The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-08-28
Wheat
Qn0
Corn
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

significant but generally unnollce"
fact appears in connection with the
cereal crops of the United STATES
During the last quarter OF a century
the wheat crop of the country mas ~
creased practically 40 per cent from
an average of about 463 ,O0o,O00 phan'
els a wear for the term 1850 to 1871
to an average of about 64o,ooo'''oo
bushels a year fer the term 1914 10
1908
During the same period the corn
crop of the country has lncreaseu
practically 81 per cent from ABOUT
1000 ,O0O, 900 for the average OF tae
term 1880 to 1884 to about 2,6io,ooo.'
600 for the term 1904 to 1908. This
is an increase of over O00,ooo,ooo
bushels of corn a year, compafea
with an increase of 1S6,O00,O0O busn-
els of wheat The increase in the
American corn crop almost equals tne
increase in the wheat crop OF the en-
tire world.
There is no difficulty in accounting
for the situation. The demand 10Y
wheat increases There is greater
total demand and greater Individual
demand Almost from year TO year
-four becomes an increasingly import
ant food substance and undoubtedly
the number of those who use corn
meal lessons almost from year TO
year.
There lies the explanation. The
use of wheat flour is prlctlcally I'M
tied to human beings. There is no
secondary process by which 1t IS trans
formed into substances of very much
greater money value. Corn stands IN
a different case. A bushel or corh'
as corn. has certain value. Fed t.
horses, cattle Or hogs its value Is
increased. 1t becomes horsefiesh, bee:
or pork. In the case OF COWS IL ac-
uuires an even greater value through
transformation into milk, butter anu
cheese.
The same factor appears in the pro-
duction of oats and barley. IheE
have secondary uses by which tnelr
value is materially increased. In ~
years our barley crop has increased
fourfold, compared with about Az per
cent in the wheat crop, and the oats
crop has practically doubled. 1t IS
true that wheat is converted into
-four and flour into bread, pastry and
other food substances, but these pro-
cesses only increase its ultimate COST
to the consumer.
The conversion of wheat into flonr
adds little to its price. A barrel OF
-four represents about four and three
ouarters bushels of wheat. The CEN
sus of 1905 gives the then average
price of wheat as 80 cents bushei.
At that rate the wheat required 1or
barrel of -four would be worm
s437. The average price OF flour at
that time was s462 barrel. the
total value of the wheat used tha'
wear by 1885 merchant mills was
SASS 3O6 SOB, and the total value OF
the f1our produced from that wneas
was s4sO,25S,514.
It is all simple business PROPOSE
ton. The pioneer farmer raised "neaS
on cheap frontier land because II IS
a cash crop with quick returns. As
the line of settlement advances, the
tendency of those behind the line IS
to limit their wheat planting, to raise
horses, cattle and hogs. and to raise
corn to feed the animals. for the very
simple reason that there is more pro
g. n doing so than in merely raising
wheat.
Fer the plain reason of greater pro
fits to the producer. generatio"
has seen our corn crop increased ~
more than 1000, 100000 bushels year,
while the wheat output has Increased
nv less than 2Oo,oOo,Ooo bushels 4
year.