River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1884-03-06

less. In this connection we cannot do
better than quote our previous utter
ances on this subject:
ssSmut is a disease to which soft
wheat is very susceptible. This has
been thoroughly demonstrated by ex-
perience. So far as is known, no sys-
tematic scientific research has been
made as if tits cause or nature. Mil
lers who have handled all varieties OF
wheat and noted the difference be
tween that badly smutted and that
which is almost free of smut, agree
that there is as much variation III this
cereal disease as there is in any human
disease. Wheat which is literally be-
sprinkled with smut balls can be
pretty well cleaned by suction
machinery. but wheat which
is less visibly affected can not he cleaned
and will not make good flour. Open
the door of car of badly smutted wheat
and its peculiar odor is very strong, but
another car in which the disease is
found in It's early stages will have little
or no smell and to the casual observer
presents good appearance, yet the
latter car is the most unfit for milling.
Smuttv wheat was never heard of IN
Minnesota until soft varieties, mainly
club. were introduced, and smut has
not vet invaded the fields of the farmer
who has stuck to fife through thick and
thin"
Fife is the wheat which first gave
Minnesota her reputation for big yields.
The only variety which approaches it IS
what is known as the Blue Stem, which
has a large kernel, medium color, yields
il ANYTHING better than file, Is quite
hard. and with the slim testing thus far
had, promises we'll. The tendency OF
all wheats. as of other seed.
is to run itself out. Expert
ence has shown. however, that an an
nual change of seed is profitable, even
though the fresh seed he grown within
thirty or forty miles. David Williams.
the veteran miller of Hennepin county,
q strong advocate of Scotch fife, OF an
nual change of seed and of careful selec-
ton of seed. suggests that seed wheat
should be subjected to a strong blast by
means of which all soft light grain should
be separated from the hard, healthy and
consequently heavier portion. He as
serts that where fife wheat has been
condemned by reason Of light yield, the
cause will be found in the fact
that there was no rotation
of crop, no change OF seed
and no resting of the soil, and. worse
than all, no care exercised in selection
of perfect grain for seed. Fife Is hard
lest of all wheats in respect to injury
from excessive moisture. Many leading
Minnesota millers and elevator compan-
MES have inaugurated the practice ofre-
serving the best wheat from each crop,
CARRYING it until spring and selling II
for seed at actual cost. SO firmly are
thew convinced of the necessity for
planting pure seed The Manitoba au-
thorities admit Scotch fife for seed for
duty free. and the Canadian Pacific
railway transports seed fife free of
charge, leaving full tariff rates upon
soft seed wheat This example should
be initiated by all north
western railways, and the
matter should receive proper
attention and action by the authorities
of Minnesota and Dakota. 1t may,
perhaps, be true that fife exhausts the
soil more rapidly than the soft varieties.
but the farmer who expects to raise a
| 8OOu crop VI NAitNb ,NIeA NiNeA fN"A
| from the same field is a mere agricul-
tural machine, deserving no sympathy
for his failure Careful rotation OF crops
and as much manuring as possible will
keep up the yield and quality OF the
wheat. Some of these days We may be
able to raise the English average of rs
bus. per acre, instead of our present
| average. IA bus One thing is certain,
and that is that if the
reputation of the hard wheat sec
| ton and of the northwestern -four Is
maintained, it can only be by the exclu
siye use of fife wheat for seed. All OF
the softer sorts for which larger yield is
claimed, must be discarded. Rotation
of crops and better modes of securing
| the grain when ripe, are necessary.
| The northwestern farmer must learn
! this lesson well and if he would avert
all danger of smut, discard soft wheat
! for seed and stick to fife. Tests have
| been made in which -four made from
purely hard wheat has given from % to
| 40 pounds more bread per barrel than
that made from soft wheat. This be
ing a fact, there is, then, that
much more intrinsic value
in the hard wheat flour.
Another great point in wheat raising,
which applies equally to hard and soft
varieties, winter and spring, is that too
much seed is sown, as rule. We can
not offer stronger argument in sup
port of this assertion than by
quoting the letter of a prominent New
York farmer as follows:
I'm Il winter Of 1853 and 1854, be
ing offered high price for my wheat
which was a new and promising spring
variety, / sold myself so short that
when came to SOW in the spring | had
left scant five pecks per acre for my
own USE and did not know what TO do,
Us heretofore j had followed the prac-
| tice of the farmers about me, sowing
eight pecks per acre, and / had the
opinion that much less quantity would
result in a failure However, after
bordering over it, as ] did not wish to
seed any other kind Of crop, j eonelu-
ded to risk it, and in harvest was agree
ably surprised to find had a yield of
40 IL bushels of thoroughly cleansed
grain per acre. / say surprised, for
| the greatest yield had ever got from
eight peclzs was 33 bus. not often over
| oU, anu sOueIiOeS uOb over ~ puh.'
which was regarded as a great yield ]
was so well satisfied with this acciden-
tai experiment that / determined TO try
it again, which I did with nearly a.
good results; and from that time to this
j have not sown over five pecks per
acre, and sometimes only four, and sell
dom fall below As bus. per acre. This,
Won will see, is not single experiment,
but one of 20 years continuance North
western Miller.