Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-07-29

lork made by the Pennock Co., at
Kennett Square. The two combined
make complete arrangement for
unloading hay, leaving nothing to be
wished for in this direction.
Experiments in Thin Seeding of Wheat
We find in the american Farmer
very interesting account of series
of experiments in the thin seeding of
wheat, by G. Howard Shipley, Of
Baltimore county, Nd. After giving
a statement Of the previous treatment
and cropping Of the land, Mr.. Shipley
says:
Now this prepared us for the final
and successful results which / come
TO in 1876, namely: finding out that
we could produce n larger yield Of
wheat from a smaller quantity sown
than the old quantity, viz: six pecks
per acre with drill, which was the
amount ! formerly sowcd as first
referred TO.
As to the increased yield of wheat
per acre from small quantity sown,
it was proven TO me by accident, viz
by the setting in motion of n new
Hagerstown drill had put to work,
intending TO set the seed past Of the
drill for sowing five pccks of wheat
per acre. ! placed the lever bar on
the wrong side Of the centre, or
bushel notch, which made it sow only
three pecks per acre instead Of five
pecks, which mistake / did not dis
cover until | had sown three-fourths
of my field. This being a particular
piece of ground had selected to sow
with new lot Of wheat (amber) |
had just purchased for seed, discov-
cred my seed going too slow. Upon
examination of drill | found the mis-
take as above mentioned, viz: wheat
gauge set TO wrong notch and having
only sown three pecks per acre, |
Immediately changed the lever bar
upon the other side of bushel notch.
as first intended. and sowed balance
of seed with five pecks per acre, and
noticed result. Having sown it about
middle of September, the three pecks
came up looking very thin to what
the five pecks did, and | should have
been discouraged but for the fact OF
having read some years previously
an account in an extract from an
English agricultural journal where in
England they had produced large
fields Of wheat per acre by sowing, or
planting, if we may so call it, one
grain to the square foot, or, in other
words, one foot apart making as
high as eighty bushels of wheat per
acre.
AS ! stated, my thin sowing looked
very unpromising at first; but the
next spring, as the warm rains and
hot sun began to have their effect, it
was not long before | could see it
thickening up, with strong branches
shooting out fifteen to twenty stalks
from one grain, while the five pecks
per acre sowing did not contain more
than half as many branches; and
when ready TO harvest it stood equal.
ly as thick upon the ground as where
/ had sown the five pecks, with all
the branches well up and heads much
larger. When harvested the yield
was thirty-six bushels of good wheat
per acre for the three-peck sowing
and only thirty-one bushels for the
five-peck sowing.
This being conclusive to my mind,
that the smaller quantity we SOW per
acre the larger return we will realize.
provided the ground is strong enough.
1t therefore caused me TO attempt
a similar trial in earnest TO a greater
extent, so far as | had better and
stronger grounds the thinner you
SOW the better it requires the ground
to be. Consequently the next year
QS76) my principal crop was sown
with only three pecks per acre of
amber wheat, in corn ground, plowed,
&C., as FIRST described, with an appli-
cation Of four hundred pounds of
raw bone per acre (this
standard fertilizer l prefer to all
others, after having tried several
kinds.) My return from this test of
three pecks per acre was thirty-eight
bushels per acre.
But being disposed to test my ex-
perience still further the coming sea.
son (fall of 1910 / prepared one
Held of sixteen acres, and sowed il
with three pecks per acre.
l had about four acres in another
lot; this was clover sod, plowed late
IN spring, top dressed with manure
and cross plowed in August, sowed
AA h. as