Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-05

production TO have the land very LIGHT and
| loose lie has made as much wheat llpon
ground SO hard, that the drill tooth world
I scarcely So IN TO sufficient depth 10 cover
the grain, as upon land very liaht and soff
He has fallowed and then sabsojled Int
| found ii made no more wheat than whore
he narrowed and pl0wed in with single
! pl0ws. He has seen alternate lands fallow-
ed late and early, and while the plant was
sickly and yellow on the former. it was
green and healthy on the latter. He prefers
the drill mode of seeding to any other. He
has never made a careful test as to the COM
| parative yield from drill and broadcast
seeding, but he is satisfied he gets more Weld
and of better quality from one bushel seed
ell with the drill, than from one bushel and
a hall seeded broadcast. He regards
! Boughton wheat as the best variety grown
Ill tins country. He had examined the sew
en- varieties grown by Mr.. Long ON his farm
and the BanghtOn sample was the best am
ong them, although not fully up to the stand
ARD OF quality generally attained in that spec
lai variety. He has experimental a little
with ny. lie seeded piece of wheat once
very early for sheep pastUTage, and it was
badly injured BY fly, while his later seeding
upon an adjoining field was not injured at
ALL As to the proper time for seeding, he
prefers the first TO the middle of October.
and if he could seed his crop in one day,
ne would do it on the 10th Of October. His
experience in wheat culture was, that some
seasons any sort of preparation would make
good crop, and at other times the best
preparation would fail
The President said he had a
conversation several years ago with
gentleman from the Shenandoah
Valley, in Virginia, on the subject of wheat
culture. Il is the best section of country
IN Virginia, and very similar 10 our own.
Wheat is the staple and largest crop grown
in the valley. The usual mode of prcpara-
ton is TO commence following as soon as
the cultivation of the corn crops completed, |
and this part of the preparation is fms he'd !
IN August; turning under heavy crop of !
clover, produced by the use of plaster. |
The general yield Of the crop is from I
IL to 20 bushels per acre. Tobacco land /
and fallOw are better for wheat than any !
other conditions Of the soil. Ii makes a |
better preparation for wheat to fallOW land |
when dry, so that it breaks up in clods and |
Jumps, which are dissolving during the
winter, and moving to the roots Of the plant. /
thus affOrding nOIrishment and protection
The furrOw opened by the drill in which the I
wheat is seeded acts in the same way. and /
this is the cause Of the superiority Of the /
drill mode of seeding.
Mr.. W. D. Merriweather .Jr., said. some 4
members of the club had alluded to the di- |
minished yield of wheat on our lands. He /
regards Il as owing to the practice of cutting |
corn, and taking the stalks from the land. /
1t would be be better to abandon this prac- !
tice, and put III less wheat. He knows a /
farm on which no corn has been cut for ten
Oh twelve years, and the yield of wheat has
increased to nearly double the standard of |
production usual, when the corn was cut.
Mr.. j. h. Winston asked if any member
had ever made an experiment in narrowing
or rolling wheat in the spring.
The President replied that he had tried
both, and found them to act well
The President asked if any member had
ever examined sample of Tappahannock
wheat.
Several members replied that they had,
and thought it very similar TO Boughtnn
wheat, if not the same variety, IN which the
President cOncurred.
Mr.. b. Winston said that it seemed 10 be
universally conceded, that the drill mode of
seeding is the best; that falIow is the best
condition and preparation of land for wheat.
aud that the Boughton is the best variety Of
wheat grown in the country. He concurs
in the opinion expressed as to the injurious
effects of cutting corn, and thinks that If the
practice is not abandoned, our posterity
viii inherit sterile and unproductiye lands.
Mr.. Small said be could make enough
wheat on corn land 10 pay for manuTinD il.
Tie rich spots and basins do not need
and the corn on them can b. cut
and fed on the thinner places. He would :
take corn ont of the bottoms, and feed il
on the hill sides. After all. he does know
that there is much in a dry corn stalk.
Mr.. J. K. Winston asked if land could ~
too rich for wheat?
Mr. L. Winston replied that there could
be too much depth Of loan; hut if such
places are plowed deep enough to turn up
The clay, and mix il with the loan, it was
better for wheat than soil of less strength.
There is on his farm a small spot Of ground. !
not exceeding half an acre, which was once
he site Of a tobacco factory and afterwards
If stable. 1t has very little appearance Of
,Oil on it, and seems TO he a surface of clay.
he once seeded this place in wheat. and il
-ieldcd at the rate of thirty-five bushels per
lcre.
Mr.. Reeves said he had not much exlrr-
cnce as a wheat grower. He had seen
CIlltuN ioI HN. WHICH dpptdItu 10 hin 10 De- :
plausible and probably efficacious. 1t CON :
lists i'll seeding alternate lands in September !
nd the vacant lands in October, after which :
he lands seeded in September, upon which
he wheat has come up. are to he plOwcd I !
p and resOwn. Chemists say that / 9
egetable matter on thu ground furnishes
more plant food when turned under ia the 5
loom than in any other state. In Europe i
he Of the chief means used for fertiizing z
md consists in turning under green crops. :
nd the use OF lime for decOmpOsing the v
egetable matter thus turned under. Some :;
mes rs much rs three hundred bushels of .
me are put upon anac,, Of ground. Lime a
not a fertilizer but acts as decOmpOser q
vegetable matter, and its beneficial effect I 2
pom soil is chiefly by such agency. Clover :,
lCuld be grown by the use of gypsum, and "
Irned under the soil in the green state. y
here is not much substance in dry clover. :"
nd when turned under the surface il does | Y
OF fertilize soil much. Il
AIr. J. X. Winston moved that the next e
IeStiOn for discussion De: The Raising and m
Engagement of Poultry. II
The secretary moved as the next ques- ~
OH: The best time for cutting timber. q
it'll a view to its preservation. IN
Both being seconded the former was ia
l0pted. II,
Tho pluh thor, ad;oY1ruaJ a.