Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1893-07-29
Commercial Fertilizers for Wheat.

1t is evident that to make wheat
profitable the yield must be in
creased considerably above the az
erage. At present prices with the
average yield the farmer is COM
PEELED to work for very low wages.
In growing good crop of wheat
there are two essentials; these are
good seed sown in good season and
a good, rich, thoroughly prepared
soil. Growing a crop of clover, cut
ting off the first crop for hay, and
when a good second growth has
been secured, blowing it under and
preparing the soil in good filth,
is good preparation for wheat.
Another good plan is to pillow the
ground as soon as possible after
harvest, taking care to scatter even
ly over the surface. Then in pre-
pairing the soil in suitable con-
dition for the seed the manure will
be worked well enough into the
soil.
But on the average farm, even
where nearly or quite everything is
fed out to stock on the farm and
all reasonable care is taken to save
manure, it will be difficult to secure
enough to keep up the land. There
are two crops that in most cases
commercial fertalizers can be used
to a good advantage with; these are
wheat and potatoes, and often when
commercial fertalizers are used on
these two crops there will be enough
barnyard manure to grow good
crops of other kinds. By increas-
ing the yield of wheat, taking good
care TO save the straw and either
feed out cut or use for bedding, a
much larger quantity of manure
can be saved. On farms that have
been cropped down the use of COM
mercial manures can be made the
starting point towards improving
the fertility. By applying with
wheat in the Fall the yield may be
materially increased. The growing
of large crops gives more feed, and
this in turn admits of keeping more
stock, which in turn gives more
manure.
One advantage with the CONNER
,cial fertilizer is the ease of apply
ing and its availability.
1t is in form that makes the
greater per cent. of it easily soluble
and hence readily available for use
by the growing plants. This is an
advantage, as it lessons the cost of
applying, and at the same time Sc
cures a more vigorous start of the
plants to grow in the Fall, and
making them better able to stand
the Winter.
One of the best ways of applying
is to use drill with fertilizer at
tachment, SO that when the seed
wheat is sown the fertilizer will be
distributed at the same time, scat
tering broadcast over the surface
generally more evenly than can be
done by hand. Or it can be sown
broadcast by hand over the surface
just before or just after sowing the
seed. The feeding roots of the
wheat plant grow reasonably
near the surface, and in applying
fertilizer of any kind it is quite an
item to apply and work into the
surface. The natural course of the
soluble portion of the manure is
downward, and if plowed under or
worked too deep into the soil, will
soon be beyond the reach of the
feeding roots of the wheat plants.
In most cases it will prove more
economical to seed a smaller acre
age and use better seed, prepare the
land better and make it richer
either by applying stable manure
or by using commercial fertilizers
and secure a larger yield per acre
than to continue to grow an in
creased acreage and get only an av-
erage yield at a loss.