Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1883-10-20
THE WHEAT CROP OF 1884.
State Experiment Station.

one, we must plan 1t now, and work
for it generously before the ground is
seeded. An abundant growth is. hard.
ly possible without cultivation, and
wheat is one Of those crops which must
be cultivated before it is planted; or
rather the labor which is usually ex.
pended in cultivation must here be
given to the preparation of the soil.
1t has been the custom for farmers to
sow wheat broadcast on land unbroken
after crop of corn or Of wheat, or
even on grass meadows, and then to
"plow it in" that is they stirred the
land just sufficiently to coverwith soil
the seed deposited, without seeking to
loosen the compact earth or to mix
with the organic matter. understand
that this is the practice with very
large proportion of those engaged in
wheat raising. In order to compare
the results of this system with the yield
from the same quality of land when
moderately prepared experiments were
made on the University farm at the
experiment station. The prepared
plots were well broken and narrowed
and where there were clods, a heavy
iron roller was passed over for the
purpose of crushing the clods. Just
here would say that almost any far
mer can make himself a very good
roller from a section of tree about
thirty inches in diameter and six or
seven feet long. After the ground was
we'll pulverized the wheat was put in,
partly in drill and partly broadcast!
The unprepared lot had produced a
crop of corn, and while there was on
it some crab grass, it was not SO rough
as many peices of land seeded in our
state every year. The corn stalks
were removed, the wheat sown broad
cast and plowed in more carefully than
is generally done where land is seeded
in this way. The unfertilized but pre-
pared lot, which was nearest to this
this last, and consequently varied from
it least in quality, produced twenty and
two-third bushels. The unprepared LOT
produced ten and one.third bushels
exactly half as much as the prepared
but unfertilized plot. This experiment
evidently gives results in favor Of
preparation, above what we may ex'
pect.
The prepared but unfertilized lots
even in that part of the field did moi
give'an average nearly so good as the
one nearest to the unprepared lot. Be-
sides, similar experiments last year
gave not near so great difference in
favor of preparation. Yet, no one car
study our work here, and such ex
periments elsewhere, to solve thai
question without being impressed thai
the facts thus far all favor a thorough
preparation Of the soil before seeding
The average indicates an increase o.
from fifty to seventy per cent. W.
are told by the farmer that he has no
the time to prepare his land. Suppose
that he should decide to seed twelve o.
fifteen acres after good preparation, in
stead of sowing twenty acres withou
any preparation.
Would the former process requlr
much more time? Would it not leav
his land in much better condition afte
the harvest Of 1884? I am convince,
that his crop will be far more certain
and | am almost as certain that it vii
not be less. This however, leads us Of
on the question Of intensive farming
which | have neither the time or in
clination to discuss here. l only be-
those who haye been planting withou
any preparation will make one fai
trial of a process which so many declar
to be an Improvement. If time ca
be given to only one-half an acre
let at least that much be tho
roughly prepared before seeding
1t would have been far better if a
grass and organic matter had beel
turned under by the first of last month
SEED.
Many think that seed from
distant region ought to be lmporte
every year. There may be somethln