People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1898-03-10

WHEAT Is dOOuU dn l0Cl llgn anu eS-
pecially as soon after good rain as
the ground will work nicely, harrow a
strip, say nine rods wide. crOssways of
the direction of the drill rows, aim
ing to stir the soil about one inch
deep. If it rains again in about tive
weeks harrow One-third of the strip
or three rods wide a second time and
% another third at least three times
and up till the time the wheat joints,
whether it rains again or not. This
will give one plat 3rOds wide narrowed
once, one plat same width narrowed
twice and the remaining plat har-
rOwed three or more times, and all to
be compared at harvest with the rest
OF the wheat field, when the soil and
seeding were the same.
1t is probable the heavier soils, or
those that have tendency to become
cOmpacted and bake after heavy rains
will be most benefited by this plan,
but all soils should be tested if it is
only one round of the harrow to each,
and the same repeated for several
seasons to see if the results are beue-
fetal or otherwise under all condi-
tiOnS.
A few recently planned fields were
observed in drive over part of the
county to-day. All were left just as
the plOw left them and were rapidly
drying out. Not oniy wasting mOis.
ture, but in the heavier soils lea7ing
the exposed parts in bad physical con-
ditiOn. To get the full benefit of
blowing it should be double disced
the day it is plowed. With the axle
of the disc set at right angle u the
line of draft and the frame weighted
to sink the disc deep into the soil.
The purpose of this is TO press all the
cavities out Of the subSurface ana
bring all the soil grains into closer
contact, thus increasing the water
holding power.
In an evaporation test made last
summer at Topeka, nine times as
much water was lost from the
soil sample to which water had been
applied like rain, than from another
sample equally as moist, but covered
with 2! inches of dry soil. In the
sample moist to the top, one. third of
the whole amount of water evapOrated
in three days, and two-ffthS 10 five
days, while in the sample with 2!
inches of earth mulch the loss was
only one-twentieth the whole amount
in five days.
Half the summer rain of Sumner
county is evaporated directly from the
soil within five days from the time it
falls, and the greatest loss in one day
is the first day after the rain. This
emphasizes prompt cultivation of corn
after the showers, and especially in
June and July, and keeping it up with
single horse cultiva:ors till the corn
is caring, in order to main ain dry
soil mulch that will prevent the es-
cape OF water into the air direct from
the soil and save it for the use of the
growing plant.
The soil on your farms longest in
cultivation are showing an increased
tendency to elbow" in dry times, 1t
calls for greater MISUNDERSTANDING
under green crops SOwn after wheat
harvest, such as COW peas-and for ro-
tatiOn of crops. Your farms are also
calling for more labor per acre TO re-
duce the cost Of producing a bushel of
wheat aud corn. Cheaper wheat and
corn can only come through lesseniug
the acreage and increasing the cash
per acre in the average Of seasons.