Nebraska advertiser., 1857-09-24
.The Farm.
From the yalsz Farmer.
Culture Of wheat,

-T3 OuAOAAO "a HAD"" ~
The history of nations cai furnish
nc, parallel to the increase q pppula-
tion, the rise, progress and improve
ment in the various arts and sciences
in the United States. The improve
ments in Agriculture and agricultural
implements and machines, althongh
great within the last fifteen ynrs, have
hardly kept pace with the improve
ments In some other departments Dim
d1stry. Until recently agriculture
has been regarded by but few as d sci
ence; the majority of eultivatGs SEEM
ed to consider the breaking the surface
of the sod for three OF, four inches in
depth, and depositing the seed, and a
slight cultivation of summer drops the !
perfection of farming, but recent prac-
tice and experience have exposed these
errors and are beginning to develope
important Improvements in every de-
partment of farming. Until the East
stretched forth her iron bands and be-
came so intimately connected with the
great West, wheat was only grown for
home consumption and butlittle effort
was necessary to produce more than
was required for this purpose. Ordi-
narily the seed was sown upon "a por-
tion of the corn ground, before the corn
was harvested, and this of course.
would admit of but imperfect prepara-
ton of the soil, and full crop could
not be expected, but IN favorable sea-
sons this course secured more than was
required for family use, and the low
:. price would not warrant the transpor-
/ tation Of the surplus at any remote
market. But the establishment of nu-
merous railroads and the improvements
in water communication have advanc-
ed and equalized the price until wheat
has become one Of our most profitable
:. staples. These circumstances have
led to some Improvement IN the culti-
vation of this crop, yet there is room
for still greater improvement. Of all
the crops cultivated there is none sub
ject to SO many vieissitudes and enc
! -raias. as the. 1Eheatacrnn- and none that
requires a more thorough knowledge
) and greater care in its cultivation
| Nor is there any crop grown that more
, rapidly exhausts the soil, or in which
there is a greater falling off from re-
: peated crops on the same land. These
facts should lead erery farmer to make
; the most careful Investigations anC
E adopt the most thorough system of cul
D tivation and make numerous expert,
: ments in regard to drainage, different
modes of culture, different varieties o.
: seed, as we'll as different times of seed
ing, &C., and give to. the world the va,
e riOus results through the Valley. Far
: mer. @
r We propose to offer some remark,
D upon the culture of the wheat croJ
t which maybe adopted by those who d.
! not practice a better method In manl
parts of the country, wheat is mostly
4 sown upon summer fallow, or upon elo
d yer turned under, say in August, or il
b time to afford apartial fermentation o.
}. decomposition before the time of sow
}. ing the seed. This method has recent
ly been practiced by some of the bes
/ Kentucky farmers with the most en-
; couraging results; but clover is seldom
d sown as it should be to the full exten
/ of the wheat crop. The most common
n practice among the Western farmeci
d is to fallow wheat after corn. Bu
; this does not afford that improvement
,. to the land, nor SO good preparation
f of the soil as when sown after clover
e for if put in amid the standing corr
e the preparation must necessarily b
IL imperfectly performed, and if the corr
D. is to be cut up and shockedlnuch labo
is required to perform this on an ez
( tensive scale and frequently results i
0 getting the seed into the ground at to
]. late a period to afford the plants a flu
.r time to become so firmly rooted as t
y resist theheaYing influences ofthe win
ter frosts. sii
J. When wheat is to follow corn, th
most thorough preparation OF the SO
for the corn should be made by dec
plowing, &c. The extra labor bestOv
of ed in this way viii be doubly comper
sated by the increased yield of corr
ID besides leaving the ground in bettt
ne condition to receive the wheat, whetl
er it is to be put in while the corn
~ standing or after it is shocked. 1t
a. claimed by some tolerablefarmers thi
re nothing is lost by sowing wheat anon
es standing corn, for althOughthe grour
lis can be but imperfectly prepared Il
T. protection afforded to the GROWN
wheat during winter by the corn stall
of is more than compensated for any faC
= of prenaration. Whether this be
tie or not, it is a sfOvenly practice al
nd should be discarded.
nd We have never seen more thorouG
Ie- preparation of land for wheat .than
IS, generally practiced by the farmers
is the Genesee valley and the wheat gro,