The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-07-14
HHE ABUNDANT CROPS
And Some Unique Features Of
This Years HaNests.
THE WHEAT WILL YIELD BIG
Though the Harvest is the Latest for
Many Years Past-somc vaIua-
bic Observations From an
Intelligent Farmer.

One OF the most intelligent farmers
Of the Short Creek neighborhood fur
nishes the following interesting and
gratifying remarks about the promise Of
the growing crops in Richland district,
which will be read with profit by the
farmers and with interest by people
who livein town:
"on looking over my dairy l find
this is the latest harvest since 1876. In
that year We finished July 5, and this
year very little wheat has been cut at
this date, the 18th. l am satisfied that
this township will have twice as much
wheat as last year, and in many fields
there will be from fifty to one hundred
per cent more wheat than was ever
grown before. The season has been'an
unusual one in so many respects that We
are hardly surprised ut any thing, and ]
think most farmers will agree with me
in the statement that it will sustain its
reputation in the results us shown in
the wheat crop.
"For the first time in my experience
l find that the application OF manure to
wheat was positive injury, and in
many cases reduced the yield several
bushels to the acre. Why it did so was
simply that it hastened the growth so
that MANFRED wheat was jointed ut the
April freeze, and so suffered more than
later wheat. Another curious thing
about the wheat crop this year is that
the large yields are on the poor lands;
on fiat, cold clay soils, which ordinarily
produce light crops. l can find more
clay hillsides nearly barren, on which
there is promise OF from twenty
to twenty-five bushels to the acre, and
ON our coolest fat field we will average
fifty shocks to the acre; and If ii should
threSh as vol Us to the straw us it looks
it will make thirty.tive bushels to the
acre.
"Auother very gratifying thing this
year is that there is splendid stand OF
clover and timothy with the wheat.
The cold wet spring caused the seed to
grow, and think there never was n
wear in which better stand was had.
My own experience this year confirms
me in the belief that there is no fertil-
izer no cheap or effective as clover, and
I'LL shall he able after threshiug-as l
hope to be-to report forty bushels OF
wheat 10 the acre, on part OF my crop,
it will be due TO the clover.
To-day we shall cut our timothy, for
| do not like to feed dry sticks and
timothy seed to horses, and large per
cent OF the farmers will do that this year,
as the corn needs week or two OF work
md the wheat must be harvested and
hauled jn; and then they think that it
keeps the meqhDws up to let the grass
get ripe enough so that the seed will
scatter, ! believe this is likely 10 prove
a year OF abundance, but ! meyer re-
member year when it took more work
to cultivate crops properly or when SO
much labor was lost by beating rains.
We are now blowing our corn for the
fourth time, and il we get over it with
out being driyep of by u heavy beating
rain, it will be tho aEsE time since it
was planted,
"Ihope no ono will DO discouraged
and prevented from manurlng wheat be-
cause the manure hurt the crops this
wear, any more than they would stop
eating because meal sometimesinjures
them. / trust my brother farmers will
take notice that ! am still in favor OF
fertilizers oil all kinds.
81 heard story OF o boy who set a
turkey hen on one hundred eggs, and
when asked why lie did it, answered;
i want to see this old thing spread her
self Now, it seems that spreading
themselves is the besetttng sin Of large
per cent of farmers. / doubt whether
spread farming ever pays, even in those
seasons when there is no hindrance by
rain, for it not only gives the farmer
more surface than he can cultivate well,
but prevents him from bringing up his
land by rest and clOveriag IS he could
with less under the pillow. This year is,
of course, an unusual one, but it is easy
to find Illustrations OF the spread far.
mer' every year, l find it easier to theo'
rize about this matter than to reduce it
to practice; and ! often yield to the
temptation to have gCEes rather than
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