Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-02-08
OATS AhD WHEAT.

Argument. Ia Favor OF Deep Prepare
tion " tia soil tor These Crop.,
The idea Is current with tho average
farmer that the roots 81 oats rni whcr'
arr superficial. and that It Is iaclcss tv
break the ground deeper than is neccs
tary to pillow IN tho seeds and fertilizer
Il any Of the latter AFRO applied. This D.
% erroneous conclusion, a. we will en-
delyor TO show. writes u Texas iarmoi
% Tue Southern Cultiyator. lie con
unaOs, The quantity Of roots attached
toapIsnt are far greater than can 10
o5svei by merely lifting them from
th, soil Shuhcrt tGadg IA experiment
Nfollowsi An excavation was made In
tie Gold TO the depth " sic feet, aud
stream o. water was directed aga.nt
tao vertical wall OF soil until It was
washed away. so that the roots Of plants
growing Ia il were laid bare. The roots
thus exposed In field o. oats presented
tle appearance OF . mat or felt OF white
fbgrs to a depth Of four feet below the
surface u the ground The roots Of
winter wheat he observed a, deep a.
seven foot in light subsoil. forty-seven
days after sowing.
The quantity OF roots IN pr cent. OF
the entire plant in tho dry state WIS
found 10 be as follows'
Winter wheat examined last Of April % per Il.
Water wheat oAamiuci last ot Shay. 2; per Ct
Ninirr ryo examined last Of April...,8i per ct.
Tho quality OF the soil influenced the
aggregate yield Of roots. In rich por'
Gus garden soil, which Is usually deeply
broken up often uniformly spadod and
wen supplied with vegetable matter. a
harley plant produced i2s feet VI roots
ina heavier compact suhsoil similar
Plant yielded only eiguty feet Of roOtt
1t is evident, therefore, how necessary u
IS that tho plant should hive an abun.
dance Of room In which to spread ont HHd
extend ils roots. lncited by n knowledge
Of these principles early In December
1900, prepared my soil Tor seeding uat'
by breaking up ~ deeply rs large heavy
mules cnuld pull diamond pointed scooter
plows u inches long and about . 4 wide
having previously spread broadcast
twenty bushels Of green cotton seed and
100 pounds VI acid phosphate lime pei
acre Two bushels OF oats per aero wen
llowod under with turning pillow
commencing Dec u. Tho surface wa
then dragged over with u heavy brush.
lhorowasa uniformly good stand, ant
the oats grow without interruption flUr
the start to full maturity Tho long DIR,
spell IN April aud Mny did not retard IL
growth and II attained TO height o
nom four to five foot, maturcd full boay,
grains with heads sixteen inches long
did not thrash them out, rs WAS shor
OF long forage, and fed them after cut
ing ~ the eutiro plant with an oats cut
Ter Good judges estimated the yiold q
BE- forty bushels per acre. This was no
phenomenal, but remarkable when com
pared with tho average product of IN
heighborhood which did not oXcoel
Twelve bushels per aero. One OF my neigh
bors, with moro than double the quuntit.
Of cotton seed per acre, one-third NOR
OF cal seed, ana s0wel six weeks earlier
made at least one-third less thuu ininu
when the soil was not broken Up provi
ously TO the sowing Of seed.
One characteristic Of my oats was IA
uniform aud uninterrupted growth O
The plant during tho long dry spell O
Apnl aud May, when the oats Of u
country IN general Were atroplicd an
uwarcd, with almost failure In u
ultimate production. will romar
mat my land is characterized by a MI
reFncinl sandy loan three or four incho
deep, supported by rich tenacious ella
tubstiutum from six TO eight feet thicl
mo whole resting upon bed OF lin,
hnne' In sandy soils with no ella
within five OF ton feet from the gurfnc,
Is hardly necessary 10 romark tha
snDaoiling would be detrimental rattle
.aln beneficial, as have satisfactoril
proved.