Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-01-15
WuEAr CULTuaE.--An.aa.Ol Old

WHEAT CULTuRE.--Ansa.s Ois
Farmer" says in the Hearth anC
Home: There is no sufficient
| reasonwhy the cultivatable land O
America, which once yielded
bountiful crops Of fine wheat
should rot now produce as heavy
yields of grain as are grown IN
Sthe Old World. Our climate is
well adapted to the production Of
wheat the seasons are eminently
favorable, and the soil, wherever
! it has not been impoverished by
a ruinous system of management,
| will not fail to produce good pay
| ing crops of grain. The produc-
ton Of a crop of fine wheat on
most kinds Of land will depend
almost entirely on the skill and
management Of the soil. Among
the causes for the alarming de-
cline in the wheat acreage, the
imperfection of seed grain may
be mentioned. Growing wheat
will hybridize about as readily as
Inc ian corn. As proper care has
not been exercised to maintain
the purity of a good variety, the
seed has soon degenerated to such
an extent that the identity of the
large and plump kernels could
not be recognized after a few
seasons. The best sorts have
been allowed to degenerate by in
iudicious management, until the
belief has become prevalent that
wheat must necessarily degene-
rate. This mischief can be re-
moved by careful system in
gathering seed grain. The first
Important step will be to relieve
the soil of excessive moisture,
where the land is at all inclined
to be wet. The wheat plant must
have its nourishment provided in
proper abundance, and in the con-
dition required by its roots,
There is not so much depending
on the quality of the soil, as upon
the management of the farmer.
The wheat plant is a delicate
feeder. Its fastidious roots search
for the dainty bits Of phosphoric
acid, heterogeneous matter, alumni
GUS particles, and silicate of pot
ash that exist, in very limited
quantities, in most kinds of land.
If those are not to be found, the
rootlets will not prepare their
pabulum from the coarse material.
Wheat requires liberal proper
ton Of luminous matter. In or
der to meet the requirements of
the growing plants, they must be
supplied with silicious material.
Still another ingredient is potash,
found in the wood ashes. Wheat
plants must have bountiful sup
ply of silicate of potash to give
stiffness to the straw. The
wheat plant must be supplied
with such fertilizing material as
will form large heads and plump
kernels Of grain. The wheat
plant requires such pabulum as is
left in the soil after a heavy crop
uf red clover has been ploughed
onder; and also after a heavy
dressing ofrich barn-yard manure
has been applied, and a crop of
Indian corn removed. The barn
yard manure must be such as is
made by fattening sheep or beef
cattle on grain. Such manure will
yield q liberal supply of grain
material, such as the
growing wheat plants must have,
before large and plump heads of
grain can be developed.
Another consideration is, moro
through culture and cultivation
of thesoil. Growing wheat crops
cannot cope with hardy and
noxious weeds of any kind. Grass,
when growing among wheat, is
one of the most pernicious weeds
of cultivated field. Wheat will
not flourish unless the growing
plants can bear undisputed sway
as far as their leaves and roots
extend. Every other plant that
sends out its roots and spreads its
leaves and branches near the
wheat plant is a formidable enc