Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1902-05-16

whether it is lacking in moisture II
full of sap the prevailing color will be
dark and if lacking moisture the uni
versal color will be light You can
manipulate the process of curing so as
TO obtain any desired color. If full Of
sap, a light color will be in demand,
vice versa.
WHEAT AND ITS ENEMIES.
Mr. Chairman:-It is with consider
able diffidence that l attempt to dis
cuss the subject of wheat and its enc
mics. The field is too large for me,
nor would / undertake it if it did not
look like Sinking a duty.
1t is true l have given wheat as a
crop g. great deal Of thought and con-
sideration, but / feel that there is
much about it / have not learned.
1t Is a crop of greater Importance
to tie human family, l suppose, than
any other, besides its value for feed
ing stock.
We do and should feel a pride in
every bushel we produce, for we know
when we raise it we have done some
thing to benefit mankind, which /
hold we should all strive to do. When
I was lad a very old and venerable
man Of this county stopped and staid
all night at my fathers house, and in
/ the course of conversation he remark
ed that every one ought to do some
thing to benefit his country and neigh
bOrhood. The thought struck me
forcibly. 1t has staid with me ever
since. Every once and awhile some
circumstances will bring it up, and it
loses none of its force as it grows
older
Well, / am rambling along on what
may be termed the side issues, but
these issues have their bearings with
me and will have to claim some lati-
tude in the discussion.
Now, as the best plan to follow in
raising a crop of wheat l must con-
fess my inability to state.
You have so much to contend with
in time to SOW, seasons and conditions
that there can be no set rule or iron
clad plan that can be followed. and
be Just the right thing to do all the
time. have often thought that l had
fixed everything exactly right and
would be sure to have satisfactory re-
suits and then after awaiting develop
ments to tpd / had made a wide mis-
take by not doing some other way.
think it is very essential for our well
fare not only financially but physi-
cally and mentally for us to study,
plan and carry out the best ideas we
can command in this matter. / be-
lieVe 1t to be a wise arrangement for
us by our Creator to help us in our
daily life
We all know that to be successful
in raising a good crop of wheat we
have to prepare the land at the right
time and in the right way. Have the
seed good, properly cleaned and sow
it the best time to avoid its enemies
and get a good start to stand the win
ter. In my experience the time to
SOW, to take it one year with another,
is from the 9th to the 25th of October
for this section. Some years it would do
better sown earlier and some it would do
better sown later, but in not being able
to know what is to follow we can not
tell which year to SOW early and which
to SOW late If we had sown our
wheat in September this last fall it is
likelv we would have a much better
now for the present coming
crop. And the fall before the last the
medium late sown did best As to the
preparation to make a seed bed it is
very necessary to do that intelligently.
Some fields need a great deal more
preparation than others. I have seen
some fields that l thought had receiv-
ed little too much preparation, but
they have been the exception rather
than the rule. Our fallowed lands
should be broken early, say the latter
half Of July and first half of August.
Along through September we should
run our disc and smoothing harrows
over it and sometimes the use of the
roller would be very beneficial The
tobacco and corn lands have to wait
until we can remove the crops before
we can put them in proper condition
for receiving the seed. There is some
diversity of opinion about the proper
way to prepare both the tobacco and
corn land for sowing. Some contend
that both should be broken up deeply
and everything turned under and the
land well narrowed down before SOW
Ing. Others think differently. NV
experience is that the lands either OF
tobacco or corn are in fair condition
when the crops are removed, not too
grassy or too much baked by hard