River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1873-09-05
Seeding FallWheat,

The failure to reap remunerative
crops of winter wheat on the pralries
of the West does not lie in any organic
difficulty in the soil, but almost en-
tirely in the liability to winter killing,
which ON the old soils is the rule and
not the exception. This is due to me-
chanical alteration in the virgin soils,
and the want of drainage; therefore,
any plan which will obviate this will in
Just such degree render the soil again
fit for this crop, as it always is in its
natural state when first broken.
If drainage could be accomplished
before the soil, through repeated plow-
ing, when too wet, had lost its porosity,
there is no reason why it should not
continue to raise crops of wheat so long
as its. fertility remained. The fact that
the more arenaceous or sandy soils do
so continue to produce good crops, is
sufficient proof that the want of drain
age is the primary disability. To point
out some of the methods of obviating
this difficulty is the object of this arti-
Gle.
Where the seeding is to be done on
old land, following other crops in a
fallow, the land should be plowed in
such way as will enable the dead fur.
rows to most easily and quickly carry
off the superfuous water in which
case, if the seed be sown early enough
TO insure a good root, and surface
drainage be kept open between the
dead burrows and the low places in the
field, the freezing out will not be ex.
cessive. In blowing, the width of the
lands must be governed by the lie OF
the land, but in any case they should
not be more than four rods wide, and,
if the soil be adhesive and level, two
rods is better.
The dead burrows should not be seed
ed, but should be cleaned out thor
oughly, so as to leave the water way
perfectly free after the seed has been
covered. One of the best plans for
accomplishing this is by means of a
large and strong shovel pillow, with
wings passed both ways in the dead
burrows, and drawn by a strong, slow,
steady horse. III these directions be
carried out, there is no reason why
winter wheat should not take its regular
place IN rotation on prairie farms.
Again, where wheat is to be sown
among growing corn, the same plan of
blowing i'll land should have been
adopted, and after sowing and covering
with double shovel pillow, or one of
the implements made especially for
seeding in such fields, the burrows may
be opened in the way heretofore indi-
Gated, but after the corn has been
husked on the hill, we should much
prefer losing fodder to allowing cattle
to feed thereon, unless it be Mt a time
when the soil is dry and unfrozen, or
the earth covered with snow.
Next to allowing the soil TO be poach-
ed when wet, we consider the slipping
of the hoofs of cattle and horses ON the
frozen, or worse, partially thawed soil,
crushing and breaking the crowns of
the plants, to be most injurious. If the
stalks can be left on in the spring I'M
til the ground be settled, and the wheat
has made some growth, so much the
better, since they will protect the
plants from the freezing and thawing
so detrimental during the early spring.
II the stalks, when cut, be allowed to
lie ON the ground, they will be no
hindrance to the harvesting of the crop,
since the harvester will pass at such "a
height that the remains will not dis.
commode the reaper to any serious ex-
TENT Western Rural.