The book of wheat : an economic history and practical manual of the wheat industry

Front matter

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An Economic History and Practical Manual of the Wheat Industry

By PETER TRACY DONDLINGER, Ph. D.

Preface

The great industries which have been essential to the rise of state or nation have never received the attention which their importance should command, and the chronicling of their events greatly extends the meaning of economies and history proper. Industrial history has indeed received a certain amount of consideration, but in the main it has been somewhat desultoi'y, and the field is so new that only a few of the great basic industries, such as those of cotton, corn, alfalfa and coal, have even been attempted. It is my purpose in this book to add another volume to the industrial-economic literature which deals with industries in their entirety. While many important works are available that cover certain phases of the wheat industry A-ery adequately, and a few which cover a number of phases very admirably for the limited space that is devoted to them, there is, however, no general work treating the entire subject as completely and extensively as is merited by the industry which furnishes the most staple food of the civilized world. Unquestionably the need of such a book on wheat is patent.

A work of this nature is of direct or indirect interest to all consumers of bread. The historical or evolutionary aspect is of universal significance. Those directly interested in the wheat industry, whether as growers, dealers, or millers, not only should be familiar with the technicalities of the phase of the industry in which they are engaged, but they should have accessible a general knowledge of the whole industry. No agricultural college or exj^eriment station should be without a text-book on the subject. The agTicultural or economic section of every library should certainly contain a general reference book on wheat. The method of treating the subject demanded by

Vlll THE BOOK OP WHEAT

these needs was one that would appeal to the popular reader as well as to the student, instructor and experimenter. Treated from the American point of view, the subject demanded a less detailed consideration for foreign countries.

The book is the result of fifteen years of personal experience in the wheat fields of our Northwest, and of a careful study of the works listed in the appended bibliography. Not a little additional information was obtained from several hundred letters written on phases of the subject with Avhieh I was not si;ffieiently familiar, and concerning which little material that was recent or reliable could be found in the literature. Space limited the references in footnotes to the most important ones. If moi-e detailed information is desired on certain subjects than the limits of the book have permitted, references quite ample for all purposes will be found in the topical index of authors included in the bibliography. P. T. D.

New Haven, Conn., May 1, 1908.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. Wheat Grain and Plant 1

II. Improvement 29