Daily Republican., 1885-02-12

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The article We publish In our local
columns to-day In reference to wheat
culture on the Pacific coast 10 another
evidence that too much land is cuitiva-
I'D In wheat and all ether crops In this
country, making too much labor for
H. resompense of reward that follows
Ihe Australian variety Of wheat may
noe do 20 we'll on the Atlantic seaboard
- on the Pacific, but there are other
vaRi6ties that will do a. we'll when Gull
tivsted. The common Mediterranean
On b made TO produce over . hundred
bunhels per acre with ordinary care, and
10 ere not sure that 1t IL not the mos.
prolific variety knosn-
But the variety Of the wheat has not
- much 70 do With the question Is the
proper preparation Of the soil and the
sounduess Of the seed. In the instances
quoted elsewhere there seemed to be no
special preparation Of the soil other
than for ordinary purposes. The man
Who raised 3o7 pounds OF wheat from .
Glnels pound Of seed, sowed 1t broadcast
upon common potato patch, but he
e0wod It very thin, ~ he says, over
about fourteen square rods Of ground.
He hAd 70 contend with weeds, and
harley and oats came mp amongst IL.
He had to weed all these out at the risk
Of pulling mp .sAhe wheat with them.
Then tho N0phers got amongst 1t aud
$1,000 some, and he had wastAges
y other sources. This man counted
1lom one grain Of wheat one hundred
and eleven stalks Of wheat As these
Australian wheat heads are very large,
these III heads Of wheat you'd average
at the least Is grains to the head
This would be 1925 grains from q
single grain Of wheat Yes, but, says
somebody, that was away out in Cali
fornia, where the climate and soil Il
different than in Delaware, and bettel
adapted to the raising Of wheat. True
this was in California, but DR.. Green
Leaf, right close TO Wilmington here
has in his experiments in only ordinary
soil, and with not the greatest care ant
attention, raised over ninety stalk
from . single grain. This we know u
be fact, for we saw the patch anc
counted the stalks. DIR. Greenleaf ha
raised at the rate of 140 bushels to tn,
acre by his ex periments, and we hsv'
California figures.
All this goes TO show that whea
raising Is carried on in a very loose
pell-mell kind of manner In this coun
try. Farmers sweat and toll and driv,
and pillow, and purchase phosphates and
other manures almost to the amount Of
wheat crop, and are rewarded with
fifteen and twenty bushels per acre as a
yield. II it reaches thirty bushels &c
the acre 1t Is far above the average, ant
forty bushel yield is extraordinary.
These wheat raising tests show tina
the two hundred bushels raised from
ten acre field should be raised on tw
acres, and the remaining eight acre
could be used for other crops. Thes
tests show something else. They shov
that where hundreds Of farmers ar
wasting their lives and substance AVA
In attempting to cultivate a farm c
two hundred acres, and perhaps in th
end are sold out by the Sheriff, ooul
raise more produce on twenty acrei
and with less labor and expense.
Yes, but says somebody, 1t requires
great deal Of labor TO prepare th
ground, plant grain of wheat in
place with drill and hoe 1t like corr
OF course it will require more labor, bu
then the labor Of blowing and harrow
ing ten acres, and the expense
manuring and seeding it would be- cor
centrated on two acres, and the labc
would be OF a lighter and more pleasar
character.
But Is there not something else see
that will be OF great benefit TO the coul
try in these farming tests ? Do the
not demonstrate the fact that the ma
who has two or three acres Of ground
independent ? In tue MANUFACTURER
depression Of the times there are thol
sands Of unemployed workmen wi
could make good living on lit
farms of two or three acres. He coul
raise much more than all the bread al
vegetables he needs, and could eve
keep COW and horse Possibly the
could not lay by much money, b.
under any circumstances they would
better off than they are now, withol
employment or expectation of emplo
ment.