The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-09-30
Preparation Of Land for Wheat.

I have piven this subject much At
tention for several years. and careful
observation and experiment have caused
me to change many Of my former the
ories and practices with regard to
wheat growing. Twill say nothing now
on the general practices OF farmers IN
nreparinp their land for wheat, but will
riye briefly q few hints gathered from
my own experience.
Old or worn land should be plowed
deep-new or rich land shallow. l
have found a light coat OF any kind OF
manure applied to old land OF great
value. Only straw-stiffening manures
can be used to advantage on new land.
Heavy crops of green manures should
never be plowed under just before SOW
inc. because its fermentation is death
to the young wheat plant, and it will
also prevent the firming of the soil.
which is absolutely necessary in wheat
land.
The land must be thoroughly worked
down before the seed is put In. IL has
been positively demonstrated IN hun
dreds of instances that the wheat plant
will not thrive on rough, trashy, or half
worked land. If the land is very dry
it must be narrowed, rolled and har-
rowed again, until every clod is crushed
and the sod torn to atoms. / some
times use clod crusher made OF two
poles, six to ten inches in diameter
and twelve to sixteen feet long, fast
ened close together with three or four
cross pieces. With team hitched to
each end of this, q man can often do
more effective work than with roller
and harrows. Should the land be
damp it can generally be got into prop
er condition with the harrow alone.
The soil should be loose and fine as pow.
der three inches deep, and firm and
solid beneath that.
If the land is properly prepared, the
point of the drill will run about two
and half or three inches deep, and as
smooth and steady as hot knife
through butter. The little ridges or
each side of the drill-mark are the chiei
protection of the plant against being
thrown out by repeated freezing ane
thawing in winter; consequently grea
care should be taken not to run any
thing over the land after the drill tina
will crush or level them down. l hav'
seen wheat that was narrowed afte
being drilled that harvested only siI
. bushels per acre; when closed alongsid
of it was another piece, drilled at tn
: same time, that yielded twenty-si'
bushels per acre.
l Three wears ago a great deal of whea
: was killed bv the severest weather w
have ever known. A hard freeze OF
: few DAYS was followed by thaw, an
( then a rain, which was followed by an
other hard freeze. This was rePeate
; seven or eight times in succession. A
+ wheat sown broadcast. and that drille
. on rough trashy ground was thrown An
washed entirely out and killed. Whes
: drilled on well-prepared land wa
/, raised over half an inch; but being l
: the little hollows-the drill-marks-
!. and the land being mellow and fire
{ from trash, the rains would wash tn
Q earth down upon the exposed roots, an
q though we supposed it would be ruined
y it weathered the storm and yielde
]; eighteen bushels per acre.
, u Long experience with wheat an
n close observation has taught me:
n That no coarse or heavy green MANURE
can be used to advantage on wheat VI
8 less applied and plowed under two
y three months before seeding-time;
II That fine concentrated manures apple
e on old land at the time of seeding VI
% greatly increase the yield and quallt
l. and prove a good investment; 8. tn
10 it is better to SOW wheat late, or n
n sow it at all, than to SOW it on roug
d trashy or unpreparedland 4. That wi
7, thorough preparation Of land, caref
is selection and cleaning of seed, al
1t proper and seasonable sowing, . go'
h variety Of wheat will not deteriorate
70 quality or quantity within ten yea'
re time, and that it is one of the sure
Of and best paying crops farmer C.
in prow.-Cor. Examiner and Chronicle.