Among the earliest ranchers were the Deffenbach brothers, who opened a ranch in the extreme southwestern corner of the present State in 1878. Others soon followed, including soldiers who had finished their period of enlistment in the western Army posts and were eager to settle in the new land. Ranching of cattle and sheep became the industry of the western part of the State. As the natural range showed inroads of the new industry, dry-farming was introduced, the chief crops being forage for winter feed. The land in the three North Dakota farm belts is still used primarily for the purpose for which it was settled. The leading spring wheat State, North Dakota is second only to Kansas in the total wheat production of an average year. Hard spring wheat, particularly marquis and ceres, is an important crop, commanding a premium on the market because of high gluten content. Three-fourths of the Nation's durum, a hardy wheat used in the making of macaroni, is raised here. During the period of 1924-33, North Dakota wheat production averaged 78,737,682 bushels a year. The State leads in rye and flax, and is outranked only by Minnesota in barley production. In production of grain seeds and cereal crops, respectively, the United States Department of Agriculture ranks North Dakota third and seventh. Like the gold of the wheat, the blue of the flax flower has been part of the North Dakota picture since pioneer days. First planted for an immediate cash income, flax has proved an ideal secondary crop because it extends the seeding and harvesting periods, and since 1900 it has been an established part of the cropping system of the North Central States. One-half of the flax acreage in the United States is planted in North Dakota. As early as 1890, the State produced 458,117 bushels. By 1900, the figure was raised to 13,478,283 bushels, and the 10-year annual average for 1924-33 was 5,081,157 bushels. Winter rye is extensively planted because of the protection it affords against erosion after a wet autumn. During the five years from 1927 to 1931, an average of 1,196,000 bushels was harvested in North Dakota. A need for more feed crops for the cattle raised in the State has led to increased production of barley, oats, and emmer, grains which are used locally for feed. About 85 percent of the yield of barley is consumed by hogs and lambs. Barley is also useful as a clean-up crop in the control of annual weeds. The average annual production for 1924-33 was 27,227,284 bushels.