Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-20
THICK AND THIN SOWING OF
WHEAT.

Wherever the question of thick and thin
sowing of wheat has been carefully tested
by actual experiment during a series of
wears, Judgment has been strongly pronoun-
ced in favor of thin sowing. The question
is one of great importance to Southern
farmers, and yet it is one to which they
have generally given but little attention.
Indeed, we believe that majority of them
favor thick sowing, even to the extent of
bushel and a half, or two bushels to
the acre, when the land is rich. If the
opinion of the most experienced wheat
raisers in England be entitled to any weight,
this practice not only involves heavy loss
In the waste of seed, but positive injury to
the crop. They made elaborate experiments
to test the matter thoroughly, and they have
arrived at the conclusion that the more grain
sown the fewer the number of ears to each
grain per acre. By thorough preparation of
the soil, heavy manuring, the use of the
best and purest seed, and allowing one foot
square of soil 10 each seed, the authors of
the experiments to which we refer have
raised as much as one hundred and sixty
two bushels per acre, and as the general re-
suit of all the experiments they say that
sthe Weld is at least doubled by thin SOW
ing" Mr.. Mech, of Tiptree farm, one of
the most noted scientific farmers in England,
says that the thick sowing of wheat is a
''great national calamity" and that 'mOre
crops fail to yield well from too much seed
sown than from too little manure"
Liebig, the great agricultural chemist, says
that "the greatest enemy TO wheat plant
is another wheat plant, for the very obvious
reason that both require the same food.
Small heads and kernels, and weak, fiabby
straw, are the natural consequences of this
competition"
Broadcast sowing of wheat has almost
entirely disappeared among English farmers.
They SOW all their small grain with grain
drill, leaving the drills ret less than a foot
apart, and regulating the machine so as to
drop one seed at every foot. BY selecting
the finest heads of wheat before cutting,
picking out by hand ali the best grains,
and rejecting all that are defective or small,
they secure seed which never fails to pro-
duce perfect stand. AIechi never sows
more than one bushel to the acre. He
made the experiment of sowing one
bushel per acre against two bushels,
both drilled and the drills the same
distance apart, and the difference
in favor of the one bushef was, he says
equal to a rent of thirty shiliings per acre.
We believe that the experience of those
who have tested the question in our coun-
try will corrobOrate the English opinion.
DR.. ]. S. Hamilton, of Columbia, one of the
most skillful ond enterprising planters in
Georgia, as well as one of the most extern
sive planters, told us, if we remember cor
rectly, that one of the best crops of wheat
he ever raised was from a sowing of less
than half a buShel to the acre.
We commend the subject to the attention
of planters, and especially to the members
OF county agricultural societies, that they
may institute experiments, ascertain and
publish for the benefit of the world, whether
thick or thin sowing of grain, preparation,
character of soil, and quality of grain being
the same, produces the larger or better
crop.-SoutIern Farm and Home.