The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-03-31
Narrowing Wheat In Spring.

The advantage of narrowing wheat
lands thoroughly in the Spring, as soon
as the ground becomes dry enough to
prevent the horses sinking into it, is
known to many farmers who have prac-
ticed it, but is unknown to the majority.
Wheat is usually sown in September upon
we'll prepared land. This land is left
there subject to all the storms of rain and
snow and the dry weather in the succeed
ing Spring until the wheat is harvested.
In consequence the land becomes, in
May and June, nearly as hard as mea-
dow At season of the year when the
plants are in the greatest vigor OF growth
the land is so hard as not 10 give one
half the nourishment it would if kept
mellow by any process. Suppose, for
instance, corn should be planted in the
Fall, under similar conditions with
wheat, and that the winter did not injure
it, and that it were left without cultiya-
ton of any sort until harvested; it is ey-
ident that the yield would be diminished
over one half; in fact the yield would
probably be so light aud poor as to be
worthless.
Now, wheat, from my experiments in
its cultivation by hand in Eng land, shows
as great sensitiveness to cultivation as
corn; the .yeild by careful hand cultiva-
tion being increased to sixty bushels, and
in some instances, eighty bushels per
acre. Now, thoroug gh narrowing of
wheat in Spring, in very inexpensive
manner, performs the cultivation nearly
as we'll as when done by hand. If the
crust formed by the Winter SHOWS and
Spring rains is thoroughly broken, and
the ground 10 the depth of two or more
inches we'll pulverized, the effect upon
the wheat is like magic. 1t starts into
the most vigorous growth and. in a few
weeks has nearly or quite doubled in size
Of the wheat not narrowed. In pieces of
wheat that have come under the writer's
observation, which were narrowed in
strips, that is-one strip not narrowed at
all, and other strips on each side thor
.oughly narrowed, in the early part of
June, the narrowed wheat stood fully one
foot higher than the unharrowed at each
NoSi Huo III SSSi way Nte oNI ioi"61J
ranker and more vigorous. Mr. r. J. Swan,
OF Rose Hill Farm, Geneva, N. Y, who
has heavy clay land, says he has narrowed
his wheat for four years with the Thomas
harrow, and finds the yeild to be in
creased fully ten bushels per acre. By
rum Moulton, Of Alexander, Genesee
county, N. Y, harvested from fifty acres
1900 bushels of wheat. His neighbors
onlyobtained about ten bushels per acre.
The only. difference in land or treatment
was that Moulton's wheat was thoroughly
narrowed with this implement in the
Spring and his neighbors' WAS not. -,
The effect produced by narrowing bar
ley and oats, after they have obtained a
growth OF, four or five inches, is equally
marked, I have observed many instances
where fully twenty bushels per acre In
crease, in consequence of thorough har-
rowing, was obtained, '.,.....,a,
These facts and many others of similar
character show clearly the great profit
which farmers may derive from thor
ough cultivation, by narrowing, of wheat,
oats; barley and other sown crops, with the
Thomas smoothing harrow.-Cor. Country
Gentleman.