Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-09-26
WHEAT SHOWS GOOD YIELD.
A Farmers Experience in What Mar
shalt County Land Will Do Under
Adverse Conditions.


Editor Times-Republican: Judging
from inquiries received, many of your
readers will be Interested to learn the
results of threshing winter wheat from
a field in the southwest corner Of the
farm adjoining the North Center street
road.
1t has Just threshed out twenty bush-
els per acre, somewhat damaged, OF
course, by standing SO long in snock,
but much less than expected. s Is most.
ly plump. sound berry, but as the
many sprouted grains did not all clean
cut 1t is not quite suitable for milling.
1t will all grind into excellent feed and
at current prices is profitable for that
purpose.
Considering the circumstances, this
Is remarkable outcome. The crop
was put in cheaply and far from per-
feet stand; an average winter, but
very trying early spring drouth; then
a good growth in spite of excessive rain
till June II. when fully one-fourth was
destroyed by hail. During the big
floods of June 13 and July 1T was only
kept from being submerged under two
or three feet of water by the Center
street levee on the west and a private
dixie running the full width of the farm
on the .,outh-the latter thus demon
strating it's own efficiency and the sa-
eacity and enterprise Of the late James
Hambel, who constructed 1T many years
ago. The long, wet period was hard on
the wheat and badly hindered ripening,
81 e,J, 2.
The ground was then SO soft (fields be-
yond the protecting dikes being still
under water) the binder could not hold
traction in many places and as 1t dried
a large harvest of other grain demand
ed preference, the wheat being crinkled
down so badly it was Judged not worth
harvesting and was In fact abandoned.
1t was, however finally taken up again
Aug. s and finished on the 18th. tho es-
timated the binder could not secure
more than one half the grain. I'm
questionably there was at least forty
bushels per acre even after the damage
by hail Another field farther east un-
der similar conditions, but in worse de-
gree was soWn so late 1T little more
than sprouted last fall and should have
been planted to some other crop in the
spring, yet yielded fourteen bushels per
acre and an adjoining field of timothy
gave six bushels seed per acre.
This Is not written merely to satisfy
curiosity nor even to indulge in a lit
tie .justifiable boasting of the capability
of Marshall county land under ex-
tremely adverse conditions, but mainly
to give evidence of the merits of Turk
ish Red winter wheat as a standard
crop to grow here. Our experience is
quite in line with that of the state eX-
pertinent station at Ames, where it has
proved for many years about as relia-
Bile a crop as anything grown and
greatly superior to spring wheat. The
chief difficulty, even on our river bot
tom land, is not "winter killing" as
generally understood nor freezing and
thawing in the spring" but the eX-
tremely dry condition of the surface
that sometimes prevails either in mid
winter or early spring. The plant does
not freeze out, but dries out This is
best overcome by sowing deeply the
first week in September enabling a
strong growth to give the best possi-
hle protection. ] have no seed for sale.
Will n. Wilson.