The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1903-04-03
SHORT WHEAT CROP
WASHINGTON REPORTS TO THE
STATE GRAIN COMMISSIONER
Fall Grain Will Not Exceed rs per
Cent of the Area Planted
Year Ago.

The Office Of the Washington state
grain commissioner has been cores
ponding with the wheat men east Of the
mountains trying to secure data on
which to base report of the crop OF
wheat to be raised in that state the
coming year, says the Tacoma Ledger.
To date not all points have been heard
from and the Office Of the state grain
commissioner is unable to make re-
liable estimate Of the amount of fall
wheat planted, nor, OF course, the
amount OF spring wheat which will yet
be planted before the advent OF sum-
mer. But the conditions shown by the
answers received make it very desirable
the state should have fair, long spring,
or the yield of wheat for 1903 is going to
fall alarmingly short of former years
not because of any particular blight on
crops, but simply because the wheat is
not being planted. From the letters re-
ceived from all over Washington it is
pretty safe to estimate the amount OF
fall wheat planted in no case or locally
to exceed rs per cent of the area planted
year ago, while in some localities not
TO exceed 10 per cent Of the acreage Of
1902 has been sown to fall wheat
Still more serious is the backward
condition of the spring, for with favor
able spring it was the intention Of most
farmers TO plant heavily to spring wheat
and in this way compensate for what
shortage was occasioned by the peculiar
conditions of last fall. Wilbur, in the
Big Bend, reports as low as 10 per cent
of former winter wheat acreage, while
the best report comes from Farmingtion,
In the Palouse, where the ground plant
ed is about 70 per cent of former area
Said s. s. King, chief inspector of the
Office OF the state grain commissioner
"The conditions last fall were decided
ly adverse to extensive planting. 1t
was the decided intention on every hand
to plant heavily to fall wheat, but the
weather continued extraordinarily dry
too late in the fall, aud when it COM
menced raining, it never let up suffici-
emily to permit Of getting in the full
crop. The remedy was, Of course, the
planting heavily of spring wheat, fol
with favorable season the spring
wheat in this state does exceedingly
we'll. Now the reports are that the
spring is backward just when favor.
able spring is needed to recoup the
losses of area, However, / have known
wheat planted in this state as late as The
end of May or the first Of June to turr
out very well, so that there ID yet ample
time under favorable conditions for
Washington to get in as much wheat al
year ago, even if it will be mostly
spring grain. Under all the circum
stances, it is particularly desirable that
the fine, warm weather Of the past few
days should continue. Advices are that
the farmers are taking energetic ad
vantage of it, and wherever the frost hal
left the ground the pillow is to be seer
hard at work. 1t all depends upon th,
cessation of cold weather Last sum
mel, in anticipation of heavy fall plant
ing, there was an unusual area of sum
ner fallow land, and, as the reports viii
show, there was disposition in som,
localities to plow and plant notwith
standing the drouth, with the resul
that some of the land will have to be re
sown. The long, dry fall of last yea
was simply ideal for threshing, no doubt
abetting materially the excellence OF tn,
crop. 1t is not certain today but W,
could have afforded some Inconvenience,
then from rain, Of which we would have
reaped the benefit this year,