Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1897-12-17
agricultural.
Farming Of the Future.

1t is assumed by those who have given
the subject close attention that the
worlds supply of wheat will in few
years be below the demand, and al
though more land will be brought into
cultivation for wheat. yet there will ar
rive time when the yield Of wheat
must be increased or the supply will be
inadequate. The average yield of wheat
per acre in this country is ID bushels,
while in Europe the average is 30 bush
els. In some sections Of the United
States 40 bushels per acre Of wheat is
not unusual for large farm, but the
use Of the same land for wheat year
after year will result in diminished yield
in the future unless some change occurs
in disqualification of that cereal. The
fact that the average yield in Europe is
two and a-half times as much as in this
country demonstrates that our farmers
can at least double their averages, which
insures twice rs much wheat as is now
grown. The fact is that in Europe the
farms are small and highly cultivated,
while in this country land is cheap and
many sections not thickly populated, but
the systems Of Europe are worthy Of
consideration, and should encourage our
farmers to expect better results.
EFFECTS OF CULTIVATION.
At one of the experiment stations
wheat was tested in plots under various
modes Of cultivation and it was found
that when the seeds were carefully Sc
lected, planted in rows and cultivated
with hand implements, the yield was at
the rate of so bushels per acre, and
case is on record where farmer in
England planted wheat in rows one
foot apart, and the grains six inches
apart in the rows, cultivating between
the rows and hoeing 10 the rows, by
which method he secured over 100
bushels per acre, but such cases are the
exception. The English field was first
covered six inches with manure and the
manure we'll worked into the soil, while
the season was favorable. What the
cost of labor amounted to was not stated,
but the fact was demonstrated that wheat
could be cultivated like corn and the
yield largely increased. At the present
day there are improved hand imple-
ments-seed drills, wheel hoes and hand
cultivators-tha are aids to hand work,
and if the price of wheat in the future
warrants their use there is no doubt that
the average yield Of the future will be
much larger.
FERTILIZERS AND MOISTURE.
Before farmers can be induced to re-
sort 10 the intensive system of cultivat-
ing the soil they must study the needs
of plants and bring to their aid the use
of fertilizers, but in the application of
more fertilizers they will eventually in
augurate some method of irrigating the
soil during periods when the season is
dry. That the farmers will be COM
PEELED to increase their average yields
of Gil crops is fact that is apparent.
as the larger the yields the lower the
cost of labor and they can derive better
results from certain proportion Of fer
tilizer or nature on small area than
when the plant food is spread over a
large surface. When priccs allow of so
doing there will be no lack Of labor to
accomplish the desired objects, but the
farm should not be devoted to cereal
crops only. It is a frequent occurrence
for farmers near large cities to make
large profits, but they do so by COM
polling the land to produce to fullest
capacity Of those crops that bring the
best prices, and in these days of supe-
-