The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-10-27
RaitsciHe, oct 7, 1871.
Mr. Wilkes REPORT.


To the Farmers Ciub, at WAiteeale,
Tenn : Having been appointed by the
President of this Society upon 4 commit
tee, and the duty assigned each of the
committee to make a written report en-
the proper culture of wheat, l beg leave
to submit the following:
Before entering upon this duty permit
me, by way of DEPRESSION, to state that 1t
has long been entertained as an opinion
by some men who claim to be our best
and most Efficient farmers, that growing
wheat Is hazardous crop in this section
or division of the State. TO this claimed
hypothesis l would respectfully say man,
In all past ages, and 40 better now, has
been too ready to compromise with indO-
lence, and thereby surrender territory,
whose bosom, if properly cultivated,
would produce abundant harvest for the
man of energy to supply both his physl-
cal and financial necessities and heave up
the dormant nutrition that for want Of
enterprise, nerve and vigilance have Tor
ages slept the sleep that knows no walk
ing
Wheat grew successfully in this seek
ton twenty FIVE years ago, and why should
the son say that the land will not produce
wheat, when the father grew weat that
made the bread that fed him from boy
hoods simplicity to manhood 5 imaginary
bright day ? To some extent this is Ow-
ing to the cOmpactness of the soil com~
pared with an earlier history of this re-
gion Of country. Then the lands surface
was kept porous by the decay OF many
roots that had been woven throughout the
ear.h's service by natures God to sup
port the once beautiful forests which
were made deso!ate by the strong arms
and energy of the pioneers. Now, as an
antidote for this compactness and sterliI-
ty of soil in the production of wheat, l
suggest: preparatory to sowing wheaf,-
which should be done about the last OF
October, for earlier than this would sub
iect the crop to greater liabilities by late
| frost the ensuing spring, and later than
| this would endanger the crop on account
| OF the inability of the roots to sustain
! the stalk through a severe winter, break
! the land very deep in small lands, leaving
! the burrows that divide the lands open
! from one end or side of the field to the
| other, just ascending or descending suth-
! GENTLY to drain the surface of the earth,
| but not enough to wash. Then sow the
wheat, about three pecks to the acr', on
| ordinary land-better have less than more
ordinarily As to the kind of pillow you
use in blowing under the grain, is mat
ter of immateriality, so the grains are Ind
from the birds, etc.
Experiences well directed finger has
pointed the close observing farmer to the
| fact that level surface for growing wheat
does not do so well. Why2
The rains that usually fall in this 10
cality in the spring of the year NIL the
I'll HI s-fnf,fG n
/ the stalk are so thoroughly immersed IN
mud that their vital, acting and regulating
powers are so completely paralized that
the rust enters with its devastating Ell
/ fects.
Why break the earth deep preparatory
TO planting2
lst Deep breaking has a tendency to
drain the surface.
! ID. Observation has taught the farmer
of this age that very FREQ lently the win.
ter is of such character as to freeze the
stalk with the surface roots out of the
earth, at the same time severing and lcav-
ing the top roots, in consequence of which
large portion of the stalks die.
Sd When the ground has been broken
deeply it absorbs a greater amount of wa
ter, and as it is a chemical fact that water
will absorb an amount equal to it's own
volume of carbOnic acid gas, and the
] greater amount of water you can cause
the earth to imbibe the greater amount oi
carbon is brought IN direct contact with
the roots of the stalk and as it is an &C.
knowledged fact that the greater quantity
of carbon yoa can favor the wheat stalk
with the more rapidly it will grow and
the earlier it will mature, and thereby
escape to some extent the various mala-
dies that afIlict wheat in this section. TIC
! possess wheat growing with as few disad
vantages and as many advantages as rOs-
sible, l suggest deep breaking and shallow
planting. The caHse of the wheat stalk
dying generally in the freezes referred tC
above Is: the hard, unbroken ground Is SC
near by the top root enters it rea lily, and
the very shallow broken stratum above i.
elevated by the eoniealment Thereby
the great underlying life principle Is de
strOyed or broken, and death to the stall
inevitably follows. What next?
Wait until it gets ripe; then harvest it
Why wait until it Is fully ripe before har
vestiug? You thereby avoid me use q
a sovereign preventive (blue stone) tn,
succeeding year to guard against smut
give as my Opinien that smut, to some ex
tent, is caused by sowing wheat that wa
harvested too early the year before, an,
the nutrition that nature designed to b.
, in the grain to support the crop the ensu
E ing year is seriously damaged by prema
ture harvesting In this condition tn
grain is sOwn, comes lup, natures tn
) stalk, but for the want of strength to de
vleope the grain, the whole of man labo
proves abortive-
For the benefit of the Society and a