The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1900-08-17
AGRICULTURAL. :
SUGGESTIONS TO WHEAT GROW
ERS.

SUGGESTIONS TO WHEAT GROW
ERS.
The almost unparalleled destruction
of the wheat crop of 1900, throughout
Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, is gener-
ally ascribed chiefly to the Hessian fly,
and undoubtedly this insect has caused
much loss, not only by destruction out
right of many plants in the fall, but by
so weakening the vitality of others
that they succumbed to weather condi-
tions which they would otherwise have
been able to resist. But behind these
causes there lies another which must
not be lost sight of, namely, the ex-
haustion of soil fertility. The import
ance of this factor is shown in the ex-
periments of the Ohio Station, in which
wheat on new land has, this year, yield
ed nearly 40 bushels to the acre, with
out fertilizers, whereas unfertilized
wheat on land that has been for 60 or
10 years, under such cultivation as is
practiced on large proportion of Ohio
farms, was almost totally destroyed by
fly and weather conditions combined,
the number of plants attacked by the
fly being in both cases approximately
the same.
Where the sowing of wheat has been
delayed until after the middle of Sep.
foy,,bo, II, tho avtrov,,a pon+Io,,,, ,,o,+ ~
the State; to the Goth or 25th in the
latitude of this Station; to the last week
in the month in that of Columbus, and
to the first week in October farther
south, the. results have been generally
more favorable than where the seed
ing was done earlier; but these dates
were not sufficiently late to escape the
fly last fall, owing probably in part te
peculiar seasonal conditions. Whe1
the seeding is delayed beyond the date
mentioned the loss from the plant no
having time to sufficiently pre-
pare for the winter will probably b,
lgreater than the average loss from tn,
lfy.
Even at these dates, in ordinary seas
IONS, there will be need to see that tn
land is thoroughly prepared and wei
lfertilized if remunerative yields are t
be obtained.
Late sowing, however, while in som
measure protection from the fall al
tack of the fly, will have no effect o
the spring attack unless UNIVERSAL
practiced in a given district; for
. one farmer in a township sows hi
wheat in time to invite the fall attac
he will have provided breeding plac
from which flies will swarm the follow
ling spring to destroy the crops of a
his neighbors. 1t would seem, ther,
fore, to be well worth while for farmer
to take united action in this matter
banding together over large distric
and agreeing to delay their wheat see,
ing until the dates suggested. Such
test, if properly carried out, would /
of incalculable value in determinir
the actual value of this method of 8,
Touring immunity from the fly.
If, in connection with a gene al pos
Iponement Of the date of seeding, eac
frrmer would SOW small strip of whe,
at an earlier date, this to be plowe
under with jointer few days befol
the general seeding and then resowl
: it might have very useful effect in a
I tracing the flies and causing them {
deposit their eggs where they could /
easily destroyed.
Il Many farmers are writing to the E,
pertinent Station, asking whether it
advisable to SOW rye instead of whes
this fall. To this we have to reply ths
rye is also subject to attack from th
Hessian fly, while the statistics of Gro
production in Ohio show that the ave.
age yield of rye is no greater than ths
of wheat, and the market statistic
show that its average value per bu.he
is much below that of wheat.
Our advice therefore is, in brief: Pu
the seed bed for wheat in the best pos
sible condition by blowing early, thor
Oughly pnlverizing the surface imme
diately to retain moisture, and manur
ing or fertilizing literally; then della
the seeding to a comparatively late dat
and use liberal quantity of seed. TIL
recent experiments of this Station sho,
that two bushels of thoroughly cleane
seed is not too much for an acre of ord
nary land.
CHAS. E. THoRNE, Director.