The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-10-16

1t would be impossible to say that
stacking will pay, in a pecuniary
sense, in every case; but my expert
ence in tn 8 and subsequent years has
been such that l should be very sorry
to be caught at the setting in of winter
with my corn fodder still in shock.
Franklin county, o. F. NJ.
MulchIng Wheat.
Farm and Fireside,
The great injury done to the wheat
crop OF this year, by the drying winds
OF March and April, lends a new in
terest to the question whether this in
jury may not be largely obv ated bv
covering the grain during the winter
with light mulch of straw or light
manure. This question is one well
worthy of investigation, and one which
might quite as well be settled by the
ordinary farmer as to be referred to
the experiment station; but it is one
which cannot be decided by a single
seasons test, for the reason that dur
ing the majority of our winters no such
protection seems to be necessary. 1t
is only in exceptional seasons, like the
present, that its use seems apparent.
The following test is recorded in the
report of the Ohio Experiment Station
for 1884:
''The winter of 1928 was very Sc
we're on the wheat plant. In Decem-
Der one plot of one thirty-second acre
was covered with a light coating of
straw. This seemed to protect the
plants from further injury, and the ex.
pertinent resulted so favorably that il
was thought best to test the matter
more thoroughly the next season.
Accordingly three plots were set
apart to be treated with straw mulch.
One plot was covered very slightly;
another was covered about twice as
heavy, and upon the third three times
as much was used as on the first.
''The yield for the uncovered wheat
acre; for that lightly covered, 45.5
32.9 bushels; and under the heavy COW
mulch and snow together evidently
smothering the plants. 5.
The winter of 1884 was quite diff
ferent from the preceding one In
stead of the ground being bare most
of the time, and the temperature ex-
ceedinglv variable, there was an un-
usual amount of snow, and the wealth
er was quite un formly cold. Under
these conditions, the straw mulch. ex-
cept where sparingly used, proved an
injury instead of benefit"
This experiment, it will be seen, is
very defective, in that the actual guam
tity of straw used is not given, and
that in the use of such small plots the
errors arising from accidental varia-
tions of SOL are liable to be so multi
Piled in reducing the results to acre
age ratios that they may wholly OBJ
scure the results obtained. Moreover,
the plots for EXP eriments of this char
acter should always be duplicated, in
order that the errors ar.s ng from va
riations of soil may be corrected by
comparison of duplicate results.
Nevertheless, the results of the expert
ment encourage further investigation
in this line.
During the similar winter of 1915,
the writer spread a load of coarse ma
nure, fresh from the stable, on por-
ton of wheat field peculiarly ex-
posed to the west wind. At the har-
vest there was very wide difference
between the yield on the mulched and
unmulched ground, that where the
manure was spread be ng apparently
double the other. This experiment
was still more defective than the one
just quoted. and is only mentioned
here to introduce the suggestion that
a port on of the coarsest of the manure
which may have been intended for top
dressing. be left until Immediately af-
ter the wheat is sown, and then ap-
piled as a mulch over the more ex-
posed portions OF the fields.
This work might be done in Janu-
ary with still greater advantage to the
wheat, if the manure could be so pre-
served as to be accessible at that time.
Where the manure is kept under the
shelter there will be no trouble on this
point, the only care needed being to
prevent it from freezing in large Jumps
on the field. We hope this matter Will
receive more attention than it has yet
had, and that those who may have ac.
quired any experimental knowledge on
this sub ect w II communicate it for
the benefit of others.