Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1849-06-22
agricultural.
From he OhiO CuIiiraiOr.
Wheat CuItHre and Blue Grass.

,ical experience, upon this as well as olher SUD
;ac,s of imnortance. will give briefly my ex-
perienee. hoping thar il will be the means OF cal
ling out older hands and dablerPens Ihanmy own
Blne Grass is well known not only 10 grow
from the seed, after il has been in the ground
many wears, but il viii sprouI in wet season
from The smallest root, if wuhin an inch or TWO
from the surface. The plan that have adopt
cd for five years past, has been very successful
IN des,royinC blue grass, and also IN securing
heavy growth Of the first quality OF wheat
nIow deem with three horses, say from eight TO
Ton inches, and harrow Immediately, until the
Girrow laps are we'll covered and the surface
Ievelled. then rib it with rib plow, SOW on
and harrow light, being careful TO let as little
blue grass as possible get ripe. From in'r'y 70
forlv days, deem period sulclenIly long 10
prepare the ground for seed, uIiorconyenlence
sake often break up my laow ground IN june
We, prefer August, if 1t did not interfere WIN
other labor on the farm. do not approve o
s,rrinr following IN any case except where there
pre many stumps, and then II should be well
roued before being touched, either with the plow
or cultiva,or. | have often tried plo"lng blue
grass sod quite shallow, in May or June, suppo-
sinc that ,he hot sun of July and August would
Destroy il. but often failed. soaking rain in
June or wet weather in August made grass
grow through the lurrow aud consequently the
iasl s,ale was worse than the first. have tried
deem plowlng in May, narrowed and sIlrred the
ground in August. but my sod was seldom SUM-
cientv rotten to kill the blue grass. The soil
should be made mellow and turned 10 the sun
sometime before sowing, for the reason that a
sod turned up deep and sowed Immediately with
wheat. the plants will look yellow, and not grow
so well. as when turned some time TO the sun
previous TO sowing.
The use of the rib plow will almost invaria-
bly, prevent lhe wheat from heayng out IN the
spring, and likewise will seldom be injured by
severe spring lrosls, and doubtless when the
soil is in good state of cultivation, the drill loi
sowing wheat is valuable machine. There is
another advantage in breaking land up Deep anc
not plowing il again before sowing, VIZ that lwc
crops NAV be grown in succession on the same
land, and the last in most cases will be superior
10 the first, especially if the soil is in high
state of fertility. BY deep powing, narrowing
level with a small tooth harrow, and rbblng
GOOD wheat land such as we have in Wayne
county, will bring TWO heavy crops oil wheat II
succession, without manunng, when sown aI'e
three years old clover. generally Keep my
land as level as possible without making deel
burrows, but after sowing It's desirable to lurroN
out the land both ways IN wet places ana dralI
50 that no water will stand on the ground To-
any length Of time, TO injure the wheat plants.
JACOB Bowman.
Boughmaa rp., Wayne Co., o., May, l049'
REARKs.-There arc many points connected
with the system of preparing land Tor wheat
embodied in tho foregoing correspondence, tha
deserve more than passing notice at our handS
In presenting our own views we shall be gov
erned entirely by the broad principle OF ire
DISCUSSION, ia the hope, that in connection VIII
,he experience OF our practical and lnieIgen
correspondents, we shall be Jointly able TO throw
food Of light upon the business ol PracIIca
agriculture.
Deep blowing on most o! the wheat lands o
Ohio. would doubtless prove The most eilecIiv
and The cheapest mode of preparing land 10
wheat. But there are many means oil dong tn
work. some of which are much better than 9th
ers, and the results in favor OF each would
course naturally depend upon the character an
condition Of the soil, on which the systems q
modes of performing the Iabors are made. A
n general rule il will be found that secon
years clover sward powed about the first {
July, to the depth of ten inches, and al'erward
cultivated entirely with wohorse culnvaIo
will produce a better crop of wheat and al le,
cost than the usual systems Of preparing whct
lands.
Ribbnp land for wheat is yet but imperfect
understood and but ra,ey adopted by Ohio ia
mers. A ribbng pow proper IS the long hal
ded plow in miniature. 1t IS worked by on
horse, aud is exceedingly straight IN the mouI'
board, so much so that in turning nine Inc
fIrrow, of finely pulveris'd soil, the inIersrc'
or furrow.aps will be open, presenting she al
p,arance of drills made for polaIoes or turnlp
only on a much smaller scale. In most lunt
OF blowing it is desirable to lap the lurrow 81
ces snugly upon each other, but in rbJing lar
for seed ius.he opposite should be eaimed Az al
10 keep The luuows entirely separated, the plo
should b. put on the opposite side ol The urro'
required for clean plowing, by which meal
every rib may be made of uniform width al
depth. The seed should DO sown broad'c0
and narrowed in lenglhwise. Thlsw be louI
nearly or quite equal to drilling wheat, espet
ally when the soil is very mellow and the whe
plants liable to be destroyed by frost.
IL land be foul with wild grasses and weed
it would certainly be II very questionable pra
tce 10 delay the period of breaking it up un
the month Of August. The first Of June wou
be decidedly better, and the deeper i, is brok
up the more perfectly will the roots of the gr'
be destroyed, A much better plan than Plo
ing one deep furrow, would be found in emplc
ing two plows TO follow each other. Tho ii
should turn a very light lurrow, which Shot
drop in the bottom of the last funow turn
and the second should be plowed as deep as
strength of the team will admit, and turned
a, 10 completely bury tho first urrow at e
four inches below the surface, after the land
been thoroughly evelled with the cul'yaIor
harrow. In wet seasons and on soils nalura
indigenous grasses of the country it is ioun
N.- Il. Il ln,nIt.r n n,t.r