Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1883-07-08
The Culture or Wheat.

Ine SuIkuEt VI ""pNts
Some twelve to fifteen years ago an
Impression prevailed-indeed the re-
.ults seemed to establish the fact-that
wheat. culture in ennsylvania, like
fruit.culture, had run out, and farmers
clubs and agricultural papers went full
tilt to discussing the reason OF 1t. But
subst ouently both took turn, and We
should like to know to-day il any one
dares to cay that both wheat and fruit
cannot be- raised as successfully there as
in almost any other State. Some said
AT first that it would last only for lit
tie while-now and then we may get
along well enough, but who can say
how long il will last, or in case OF failure
should come again what we are TO On
about it. This was anticipating an evil
which there was no reason to believe
would soon occur again, and as 1t has
not vet returned we / err no more about
it. The grumblers are quiet; they take
with thanks, we hope, all they receive,
and NAV entertain the best expectation
for the future.
The greatest enemy Of the wheat
crop is too much water. 1t may be
said that the wheat-root is more suscep-
tlble to injury from too much water
than many of us believe. To-be-sure
there is q general impression that an
overdose OF water is tai, but the full
force of the iml r, ssiOH Is seldom felt
as it deserves to be. Water lying
around roots does not always kill the
wheat plant, but many Of the roots are
Injured, and the few that are left are not
able to do The work that all were In
tended to take part in doing: Ii any
one will dig up u wheat-plant in spring
which has stood all winter in a wet
place, he will see exactly how this ID.
Only living roots close to the surface
and below this may be injured.
The English seem to understand this
ter.iDjury better than we do, and
provide against it on wheat.lands by
numerous burrows; in some cases OF
flattish land ne.twentieth of the whole
area may be counted as surface.fur.
rows; and yet with this waste ground,
as some would say, they beat us con-
sderably in the number of bushels they
get per acre.
1t is supposed by many that whether
we have a good wheat season or bad
one depends more on aquantity of rain
we get NJ NdTlOus sedSOIs, vi liic COu-
dition of the ground, or of the plants
at the time rain falls. Ii it goes away
through the ground rapidly, it is good
fer the plant, though in large quauti-
ties; but if it lies long it is an injury.
Thus, if piece of land is rather fiat and
the ground is frozen deep and stays
frozen after the upper has thawed, and
rain or melted snow let in, the frozen
bottom keeps the water from passing
away, and so injury to the roots results.
On sloping ground the water passes out
on the lower position, and in these
cases not so much injury results.
There is no doubt many causes con-
spire to injure crops; but this overdose
OF water is very likely to be one of
them, and it will be wise for all those
who are interested in wheat culture to
take every precaution to carry away
water which may fall on the land.
Open bitches or plow-furrows, as many
do, are very useful to this end. AT
tend this carefully and it will be found
that wheat.culture in Pennsylvania will
lie as productive as ever it was, and
will continue TO be so.