Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1878-10-09
farm AND EIREsIDE.
After.CnIture or Wheat.

The practice Of using the drill anu
the cultivator in growing the wheat
crop. Is evidently and rapidly winning
the approval Of practical men, as it may
with good reason, for it has all the
previous presumptions clearly in It's
favor, as well as the analogy Of other
crops, and is also sustained by the
conclusion of science, and the test-
mony of advanced farmers. There is
so much to be said in favor Of this plan,
that every wheat grower in the cOun'
try ought at least to give it fair trial.
1t is recommended not merely by the
saving of seed, and thes uniform depth
OF planting secured by the drill, (Which
is a great security against freezing out')
but equally by ths'trihing cost Of. culti'
walton, as compared with the result
and by the surprising increase Of YIELD
when the process is rightly managed
In all the trials of this plan that have
come to our knowledge, we have heard
of but one that did not succeed, and IN
that case a better result IS confidently
expected at the next trial. In trulh'
the emily surprise is, that mode OF cui-
ture so evidently sound, and so decided
ly profitable as this has thus Tar proved
to be, should have been SO long negiec-
ted. II the determination OF weeds,
and the development Of latent fertility
by pulverizing and aerating the soil are
found, as a general rule, both useiui
and necessary in promoting the yield OF
crops, then so much the more are they
needed in the case Of this cereal, mol
only on account OF its vast Importance
but from the fact of its serious decline
in recentEears over large areas OF ceun-
try.
Here then we have, within easy
reach, one Of the most reliable means Of
reyivIng and restoring to its ancient
afiuence crop which though OF great
value and national Importance, IS, IN
some sections Of the country, gradually
disappearing from our husbandry, IN
consequence ofinexcusable neglect. A
process that is found to increase the
yield eta great national food staple
from fifty to one hundred per cent at a
cost of five or six dollars per acre, is not
q matter to be overlooked by intelh-
gent farmers, and there is no reason
why this method Of treatment for wheat
should not be universally adopted be-
fore the close Of another decade, II not
even at the beginning. This method is
largely practiced in England, and their
average yearly product is more than
double our own. In this country some
enterpriising farmers have already
reached results quite equal to those OF
our English cousins, and which, when
compared with our general average, are
simply amazing, and quite sufficient to
prove the necessity Of abandoning the
old method.
Mr.. J. NJ. Hedges, Of York County,
Pa, who was a successful wheat grow
err, even by the ordinary method, found
by repeated trials that the yield could
be increased by hoeing from twenty
three bushels per acre, to ffty-fve
bushels, and in one case, by judicious
manuring, he reached a product Of
seventy-cne bushels.
L. w. Croft, of Lancaster Co., Pa,
has lately given much study and atten'
ton to this subject. He finds that a
drill fisk feet between the wheels, and
with four tubes, instead of eight, gives
space sufficient for the chloe in
cultiyatiug, and has produced by this
method sixty-ene bushels per acre,
which is more than double the normal
yield Of his land.
Mr.. A. Z. Blunt, of the Tennessee
Agricultural Station, finds sixteen
inches between the drills the best dis
lance for aiter-culture, and obtained in
1877 with a top dressing Of salt and
ashes. a yield Of sixty-seven bushels
per acre. Though it is true that these
figures are exceptional, yet they can
nearly always be Appropriated by
intelligent farmers, and the contract
they present to the current average
yield is something more than re-
markable, it is positively startling.
May we not then confidently expect
to see this mode Of culture very prompt
ly and generally adopted by our far
mers? If it is not, the fault and The loss
will be their own. If, on the other
hand, this reformed culture should be at
once accepted as the general rule Of
our practice, the effect would be to
nearly double the capacity reproduction
for every acre of this cereal in the ceun-
try, and the wheat crop Of the new
decade, now near at hand, would pro-
badly show a yield Of over seven hum
dred million bushels.
Weeds.
rrkoro oonDof ha anv yO0d IN rmin q