The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1876-09-28
For the EAGLE.
IF l Sow Any"

EDITOR EAGLE: A few days ago a
prominent farmer of this valley was
asked the variety of wheat he intended
to sow this fall, and in answer replied,
IF | sow any, will SOW the Walker"
1t is needless TO say that the above
conversation took place since the grass
hoppers came. Notwithstanding the
G. Ii. are here and were then, was
sorry to hear the uncertainty and lack
of determination which existed i'll that
farmers mind, and, not only him, but
thousands of other farmers who are
yet undecided, as to whether to SOW
or not. Now | do not desire to say
ANYTHING to those who have harvested
six crops in the Valley, but uore par
ticular to those who have not been
here so lohg.
The crop of everything in 1871, was
good. In August and September, II,
broke twcnty-seven acres prairie and
sowed it and ten acres Of corn ground
in wheat. The wheat was sowed on
the sod and narrowed in and the corn
ground was broke and the thirty-seven
acres was sowed in October and No
vember. 1t was too late, but had the
herd law been in force or the cattle
kept off, would have harvested good
crop. In 1872 sowed about fifty acres
all on sod. and harvested very fine
crop. In the fall of 1873, bought a
drill and sowed about sixty acres, a
part of which yielded forty-one bushels
and six pounds per acre. In the fall
of 1S74-the grasshopper year, SOW
ed about the same amount and receiv-
ed twenty-five bushels per acre. In the
fall of 1875, sowed 140 acres and re-
ceived about eleven bushels per acre.
The wheat has always been of good
quality, but the yield of 1876 was only
one half an average. can not account
for it, unless the heavy rains and hard
winds of the season packed the ground
too solid, and washed off the pollen.
At any rate it was not the grasshop.
pers. While | have always been an
advocate Of early sowing and planting
both in spring and fall, yet the
wheat that | sowed in November last
year, made very fair wheat. G.. A.
Hamilton, Esq, of Belle Plaine. sowed
his wheat in November last, after the
election, and it yielded fourteen bush
els per acre of wheat, which graded
last week in Kansas City No. 2. 1t
was shipped by VIM. Carter, Esq,
Grange Agent at Wichita. know o.
many other instances where late sowed
wheat did well. | am informed that
j. d. Knell, of Oxford, sold a carload
of late sowed wheat in Wichita, to the
Mill men which graded, Kansas City
standard, No. l..
Hence, why should there be as much
doubt, and why, such well defined
cases of ''the blues" on account of the
grasshoppers. 1t is true that our SOW
ing is put Off quite late, for it is folly
to sow now, but are not our chance for
a crop very fair? Some danger is APP
pretended from the hoppers by many
in the spring. Not having any ex-
perience, except last spring, | can not
say about that. But although great
many eggs were laid here last fall, yet
we suffered no loss this spring, and, in
fact, never knew any country to be
as clear of grasshoppers as this has
been this season, until their influx from
the North the 1st of September. If we
should burn the prairie in the spring,
would it not destroy about all the
young hoppers When the nights get
a little frosty-if any hoppers are here
then-they will not move round on the
"Angel' plan much, and about all can
be destroyed which are feeding upon a
field Of wheat, by burning two or three
rods of prairie grass around the field,
where they congregate to ''roost."
Please excuse the length of this arti-
Gle, and charge it up to my warm zeal
for the welfare of the Arkansas Val
ley. Yours truly,
w EnD>-rx