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 iuh the Spring. as soon
Rs the ground becomes dry enough to
prevent the horses sinking into II, is
knownto many farmers who have pfac.
ticed it, bat in nnknoE. 10 the majority,
Wheat is usually sown in September upor
we'll prepared land. This land is left
there subject TO all the storms Of rain and
snow and tho dry weather in the succeed.
ing Spring until the wheat is harvested.
In consequence the land becomes, in
May and June, nearly rs hard as G. mee.
dow. at q season Of the year when the
pinnts are in the greatest vigor of growth
the land is 80 hard as not TO give one
half the nourishmept It would IL kept
mellow by any process. Suppose. for
instance, corn should 10 planted in the
Fall Hnler similar conditions with
wheat, and that the winter did bot injure
it, and that it were left without cultiva-
ton of any sort until harvested Il is ev.
iGent that the yield would be diminished
over one half, in fact the yield would
probably be so light aud poor aa to be
worthless.
Now, wheat, from my experiments in
Its cultivation by hand in England, shows
as great sensitiveness to cultivation us
corn; The yeild by careful hand cultiva.
tion being increased to sixty bushels, and
in some instances, eighty bushels per
acre. Nov, thorough narrowing Of
wheat in Spring, in very inexpensive
manner, performs the cultivation nearly
as we'll rs when done by hand. If the
crust formed by the Winter SHOWS and
Spring rains is thoroughly broken, and
the ground TO the depth of two or more
inches well, pulyerized, the effect upon
the wheat is like magic. 1t starts into
the mqst vigorous growth and. in q few
weeks has nearly or quite doubled in aize
OF the wheat not narrowed. In pieces Of
wheat THAT have como under the writer's
observation, which were narrowed in
strips, that is-one strip notharroYed 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 tho unharrowed aI each
aide, and in every way was atTikingly.
ranker aud moro vigorous. Mr., II. ]. 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 MoaitoI, OF Alexander, Genesee
S"ahtIt ~. uatVebttu iIOul uIty acres
1850 bushels 'of''wheat. His neighboEs
oniy:obtained about ten bushels per acre.
Jhe only difference in land OF treatment
was that Moulton's wheat was thoroughly
narrowed with this implement in fehs The
Spring and his neighborS was not. 7,!i q
The effect produced by narrowing bar
ley and oats, after they haze obtained q
growth OF, four or FIVE inches, is equally
marked. I have observed many Instances
where folly twenty bushels per acre in-
crease, in consequence of thorough har-
rowing, was, Obtained. h.s d.1....l IS.
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
Gentleman J. 80 Af