The Washington herald., 1919-05-08
BILLION BUSHELS
OF WHEAT seen
United States Has Largest
Acreage in History,
Says Holland.

Lakes and bounded on the north by
Canada there Is q wheat belt which
reaches over into Montana and takes
In Minnesota. q part Of Wisconsin
and the two Dakotas. From that
wheat belt no reports Of the condi-
ton Of winter wheat in April are re-
ceiyed. The reason is excellent. Lit
tile or no winter wheat is raised in
that belt. There they depend chiefly
upon spring wheat
S,-Also stretching back from the Gurr
Coast Is a section OF the country
bounded by a line which curves in
Texas almost to the Gulf of Mexico,
and then runs northerly through Ne
yada into the lower half Of Califos-
MA where little or no winter wheat
is harvested. That Is also true o.
the New England States.
, But 50 far as the rest Of the United
States il concerned the promise Of
winter wheat is excellent. The wheat
belts take IN half OF New York State,
an Of Pennsylvania running as far
-south as South Carolina and North
ef-n Georgia and then stretching west
ely to the Pacific Coast north of the
Riddle part of California to the Cana
don boundary.
This as a whole constitutes the ma
tional winter wheat belt 1t takes in
much the greater part Of the entire
United States. and unless the weather
should prove very unpropitious 1t will
yield to the harvesters. beginning in
midsummer and continuing until early
fan. not less than 900, 0,000. 900 bushels of
wheat Upon this promise Is based
much Of the expectation Of the e.
taoiishment Of firm and very great
prosperity.
s,t Greatest Acreage Ever.
ai.sve thought in 1914 that the win
ter wheat harvest would rarely
be equalled and not for many years
excelled- Now. FIVE years later.
there is promise Of an increase Of
nearly S3 per cent over the winter
wheat harvest of 1914. The acre
axe has never before been equallei.
This harvest when marketed will
contribute no small part of the new
wealth made possible by American
agriculture in 1919. the present esti-
mate of the government authori-
ties being that this new wealth
including cotton and food grains.
possibly stock. will be of the money
value of a little over Sg0. 900. 900. 900.
IL this forecast be justified by
the event then American agricuI-
ture in a single year will have
created new wealth almost equal to
the war debt OF the United States.
One Of the interesting, even high
Iy important. features contained
in this forecast is the fact that
one quarter of this 900. 900, 900
bushels of wheat will be harvested
south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Winter wheat is now under culti-
walton in some OF the southern
States where it never was grown
before. The best authorities have
long held that much the greater
part of the south is available for
wheat and that it will be to the
advantage of the industries of the
south. especially to the advantage
of the cotton growers. if more and
more attention be given to the cul-
tiyation of winter wheat in the
south than has been done hereto
fore.
A Monotone of Perfection.
The Chamber of Commerce of the
United States at Washington. which
has made a careful investigation
OF wheat prospects throughout the
country for 1919. states that the
condition of wheat now is so high
as to be without precedent or par
aiiel. 1T is in fact" the report
says. "a monotone of perfection
While the United States is presuma-
bly, to demonstrate in a manner here
t0fore not dreamed OF as possible the
ability to cultivate and harvest wheat
far in excess of that garnered in any
other country, nevertheless it is graf
flying to know that Canada proper
tionately is sharing in the wheat pres
tige which the North American con-
tinent has gained. Canada will in
crease her acreage sown to spring
wheat unless the weather be very un-
favorable. If Canada meets at har-
vest time the present expectations.
and the United States harvests more
than l.OOO.000.GG0 bushels of wheat.
possibly 1000 2o0.OCO. then the United
States and Canada will be found next
ka1l to have harvested nearly one
half of all the wheat grown in the
world.
Gould Export 7OO.OOO.OO0 Bushels.
s-These two nations of the Northern
Continent of the American hemisphere
are likely to have a surplus in wheat
Syailable for export of not far from
5os.eOo.o00 bushels. This means not
dnly new wealth in very large
amounts. but it undoubtedly means
some embarrassment. The railroad
eenters will be congested because the
movement of so much wheat as this
will require all possible facilities. So
Efso storage will offer a difficult prob
lem to solve If the railroad situa-
ton is satisfactorily settled then the
transportation of wheat for export
win bring large returns even though
transportation rates are not increased
The United States and Canada, if
the weather continues favorable. will
% able through their surplus wheat