The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1902-08-23
Macaroni Wheats.


Heretofore the hardy, CLASSY wheats
of the durum group have been re-
ceived with but little favor in this
country. Now, however, as a result
Of the efforts of the United States De-
partment of Agriculture to establish
these wheats, there is being mani
tested great change of opinion as to
their merits, in view OF their probable
complete utilization in the future Tor
the manufacture of macaroni. In Eu.
rope they are called hard wheats and
in this country they have not until
recently been sufficiently we'll known
to receive a special name. The term
macaroni wheat given to this class of
wheat by the department Is becoming
rapidly adopted, and its application is
already pretty well understood.
Among all wheats macaroni wheats
are the best adapted to regions Of in
tense heat and drought. During last
season these wheats had another ex-
cellent opportunity to show their su.
perior observation-disclosures. In large
portions of the northwest, where the
ordinary wheat crop was almost an
entire failure, macaroni wheat pro-
duced. very fair crop of grain that
was very little shriveled; while in
southwest Texas, where grain grow
ing has been uniformly a failure, they
yielded well and produced grain of
apparently excellent quality. 1t is be-
ieved that the thorough establish.
ment of this new wheat industry will
be of greatest benefit to agriculture in
the semi-arid plains. A million or
more of acres can thus be given to
profitable wheat raising which on &C.
count of drought have heretofore eth.
er been entirely idle or less proftably
employed. In few years time the re.
suit ought to be an addition of thirty
to fifty million bushels to the annual
wheat production of the Great Plains
alone. The agricultural area will be
extended much farther westward and
the necessity of irrigation will there
by be diminished correspondingly.
Follow the Leadings Of Nature.
G. P. Goodrich: We must follow ma
ture. We have cut off the trees and
shrubs and destroyed, with the plow,
the plants whose roots penetrated
deep in the ground. We must put on
some plants that will do the same
thing; that is, disintegrate the subsoil
and make the plant food available and
bring it to the top where our cult.
waited crops can feed on it. There is
nothing better now known for this
purpose than clover or alfalfa.
would. not cultivate the steep
side-hills. Let them grow to timber
and let nature keep on as she has
been doing, holding the soil from
washing and raising a valuable
crop. We need great deal of tim
Der and it will be more valuable year
by year. There is land enough that
is comparatively level, to cultivate, ]
would not wait long after the land
was cleared or broken up before
sowed clover. 1t Is very rare that
there is a failure to get a catch on
such land. But a great many men
seem TO think it is wasteful to SOW
clover on land before it gets poor.
l remember some forty years ago,
when I had just commenced seeding
to clover, was sowing some seed on
a field near the road, when a neighbor
came along and asked me what was
sowing. I told him clover seed
"What?" he said, "sow clover seed on
this land! This is new and rich and
will raise good many good crops be-
fore you will need to SOW clover. i
would not SOW clover as long as the
land would raise crop of grain"
He waited till his land got poor,
with the humus all taken out of it,
before he sowed clover. Then he had
several failures before he got a catch.
Many farmers, judging by their &C
ticxaS thixalx The