The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1916-06-23
Es.aru on ..Mheatv and 4Old eIor,.-

Essays On aWheatv and @Old Glory
Following are two essays On
wheat" and cold Glory that won
the honors at st. Johns Commence
ment on June l.. The essay On
wheat was written BY Rose D.
Walsh. daughter OF Michael E. Walsh.
and Il - follows:
WHEAT.
The little birds were chirping their
merry approval OF the sun, which was
lust nsapIng over the distant hills.
and the grass covered with dew Vas
shimmarIng like diamonds. 1t was
an ideal spring morning. and the car
being ready we started on what prov
ed to be ver-to=De=1orgotten tour
through the Red River Valley OF the
North. The scenery was wonderful.
on every side as far 81 the eye could
reach fields of wheat lay. appearing
like q carefully kept lawn. 1t was
only when saw this. that ] really
understand the beautiful little verse :
Here, where sweep the prairies lone
Broad and beautiful IN Gods eyes.
Here IN this young land, all ouc own.
The garner-house Of the old world
lies.
Wheat has been cultivated from the
very earliest times-so early, IN fact.
that the exact date cannot be found
out. But the origin Of wheat Is said
10 be older than civilization, and 10
antedaIe all known languages.
The Chinese. whose records say thai
1t was cultivated in China two thous-
and seven hundred years before
Christ. thought IL gift direct from
Heaven. and one OF The most striking
ceremonies OF the Chinese Court Is
the blowing uf a field BY the Emperor
himself. II was the fasorite grain Of
the old Egyptians: and II is related.
that. had the wheat crop been at any
time entirely destroyed the grain
would have been restored to us from
seeds preserved for more than three
thousand years in the folds OF an
Egyptian mummy.
Wheat II sometimes called the
Grain Of Civilization because. his
torlans tell us. the cultivation 81
grain Is the most important occupation
there i In making ! savage nation
into civilized one. II people grow
wheat they must have settled homes.
and 80. from wandering tribes. they
become ! civilized nation, for fixed
home leads to the development Of
government and society.
One Of the most favorable condIz
tions for the successful culture Of
this grain is fine. deep soil that i
rich IN plant food. This Is found IN
abundance In the Red River Valley.
whose soil il the deposit Of aliuYIal
matter formed In the bed OF an an
cient lake during thousands and
thousands OF years. This valley il
about three hundred miles long and
from thirty-five to forty miles vide.
and L Is almost one unbroken grain
field IN fact, Il is 80 productive that
It Is known as the Bread basket Of
the World both abroad and at home.
Here YOU Ind the famous bonanza
farms. n these great western wheat
ranches are called, many of them con-
tain over $4,000 acres. This region
consists Of North Dakota. Minnesota
and Manitoba. The Central States.
fourteen In number. also produce
great quantity of wheat Kansas the
greatest wheat state. alone produced
81 .000 no bushels In I906 and inereas=
ed IT 10 lbs, 93S. 900 bushels in 1915.
Further west along the Pacific
Coast ne find the famous Big Bend
Country. consisting Of 1000 square
miles If very rich sol said to be Ike
that of Sicily. Indeed 50 extensive
are our wheat regions 1t seems a
though our production could feed the
whole world. but IN reality yer.
small per cent of our yearly crop i
expor1ed=-usually less than twenty
per cent. But owing u The increased
demand for grain during the first
year Of the war, our exports OF wheat
represented about j per cent OF the
crop of 1914. Farmers received an
average of roc a bnzhel for the 1919
crop and s1.01 for the t9l4--an IN
crease Of &c a bughel or an aggrez
gate gain Of approximately 1896 .oo0.=
900.
Though the soil Of the Middle Al
lantle States cannot be compared
with the fertile soil Of the West. the
amount Of wheat produced in these
states may not be passed nnheeded.
Eor Maryland which ranks second de
voted $4,000 acres 70 wheat In lal4
and received 13.l5s.000 bushels In re-
turn. N 1915 she planted 63s.ooo
acres and received I0.7s6,000 bushels
which l. little less than the pre-
vious year For this excellent show
Ing thanks may be extended to Car
roll County which Il faithfully year
after .ear throwing this golden grain
into TneIe Sans granary.
The Two kinds of wheat used in the
United States are winter and spring
wheat Owing to the temperate eli
mate the former Is used IN the Middle
Atlantic States Il L zown In the faIl
and harvested the nexI summer. Tie
latter Is used I'm the Vest and Central
States. where the climate is cold and
the rainfall frequent. The cnltifa.
ton Of wheat Is quite unlike mos
crops. In this, that once sown 1t re.
quirea no attention until harvest time
Without the aid of Tie farmer 1t bat.
ties With It's numerous enemies-eold
heat. humidity and Insects-until i
at length ripens into beautiful golden
grain. and happily invites the reaper
and binder to begin their merry whlr.
ring song. cutting THIS endless stretch
of grain. separating the kernels from
the golden straw. and binding it int
sheaYes. Less than one hundred
years ago the farmers of the unitet
States could not raise enough wheal
for their own use despite the fact tia
more people lived on farms then. thal
now: but at that time they had Il
cut the grain with sickle and sepa
rate the kernels from the stalk viii
a fail All this accounts for tn.
small quantity raised. but through
the great minds of Robert Mccormick
and his son, the history of the Nortl
West vas entirely changed A har
vestlng machine was his first inYen
ton, and as this did the work of ii