The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-08-19
WHEAT AFTER spRlNo GRAIN.
The Important Point In Getting Goo
xun... a.. as,hhIa ~ Any Eyiud.

The Important Point in Getting Good
Wheat After stubblc OF Any Kind.
Probably three-fourths Of the winter
wheat in this country is grown after
some preceding crop, usually oats or
barley, in localities where mixed hus-
bandry prevails. Where wheat is grown
almost exclusively the same land is
sown year after year, until insects or
soil exhaustion produce failure. 1t is
often thought that after spring grain
Wheat is surer than 1t Is after wheat.
So 1t is as regards insect enemies. But
as for soil exhaustion the oat crop prob
ably takes as much of the plant food re-
quired by wheat as does a preceding
wheat crop. 1t uses about as much
phosphate of lime and nitrogen, and
growing more quickly, it draws these
important materials from nearer the
surface than does wheat, according to
The American Cultivator, which says:
Whatever grain crop is to be succeed
ed by wheat its stubble should be plowed
under as quickly as possible. 1t does
not pay to wait to draw out the summer
made manure before blowing. The
manure will do more good if used as
top dressing and merely cultivated
slightly under the surface. This packs
the plowed ground and is harder work
for the teams, but manure wagons
should have wide tires, so that they will
not cut the plowed ground deeply. II
there are frequent rains the scattered
grain left at harvesting time will sprout
and need to be cultivated under. The
sooner this is doae after the young grain
shows above the surface the better fol
the seed bed. If the manure has beer
drawn and spread before blowing We
would advise cross blowing to bring al
much of it as possible near the surface
Land thus double plowed needs to bt
cultivated and rolled a good deal Il
make 1t solid enough, but with thu
manure mixed through 1t, as it will b,
by double blowing, the wheat will max,
stronger fall growth and stand tn,
winter better than it will to keep til,
manure at the bottom Of the furrow al
the next season. In the fall this ma
nure dries the land In winter it make.
it more porous and enables it to ABSORB
more water. 1t is not usually spread
thick enough to heat, and its solubl,
parts are washed down into the subsoi
often before the wheat roots are able t.
reach them.
The most important point in getting
good wheat after stubble of any kind i
not to sow until after heavy soaking
rain sufficient to wet down as far as tn
plow has gone Such rain is necessar,
to compact stubble ground, whose ten
dency, however cultivated, is to dry Vi
rather than grow moiSter under ligh
rains that will thoroughly moisten field
plowed before harvest. Oftentimes il
droughts it seems as if stubble grounu
grew dIier and dustier the more it
stirred. If the stubble has been lef
short it may protitably be narrowed be
fore blowing. This will cover scattere,
grain so that if light rains come it will
terminate. The loose soil that this ha1
rowing will leave on the surface acts a
II mulch and helps to save the moistur
in the soil from evaporating, and whe
plowed much of the grain that has bee
slightly covered will be germinated, an
when plowed under will never come I
the surface again.