The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-04-07
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR FARMS

and give my farm reputation that
made it sell for good price. This is
the wayI did it:
left portion each fall for spring
blowing and left it unplowed in the
spring until all foul seeds had been
we'll sprouted when I turned it over
and sowed 1t to oats or barley and not
only had a good crop but cleaned my
fields.
The next year would put wheat on
this oat and barley field and have a
bumper crop. Summer-fallow is not
the thing. 1t produces too strong
growth of straw causing the grain to
lodge and not properly fill.
What we need is clean fields and
know of no way that beats late spring
blowing to accomplish this result:
believe in narrowing wheat after 1t
shows green on the ground. This not
only has tendancy to destroy the
weeds but it pulverizes the top soil
and prevents drouth."
The above remarks fell from the lips
OF a practical and prosperous farmer
of German descent and are too good
to be lost.
We are aware that there is much
careless farming done. Weeds and
wheat do not make a good mixed crop.
Many farms are SO overrun with
weeds that crops are failure. The
thing to do is to rid the farm of foul
seeds and SOW clean seed. Here again
many careless farmers make great
mistake. They take the wheat as it
came from the thresher, foul with
weed seeds and SOW 1t on their land.
During the long winter, every farmer
should clean his seed-both wheat and
oats-and have it ready for use when
seeding time comes. Have you done
this farmer? If not, get busy row.
Haven't fanning-mill? Buy one or
borrow one-get one somehow.
Several farmers can club together
and own neighborhood cleaner.
Nothing will pay better. 1t will even
pay to clean your grain before you
market it. In this way you can select
only the very choicest seed from that
same spout that runs out only the
plumpest kernels.
Talking of narrowing crops after
they are up reminds us of the eXper-
ience of a farmer near Fargo several
years ago. His farm was SO over
run with mustard that crops were
choked out completely. He had tried
a succession of summer-fallows with
out success; so he determined upon
another plan. He secured a large
number of boys and one hot day IN
June they went into the field and pull
ed severy spear of mustard and when
they had finished, the field was appar-
emily as bare as the road, not sign
aof vegetation.
However, nice rain followed and
that farm produced thirty bushels of
wheat per acre, the best yield it ever
had. Now it was the thorough cult
walton and lOosening of the top soil
that did it.
We recall another instance of a
farmer who one June day, long after
bis fields covered with a good growth
of grain, loaded his harrow on the
wagon and drove across to an old
stack bottom that was one mass of
wild buckwheat. He narrowed this
over six times and it being a dry hot
day he killed every vestige of the wild
buckwheat and to his great astonish-
ment had the best crop of grain that
season right there on the old stack
bottom.
Wheat, roots down deep and is not
easily killed by narrowing while other
seeds have surface roots that are easily
destroyed. If you have a field that is
weedy go on to it with a fine toothed
harrow after the wheat is five inch
es high and give it a good narrowing.
Read your almanac and do this Just
before storm and the results will be
better. Try it. There's not much to
.osa even if YOU destroyed weedy
crop. What you lose in the crop you'll
GAIN in the cleaning of the soil, but
there's no danger of killing the wheat
In this country where corn is not
grown extensively enough to clean the
soil something must be done to get rid
of noXious weeds. Summer-fallow
causes you to lose one crop and some
times two for the crop following a
summer fallow is often too rank.
Remember you are to leave spring
ploWing pust as long as possible so as
to give the weed seeds chance to
start, then rush the blowing and seed
ing and watch the results. Spring
blowing should be rolled with a heavy
roller to pack the loosened soil to
keep it from drying out too quickly
Many prefer to rool the land after
seeded. Here is question for Diff
terence of opinion. You can try half
OF the field with roofing before seeded
and the other half after and watch
results.
We believe spring blowing should be
done five or six inches deep then
rolled with heavy roller then seeded
and followed up with a fine light
harrow to mulch the top soil. Some
plow shallow as possible This may
do In very light soil but in heavy soil
we believe the result would be dis
astrous as the under soil would be
too compact for good root penetra-
ton. Get rid of the weeds If you
wants good crops. Weeds take
strength from the soil that should go
to the growing grain.
The Poultry Yard.
Ida Elwell in Northwestern Agriculture
witty American philosopher de-
clared child's education should be-
gin with. his grandparents. The his
tory and success of breeders begin
with the eggs incubated. The best
eggs have finished smooth, but
chalky, not shining appearances. with
no old, dull rough look or feeling.
They are medium sized, neither small
nor large, not bullying, pointed, nor
from pullets nor very old hens.
1 lately heard of very fine stall
lion and fine heifer, whose prices
would be expressed by several fig
ures. They were bought not for
beauty alone, but for the progeny they
might produce. The offspring are
feeble and worthless. because their
first owner stfove to put just as much
weight and sickness on them as pos
sible, from birth, before frame and
vigor to support weight were admired