The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-10-27
THE FUTURE OF WHEAT

TIE ~ OnG UT "HE6t
Since colonial days America has ex-
ported its surplus of wheat in every
year of its history. with the exception
of 1885, besides keeping pace with an
ever growing home demand. During
the past twenty years, however, the
volume of our wheat exports has been
decreasing. except under the artificial
stimulous of the recent war period.
AS matter of fact our wheat produc-
ton has been increasing less rapidly
than our population, and this tendency
will probably continue until we reach
the point where we shall consume
practically all the wheat we produce.
This is the essence of a letter just
received from the office of the secre-
tary Of agriculture at Washington. Be-
cause of Improvements in milling pro
cesses which make bread more attrac-
tive, because of increasing prosperity,
and because of the increasing produc-
and because of the increasing proper
ton OF our population in cities the
per capita consumption of wheat has
been slowly increasing for so years.
That city jewellers eat more bread
per capita than those living in villages
or on farms, is a certainty. And there
! "a y OOfSA al ACd0O1lS III lnlo- Tic
lack Of gardens in the city. the compar-
alive cheapness of bread and the fact
/ that no home baking is required The
/ fact that the trend of population is
toward the cities should have a bear
ing on the future per capita consump.
/ ton Of bread, as in the past.
TIL Greatest Bread Eaters.
Prior to 1850 the per capita consump-
ton of wheat in this country was 3S
bushels. From 1875 to 1885 it was 49
bushels and from 1895 to 1914 it was
Sc bushels. The upward trend was
checked by the great war, but authori.
ties now believe that this upward
trend has been resumed. How much
longer will this trend continue? When
will the top be reached? Well, in
France and Belgium the consumption
of wheat is now eight bushels per year
per person, which means that indi
vidual families of Eve persons con,
sumo 40 bushels of wheat per year in
the various ways that flour is used.
If we are to increase our bread "a
ton to any great extent, we must grow
more wheat, says the department oil
agriculture. We did grow more during
the war, but the increase was partly al
the expense of well balanced rotations
and other principles of sound and con
tinuously successful warming. Should
wheat prices advance we can increase
the use of fertilizer and the farming
of less productive land Then, as pro
duction and consumption are more
nearly equaliZed, new sources of sup
ply must be found, in order to feed the
increasing population. This increased
supply may be grown at home or in
ported from Canada, the Argentines
Russia, or other surplus countries.
The U. s. year book for 1921 shows
that nearly one-third of the farmers II
; this country raise wheat, also that IL
some areas more than 80 per cent o.
our farmers grow wheat as one o.
their principal crops. Only corn anc
: hay exceed the wheat crop in acreage
: occupied and normally only these two
crops and cotton exceed wheat in val
] ue. In leading wheat areas, whatevel
! affects yields, cost of production o.
the price, not only affects the welfar,
of all the farmers who grow the crop
but the whole community. Similarl.
: the wheat crop as whole has mucl
to do with the prosperity of the nation
: because the grain enters into foreign
trade to a greater extent than an.
} other crop except cotton.
Our Biggest Business.
Alexander Legge, the head of tn
Harvester company, said at Chicag
I, on Tuesday: Agriculture is the bis
gest business in this country. 1t i
: eight or 10 times larger than its neal
: est rival. Yet some business me
look upon it as a natural resource. Blu