=Kansas Wheat.= Kansas is now one of the leading agricultural states of the Union. It produces a greater variety of crops than does almost any other state, but the principal ones are now, as they have been from the earliest days, corn and wheat. In recent years alfalfa has come to be a close third. Wheat is our most noted crop. Kansas is unsurpassed in the production of this grain. Wheat is grown in every county in the State, but by far the greatest quantity comes from the “wheat belt,” which extends across the middle of the State, from north to south. Most of the Kansas wheat is of the winter varieties commonly called “Turkey wheats,” first brought here from southern Russia by the Mennonites in 1873. [Illustration: KANSAS CORN.] =The Corn Crop.= Corn was raised here by the Indians, and from the time of the settlement of the Territory until very recent years it was the leading crop and the greatest source of Kansas wealth. Since 1913, however, wheat has been the most valuable crop of the State and corn has had to take second place. Corn is raised in all parts of the State, but much the largest portion is produced in the eastern half. It is on this crop that the great live-stock industries of Kansas most depend. =The Live-stock Industry.= The live-stock industry is one of the important interests of the State. The grain and forage crops, the large areas of good pasture, the plentiful supply of water, and the nearness to market, all combine to make Kansas an excellent live-stock region. The raising and fattening of cattle and hogs constitute the chief features of this industry, although there are a number of others, prominent among which is dairying. [Illustration: EARLY DAY STOCK FARM.] The early farmers had their herds and flocks, but paid little attention to quality or breeds. In time it was found that better grades were more profitable, and the early range cattle and the scrub stock of the pioneers have disappeared. [Illustration: PRESENT DAY STOCK FARM.] [Illustration: THE COWBOY WAS A FAMILIAR FIGURE IN KANSAS FORTY YEARS AGO.] When the Union Pacific Railroad was built the cattlemen of Texas began driving their cattle into Kansas in order to ship them to market. For many years Abilene was the shipping center. When the Santa Fe Railway was built, Wichita, being farther south, became the chief shipping point. As the country became more thickly settled the cattle trade was pushed farther west. Finally it reached Dodge City which remained the shipping center for many years. The building of railroads into the Southwest made it unnecessary for the Texas cattlemen to drive their stock to a Kansas shipping point, and about 1885 the practice was abandoned. While the trade flourished, the cowboy, with his boots and spurs and broad-brimmed hat, was a familiar figure on the plains of western Kansas; but as the settlers turned the grazing land into farms the cowboy moved farther west.