The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1880-09-02


TINE TO Sow WHEAT-AND BEST
MODE OF CULTURE.
After nearly four months Of al
most complete nervous prostratiOn,
my health has so far improved that
I again take up "the pencil" but
there are so many subjects claiming
attention, after so long a silence,
that I scarcely know which to take
up first. Though before proceeding
with any particular subject, it is in
order to congratulate the farmers Of
our county on their magnificent
crops of all kinds. The wheat crop,
though not equal to that Of last year
| per acre, was way above an average
the grass crop was simply splendid,
pasturags has never held out better,
and the ground is fairly groaning
under the immense fields of corn to
be seen everywhere.
Fair prices prevail for all kinds Of
produce, and trade is healthy in all
its branches, with labor for every
body willing to work, and remunera-
tive wages.
On every hand the busy farmers
are turning up the mellow earth BY
thousands of acres, for another
wheat crop. The advantages Of
early pIowing, and thorough tillage
for wheat, are getting to be much
better understood than formerly,
though, strange as it may seem,
every now and then, an old and ex-
perienced farmer is to be met with
who prefers loose and cloddy ground
to SOW wheat in.
The argument advanced by such
is, that the clods will dissolve dur
ing the winter and settle down
around the roots Of the growing
wheat-plants, and thus give some
kind of fancied or theoretical pro-
lection.
This is one Of the worst heresies
in wheat culture, as cIoddy ground
is always loose, and loose ground al
ways dries out badly in time Of
drOuth, and imbibes water like a
sponge in time of food. The crop
is thus liable to perish for want of
moisture on the one hand, and from
an excess Of it on the other.
Every farmer knows that loose,
wet ground "heaves" worse from
freezing than drier and more com
pact soil; therefore, the only true
safeguard against the contingencies
Of the seasons, that is, heat and cold,
wet and dry, is in thorough pulveri-
zatiOn, and persistent rolling, until
the ground is properly packed.
There is another item in connec-
ton with wheat culture that de-
mands very close observation on the
part Of every farmer, and that is, to
determine each season when is the
best time to SOW.
The golden mean, in all ordinary
years, is certainly between the 10th
and 25th Of September. There are
probably exceptions to this general
rule, caused by variations of the diff
ferent seasons, but who knows when
to vary the time of sowing? ? and to
what extent
1 have always considered it unsafe
to SOW before the first of October,
when the season was very hot and
dry; but more extended observation
and experience have somewhat modi-
fed my views on this point.
Some observations made during
the past season go far to convince
me that It matters little how hot and
dry it is when wheat is soWn, pro-
yided the land as in the best posi-
bic condition to receive the seed, as
regards tiZth and fertility =, and fur
ther, it is of but little use to SOW un-
der any other conditions, with any
expectation of getting a remunera-
tive crop.
Another important item to know
is, that a wheat crop on even very
fertile land is greatly benefited by q
Ljttys Well-rotted manure, and that a
splendid crop may be grown on ysry
thin land by the iudicious appliea-
ton Of 4 or 5 loads of well-rotted
and well-fred manure to the acre,
iudiciOusly applied as top dressing.
I have taken great pains, the last
year, to learn all I could in regard
to the prOpriety of sowing wheat in
ground that has raised a crop Of
corn the same season. The con
,lusiOns are these: If the ground
g strong enough to grow a good |
3rOp Of wheat, and tOlerably free
rom 'flth"-weeds and grass-if |
he corn can be cut up in time, by
narrowing, dragging and rolling un-
il the land is properly leveled and
packed, the chances Of a good crop |
re just about as good as on the same
Iuality of land that had not been
n corn. The same conditions hold |
n regard to corn land as any |
other; fertility, tilth, and proper
ime and manner of seeding, do the
work.
Whether farmers can afford to
make an annual outlay for CONNER
.ial fertilizers for their wheat crop