which lie between the Balkan
Mountains and the Danube River. The climate is
similar to that of Roumania, except for a some-
what heavier rainfall, which comes largely during
the spring and winter months.

The cultural methods, though still crude in many
places, are rapidly becoming modernized. The
average size of fields is about eighteen acres.
When the country was under the direct control
of Turkey, the people were kept ignorant and
superstitious, and, consequently, they would not
use machinery. Since the country has become
independent of Turkey, the native rulers have
worked hard to introduce modern methods in
farming operations.

Winter wheats are the principal varieties and

WHEAT IN EUROPE 315

the harvest season comes in the latter part of
June and early July.

The total production is nearly 50,000,000 bushels
annually, of which about one-third is exported.
Much of this wheat is shipped by way of the Black
Sea and the Bosphorus to Greece and Italy.
Some of it goes to the countries of western Europe.

The Serbian Wheat Fields. - The climate of
Serbia favors wheat. The winters are moderate,
the spring season is moist and cool, and the summer
is quite warm and dry. Only about one third of
the country, however, has land suitable for farm-
ing.

Almost every peasant cultivates his own field,
which consists usually of from 10 to 30 acres.
Because of the primitive methods of farming,
modern machinery is seldom used. Women are
taught that tilling the soil is as truly their work
as is housekeeping. The poorer kinds of wheat,
especially spelt and emmer, are the types grown.
Russian wheats, which are so well adapted to
Serbian conditions, have been slow to find favor.

In spite of their crude methods the Serbians
usually export from three to four million bushels
every year. Since the events of the Balkan War
demonstrated to all these countries the advantage
of improved methods, not only in war but in in-
dustry, it is probable that development will be
more rapid. Lack of transportation facilities is

316 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

here a handicap to export trade. Serbia is with-
out navigable streams to the coast and her rail-
ways are not well developed. The Mediterranean
countries are her chief markets.

The Wheat Region of Italy. - - " Sunny Italy " is
a phrase with which we are all familiar. This
term is applied because the country as a whole has
a very large percentage of days of sunshine. The
lack of cloudiness is illustrated by the fact that
Italy averages three hours more of sunshine every
day during the growing season than does eastern
England. The rainfall, which varies from 20 to
40 inches per year, comes chiefly in the winter
and spring seasons. In fact rain is so closely
associated in Italy with the chilly and sunless
season that the average Italian is inclined to
shudder at the mere mention of the word. The
summers are warm and dry. Because of the lack
of summer rains, irrigation is extensively developed
in agricultural lands. This is particularly true
along the coast and in the Po valley.

The Methods of Cultivation. - - Wheat, which
occupies about 18 per cent of the cultivated land, is
the most important cereal crop. Fields are small,
varying in size from two or three, to thirty acres.
The latter is considered a large field. Although
the modern plow, harrow, and seeder are used in
some places, methods of tillage generally are crude.
The sowing is for the most part done by hand.

WHEAT IN EUROPE

Spring wheats, macaroni, and spelts, are extensively
grown, and the harvest season comes in May and
early June. The grain is cut by sickle or cradle,
and bound by hand. The flail is in general use
for threshing. Harvesting and threshing machin-
ery are of late coming to be used more generally,

FIG. 1 25. — Wheat harvest in Italy.

but because of the small fields and the lack of
capital among the peasants, the introduction is
slow. Nearly every farmer raises wheat for his
own use, and has some to sell to the city trade.
Since not enough wheat is grown to supply the
home demand, Italy imports each year from thirty
to forty million bushels.

The average yield of wheat is from 12 to 16

3i8 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

bushels. The total crop in 1913 was 214,405,000
bushels. This was an unusually large crop
although production frequently reaches about
190,000,000 bushels.

The Wheat Products and Their Uses. - • The
province of Tuscany as well as the vicinity of
Milan have become noted as straw-producing
centers. Here wheat is grown for the straw
which is used in the plaited straw industry, now
very important in Milan, Pisa, and Leghorn.
The straw-plaiting is a domestic and rural indus-
try. The girls, over 20,000 of them, who plait
the straw also tend the crop during its planting
and growing season. The making of hats is a
factory industry which centers in the cities. Ital-
ian straw has a market the world over for its use
as a hat material.

Italy is the native land of the macaroni wheat,
so called because of the product which is made
from it. The processes of manufacture of maca-
roni differ somewhat from those of ordinary mill-
ing. The wheat is washed, soaked, and then
made into a flour called semolina. Semolina,
which is much coarser than common wheat flour,
is made into a dough, rolled, cut into strips, and
then dried. These dried strips, macaroni, make
a very nutritious food which, because of its cheap-
ness as well as its nutritious value, has served to
displace meat dishes to a large extent. Not only

WHEAT IN EUROPE

are the Italians particularly fond of macaroni, but
many other countries also use it extensively. This
widespread use has developed almost entirely
within the last quarter century, for the macaroni
industry began on a commercial basis in Naples
only about 1875. Macaroni now is about the

FIG. 1 26. — An Italian bread baking oven. Note the two long loaves in the
foreground ready to be placed in the oven.

only wheat product which serves as an article of
export.

An interesting thing in connection with wheat
products here is an Italian method of bread
making. It is of interest chiefly because of the
large loaves. The oven is often a little stone
building which is used only for baking purposes.
A fire is kept going in this oven until the stone

320 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

walls and floor are thoroughly heated. The coals
and ashes are then removed and the floor is care-
fully wiped. This done, the loaves are placed
inside and the openings are sealed. The bread is
thus baked by the heat stored in the walls and
floor of the oven. The loaves are large, some-
times six feet long, eighteen inches wide, and
twelve inches high.

The ovens and loaves just described are common,
although the smaller, more familiar, sizes are also
found.

The transportation facilities are good. Devel-
opment, however, of roads, canals, and railroads
has been along lines of getting wheat to the people ;
that is, for import rather than for export purposes.
The great import centers are Genoa, Rome,
Naples, and Venice. As has been previously
stated, Italy imports considerable quantities of
wheat which serves as the raw material for the
manufacture of macaroni. This is then exported
as a finished article of commerce.

The Wheat Region of Spain. - The Iberian
peninsula has a climate of extremes. The fringe
of mountains around the coast condenses the
moisture borne by the winds from the sea and
.gives the coastal provinces, especially in the north
and west, an abundant rainfall, often more than
60 inches per year. The interior on the contrary
is quite dry. The average annual rainfall of the

WHEAT IN EUROPE

321

interior plateau of Spain is only 12 to 20 inches,
with the greater part of this coming in the winter.

Wheat is grown in all parts of Spain. The
region of greatest production, however, lies north
of Madrid. In the drier parts of interior Spain,
the small spelt is
grown because it
can be produced
on poor soils and
is more drought-
resistant than
other wheats. It
grows only to a
height of from
1 8 to 24 inches,
has but one seed
in a spikelet, and
gives a small
yield. In the
more important
wheat sections,
Polish wheat or
flint wheat is
raised. This de-
velops a larger plant but is likewise not a heavy
yielder.

The Culture Methods. - - Hand methods of tillage
are used in most parts of the country. Wooden
plows drawn by oxen are used to turn the soil ;

322

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

sickle and scythe are the harvesting machines ;
and horses and goats are used to tramp the wheat
kernel from the ' straw. The wagons are fitted
with clumsy wooden wheels, and the roads are
poor. June is the month of harvest.

On the plateau much land lies unused. The
inhabitants lack enterprise both in tillage methods
and in bringing available land under cultivation.
Agricultural resources are neglected by the Span-
iards because of want of capital, difficulty of

WHEAT IN EUROPE 323

communication, and heavy taxation. The last
has fallen with such great weight on the farmers
that the actual tillers of the soil live in poverty.

The annual production is about one seventh of
that of the United States. The average yield per
acre is from 10 to 14 bushels. Except in unusually
good years, wheat must be imported to meet the
home demands.

Marketing the Crop.- -The methods of market-
ing are poor. Farmers raise just enough for the
community and this is then ground at the town
mill. Wheat here is all handled in bags. Pack
mules and ox carts are still common and means of
communication are generally primitive. Although
railway development has proceeded with some
rapidity during recent years many sections are
still very poorly served.

The Wheat Region of France. — Position and
Climate. - - France, whose area is about four fifths
that of Texas, lies in the same latitude as north-
ern United States and southern Canada. Since
it is so situated that the Atlantic winds have free
access almost everywhere, the country has an
equable climate. Winters are moderately cold, and
summers are mild. The rainfall averages about
30 inches per year.

Culture Methods. - - Among European countries,
France is second only to Russia in total produc-
tion. Although only one eighth of its area is

324

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

1—

fe
cf

*
o

t-r

WHEAT IN EUROPE

325

planted to wheat she produces nearly enough for
her own use, importing ordinarily only from 2 to
10 per cent of her needs. The soil is generally
fertile. Where it is poor it is brought up to good
producing capacity by the use of fertilizers and

FIG. 130. — Threshing wheat in Brittany, France.

advanced methods of farming. Small fields and
careful tillage is the rule. Women do much of
the work in the fields of France.

Walking plows pulled by one or two horses or a
yoke of oxen is the usual means of plowing, and

326

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

f)
6

WHEAT IN EUROPE 327

hand sowing is customary. The harvest, which
is now largely accomplished by machinery, occurs
in July. Only where fields are very small or
hilly is the sickle or scythe used. Most of the
wheat is cut with small binders which are similar
to the larger ones used in the United States. The
threshing is done with small machines operated by
horse power. The threshers are fed by hand and
the straw is removed by the same means. These
machines, however, do good work and are efficient
for small farms.

Production and Uses. - The yield is high, aver-
aging for the whole country from 1 8 to 20 bushels
per acre. The French Government takes an
active part in encouraging all forms of agriculture
and gives much attention to the solution of wheat
problems.

Both spring and winter varieties are raised.
Because of its high yields Durum wheat is becom-
ing more and more popular. The macaroni in-
dustry has here also grown by leaps and bounds
in the past few years. It seems as though the
French are likely to become worthy rivals of the
Italians as macaroni eaters.

Marketing the Crop. - - France is noted for her
splendid public roads, the ' routes nationales,"
which are built and maintained by the state. The
river and canal routes likewise permeate the en-
tire country, and France has a highly developed

328 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

system of railways. The efficient means of trans-
portation together with the many large cities give
all the agricultural sections easy access to good
markets. The wheat is generally sold to local
elevators and mills. There it is prepared into
flour and other food products for home consump-
tion. Although wheat importation is necessary
to meet the demands for flour, imports of wheat
are ordinarily kept down by a fairly heavy duty.
This is for the purpose of encouraging as large
home production as possible.

Wheat Imports. - - Russia, Argentina, and the
United States furnish most of the imports, though
some come from the Balkan States, India, and
Canada. Marseilles, Bordeaux, and Havre are
the greatest import centers. Very little wheat
flour is imported. This arises from the fact that
home milling is strongly favored.

The Wheat Region of Germany. - - Although
in the northeastern part the winters are cold, the
climate of Germany on the whole is mild. The
rainfall ranges from 16 inches in the middle Rhine
basin to more than 30 inches in the southern
highlands and along the North Sea. The rain,
though not limited to any season, comes for the
most part during the summer.

Culture Methods. - The wheat acreage in Ger-
many is only a little more than one fourth that of
France. This is due to the fact that rye and

WHEAT IN EUROPE 329

barley are used as the bread cereals much more
extensively than is wheat. In fact the Germans
are noted as ' black bread ' eaters, although in
recent years wheat bread has been gaining in
favor rapidly. The principal wheat regions are
in the southern and western parts of the country.

German farms are small but every foot of ground
is made to yield as much as possible. Intensive
farming, rotation of crops, and the extensive use
of fertilizers have built up the German farm to a
high point of efficiency. They are now being
referred to even in the United States as examples of
what can be accomplished by modern agriculture.

Small machinery is used almost entirely. Meas-
ured by the standards of the machinery used on
the large fields of the United States or Canada,
one might be tempted to say that the Germans
are not up-to-date. This assertion would not be
true ; for their machinery is well adapted to the
sizes of their fields. In acreage the farms range
from two to thirty acres, the latter representing
a large field. As in France, the work is generally
done with small plows, harvesters, and threshers.
In some places, though, the cradle and flail are
still in use.

The total production in 1913 was 171,075,000
bushels, representing an average yield of more
than 35 bushels per acre. Although German
wheat is softer than most of the American wheat,

330 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

it is of good milling quality. Much spelt and
emmer are grown.

Marketing the Crop. — Germany, like France, has
highly developed transportation facilities in its
excellent wagon roads, canals, and railways. The
numerous large cities demand more wheat than
the country produces, so prices are good and mar-
kets easily accessible. Most of the wheat is
handled in sacks and sold to local mills.

Wheat Imports. - - As a world's wheat market,
Germany is especially important since, with the
exception of Great Britain, she imports more
than any other country. Her imports equal 50
to 60 per cent of her own total production. Great
quantities of wheat grown in the United States
thus find markets in German cities. For this
wheat Hamburg and Bremen are the greatest
import centers. A great deal of wheat is also
bought from Russia, much of which is shipped by
rail. But a very small percentage of the wheat
imported is in the form of flour. The Germans
prefer to do their own milling.

The Wheat Region of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland. - The United King-
dom lies in about the same latitude as Manitoba,
Canada. Because of its insular location in the
belt of prevailing westerly winds, the climate is
mild and equable. The winters are rainy and
chilly, and the summers warm but not hot.

WHEAT IN EUROPE

Although small quantities of wheat are raised
in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, the eastern part
of England is the chief producing section. The
annual rainfall in the principal wheat section is
about 30 inches, and it is fairly well distributed
through the year. It is lowest in the summer
months.

I'hoto by H . J . Young.

FIG. 132. — Wheat plots at Rothamsted Experiment Station, Harpenden,
England. Both plots have been continously cropped with wheat for seventy-one
years. The plot at the right has received no fertilizer and gives now a yield of
about thirteen bushels per acre. The left plot has had annual applications
of fertilizer and now yields about forty-one bushels per acre.

Culture Methods. - - Both spring and winter
wheats are grown, of which the soft white varieties
are the most common. The English wheats be-
cause of the warm, moist climate are on the whole
more starchy than those of the United States.
Wheat may be sown in any of nine months of the
year. The best results are obtained when the

332

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

land has been summer fallowed the season before
planting. The land is plowed in August, allowed
to stand about two weeks in order that the herbage
may die, and is then cross plowed. Later it is
harrowed, packed, and thus made ready for seeding.
Winter wheats are sown in early autumn,

Phu,o by H . J . Young.

FIG. 133. — A small wheat field at the Harper Adams Agricultural School,
England. Large yields reward careful and intelligent methods of production.

usually in September, although sometimes as late
as December. Spring wheats are sown from
January to March. The press drill is the common
means of seeding, although broadcast sowing is
still practiced in some districts. From one and
one half to three bushels of seed are sown per acre.
Harvesting the Crop. - - August is the general
harvest month. The methods of harvesting vary

WHEAT IN EUROPE 333

from cradle to binder. Up-to-date machinery is,
however, the rule. Most of the wheat is stacked,
sometimes in barns, often out of doors on raised
stack stools which prevent the stack bottoms
from molding. Except in isolated regions where
the flail is still employed, the modern thresher is
used.

The total annual production is about 60,000,000
bushels with an average yield of a little more than
30 bushels per acre. On the well cared for fields
of eastern England, yields of 60 bushels per acre
are by no means uncommon.

Transportation facilities are excellent. The
country roads are as well kept as are many of the
boulevards which lead to American cities. Rail-
ways ramify every part of the region and thus
place the producer within easy access of the
greatest wheat markets of the world.

The Wheat Markets of Great Britain.- - Since
Great Britain consumes much more wheat than she
raises, the markets are largely local. There is no
need of such an extensive system of marketing as
is in operation in the United States.

In spite of a comparatively large production,
Great Britain imports about 180,000,000 bushels
of wheat annually. For import purposes her
location is splendid, for she is within easy reach of
the great wheat fields of the world. She strives to
obtain her necessary imports as largely as possible

334

THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

o
fa

WHEAT IN EUROPE 335

from her own colonies, India, Australia, and
Canada, but she also buys large quantities of
wheat every year from Argentina, Russia, and
the United States.

Great Britain is dependent upon other countries
not only for much of her food supply, but also for
her raw materials for manufacture. Her indus-
tries consist chiefly of converting raw materials
into finished articles of commerce. In order to
insure a supply of the necessary materials and
foodstuffs, she has developed shipping interests
that outrank those of any other nation. English
ships are found on every sea. Her merchant
vessels serve to bring her foods and raw materials
and to carry her manufactured goods to foreign
markets. To protect her commercial interests as
well as her colonies she has built and now main-
tains the world's greatest navy.

Because of the large imports of wheat needed by
Great Britain, she plays a very important part in
the world's market. Her greatest import center
is Liverpool, which has developed into the first
wheat market of the world. The crop reports of
every wheat country of any importance are wired
daily to this city. These reports affect the Liver-
pool market, and that in turn controls the price of
wheat the world over.

In conclusion, we need only to be reminded
that we began our study of the world's wheat crop

336 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY

where acres are many and people few ; we close it
with the country where acres are few and people
many. Production and markets are both neces-
sary and the interplaying movements between
these factors are well illustrated with wheat, the
greatest bread cereal.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. In what European countries is wheat of great com-
mercial importance ? Why are not all countries named ?

2. What part of European Russia is important in wheat
production ?

3. Why is spring wheat of greater importance in Russia
than is winter wheat ?

4. Of what importance is the wheat crop of Russia in
affecting the world market ? Why ?

5. Suggest reasons why the average yield per acre of
wheat is higher in Austria-Hungary than in Russia.

6. What conditions have led to the development of
Austria-Hungary as a great milling country ?

7. What Balkan countries are important producers
of wheat for export ?

8. What causes favor the production of macaroni wheat
in the Balkan States ? Consider both climate and market
conditions.

9. Why do small fields in a country tend to retard the
introduction of modern machinery ?

10. Are the so-called crude methods of tillage and
harvesting necessarily uneconomical ? Do they necessarily
indicate lack of intelligence among the people using such
methods ?

n. Suggest reasons for the development of the macaroni
industry in Italy.

WHEAT IN EUROPE 337

12. Why does not Spain take high rank as a wheat pro-
ducing country ?

13. Compare the latitude position of France with that
of the United States;

14. Discuss the adaptation of methods of production to
natural agricultural conditions in France.

15. What is the attitude of the French government to-
ward agriculture ? Why such interest ?

16. How do the French encourage home milling of wheat ?
Why?

17. What are the chief wheat import centers of France?
What countries furnish the greater part of the wheat im-
ported ?

18. Briefly discuss the methods of wheat production in
Germany.

19. What is true of the average yield per acre in Germany ?
How has this result been accomplished ?

20. Of what importance is Germany as a market for
American wheat ? What are its chief import cities ?

21. Why do the Germans prefer to import wheat rather
chan flour ?

22. What is meant by the insular position of Great
Britain ?

23. What is the greatest wheat importing country in
the world ?

24. What countries furnish the greater part of English
wheat imports ?

25. From the standpoint of wheat alone what reasons
can you suggest why England finds it necessary to maintain
commercial supremacy on the sea ?

26. In a brief statement explain how the international
trade in wheat is of advantage to both importing and ex-
porting countries.

INDEX

Agronomy, 1 1
Aleurone layers, 12.
Alsop Process, 161.
Area of wheat on farms, 108.
Argentina, wheat in -
Exportation, 225.
Harvesting, 223.
Location and extent, 216.
Plowing, 221.
Production, 225.
Seeding, 222.
Threshing, 223.
Topography and climate, 217.
Varieties, 218.
Asia, wheat in —
British India

Culture methods, 298.
Exportation and routes, 300.
Marketing, 299.
Production, 299.
Russia

Central Asiatic Russia, 291.
Transcaucasia, 293.
Siberia, 288.
Australia, wheat in -
Climate, 208.
Exportation, 214.
Location and extent, 207.
Methods, 211.
Production, extent of, 212.
Transportation, 213.

Austria-Hungary, wheat in —
Climate and soil, 309.
Culture Methods, 309.
Production, extent of, 311.

Balkan States, wheat in -

Bulgaria, 314.

Roumama, 312.

Servia, 315.
Beards, 9.
Binder, 49.
Biscuits, 186.
Bleaching flour, 161.
Bonanza farms, no.
Bread baking, 184.
Buhrstone mills, 149.
By-products, 163.

Canada, wheat in -

Areas, 270.

Exportation, 282.

Harvesting, 27^.

Marketing, 278.

Plowing and seeding, 274.

Production, amount of, 281.

Threshing, 277.

Varieties, 272.

Winnipeg, 279.
Cellulose, 12.
Cereal foods, 174.
Chess, 103.

339

340

INDEX

Chinch bug, 40, 103.
Cleaning grain, 157.
Club wheat, 15.
Coatings, kernel, n.
Combines, 56.
Common wheat, 17.
Cradle, 44, 196.

Drills -

Hoe, 33.

Press, 34.
Durum Wheat, 16.

Einkorn,. 15.
Elevators, 130.

Farm, 92.

Terminal, 140.

Town, 94.

Embryo, of kernel, 1 1.
Emmer, 15.

Endosperm, of kernel, II.
Exchange, wheat, 140.
Exportation of wheat from U.
262.

Fertilizers, 116.
Flail, 66.
Flours, 179-181.
France, wheat in -

Climate, 323.

Culture methods, 323.

Marketing, 327.

Production, extent of, 327.

Gang plows, 23.
Germ, 12.
Germany, wheat in -

Culture methods, 328.

Importing centers, 330.

Marketing, 330.
Glumes, 9.
Grades of wheat, 127.

S.,

Granary storage, 91.
Great Britain and Ireland, wheat
in -

Climate, 330.

Culture methods, 331.

Harvesting, 332.

Liverpool market, 335.

Production, extent of, 333.
Gristmills, 146.

Handstone, 146.
Harrow, disk, 26.
Harrowing, 28, 194.
Harvests, dates of, 62.
Header, 196.
Header Box, 54.
Heading out, 39.
Heads, on wheat plant, 9.
Hessian fly, 37, 39, 104.

Irrigation, 102, 116.
Italy, wheat in -

Culture methods, 316.

Macaroni, manufacture of, 318.

Straw, use of, 318.

Kickers, 151.
Knotter, the, 49.

Leaves, of wheat plant, 8.

Lighters, 301.

Liverpool, market of, 335.

Macaroni, 172, 318.
Marketing, 122.
Master wheel, 47.
Milling centers, 164.
Milling Processes -

Bolting, 155.

Breaks, 154.

Middlings purifier, 151.

Roller mill, 152.

INDEX

34i

Mortar and pestle, 147.
Mustard, wild, 103.

Plowing, 192.
Plows -

Disk, 24.

Moldboard, 24

Share, 24.

Sulky, 21.

Wooden, 19.
Polish wheat, 16.
Poulard wh'.-at, 16.

Quern, 148.

Railway Transportation, 135.

Reaper, 47.

Reduction, 158.

Roots, 6.

Rotation of crops, 115.

Russia, wheat in -

Climate and soil, 303.

Culture methods, 305.

Kinds of wheat, 306.

Marketing, 307.

Production, extent of, 306.

Sacked wheat, 87.
Seed selection, 114.
Self binder, 199.
Semolina, 173.
Sheaves, 46, 52.
Shocks, 46, 51.
Sickle, 43, 47, 195.
Smut, 105.
Sowing —

Broadcasting, 31.

Drilling, 3 I .

Endgate seeder, 32.
Spaghetti, 174.
Spain, wheat, 321.
Spelt, 15.

Spikes, 5.
Stacking, 57.
Stems, 7.
Stock foods, 171.
Stooling, 7.
Straw, use of, 168.
Sweat, 60, 78.

Tempering grain, 158.
Thresher -

Band cutter, 69.

Blowers, 71.

Self feeder, 69.

Shakers, 69.

Stacker, 70.
Threshing floor, 67.
Threshing, history of, ioo.
Threshing out of shock, 56.
Tillering, 7.

United States, wheat in -

Northeast central plains re-
gion, 241.

Northwest central plains re-
gion, 252.

Northeast region, 231.

Southeast region, 236.

Southwest central plains re-
gion, 246.

Western valleys and plains
region, 256.

Vermicelli, 174.

Water transportation -

Great Lakes, 137.

Mississippi River, 138.

Ocean routes, 138.
Winnowing, 68.

Yields of wheat, table of, 113.

Printed in the United States of America.

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