Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-11-18
5)l,350
5)6.534,00O
1.306,SOO

gardens, 9x9. inches. -. 276 l.S35 $40
In one sense it is most fortunate that this
is so with the chief food of man, for SOW it
now ne may, some amount of crop will still
result. In another sense. however, this
property of producing something of a crop
under an almost infinite variation of soils.
methods, and times of sowing has been di-
rect bar to improvement, because, until now,
not absolutely necessary or pressing.
The practical question is simply: What
does the ear of wheat as now grown contain
on the average, and what might it contain ?
The first part of this question admits of an
easy solution. In bushe of ordinary wheat
there are some 700, 900 grains, or in crop
of forty bushels 2S,0OO,O 900 which upon the
number of ears produced per acre (see tablet
gives about twenty-five grains as the average
contents of the present year.
"Oh, but" exclalms our critic, "that won't
do at all; have seen lots of ear with fifty,
or sixty, or more grains.'
'sVery true; but how were these fine ears
produced"
'What can that possibly matter?" he asks,
That, however, is just the very thing that
does matter and contains the germ of all
possible improvement, for we only REQUIRE
such ears IN general as are those occasional
ones in order to more than double our pres.
ent crops.
It will be seen by the table that grains
planted singly in September and nine inches
apart every way produced as many ears Der
acre as twelve times the number of grains
sown in the ordinary way.
Here our critic again strikes in with elbow
can that be; how can one grain produce as
many ears as twelve?''
By the process of "tillering'' We reply,
By the exercise Of that wonderful power
which is the great characteristic of all the
cereals. 1t may be described as follows:
A plant of wheat consists of three princi-
pal parts-viz.: the roots, the stems, and the
ears. The seed-grain having been planted
In proper manner, these are produced thus:
Shortly after the plant appears above ground
1t commences to put forth new and distinct
stems, upon the first appearance of each of
which corresponding root-bud is developed
for It's support; and while the new stems
grow out flat over the surface of the soil,
their respective roots are correspondence
developed beneath it. A plant of wheat has
been known IN this way to cover in May a
circle OF i've feet six inches in diameter,
measuring from the extremities of the Cd.
posite leaves as they lay out flat upon the
ground.
This mode of growth is called sstillering''
Tor stooling), and will continue until the sea
son arrives for the stems to assume an NO.
right growth when tillering ceases and the
whole vital power of the plant is conoen-
trated upon the development of the ears.
These will be the finest the plant is capable
of producing, unless the growth of its roots
has been in any way impeded, as, for in
stance, by those of adjoining plants. when
the size and development of the ears will be
found to be proportionately diminished
At the Exeter meeting of the British as
ISOLATION for the advancement of science of
1869 there were exhibited three plants of
wheat, barley and oats, each from a single
grain, with 95, ITO and 81 ears respectively;
and even these examples do not represent
the maxima obtainabie.
But our friend is by no means silenced.
and returns to the charge with, "Oh, YES,
of course; but do you mean seriously to say
that the wheat plant does not tiller Tor stoolO
under the present system?"
We are again able to meet bis attack with
unanswerable figures representing absolute
facts.
Two bushels of wheat, the quantity ordin-
arily sown per acre, contain 40 million of
grains, while the ears produced amount to
onlp $40 million, or not equal in number
to that of the grains sown!
No tillering (stooling) can possibly take
place, unless, as is the fact, many of the
grains sown perish utterly, or, at least, fail
to produce any ear at all.
"Ah," he says, 81 never looked at it quite
In that light; it certainly does seem very
odd way to cultivate plant possessed of
such powers. But tell me the practical
bearing of it all.''
Simply this; that ears produced from
grains planted singly and early in September
nine inches apart each way will (by means
of selection) contain on the average up