River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-03-27
HOW TO RAISE WHEAT.
Million Dollars in Cash-A Few Facts
About the Cultivation of Wheat Which
it is Claimed will Add Fifty to One Hun
bred Per Cent. to the Crop.

it is Claimed will Add Fifty to One Hun
bred Per Cent. to the Crop.
The great error of Minnesota wheat Gull
ture is the ambition of the people to be con-
sidered as large farmers, or to put in larger
area of wheat than can be properly attended
to. If forty acres of land was the limit of
the government bounty instead of 160, and
the other 120 acres sold to give the farmer
team and six months provisions, it would be
far better for the State and the farmers
As it is now, the land is half
seed is wasted, slovenly, slip
shod blowing, narrowing, harvesting and
stacking are the rule, and half crop the
frequent consequence. / do not design in
this article to attempt to discuss all these
branches of wheat culture, but simply to en-
large little upon o single topic which was
discussed at the weekly meetings of the far
mer members of the legislature and others
during the winter, with a view to in
ducing further progress and further expert
ments. And here BY way of commenting
experiments, and new departures and answer
ing those who object to anything new, allow
me to remark that We should still be carry
ing wheat to the mill in one end of a sack
and rock in the other end, or threshing our
wheat with fail, if some one had not ven
tured to strike out on a new venture.
1t is claimed that wheat should be Guilt
waited like corn, or narrowed when from six
to ten inches high to ensure the largest
yields. | beg leave to advocate this theory
and give to the farmers of Minnesota the
evidence, that they may give the theory a
test i'll the coming crop by trying it on few
acres.
The first witness | will call to the stand is
the editor of the New York american Agri-
cltlturjSt, the leading agricultural paper of
the United States. In the January Q879)
number Ill answer to "a. b." Clay county,
Mimi, he saysi
TO grow more than fifteen or twenty bushels
of wheat to the acre without manure, you
probably need to prepare the land
better and to cultivate the growing crop.
AS you only raise spring wheat, begin by
blowing the land thoroughly in the fall, then
pillow again early in the spring Off you did not
pillow last fall pillow twice next spring. and
thoroughly pulverize with the harrow. Sow
the wheat in drills twelve to sixteen inches
apart, using three pecks of seed to the acre
then cultivate the growing crop with some
such implement Travis wheat hoe. SINH
lar practice to this has doubled the crop in q
number of cases that have come to our no
tiee."
l2S BUSHELS TO TIE ACRE.
I'VE have received many accounts of unusual
yields, due to drill cultivation and superior
seed, but the reportslof the competitors for the
wheat premiums offered by Messrs B. X. Bliss
d Sons, excel anything else we have seen in
this line. First, j. Brake
field, Stearns county, Mimi, 525 pounds from
one pound of seed. Second, A. Monquin, Da-
Wis county, ILL.,. 1855 pounds. Third, David
Brothers, Denver, Col, 342 pounds. Fourth,
A. q. Hickerson. Plumas county, CAT, SIC
pounds. Calculating according to the areas OF
the plots. one of these experimenters got at the
rate of l28 bushels of wheat per acre, and none
of the number less than ffty-fve. One COM
petitor planted his seed in drills eight inches
apart and two feet between every
alternate row. Reckoning only eight inches
between the drills this com petitor states that
his plat occupied only 1-64th of acre, and
that accordingly his yield was ut the rate of
334 bushels per acre. These results were, of
course. due to the superior quality of the seed
to a considerable degree, but largely, doubtless,
to the methods of cultivation adopted. Most
of the prize-winners planted the seed in drills
eight to sixteen inches apart, placing the ker-
nels four to six inches apart in the row, and
then cultivating the crop as they would a
choice cOrn-held. The ground was carefully
prepared and the whole treatment the best.
The unusual yields are indications of what
wheat-growers may expect when they adopt the
methods which these and similar experiments
teach are the ones that lead to success"
FIFTY BUSHELS TO THE ACRE IN PENNsYL-
WANNA.
Since the discussion of this subject at the
legislative meetings, gentleman interested
in the subject has written East to
inquire further into the subject and licited
the fact that in Pennsy lvania they use what
is known as Groff's combined seeder and
cu.tivator, and with horse, pillow between
the rows of wheat planted in drills as above
and succeed in raising forty-fve and fifty
bushels to the acre--raIely realizing less
than fifteen bushels in excess of the yield
obtained in the ordinary way. This culti-
vator is a device costing less than $40, which
is attached to an ordinary seeder. So that
any farmer who has the ordinary drill may
try this experiment at a small cost. A SIM
liar idea was brought out in the legislative
farmers meetings, where one gentleman
stated that he had used an ordinary drill on
his wheat after it had attained few inches
of growth dragging or cuttivating it in this
way-and had largely increased the yield by
this method of culture.
NARROWING WHEAT WHEN SIX INCHES HIGH.
As narrowing is q method OF cultivation
it would seem to be sufficiently analogous to
the above methods of cultivation to Justify
its adoption where the wheat plows or cult
vators are not to ne had. Important test
mouy was elected on this subject at the farm
er's meetings alluded to. Hon. l.. b. Hodges,
who has had thirty years. experience as Min
nesota farmer, is thus reported in the If3de-
pendent Farmer, by its editor, Major New
son, of st. Paul, who reported the converse
tions at those meetings in the March number
of his journal:
MIR. Hodges stated that some ten or fifteen
years ago, he had had some experience in har-
rowing wheat after it had come up. 1t was the
first week in June, when he had occasion to
cross his field with a harrow, expecting 1t would
ruin the wheat, tear it out, ETC., but he was
Obliged to make the trip, SO the harrow went
over the wheat and back again, and when he
got back the second time he found no wheat
leg5, it was app rently all torn out. The trail
was dark and clearly showed the soil. The mat
ter passed out of his mind, and he did not go
over the same ground for several weeks after,
when, to his establishment, the ground over
which the harrow had passed and repassed,-
the same trail,-was dark and green with wheat,
plants rank and thrifty. 1t shot ahead amaz-
ingly and looked the best of any ii his field
This incident accidental in its nature, set him
To thinking. he ut once that the extra
cultivation had been beneficial; so that when
he found his soil hard and baked all over, he
put his experience into practice, went In in
earnest with his harrow, gave his field
thorough scratching over when the wheat was
up and notwithstanding his neighbors and
people generally thought he was crazy. yet he
raised most excellent crop A friend had
also field so~e ed to wheat, but it looked poor
ly; the ground was baked, and there
he would lose his crop. Seeing
what Mr.. Hodges had done he tried narrowing,
and had an excellent yield of wheat. On that
part of his field he had narrowed the most and
supposed he had ruined, he got the most wheat
showing clearly to the speaker that crops need
must be thoroughly cultivated.
Good corn was always produced where the
ground stirred up the most. He de-
cidedly of the opinion that thorough harrow
ing was essentially necessary to good crop of
wheat.
Mr. Hodges stated further that in field
Of twenty acres the half which was narrowed
yielded twenty bushels to the acre, while
hat which was not narrowed yielded nine
bushels TO the acre.
After full discussion Of the subject the
resolution was unanimously
adopted:
ReSolyed, That rolling wheat is indispensa-
Die to achieve the best results, and expert
nents have been made of narrowing wheat
when from six to ten inches hign when the
,round was dry and baked resulting in large
Increase of the crop. and it Is the seEse of this
Meeting that further experiments should be |
made.
The above will answer at present to set |
,ur farmers to thinking upon this new de-
,srture. and to weary your readers with too
,rotracted a sitting, will here close.
J. W. MCCLUNG. st. Paul, Mimi.
REMARKABLE CASE.