The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-03-21
He 81 AS Il TN lie III TER
Extending Our Wheat Fields

Extending On
IL Bys Erederl
One OF the most striking illustra-
tons OF benefit derived by 4 people
because those engaged In the admin
tistration OF its government took in
telligent thou hit. is tosbe seen in the
yield OF wheat from certain areas In
the vest that would otherwise have
heen harren. This has come about
through the introduction Of Durum
wheat from Russia and its planting
in certain regions TO which it is Pc
culfarIy adapted and where 1t grows
more adTantageously than does any
other variety. s
Unusual Situation.
This spring a situation arises that
gives Durum wheat, just now thor
ouGhly established, an importance
that II would not otherwise have had !.
This comes about because Of the ex-
istencc Of a most unusual world sit
Euation, with relation to the. wheat
supply, that has been developed by
the war. Wheat prices were but mod
5erately high last fall when the crop
of winter wheat for the coming llar-
vest vas being sown. These prices
led TO the planting OF but moder-
atelF increased acreage. But in the
middle Of the winter, cond itions arose
that sent wheat soaring to unheard OF
prices. 1t was too late for these
prices to affect the planting Of vim
ter wheat, but the spring wheat was
yet 10 be sown The time for itg
planting is the months or March and
April This work is just now getting
we'll under way.
When wheat is bringing IS cents a
Ebushel there is a profit4of but Is cents
IN growing it. But when 1t is bring
ing Sl.50 a bushel. the cost OF max
ing the crop remains the same, while
the profit on each bushel harvested
JUMPS from IL cents to- so cents With
these added possibilities OF profit, it
IS but natural to suppose that every
acre of spring wheat that can be
crowded into cultivation will be plan
ted. So is a new Importance given
to the crop that America borrowed
from Russia
1t was q decade and a half ago that
the department Of agriculture began
looking about for means of increasing
the wheat producing area Among
other things it was worrying about
the great stretch OF plains that lie be-
tween the Missouri river and the
Rocky mountains, and upon which the
pioneers had been trying in vain to
establish homesteads. While these
settlers made occasional good crops
the rainfall had been shown to be so
iligt that the yields were not depend
able and on the whole, could not sup
port farms. Yet here was vast area
which, II It could but be made to pro-
duce, might maintain an empire.
Goes to Russia.
Mark a. Carleton was an explorer
of the department OF agriculture
whose speciality was wheat He was
sent to Russia. there to look over
the wheat producing areas and find
out whatever he might that would be
OF use in America lie, travelled over
great stretches from the Black sea to
frozen Siberia 1t was on the Dor
derland OF European and Asiatics Rus
STA that he encountered a region where
all the conditions were no nearly those
OF the great plains in America, that
he would have thought he was on
those stretches but for one fact. The
people lived on the Russian steppes
and grew crops. These crops were OF
Wheat. He supposed at first that the
rainfall here was greater than in
America, but, upon an examination
into the facts, he found this was not
true. Russians were raising wheat
under the conditions with which we!
failed. II looked as though there
must be some difference in the wheat
itself. It was a clue IL
The wheat grown here was a stifflyi
aheared, f1inty variety such as was not
to be found in the United States.
Quantities Of seed were accumulated
and sent on the long Journey. Ar
irving in the United States, expert
ments We're begun to try out the
Russian wheats at different points. 4
They We're planted at many expert
ment stations, particularly In the
great plains regions. Soon it began
to develop that these wheats had a
HAtSFTN1 LET-GAL TWO
marked advantage over the old va1.ie-
ties grown IN that region which lies
along the border Of Minnesota and the
#D,akotas. They would yield crops that
IN some instances amounted to twice
those Of the old varieties IN other
places, harFests OF Russian wheat
were gathered where all Others fall
ed tirely. In this particular region
the farmers soon became enthusiastic.
Serious Obstacle.
But the new wheat soon encounter
ed 2 serious obstacle. The millersl
said lt was SO hard that they could
not convert it into -four. The name.
Durum, signifies hard There was no
question OF the finty qualities OF the
new wheat. The experts insisted.
however, that this was not necessa ~
ilJ- serious objection They pointed,
out the fact that all that was needed
to adapt the mills to the new tasks.
was the insta llation of a different roll
3ler. which vas not an expensive mat
ter They insisted upon the fact that
FDurum wheat sold in Europe \: for
higher price than the soft varieties