Wheat
Wheat is the leading dry-farm crop. Every prospect indicates that it will retain its preŽminence. Not only is it the most generally used cereal, but the world is rapidly learning to depend more and more upon the dry-farming areas of the world for wheat production. In the arid and semiarid regions it is now a commonly accepted doctrine that upon the expensive irrigated lands should be grown fruits, vegetables, sugar beets, and other intensive crops, while wheat, corn, and other grains and even much of the forage should be grown as extensive crops upon the non-irrigated or dry-farm lands. It is to be hoped that the time is near at hand when it will be a rarity to see grain grown upon irrigated soil, providing the climatic conditions permit the raising of more extensive crops.
In view of the present and future greatness of the wheat crop on semiarid lands, it is very important to secure the varieties that will best meet the varying dry-farm conditions. Much has been done to this end, but more needs to be done. Our knowledge of the best wheats is still fragmentary. This is even more true of other dry-farm crops. According to Jardine, the dry-farm wheats grown at present in the United States may be classificd as follows:—
I. Hard spring wheats: (a) Common (b) Durum
II. Winter wheats: (a) Hard wheats (Crimean) (b) Semihard wheats (Intermountain) (c) Soft wheats (Pactfic)
The common varieties of hard _spring wheats _are grown principally in districts where winter wheats have not as yet been successful; that is, in the Dakotas, northwestern Nebraska, and other localities with long winters and periods of alternate thawing and severe freezing. The superior value of winter wheat has been so clearly demonstrated that attempts are being made to develop in every locality winter wheats that can endure the prevailing climatic conditions. Spring wheats are also grown in a scattering way and in small quantities over the whole dry-farm territory. The two most valuable varieties of the common hard spring wheat are Blue Stem and Red Fife, both well-established varieties of excellent milling qualities, grown in immense quantities in the Northeastern corner of the dry-farm territory of the United States and commanding the best prices on the markets of the world. It is notable that Red Fife originated in Russia, the country which has given us so many good dry-farm crops.
The durum wheats or macaroni wheats, as they are often called, are also spring wheats which promise to displace all other spring varieties because of their excellent yields under extreme dry-farm conditions. These wheats, though known for more than a generation through occasional shipments from Russia, Algeria, and Chile, were introduced to the farmers of the United States only in 1900, through the explorations and enthusiastic advocacy of Carleton of the United States Department of Agriculture. Since that time they have been grown in nearly all the dryfarm states and especially in the Great Plains area. Wherever tried they have yielded well, in some cases as much as the old established winter varieties. The extreme hardness of these wheats made it difficult to induce the millers operating mills fitted for grinding softer wheats to accept them for flourmaking purposes. This prejudice has, however, gradually vanished, and to-day the durum wheats are in great demand, especially for blending with the softer wheats and for the making of macaroni. Recently the popularity of the durum wheats among the farmers has been enhanced, owing to the discovery that they are strongly rust resistant.
The _winter wheats, _as has been repeatedly suggested in preceding chapters, are most desirable for dry-farm purposes, wherever they can be grown, and especially in localities where a fair precipitation occurs in the winter and spring. The hard winter wheats are represented mainly by the Crimean group, the chief members of which are Turkey, Kharkow, and Crimean. These wheats also originated in Russia and are said to have been brought to the United States a generation ago by Mennonite colonists. At present these wheats are grown chiefly in the central and southern parts of the Great Plains area and in Canada, though they are rapidly spreading over the intermountain country. These are good milling wheats of high gluten content and yielding abundantly under dry-farm conditions. It is quite clear that these wheats will soon displace the older winter wheats formerly grown on dry-farms. Turkey wheat promises to become the leading dry-farm wheat. The semisoft winter wheats are grown chiefly in the intermountain country. They are represented by a very large number of varieties, all tending toward softness and starchiness. This may in part be due to climatic, soil, and irrigation conditions, but is more likely a result of inherent qualities in the varieties used. They are rapidly being displaced by hard varieties.
The group of soft winter wheats includes numerous varieties grown extensively in the famous wheat districts of California, Oregon, Washington, and northern Idaho. The main varieties are Red Russian and Palouse Blue Stem, in Washington and Idaho, Red Chaff and Foise in Oregon, and Defiance, Little Club, Sonora, and White Australian in California. These are all soft, white, and rather poor in gluten. It is believed that under given climatic, soil, and cultural conditions, all wheat varieties will approach one type, distinctive of the conditions in question, and that the California wheat type is a result of prevailing unchangeable conditions. More researeh is needed, however, before definite principles can be laid down concerning the formation of distinctive wheat types in the various dry-farm sections. Under any condition, a change of seed, keeping improvement always in view, should be baneficial.
Jardine has reminded the dry-farmers of the United States that before the production of wheat on the dry-farms can reach its full possibilities under any acreage, sufficient quantities must be grown of a few varieties to affect the large markets. This is especially important in the intermountain country where no uniformity exists, but the warning should be heeded also by the Pacific coast and Great Plains wheat areas. As soon as the best varieties are found they should displace the miscellaneous collection of wheat varieties now grown. The individual farmer can be a law unto himself no more in wheat growing than in fruit growing, if he desires to reap the largest reward of his efforts. Only by uniformity of kind and quality and large production will any one locality impress itself upon the markets and create a demand. The changes now in progress by the dry-farmers of the United States indicate that this lesson has been taken to heart. The principle is equally important for all countries where dry-farming is practiced.