Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1879-09-24
,,autifnllv White. ulump rraiu. sell

cents per bushel more thali. the ruiz !;
and again, when ground, making the
prettiestand whitest -four l have ever
seen. | shall continue to sow 1t until |
find better.
l have not used the drill oflate years,
but prefer, broddcasting,a as less houble-
some, with results about The same, save
in the Imagination Of our impulsive
farmers. Perhaps a small quantity of
seed is saved by the drill. have a
Bickford &Hof'man drill now idle for
the past ten years. We try to have
sown, on all land worth sowing, about
one bushel and peck per acre.
Fertilizers have just returned my
money in wheat results, and no more,
but differently if grass seeds be freely
used. Ihaye for long term Of years
preferred to sow home-raised clover
seed, but recently have been forced to
the necessity Of purchasing my seeds in
the Richmond market. In sowing clean
seed, we never have been as successful
In getting catch" as when the home
product has been used. My plan Of
sowing the seeds saved at home, is to
begin to SOW on the wheat land the first
hard freeze after Christmas. In sowing
clean seed, we hardly ever SOW until
the wheat fields get dry and firm enough
for the tread of a team, hitched to Thom-
as smoothing harrow, which is used on
the wheat field either just before or i'm
medialely alter seeding down l failed 10
mention that the home saved seeds ar
always used the shaft or pug"
REV. A. BUHRMAN, BOtctourt:
For the last three years l have sown
principally (and the last crop ally of the
Amber, and, at present, | prefer it. i
sOwed one bushel to the acre, which
yielded thirteen bushels per acre
throughout the crop. Nearly half Of it
was on corn land, and the fourth crop
two of corn and two of wheat-sincc It
was III clover; hence that part Of the
crop was light, not using fertilizer. |
sow with a drill, wherever the land will
admit of il that is, where rocks or
stsmps do not prevent its use and |
think that where land is put In good or
der, one bushel. deposited with a good
drills enough for any Of our lands.
My experience ID fertilizers is limited.
having used but little; but from the small
quantity have used on wheat. | think
it is not a safe investment on our lands
n this section, when it is bought in
manipulated form. But | believe it can
be made to pay if farmers will buy the
ingredients pure, and do their own man.
lpulating. And | think this subject is
of sufficient importance to the farmers
of the State to demand the special con~
sideration Ofour scientific men, so as to
give the cOmman farmer all TIE facts
that have bearing upon this subject. l
have generally sowed clover, timothy
and orchard grasses on wheat land in
the spring, about March, and narrowed
it in; and, as a general rule, if the sea-
sons have not been very unfavorable,
this method has secured a good stand OF
grass. But where wheat IS sowed in
l think it best to sow timo-
thy or orchard grass in the fall.
If the seeding Isl done later, l
prefer sowing the grass seed IN the
spring. But the fall seeding Of grass
has this advantage: if the stand is not
good. the farmer can resow in this spring
and that gives him two chances for a
stand ;and | will here say that, in the
present state Of our agricultural inter-
ests in Virginia, too much attention can
not be gtren to the cuHiration cfthe rari-
ous grasses.
Col. JNo, WASHINGTON, Caroline
l SOW one bushel per acre broadcast.
Doubt the value Of drills to Eastarn
farmers, whose lands are not
liable to throw out the wheat BY cold
W Gather. Some eight years ago, after
trying various fertilizers on wheat, |
abandoned their general use, and at
by combination, to make my
own fertilizers. During this period, l
usually experimental with some STAN
1ard fertilizer on portion of the field.
The result Of these experimentSIwas,
that Fertilizers" at the prices then
asked for them, would not pay on
wheat. Without going back farther
than 1877, will say, my books shsw a
net profit ofs8 per acre in wheat for
that year. Crop was good and price
paying one. In 1873, my crop Of wheat
was failure and price low, and result
ed in loss Of So per acre. obtained,
however, a good stand OF clover on one
field, and of clover and orchard grass
III another, and thereby greatly abated
he loss. These crops were raised from
nanures ofmy combination, at cost
not exceeding $500 either year.
In the spring Of 1878, after making
'arious experiments with the fertilizers |
# Baldwin & Co., sold by Messrs. Mo-
es & Clemens, of your city, l deter
nlned TO risk them on my crop Of wheat
f 1870. fused only eight tons, and
pplied about $50 pounds per acre. Ny
rop was over l,100 bushels, aud sold
II sl.0S-Fultz. think the net profits
f the crop about s4O0, and attribute it
} the faltilizer, as some lands in the