The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1905-08-25
WINTER WHEAT
Ira @. CurtiSS Writes on Subject
OF Great Importance to
Farmers

vi uIEdt llllpUI tdukC "
Farmers
1t may be of interest to the farmers
of northern South Dakota to know
the result of my experience in winter
wheat culture in Brown county. Last
fall l procured twenty bushels from
near Vermillion and put the same on
fifteen acres of barley stubble ground.
Several mistakes were made in this
first attempt as follows:
/. The barley had been cut with
the binder and left very short stubble
so that the protection to the winter
wheat plant was very scant.
2. The wheat was sown the very
last of September, instead of the first.
AS a result of this late sowing, the
plant did not attain sufficient growth
before winter.
3. The wheat was sown with an
ordinary shoe drill and in many
places the grain was not properly
covered.
4. There were two barley straw
stacks on this wheat ground and
droves of stock walked back and forth
owe the grounds all winter, thus les
SEEMING to a great extent the already
scant protection by tramping down
the stubble and doubtless injuring
the wheat.
.. cut the wheat a little too
green and the berry is somewhat
shrunken. There were quite large
spaces in the field where the plants
had almost entirely winter killed, on
account of the lack Of protection.
The higher places and where the
stock had tramped, beside large areas
about these straw stacks were not
cut, leaving only about ten acres.
AS a result of all these errors and
adverse conditions, 1 threshed one
hundred and two bushels from the
ten acres of ground. 1t is my opinion
that the winter wheat should be sown
by the first week in September and
should be put into good, clean wheat
stubble, or in corn ground and it
should be seeded with a disc drill, 50
that the grain would all be we'll
covered.
| am advised that Nebraska farm
ers are successful in sowing the win
ter wheat on plowed ground and seed
about a bushel of oats at the same
time for winter protection. These
oats will attain quite a growth by
winter and would afford a nice pro-
lection to the winter wheat.
Should any n try some winter
Wheat this fall, the plants may appear
to be entirely ded in the spring, as nv
wheat showed no sign of life above
the surface, but you will find that the
roots contain life and will come up
alright. When the winter wheat be-
comes acclimated, possibly the tops
OF the plant W Il freeze down, and es-
peclally this would be the case with
sufficient winter protection.
There are many advantages result
ing from successful winter wheat Gull
cure The same natures considerably
than spring wheat and would
escape many adverse conditions, such
as not winds, etc. Another advantage
the growing Of winter wheat would
De the fact that farmers could avoid
The great rush in spring seeding by
having a hundred acres or more seed
led the fall before, and would avoid
another rush in harvest by having the
hundred or more acres of winter wheat
nicely shocked and threshed before
5he spring wheat would be ripe.
In conclusion would say that eyery
-armer in South Dakota shauld try a
little OF WINTER wheat and gradually
build up his own acclimated seed. By
liCtle care and attention, South Da-
iota can be made to produce winter
wheat very successfully. Do not write
Tor any winter wheat seed, as 1 in
END to SOW all Of this seed, except a
small part of it already promised.
j. l.. McCaull, Chamber of Com
MERGE, Minneapolis, has elevators in
south part of the state, and I be-
leVe he would be pleased to furnish
ICED to any one wishing the same.
Land owners in South Dakota can
argely increase the value of their
ands by successfully growing winter
fheat. IRA CURTIss,
Aberdeen, S. D.
August 23rd, 1905.