The Lake County star., 1877-06-14

/ ~ 49, AVASeVAn6 SsOAO ~ W IA NC 6CC
that the value Of the wheat crop q
1873, exceeded that of corn, potatoes
wool, fruits and vegetables combine
-the difference being the sum of 81,
1856, ,296.
Mere statistics are thought to be DIR,
and unintereeting but here we hav
In q nut shell, q great fact disclose,
with all Its pressing Significance, tha
wheat culture stands pre-eminently II
the front rank of the agricultural in
dustries OF the State. So far as th,
question OF adaptation Of wheat to ou
soil and climate Is concerned, the re
suits OF years Of trial and experienc,
have settled that affirmativeiy. Blu
we are called upon to consider certain
facts that have q vital bearing upor
the case, not only here but elsewhere
referring mainly to q gradual exhaus
tion OF the soil, diminution Of yield
and deterioration In quality. This Il
q subject that should arrest the serious
attention Of every interested person.
Thirty years ago our Michigan white
wheat had reputation abroad, second
TO none other perhaps I'm the Union.
In the later years the standard of ex-
cellence has declined measurably, and
this result can scarcely all OF it be at
ributed to unfavorabIe seasons. The
order Of examination of the various
points involved in the subject under
contemplation, Is not deemed essen
tial the object Of this not being to
furnish q scientific or polished literary
treatise, but to convey In a plain, un-
assuming manner, some thoughts and
suggestions upon the topic under con-
sideration, and urge O still further in
vestigation. At first-like the won-
derfhlly fertile lands OF California,
producing the astonishing yield of so
bushels per acre-nothing was needed
but simply to plow the land, and har-
row In the seed both pl0wing and
being done In u superficial
and crude manner; the yield was
the quality unexceptiona-
BILE. During all the past period of
forty years, no general. or by any
means adequate system of fertilization
has been practiced, aside from gypsum
In later years, and turning under q
green sward Of clover. 'L7N
Notwithstanding the popular belief
that the fertility of our
prairie soil was inexhaustible; that Il
would never need manure of any sort:
lt Is being forcibly illustrated year by
year, In these more modern times. that
such Is not the case; that the condi.
tions must all be very nicely adjusted,
Or failures are apt to occur; and es.
oecially is 1t noticeable, that the aver
lge yield of the State, as shown by the
,ensus of'74, has declined from Is, to
3 and 82-10Oths bushels per acre
more than fifty per cent!
That deterioration In quality bears
J certain relation to decay of vigor In
he soil, scarcely admits of doubt. It |
las been observed, and has become a |
natter OF public comment, that the |
lour Of to-day, for some cause, seems |
o lack the essential elements once |
to make perfect nutritious
read. t.f,.,f ,.ft.t
Millers in wheat growing districts
this; and, notwithstanding
reat Improvements in mill machinery,
nd the perfectness of the science OF |
Milling, still It Is with the utmost diff
ulty that grades can be maintained
rom wheats grown upon old land in
he vicinity OF manufacture.
1t is common practice, and decided
advantageous, to procure wheat
rOm other localities, especially newer
ortions, to, as it were, fertiiize and
the grade. Therefore, IL
70 find the present wheaton loaf dry,
lsteless and unsatisfying, let us not
lame the honest miller, who has
rought the most perfect skill of his
raft to bear upon the process of manu-
'cture, but look and see II we do not
nd the root of the difficulty In
erent, and springing from causes en-
rely beyond his control.
Assuming that wheat grown any
myth Of time, upon the same tract OF
md, without adequate fertilization,
Ill degenerate, both In yield and i
lality-and, whether the decline re-
Its from exhaustion of the soil; con-
ant use Of the same seed; influence of
innate, or from all these causes COM
ned, does not materially signify in
lis cOnnection-ought we not to seek
7 the difficulty, and avail ourselves
resources that are under our control;
ch 90 fertilization, selection of seed, Z
tation and thoroughness of cultivar
On to c0unteract these effects?
A chemical analysis of an average
mple Of wheat, show Its properties to
proportionally a. follows: t II
lter q