Adams County news. [volume] (Ritzville, Wash.) 1898-1906, 1898-08-31
Farmers Column.

Farmers of Adams county, read the
following and then take consolation
from the TACT that you are raising
wheat in country that is adapted to
wheat raising.
An Enormous Wheat Yield.
You ask me to give the outcome Of
my seasons wheat crop, together with
method of culture. / secured, this
season, the largest yield / ever had.
One field of twenty acres gave an av-
erage of forty-three bushels per acre,
and ninety-five acres gave q total
yield Of 1880 bushels. One fifteen
acre field on bottom land was over
flowed and gave but sixteen bushels
per acre. My plan OF preparing wheat
land is to pillow just as early after
harvest as possible. / prefer to have
clover sod to turn under. Where l
secured my b:st yiel1 this season l
turned under fine clover stubble.
On few acres the clover was not TAX
en- Oft the land, all the crop being
turned under; but we could not see
any difference in yield where the clo-
yer crop was removed for hay and
where all had been turned down. A
difference may probably be seen
another season. When blowing the
drag follows the pillow each day, thus
filming and competing the soil, and
conserving moisture. When the plow-
ing is done the roller and harrow are
started and kept going much of the
time until time for seeding. We have
our seed bed as firm as possible, with
sufficient mellow earth ON top to drill
nicely. We use 300 pounds of fertili-
zer to the acre, for without this our
yield would not be more than hall
what it usually is. Our fertilizers are
home-mixed. We use complete fer
tilizer containing about IL per cent
of available phosphoric acid, p per
cent of ammonia and l per cent of
potash. We have found that potash
gives us very profitable returns on our
limestone, red-clay soil. The phos-
phoric acid we get from acid phos-
phate, as it is the cheapest source. We
get phosphate that contains from
16 to II per cent Of available phos-
phoric acid for about $l4 per ton. The
ammonia we get from tankage or
cottonseed meal. The cost of this
ranges from $14 to SIT per ton. We
use unleached wood asher MS q source
of potash when we can get them,
otherwise use muriate Of potash. For
ton of fertilizer we put in about
l 200 pounds Of acid phosphate, 700
pounds of tankage or cottonseed meal
and 100 pounds of potash. This mix
ture costs us from $l4 to SIS per ton
andif the same grade OF fertilizer
were purchased in the regular way
from the local dealer, it would cost
from $24 to $26 per ton. thus save
about dollar an acre by using
home-mixed fertilizer. Then l have
the satisfaction of knowing that l am
getting and using just such elements
of plant food as l desire, or as l think
my soil and crop demands. By pur-
chasing material in car lots there is
no trouble in getting same from first
hands, at regular wholesale rates.
Farmers might all avail themselves
of this benefit where only a ton or
two Of fertilizer is needed, by clubbing
together in neighborhood and MAX
ing up q oar load. The tax on far
msrs where fertilizers have to be used
is considerable and it behooves them
to reduce this tax as much as possible
If we would grow more clover than
we do, or as much as we should do,
the greater part of the money expend-
ed annually for fertilizers would be
saved and our farms would be gradu-
ally increased in fertility and produce
tive capacity as the years go by.-W.
w. Stevens, in Prairie Farmer.
Nature has planted in our soil fer