The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-04
Cost of Growing wheat in Georgia.
"CuItivating Wheat"

Newcomer" The cost of growing an
acre of wheat is about the same as with
the other small grains. A crop of rye,
perhaps, can be made with less cost than
the other three grains For all the grains
the preparation of the soil manuring
should be the same or nearly so. There Is
no great difference in the cost of the seed.
II depends somewhat upon the implements
used what the cost of blowing will be, but
there is no great difference even here
where only few acres are planted.
A Bibb county farmer, who grew ten
acres of wheat this year, gives a memo
randum of the COST of growing the crop
which is as follows
10 bushels of seed at $l...............S1 $40 90
129 bushels of cotton seed, or manure Is 50
Flowing the land and sowing seed. 10 90
Cutting and housing the crop ........ 10 90
lhreshing The crop ..................... y 60
Cost per acre. 1915
On account of the evenness of the sew
eral Items we take This as an estimate"
though il may approximate closely the ex-
act expenditure. 1t depends upon several
circumstances what the cost will
be. Some might seed ten acres
al less cost than this while it might cost
or easily be made to cost more than this
farmer might have land that was rich
enough 10 grow Is or % bushels of wheat
per acre without any manuring for one
year at any rate, but il is not wise ro'icy
10 attempt growing wheat without using
some fer i-izer on the crop. For the sake
OF he land some should be used with every
crop If it is at all pOss BE. Even if it was
thought that the lanl could produce 20
bushels Of wheat without manuring it
would be better 10 use some fertilizer. and
aim for % bushels Or more and so with
poorer land We have very lite land in
the older sections of the south that vii,
yield 20 or even Is bushels of wheat with
out fertilizer.
We have COMMENDED for many years but
with very poor results, no doubt. that
the Southern small farmer should sow his
few acres CT wheat In drills and cultivate
1t just the same as he does his corn / is
a pity so few can be made to undersf and
that wheat can be cultivated TO great ad-
vantage Most any small farmer in the
South can take enc or two a res of fair
soil and make it produce all the -four and
shorts that a large family could consume
in year besides bron for his COW aud in
the case Of two acres grown could sell a
number OF bushels TO his brother farmers
for seed and enough to repay all his ex-
penses of making the crop of two acres
A half bushel of good wheat seed washed
in biuestone water and rolled in lime and
sown in 20-inch drills late in October and
then cultivated with the plow two or three
time when active growth starts in the
spring, will produce crop of twenty bush
els of wheat on the acre where broadcast
ed and not cultivated would not produce
half that amount. Until a farmer tries
this on an acre he wiii never comprehend
what little cultivation viii do for wheat.
The washing of the seed in bluestone and
coating 1t with lime prevents smut, and
we believe il is also a preventative of rust
to a considerable extent. If the seeds are
not first class, which implies that 50 or 80
per cent. viii grow, then forty or fifty
pounds of seed should be sown TO the acre.
if the distance of the drills apart is twen-
ty inches. The farmer that finds pleasure
In his occupation viii find This an inter
esting experiment the coming season.
ESsapp.