Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1886-11-12

Thin and Late sowing of Wheat.

Thin and Late sowing Of Wheat.
The average yield Of wheat per acre
in this country is not quite twelve and
one-half bushels per acre. The average
quantity of seed sown is very nearly six
pecks per acre; hence, the wheat in
creases less than nine fold. It is no I'M
common thing for stool to contain if
teen culms, each bearing an average of
forty grains hence, the grain produc-
ing this plant has increased six hundred
fold. Wheat has been made to increa se
twelve hundred fold. 1t is evident that
much Of the wheat sown must fail to
mature. The seventies of fall drouth
and winter freezing destroy many plants,
yet the greatest cause why many do not
reach maturity is because they have not
room for growth. We SOW too much
seed. In going through wheat field
man may find isolated stools. The plants
for some inches round about have died.
1t is significant that these stools are al
ways large ones. II the root formation
of one of these stools be carefully un-
covered, it will be found to occupy quite
closely all the ground quite for space
twelve to fifteen inches 10 diameter.
This much soil is certainly not too
much for vigorous wheat plant to have
for feeding ground. The feeding roots
of the wheat plant rarely 60 deeper than
four inches; hence, if there are fifteen
culms in the stool, and it has space Of
ground twelve inches in diameter, each
culm will have thirty inches of soil to
feed from-say a mass four inches in
depth, three in length, and two and
one-half in width. Measure out such
mass Of earth and see how small it is.
But if you SOW six pecks of seed to the
acre leach pint will have less soil than this.
As the seed cannot be distributed with
perfect uniformity, some must have
much less than even a surface two
inches square. There can be but one
result-death from starvation. Those
plants which get the start by reason
Of terminating nearer tina surface, or of
greater natural vigor, will smother the
others out. {.
The struggle for existence" is we'll
illustrated Some Of the. plants may
not be smothered out before winter ends !;
for time they struggle, but they are SO
weak that the frost removes them. Even
the strongest and more hardy plants are
injured, for the struggle must weaken
them. With less seed there would be
more plants in the spring surely more
culms and ears at harvest time. Max
ing liberal allowances for drouth, frosts,
insects, etc., three pecks yet seems too
much seed for an acre of land. This
quantity is now sown by some of our
most successful wheat growers. We
SOW practically as much seed as our
fathers did fifty years ago, yet at least
twice as much seed then as now was the
proper quantity. The land was more
productive, hence the plants might be
closer together. 1t was impossible, with
the implements then at command, to
prepare the seed bed as we do now
The condition of the ground was not
near SO favorable to termination and
growth, hence it was necessary to SOW
more seed. But what, more than any.
thing else. made more seed necessary,
was the imperfect manner of distributing
the seed. 1t was impossible to so cast
the seed that some would not fall more
thickly than others. while some we're
not covered at all, and some we're buried
as deep as the harrow teeth penetrated.
Now the seed is distributed very uni
formly, aud on we'll prepared seed
bed the drill covers each grain at prac-
tically the same depth we have the
ridges to protect the plants aud hold the
snow over them during the winter.
Late sowing is to be commended where
there is probability Of attacks from the
llessian Fly, or other insect enemies. If
sowing is delayed until October LIST, the
flies will have deposited their eggs be-
fore the wheat plants are large enough
to receive them, and there will be no
Larvae to suck the life out of the wheat
later on. Very often the ground is so
dry early in September that if the seed
germinates the plant will not thrive and
may wither beyond recovery If sowing
is delayed until the fall rains have
moistened the ground the plants will be
as far along until winter stops their
growth, and there will be more of them.
1t is now possible, ard certainly profit
able, SO to prepare the seed-bed aud APP
ply fertilizers that the plants, though
started quite late, will reach sufficient
size and have root-growth strong
enough to withstand the winter. 1t is
not necessary to SOW 50. early as half
century ago. Better implements for
preparing the ground and sowing the
seed, aud better methods for fertilizing,
with undertaking, have so changed
conditsns that the rules relating to
wheat and other crops, found good for
the conditions of 1886. must now be
varied some what-American Aqricu-