The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1886-04-30

gradual reduction" plaza hard wheat ID
almost q necessity. Awheat 10 wanted that
will break, not mash. Il is a fact that wheat
grown fart the north is harder than wheat
grown at points south Of us This Is an item
In favor Of the Saskatchewan wheat Ihaye
known, personally, Of number Of farmers
sowing their seed just as It came from the sep
arator, without any cleaning whatever. This
plan would, in short time, ill the country
with all manner Of foul seeds, and should be
prevented by law.
The very best Of machinery should be used
IN Cleaning our seed, and it should be made as
clean as 1t is possible to make it Indeed, that
wheat which is designed to be sown on the
ground which is to raise our seed, should be
hand-picked. A most excellent plan is to 90
over this several times during the season and
pull up everything you may find that should
not be there.
Wheat designed for seed should be tho.
roughly ripe before cutting. Itwould be well
to stack seed wheat even though you thresh the
remainder of your wheat from the shock, This
will give it better color and make it plumper.
And let me say right here, there is no variety
equal to pure Fife wheat for US. The club,
lost nation, Odessa Russian-white, tea, blue
stem, and half a dozen other varieties, are none
OF them to bo compared with the Fife as mill
ing wheat. Many careful farmers in the east
| ern states soak their seed wheat in brine and
roll 1t in lime before sowing. This is to be
commended While, perhaps, not now neces-
sary upon our rich lands, yet in few years,
when our soils shall have lost some Of their
fertility by continual cropping, It will become
necessary. This expedient and others will be
| resorted to.
4th-Quantity Of Seed. Quite difference
| OF opinion exists upon this question. The
quantity OF seed depends upon several condi-
tlons. A very rich soil requires less seed than
poor soil. Broadcast seeding requires more
seed than when sown by drill.
II the seed is heavy, plump, and clean, less
will be required than if light and uncleaned,
for while there are less kernels per buslel, yet
the large, plump kernel has more vitality, will
send up a stronger shoot and will stool out
better.
Deep and thorough cultivation requires less
seed than the reverse.
A long and warm season less than short
| and cold one.
More seed is required when sown in the
spring than when sown in the fall. For any
individual to give fixed rule as to the auanti-
ty OF seed per acre, is about as consistent as
the remark Of an Englshman in letter to his
friends regarding Dakota. He says: "Seed-
ing should always begin April l."
When the conditions have all been favorable,
three pecks have been found sufficient and
when unfavorable, 1t might require from to
~ bushels per acre.
Let each man determine for himself the
quantity required.
In one acre of ground there are 6,272,e40
square inches. In one bushel Of average wheat
there are $4,000 kernels. That would give
a small fraction less than 10 square inches Of
soil to each grain of wheat or square meas
urlng 3. 10 inches on side. think you will
all admit that this would be heavy seeding,
providing the seed is good the soil in good
condition, the seed evenly distributed, and that
1t stooled well.
In the spring Of 1884 I sowed four strips of
ground. In one we set the seeder to sew n
bushel per acre, on the second bushel, on the
third N bushels, and on the fourth bushels.
These pieces received the same treatment in
every respect, and when cut were kept sepa-
rate. The piece on which tho n bushel was
sown gave 25 bushels per acre. In the other
three pieces no perceptible difference was dis
covered, having the same number Of shocks, but
ast they were not threshed separately, could not
say which Of the four pieces gave the best re-
turns. Several prominent wheat growers in the
Farm, Stock and Home" advocate sowing but
one bushel per acre, but insist upon its being
well put in.
One very careful writer at Washington, D. c.,
who has been at great pains to collect statistics
from every state in the Union, says: 'sWith
the improved drill and good culture, three
pecks are sufficient but with the broadcast
seeder he thinks ~ bushels none too much,
for, he says, some spots will get too much seed
and some will not be covered"
This was written several years ago and be-
fore the broadcast sewers of the Strowbridge
type were much used. Those who have used
them clairI that, with the best of this class, as
high as 25O acres per day can be seeded, and
that 1t is done more evenly than is done by any
broadcast seeder. In England and the other
older states from three to four pecks are usually
sown with the drill.
AS seeding is usually done In this valley, and
especially upon the large farms, should think
~ bushels would not be far out of the way,
But by the use Of the Strewbridge, Eclipse and
California, and similar broadcast sewers, and
thorough cultivation with the spring tooth
barrow, from bushel to bushel and a peck
I believe would be sufficient.
6th.-Proper Depth to Plant A series of
very careful experiments have been made to
determine this question. From some expert
ments made in Michigan and published in one
Of their agricultural papers, get the follow
ing, viz: The seed was planted at depths vary
ing from Il to inches. Those planted at the
depth Of inch gave the best returns. Those
planted at the depth Of u Of an inch and Q
inches gave each the same number Of kernels.
In another experiment made at the expert
ment station at Minneapolis, think, and pub
lished last summer, the best returns came from
the planting at 2 inches.
Extracts were read from the annual report
Of the New York experiment station Of experi,
ments made in 1884. The best results came
from wheat planted 2 inches in depth, most Of
that planted at n and n inch was winter
killed. But as nearly all the experiments pub
| lished are made at eastern exneriment atotiono