Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-06-02

/ ties, or the clay loans of the western
Reserve" receive thorough: artificial un-
der-drainage, and are properly fertilized
and titled, it is now believed they can te
made to raise the very best wheat in all
kinds of seasons.
Another lesson drawn from the wheat
map and from the uniform testimony of
our township correspondents is, that we
must have early, thorough and proper
previous tillage to insure good crops.
Wheat that got good stand last fall is
in a splendid condition now. That
which was sowed late, or Oh late-plowed
land, will be q light crop. snd with two
weeks severe weather in March or early
April, would have been downright
failure. The drouth last fall prevented
proper termination in many fields. But
wherever the ground was plowed by the
first of August, or earlier, and properly
worked and "fined" and compacted, and
then sowed before the 10th of September,
on reasonably good ground, with good
seed, the termination was perfect, a fine
stand was obtained, and the wheat was
safe. And such is usually the case. AS
a rule, we have less to fear from reason
ably early sowing than from late,-less
from fly than from winter killing. And
always, and on all soils and in all sea-
sons, we have most to fear from late
plowed. coarse, ill-prepared seed-bed.
With such seed-bed, neither stable ma
nures nor commercial fetilizers have
their proper effect. Both require fine,
moist soil to bring out their full value.
AS rule, it will not pay for an Ohio
farmer to put in more wheat than be can
put in thoroughly and we'll. Indeed, this
is doubtless true of all crops everywhere
but especially so of the wheat crop in
Ohio.
The uniform testimony of our CORE
spondents is, that where the wheat was
put in early and well, in we'll prepared
soil, especially where stable OF yard ma
nure, or commercial fertilizers were used,
the crop will be excellent. Some years
wheat succeeds under poor farming.
The final and most important lesson of
this years crop seems likely to be, GOOD
FARMING PAYS.
On the whole, the wheat outlook now
is encouraging for Ohio farmers. The
total yield will not probably be as great
as that of last year, but much larger in
proportion than the yields in most of the
other winter wheat States. From Mich
igan, Indiana, and Illinois all reliable
and disinterested accounts agree that
the chances are for not much more than
half crop of winter wheat. 1t is too
early to judge of the spring wheat, but
the fact that the early winter greatly di-
minished the usual amount of fall plow-
ing, while the late spring kept the farm
er from making up the deficiency, seems
to show that the acreage cannot proba-
bly, be increased to make up the probable
shortage of the winter wheat. Our map
shows that in Ohio at least only small
portion of the crop of 1880 is still in pro-
ducers' hands. And by all accounts the
same1s true largely in other, States.
On the whole, it seems likely that
prices after harvest will be higher than
year ago, and that farmers will get a
fairly remunerative price for all the new
wheat they may choose to hold until the
market finds its proper level after hsr-
vest. This is, however simply the indi-
vidual opinion of the Secretary. The
facts on which it is based, so far rs Ohio
is concerned, are given herewith.
w. 1. CHAMBERLAIN, Secretary.
May IS, 1881.