Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1875-07-01
Thick vs.. Thin Sowing.

u.
who is celebrated for making experiments
in everything connected with the improve
ment of land and the increase of the acrea
BILE yield of all kinds of crops, is warm
advocate for thin sowing, and several
farmers in various parts of the world in
adopting this theory have suffered consid-
cradle loss from deficient crops
Before the practice of thin sowing is
adopted it is necessary to ascertain: Is
the soil in suitable condition for increas
ing the plants by tilling and covering the
ground? Before we commence sowing q
very limited portion of seed to the acre it
would be well to be perfectly sure that the
soil is rich, properly TILED, and perfectly
free from weeds Thin sowing affords a
very favorable opportunity for weeds to
spread and occupy the ground
An extensive grower of wheat in En-
gland having tested both sides of the oues-
ton, has come to the conclusion that thin
sowing is not safe practice except with
in very narrow limits, and he grounds his
opinion on the following facts: If wheat
is very thin in winter, should the months
of March and April be dry, it does not
tiller sufficiently to produce full crop,
and in all seasons it ripens later, suffers
" wire worms, and is much more liable to
mildew. 1t is true that a sufficiently full
plant may be obtained from early sowing,
but this only applies to portion Of
the crop, for that portion of land which is
under turnips and other root crops cannot
be sown early and, as there are no naked
fallows on good ground, it is a question
for the. farmer to decide whether il would
Ia, Gov o6v mt IN, har a ion Of
his wheat sown so early as to save brishel
or whether his horses would be more prof
itably employed in cleaning the stubbles
intended for root crops the following sea-
son. as long as the weather permitted, and
begin his wheat sowing at the usual time
at the cost of few more bushels ofseed.
He thinks that sufficient alteration is not
in general made in the quantity Of seed,
as the season of sowing advances. If four
pecks are considered sufficient at the end
of September an additional peck should
be used for every fortnight beyond that
time. This would give five pecks for the
middle of October; six for the end of DC
tobcr; seven for the middle of November,
and eight for the end of that month. Sup
posing, however, that this is good APP
Proclamation to the truth as general rule,
it must of course be considerably modified
in accordance with the varying circum
stances of soil, climate, previous crops
and causes, of which each farmer will be
the best judge in his own case.
The size of the grain OF the particular
variety of wheat should always be taken
into account when determining the guam
tity of seed to be sown per acre He
weighed half an ounce of "Spalding's
Prolific" wheat and found it to contain 24O
grains. The same weight of Hunters
White Ga moderate sized wheat contained
BOB grains being one fourth more in mum
Der, so that for every bushel of Hunters
White that was thought necessary five
pecks of Spalding's Prolific ought to be
sown in order to produce an equal num-
Der of plants, and if a smaller variety OF
wheat is chosen the difference would still
be more striking. "The adoption of the
system of sowing three or four pecks OF
wheat per acre on the average soil OF
England would lead to ruin. The
farmer has numerous and insidious enc
mics to guard against - the seasons
fight against him, injurious insects attack
the crop below and above ground, weeds
contend for the mastery, and il will not do
to increase the difficulties of the position
by adopting the dangerous theory OF thin
sowing to the extent advocated by persons
who make it their hobby"
Although the season for sowing wheat
is much shorter in the United States and
Canada than in Great Britain and Ireland,
still il is long enough to permit OF a dis
elimination being made between the guam
tity OF seed used for early and late sowing.
The size of the grain il "A matter of I'M
portance, which is worthy the attention
Of every farmer, as is also the early or
late ripening properties of the variety to
be sown. In all wheat growing countries
ii Is well known that the soil must DC
properly titled and perfectly free from
weeds in order to insure a full crop OF this
cereal.-Wesiern Rural