The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1889-05-15
CULTIVATION oF WHEAT.

american Agr'cuJtUriSt' In growing a
crop of wheat the seed is all important.
There is much difference in seed-even
chat grown on the same stool-that the
most careful selection is necessary. The
seed must be good, prime, well-ripened,
plump and with active terminating pow
er. The only way to secure such Is by
selection at the time of ripening. Selec-
ton is absolutely essential to good aver
age crops and good average quality
Non-selection is great drawback to all
crops. 1t entails upon the grain ele-
ments of deterioration which cause so
many varieties to ''run out The habit
Of the wheat plant is to tiller or stool,
and this habit must be INDUCED and fa-
yored by giving grain more room and
substance enough to develop its val
liable properties. To have good seed
therefore, that must be selected which
is nearest like the original and found
upon the parent stalk of the STOOL It
ripens first, contains the best elements
and is the best in all respects. The ply
siological laws governing the production
of the animal kingdom also hold good in
the vegetable. The transmission of good
and bad qualities from parent to offspring
are inherent; hence to have good wheat
we must sow good seed.
Next to good seed we must have well
prepared soil. Rich, stiff, calcareous
soils are best for wheat. Corn stubble
and potato land slightly narrowed and
without manure make very fine land for
good crops of wheat. The application
of fresh or even we'll rotted barn-yard
manure directly to the soil in which,
wheat is to be sown is unwise and in
furious. 1t produces too much stalk and
too little grain. Such manure should al
ways be applied in its fresh state to the
crop preceding wheat. Glover sod
turned in the fall for spring wheat is ex-
cellent, but alfalfa sod excels them all.
Its roots penetrate to great depth, not
only enriching the soil but making it
porous and remarkably well adapted to
the growth of all crops. So superior is
it that as high as sixty and seventy bush
els of wheat per acre have been produced
upon land thus treated. Wheat, espe-
cially in arid religions, should never fol-
low oats, rye or barley. So dry is the
winter that the seed scattered in the har-
vesting germinates in the spring and be-
comes badly mixed with the wheat, and
they are not the proper crops to rotate.
As many opinions are held about SOW
ing as there are farmers that SOW In
Europe, Australia and other wheat coun-
tries two or three bushels per acre are
sown, while in our own country about a
bushel and half is the rule. Almost all
the experiments made with thick and
thin seeding are favorable to the latter;
indeed they have reason to be, because
the greatest enemy TO the successful ger
mination and healthy growth of the
wheat-plant is wheat. Like people, wheat
cannot flourish when sown too thiclly.
If bushel of wheat were sown evenly
over an acre of ground, no two grains
would be more than two inches apart
each way, and half bushel would place
them less than four inches apart-thicl1
enough for all soils under favorable CON
ditions. However, different preparation
of both seed and soil will vary the amount
of seed. Rich land requires less seed
than poor, and a long season in some sec
tions less than short ones. The proper
depth to sow grain varies with soil and
climate. In rainy sections where the
frost heayes the surface of the ground in
the spring, wheat should be sown at hast
two inches deep and on a rough surface,
while in dry, arid climates, one and a
half inches is deep enough. The heavier
the soil the shallower the sowing, and the
lighter the soil the deeper.
The cultivation Of the wheat crop adds
much to its growth and yield; however
absurd this may appear to some, it is
nevertheless true. Most people, and !
might say ninety-nine hundredths of all
farmers in the United States, never touch
their wheat from sowing time TO harvest
cultivation of the wheat crop does il as
much good as a cultivation of the corn
crop or any other crop. As soon as the
wheat Is well up and begins 10 stool, q
light narrowing not only kills the weeds
but helps the growth of the crop, and
when the wheat begins TO make stalk,
another and heavier narrowing will Otter
increase the yield ten to fifteen per cent
These haTowings not only kill the littl,
weeds and give vigor to the plant, bu
they keep the surface of the soil open anC
mellow for the better action of the atmos
pheTe upon the roots. If the wheat i
sown in drills foot apart a small cult
yator is better than a harrow, especially
in those sections where the crops are irri
gated. All crops do better when irrigated
from below. The water, when put OF
the surface, comes in contact with tn,
tender plant and Injuries it.
Harvesting should be done early, whel
the wheat is in the dough state, to max
good returns for the mill, but seed whea
should not be cut until fully ripe. Earl
harvests often escape rust, make heavie
grain and of better milling elements, les
wheat is lost in the cutting and handling
and the farmer is better satisfied havinl
his crop out Of the way.