The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-02-23
Ghe %armer.
New Theory Of Tillage.

We alluded some weeks ago to the ex-
periments of Mr. Croft, farmer of Ian
caster county, Pa, who had adopted the
plan of cultivating his wheat with horse
hoes, and with remarkable success, the
proceeds of the crop showing a yield about
one-third increase over the usual mode
OF course, the prerequisite required that
the wheat had been put in with the drill.
We have seen, since the publication of
Mr.. Groff's statement, sundry references
to the same thing, and it is claimed that
in England the practice has been in vogue
for years. A case in point we will state,
of the practice of Mr.. Prout, of Saw
bridgeworth, Herts, England, as published
in the Royal Agricultural Society's Jour
nal of 1875. Mr.. Prout purchased in
1861, when the land was wet, oVerrun
with weeds and the land, presumably in
the best condition, produced but twelve
bushels of wheat, or twenty bushels OF oats
per acre. Mr.. Prout Immediately COM
menced to put his land into condition, and
now the whole land has been SUBSIDIZED,
and the farm thoroughly improved. An
almost original system of husbandry has
been iuaugurated. Cereals and clover are
year after year sold to be removed from
the occupation; all ordinary rotations are
ignored; corn crops follow each other Ill
the same field for several consecutive
wears; wheat has been taken for i've years
following; cereals have been reiterated for
eight years. For his consecutive corn
crops Mr.. Prout only desires deep, thor,
ough cultivation, extirpation of weeds, and
the regular supply of plant food in the
form Of appropriate, portable manures.
In early spring the wheat is sometimes
narrowed (which breaks the coronal roots,
induces tillering, and better distribution
of succeeding rootlets in the soiD and in
variably, as soon as practicable, it is horse
and hand hoed, every advantage being
taken of fine weather, and all available
hands being set to work.
A writer in the Scientific Farmer, who
is advocating system of root farming,
and who introduces the words in brackets
in the extracts given from the Journals
report, says "that root-pruning has some
what to do with his success, maybe made
certain by the fact that he prefers to ap-
ply his phosphates as well as his guano by
drill. "Thus deposited in close vicinity
to the rootlets (and by the horse-hoeings the
rootlets are forced to keep close to and
fully occupy the MANFRED spaces) more
immediate effects are produced, ETC.
What success had Mr.. Prout: it is suth-
cient to say that his average crops OF
wheat, for the seven past years, have been
about fifty bushels per acre; as the crops
we're sold at auction, standing, we have
no more accurate account, but one thing
is sure the average receipt per acre for
the wheat and straw for the seven years
has been 912 49,, or about SIS per acre
for the unharvested or standing crop.
Taking the whole farm-accounts for the
the seven years, we have an annual profit
of 9825 lis. 3D., or 81, 125, and the farm
has increased from its original valuation
of $4,000 to $155,000. To the use of
the drill and horseshoe must these results
be largely credited; without ignoring the
great advantage of thorough pulverization
and the scientific application of manures,
the key to his success, the production
through series of years of his large yields
from the application of but Sl2 to sl4
worth of manure per acre yearly, is the Gull
ture of the crops during growth, which
culture, unintentional though it was, gave
the roots such mastery over the area
which contained the fertilizer, that these
large results followed, grain being produc-
ed in excess of straw, as appears must be
the case from our previous considerations.
"Mr. Middleditch, disciple of Mr.
Prout's commenced on this system in 1856.
His 1874 crop of wheat was from fifty,slx
to sixty-six bushels per acre on the diff
ferent fields. His crops are also sold
standing" Yet this tune has been ascrlbed
to Martin Luther as its composer.