Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-05-23
FACTS FOR FARMERS
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO
TILLERS OF THE SOIL.
TIMELY THEMES DISCUSSED.
Potatoes 4 Crop in Which There Is
Invariably Money if Proper Pre-
cautions Are Observed-Smut in
Observation-Disclosures Getting Along
Without Much Live Stock.

1EUUdUlI no crop lleluS more redU!
money than a good crop o. potatoes If
the soil is naturally adapted to their
culture. \ serious drouth may injure
the crop so that profits will be small,
but we run this risk in all lines of
agriculture. Good irriga ton is the only
sure remedy for this state of affairs.
But potatoes are raised on thousands
of farms with success where no irri-
CATION system has yet been introduced.
The surest way to avoid the danger
from drouths if the field is not irri-
gated is to have the soil rich in vege-
. table material. Deep. sandy loan full
Of decaying grass retains the moisture
pretty we'll, even through the driest
season. \ good way is to SOW the pO-
tatO field with rye in the fall and dur
ing the winter spread stable manure
over the rye. The crop thus sown will
make a good start early in spring. and
( when the time comes for planting poJa-
toes a rich vegetable crop can be
turned under. If little superphos-
phate is added to the soil at the time
of planting the results will be all that
one can wish. Besides enriching the
soil the rye plants will hold moisture
in the soil in a wonderfully satisfac
tory manner Well rOtted manure in
quantities is probably better than
green, but it can not be obtained in
, sufficient quantities for most large
! fields except at great expense. In this
way a crop of potatoes can be raised
on the same lard for many seasons in
succession. The rye. ban-yard manure
and SuperphOSphateS supply the soil
with all the food that it really needs.
Land of this nature should be pretty
thoroughly drained. for on rich soil
/ like this the potatoes are more apt to
rot. The great amount of manure and
green material increases this tendency.
Coarse manure mixed with the we'll
rotted manure will sometimes break up
the soil so that the water can pass
away properly. For this reason half
| decomposed cornstalks sometimes give
the best results when spread over the
field in the fall, and broken up by the
pillow.
The natural drainage of the land can
/ be improved upon without resOrting to
any particular system A deep trench
made by throwing the burrows on
either side with the plow should cut
| the field into two sections. The SAINT
Of the trench should be slight toward
each end CT the field. Small trenches
can be run from the field into this
main one. If the field is on Il hill
side so much the better for the drain
age. l have very rarely found potatoes
rot much on fields that have had any
pretense to any kind of drainage.
| Usually the rot appears on rich soil
where the water is shut up in the
reservoirs that have no natural out
| let. In rainy seasons the potato plants
have wet feet during the whole season,
/ and plants object to having wet feet
as much as human beings.
Some lands are naturally underlaid
with gravel, and the water very cas-
lily passes away. Other lands have a
! hard-pan a foot or two below the sur
! face, and no water can leach through
it. One can take a crOWbar and only
make a slight impression upon this
| hard-pan. Wherever it exists, how
ever. it should be broken through, so
. that the water can escape to the under
ground reservoirs. Find out whether
such a hard-pan exists within six feet
Of the surface, and if so, see that it is
! broken through in many places.
Smut Of Oats.
The appearance Of oats injured by
smut is very familiar to all. and needs
! no description to enlighten any grain
grower. The smutted stalks with the
chaff full of black powder instead of
kernels Of grain have become so fami-
liar in many grain fields that the sight
becomes diScOuraging. When one I'M
derStandS that every one Of these black
masses consists of millions of spores
that may spread in every direction, the
| danger is more fully realized. AS soon
as the chaff opens at the ripening
time of oats these spores are scat
tered upon the wind. The wind carries
been affected. They find Judgment
upon the stalks, and on the inner side
of the chaff and the grains. Not even
the threshing machine will remove
them from the grain or the chaff
The result is that both the grain used
for seed another year, and the chaff
that may be returned to the field later
in the form of manure, help to spread
the smut upon entirely new fields.
The fact is we can never be sure
that our oats are free from these spores
when purcha sed, and the only safe
way is to subject all such seeds to the
hot water test. Farmers that have
never had the smut on their fields have
| had it introduced by buying some Of
the fine new varieties of oats, never
imagining for an instant that such eX-
pensive seed would contain the germs
Of a disease that has ruined hundreds
of grain fields. The smut is Just as
apt to attack these widely advertised
seeds just as much as the poor, mon
grel varieties that we have upon our
farms. One is never safe unless the
precautiOn of the hot water applica ton
is taken.
This Jensen process Of treating the
seeds Of oats is very simple. 1t is done
by filling a half bushel sack with oats,
and plunging it in a tub Of hot water
heated to $50 degrees Fahr., and hold
ing it there for a minute or two until
the oats are heated. Then hold it UP
and let drain minute, and then plunge
it in another tub Of hot water ready