Page:Farmers' Bulletin, No. 1280.djvu/3



, Agronomist in Charge, and, Agronomist, Western Wheat Investigations, Office of Cereal Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry.

Wheat is graded in five classes under the Official Grain Standards of the United States. The third is designated as Hard Red Winter. About 32 per cent of the wheat acreage of the United States is of this class. The varieties that make up this important class of wheat have hard red kernels and are grown from fall sowing, chiefly in the central part of the United States. There are only a few distinct varieties grown. The original strains were introduced from Russia. They have become important in the United States because of their winter hardiness, drought resistance, and high yields. From hard red winter wheat is manufactured a flour of high bread-making quality.

The hard red winter wheats are grown principally in the central Great Plains area. The States leading in the growing of this class of wheat are Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. A considerable acreage is grown also in Iowa, Illinois, Colorado, Texas, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Missouri, and Indiana. Smaller acreages

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