"The flowering and fruiting cluster at the sum mit of the stem of a wheat plant is called the ' head' or 'spike.' The part of the stem running through the spike, on which the flowers or kernels are borne, is called the 'rachis.' The rachis is divided by a number of joints, or nodes, and at these nodes on alternate sides of the rachis are attached the spikelets,—the several small second ary spikes which together with the rachis make up the spike proper. The short branch running through each spikelet is known as the ' rachilla.' Inserted on the rachilla are several concave scales which are called the 'glumes.' The two lowest grain, is subtended by a single glume, known as the flowering glume.' Each flowering glume has a longitudinal nerve which at the summit extends into a prominent `awn' or beard.' On the inner or creased side of the grain or berry, filling it very closely, and more or less hidden from view by the flowering glume, is borne the 'palea' or 'palet,' a thin scale with two nerves. The flowerless and flowering glumes and the palets are spoken of collectively as the `chaff'." In Fig. 893 is shown a floret enlarged.
In many varieties the outer glumes have their surfaces covered with short soft hairs which give the heads of wheat a velvety appearance. This velvet or fuzz, while present in many very productive types and varie ties, is not considered by growers a desirable characteristic.
It would be easy to make a classification of wheat based on the striking differences of the spike, and to some extent these are considered, but such division can hardly be said to have a botanical basis.
Production. (T. L. Lyon.) The report of the Twelfth census of the United States states that in the decade 1890 to 1900, the area planted to wheat in this country increased from 33,579,514 acres to 52,588,574 acres, or 56.6 per cent. In the preceding decade there had been a decrease of 5.2 per cent. The acreage reported in 1900 was 48.4 per cent greater than that of 1880.
The increase in production of wheat has been about proportional to that of acreage. The largest yield in this country for any one year was 748 million bushels, produced in 1901. The yield per acre for the last three decades has remained prac tically the same, but the value per bushel and consequently per acre has steadily declined. The cost of producing a bushel of wheat has likewise decreased in amount. These facts are brought out in the following table, taken from the Statistical Abstract of the United States for 1906: and outermost of these contain no flowers or kernels and are designated as the flowerless glumes.' Above these, arranged alternately, are borne the flowers, rarely less than two, or more than five. Each flower and, as it matures, each The United States leads all countries in the pro-. duction of wheat. The other large wheat-producing countries are Russia, India, France and Austria Hungary, while Canada and the Argentine Republic are rapidly increasing their output. Europe is still
the largest wheat-producer of any continent, rais ing nearly twice as much as North and South America together. [For tables of "Yields of Wheat by Continents," see page 486.] During the last fifty years there has been a con stant movement of the center of wheat production from east to west in the United States. This has proceeded much more rapidly than has the center of population. In 1850, New York was one of the great wheat-producing states, and the Genesee val ley was the greatest wheat-growing region in the country. Since that time the wheat production of New York has decreased, according to the Twelfth census report, over 3,000,000 bushels, and its pro portion of the total crop has declined from 13.1 per cent to 1.6 per cent, while the four states which now produce the most wheat were, with the exception of Ohio, still unsettled. The latter state was also at one time the leader in wheat produc tion, and the rich Miami valley succeeded the Gen esee valley as a wheat region. But while Ohio is still a large producer of wheat, its relative produc tion has declined from 14.4 per cent to 7.6 per cent.
Southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois was once the great wheat-growing region of the coun try, but this was again superseded by Minnesota and North Dakota. For the last few years Kansas has been producing more wheat than any other state. It seems probable that the great plains area of western Kansas and Nebraska, and of eastern Colorado and Wyoming and perhaps northern Texas, is to be the next great wheat-growing region.
This gradual shifting of wheat-production in some of the wheat-growing states is brought out in the following table (from the Statistical Abstract, 1906): In Canada, the production of wheat has shown a rapid increase. In 1871 (Canada Yearbook, 1905), the total reported production was 16,723,873 bushels; in 1881, it was 32,350,269 bushels; in 1891, 42,223,372 bushels; and in 1901 it had reached 55,572,368 bushels. The acreage in 1891 was 2,701,246 and in 1901 was 4,224,512. Ontario and Manitoba had much the largest out put. The production by provinces for 1901 was: Ontario, 28,418,907 bushels; Manitoba, 18,353,013 bushels; the Territories, 5,103,972 bushels; Que bec, 1,968,203 bushels; Prince Edward Island, 738,679 bushels; New Brunswick, 381,699 bushels; British Columbia, 359,419 bushels; Nova Scotia, 248,476 bushels. As showing further the relative importance of wheat in the different provinces, the average production per farm in 1901 is given: Canada, 117.75 bushels; Manitoba, 576.92 bushels; the Territories, 223.73 bushels; Ontario, 153.24 bushels; British Columbia, 60.51 bushels; Prince Edward Island, 56.12 bushels; Quebec, 15.11 bush els; New Brunswick, 10.86 bushels; Nova Scotia, 5.23 bushels.