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Wheat Growing

Wheat Growing image
Parent Issue
Day
24
Month
March
Year
1893
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The preparation of the seed bed and the feed are the two chief points to be considered in wheat growing, eoncerning which The Rural New Yorker inakes the following recoininendations: "The upper two inches of the soil are about all the wheat plant has any iise for, but this part cannot be too carefully or finely worked. To plow and stir the soil as deeply for wheat as we do for potatoes would in jure rather than help the erop, because the seed would be placed too deep in a soil that would surely run together, 'pnddle' and heave as water, heat or frost carne in excess. The 'ideal seed bed' would be two inches of soil as fine and open as a bed of ashes on top of a firm, solid foundation. We see from this why the roller ia so popular with those who plow their wheat ground deeply. The heavy roller firma and compacts the soil, crushing and powdering the lumps and pushing the 'seed bed' into a solid and compact forni. Without the roller such deeply plowed soil would be too open, and the seed would Dotcnlybe delayed in starting up, but would be injured by the heaving and settling of the ground. This also explains why potato ground that is to go into wheat is seldoin or never plowed by the best growers. The work of the potato digger and cultivator, or one of the new diggers, like the Cutaway harrow, is sufficient to stir up the ground to the necessary depth, and if thoronghly fined with a harrow siich ground will usually do better than when plowed deeply. In fact, the best place for wheat in a rotation is after, sorne erop like potatoes, that had so ïnuch working during the growing season that a light harrowing or cultivating will properly fit the land for wheat. The use of the roller is becoining more general, particularly on farms where wheat is sowed on newly plowed grotinds or on a summer f allo w." The following reasons for using the roller are given by the Wisconsin experiment station: First - Rolling makes the temperatura at 1 y2 inches below the surf ace from 1 deg. to 9 degs. FahrenLit warmer than similar unrolled ground in the same locality, and at three inches 1 deg. to 6 degs. warmer. Second - Rolling land by firming the soil increases its power of drawing water to the surface from below, and this influence has been observed to extend to a depth of three feet. Third- The evaporation of moisture is more rapid from unrolled ground, unless the surface soil is very wet, and then the reverse is true, and the drying. Fouïth - In cases of broadcasfc seeding, germination is more rapid and complete on rolled than on unrolled. It was 63 per cent. greater on rolled, greatest in dry and least in wet weather, and weighed about two pounds per bushei the most. Rolled oats yielded a trifle over two bushels more per acre. In this thin. mellow seed bed suitable plant food must be placed evenly and in a fine condition. Big, thick lumps of etable mauure are out of place in a wheat seeding. The great work of preparing the seed bed has been to crush up all clods and lumps. The young wheat plant is tender. Itwill have a hard trial during the winter and must make a good growth and push its roots in firmly before it eau iiope to live. lts food must be wilhin reach and so soluble that the plants can readily use it. With the usual fittinr; that wheat ground receives stable manure is not a good dressing for wheat seediug. We should prefer to use all the atablo manure on the corn, thus condensing the farm's fertility and manuring the corn directly and the wheat indirectly. if used on wheat at all, we should prefer to apply it in winter as a mulch for the young erop.

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Argus
Old News