The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1905-05-12
WHEAT NEARLY ALI IN.
Many Years Since May I Found Prac.
ttcaily All Wheat In

"a"y tears once may Found Prac.
ticaily All Wheat In.
For the first time in many years
wheat seeding in the Northwest is
practically completed the first week
OF May. 1t is true that some wheat
will be sown for a week or more in
various localities, but the acreage left
unseeded Is 80 small that it may well
be left out of account. The bulk of
the wheat Is sown, and there has new
er been a year when wheat has gone
into the ground in better shape. Talk
ing the state tslarge, and the season
as far as it has gone, the conditions
have been almost ideal. Hon. F. M.
Murphy Of Grand Forks, who farms
several thousand acres IF land. says
that in the twenty-seven years he has
lived here he has never known a sea-
son in which the conditions were so
favorable. During good portion of
the time the weather has been a little
cooler than the average seeding
weather, but this has been an advan-
tage rather than the reverse. as it has
enabled the farmers to get the work
done with the least possible incon-
venience to themselves and their
teams.
Since early last fall there has been
a deficiency of moisture all over the
state, so far as current precipitation
was concerned, but prior to that the
ground was we'll soaked, so that as a
rule there is abundant moisture be-
low the surfa>a, and as the frost
comes out this moisture finds its way
to the seed bed. Light rain fell the
middle of last week along the Red
river and generally along the Northern
Pacific belt. The northwestern part
of the state has had no rain to speak
of. and the people there are ready for
a shower whenever it may be offered.
Seed that was sown in February had
sprouted in many cases and is fire.
quently seen above the ground. In
other cases this early sown seed is
reported to have rotted, and reseeding
has been necessary. The area of land
thus seeded was small, as farmers as
a rule were distrustful of the early
opening and were satisfied to wait
until about the normal time for begin
ming operations.
One of the oldest elevator men in
the Northwest, who has just complet-
ed a tour Of the state, reports most Of
the wheat seeding done, and says that
the area will show an increase of 10
per cent over last year, and that the
fax acreage will show a similar in
crease. Practically all of this in.
crease will be in the western counties.
where new land has been broken.
The acreage of crops of all kinds in
the valley will vary very little from
what it has during the past two or
three years.
The tendency to sow greater areas
of fodder crops continues. Millet. bro
mus. speltz and crops of like charac-
ter have grown in favor during the
past few years. and many farmers
have experimental with them to their
own satisfaction. and are making
them a part of the regular rotation.
This is due to the desire to vary the
character OF the crop for the benefit
of the land, and to the growth of the
dairy industry, which calls for more
fodder. The same cause leads to a
gradual increase in the crop of fodder
corn. and farmers will experiment in
a modest way this year as usual with
corn for seed, though this will not be
a very important part of the total.