The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1874-09-26

One-un1fu more rent imam mad previously
been given for it. He introduced the
practice more recently adopted by the
late Mr. Smith, of Lois Weldon, of SOW.
ing half the land in portions of hree feet,
embracing three rows, having ooasOaCaa
intervals of the same breadth between
them, and he found that he could grow
/ heavier crops on half the land than his
neighbors did on the whole Mr. Smith,
too, practiced this plan for nearly
/ twenty years, and produced, on half the
land, from 30 to 40 bushels of wheat
/ per half acre. The amount of seed
sown was from one to two pecks per
acre, no more being ever applied. Mr..
/ Hallett, OF Brighton, offers another ex-
ample OF thin seeding.
/ His farms consist of about six hundred
acres, considerable portion OF which
consists of down land, having from foul
to six inches of soil lying on a chalk
/ subsol. 1t is unnecessary to go at
length into the system adopted by Mr..
Hallett, whose object is to produce a
quanty OF wheat founded, like superior
cattle, on an authentic pedigree His
| system embraces thin seeding as a first
principle. Thus, sown early, one hun
| dred acres are seeded at the rate of one
/ bushel to six acres, whilst the latest
sowing is one bushel per acre. Mr..
! Hallett's neighbors seed at the rate OF
three bushels per acre he therefore
saves Ill seed alone from $50 to 2SO
bushels.
As a sample of what may be done by
this system, Mr.. Hallett hired large
field belonging, we believe, to the Cor
poration OF Brighton. 1t was such a
barren spot as to be considered actually
incapable OF growing wheat. We saw
this field under wheat, seeded at the
rate OF one peek per acre, the product
of which was crop of 4S bushels pei
acre. One good effect Of thin seeding
Is the entire obsence OF under corn
that Is, weak and short plants holding
inferior ears and containing thin and
imperfect vinegar Hay seeding al
ways produces this defect, which de-
| tracts from both the quality and guam
tlty Of the return. There was no such
undercorn in Mr.. Hallett's crop, the
ears being one height and as level on
the top as table.
Another case is that Of Mr.. Piper, an
Essex miller and farmer, who, for
twenty-five consecutive years, grew
wheat every year without manure, ex-
cept dressing Of SCOT, and without
blowing the land, using only hoe to
scutfie III the seed, and planting in at
the rate OF l. pecks per acre. It was
said tat the produce exceeded by a
quarter per acre more than obtained by
the neighbOring farmers, and in one
season reached to seven quarters per
acre. Like Mr.. Mechi, Mr.. Piper was
accustomed to send annually a printed
statement OF the profit and loss accru-
ing III the season. Mr.. Miller, the cura-
tor Of the Botanical Gardens at Cam
bridge, inserted an account of the ex-
pertinent which he undertood, in the
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society: "In the month of June,
1866, sowed some wheat, and on the Sth
OF August one plant was taken up and
separated into eighteen parts, and re-
planted. These plants were again taken
up and divided in the months Of Sep
TENDER and October, and planted sepa-
rately to stand the winter, and this di-
vision produced sixty-seven plants.
These We're again taken up in March
and April, and produced five hundred
plants. TIE number of ears thus formed
from one grain of wheat was p, 100,
which was three pecks and three-quar-
ters OF corn, estimated at 576, $40
grains. The land was Ct medium quail
ty, and no manure applied
An acre of land contains 43, $50 square
feet; three bushels of wheat contain, at
the rate of Mr.. Miller's wheat, /, S32,
554 grains, which divided by -, $50,
the number OF square feet in the acre,
gives II grains of seed to the square
foot Is it surprising that frequent
failures of the crop should occur with
such crowding of plants which, like hui
man beings, can only be healthy and
strong with plenty Of room to develop
their productive faculties