The Elbert County tribune., 1906-04-12
THE FARM AND RANGE
WHEAT ExpEalmgnrs.
The Right Kind Of purum Wheat for
Colorado

BY Prof. w. H. Olin Of the Agricultural
College.
The tests which have been made
with the different kinds OF durum
wheat for milling purposes show that
Kuhanka makes a better quality
flour than any other type Of durum
wheat.
There have been several importa-
tions of kubanka from different locali-
ties in southern Russia. and 1t must fol-
low that some importations are better
adapted to the prevailing conditions on
our non-irrigated lands than others.
kubanka No. 5G39 was last year
tested by the writer in thirty nine of
the fifty-nine counties OF Colorado, and
1t was found very well adapted to the
prevailing conditions of our non-irri-
gated land. This particular importa-
tion Prof. ii. A Carleton brought from
the Uralsk territory in Russia. There
1t was accustomed to a hot, dry eli
mate. soil with considerable nitrogen
GUS matter and slightly alkaline, rain
fan ten 10 fifteen inches per annum.
These durum wheats are liable to de-
teriorate when grown In a climate or
soil to which they are not adapted.
This is wheat primarily for the
non-irrigated lands. Its ancestry would
indicate that it thrives best in regions
wnere there is sufficient rainfall to
maintain plant growth and no irriga-
ton is practiced. While this wheat will
yield much better under irrigation, IL
Is liable to deteriorate. Farmers are
advised to raise the standard spring
ana rail wheat types--Defance and
Turkey Red, on all wheat lands under
the ditch.
The growing seasons OF 1904 and
1905 had more than the usual amount
of rainfall in many sections of the
state, and while our reports on 1905
crop were quite satisfactory, further
tests are necessary to determine the
regions In our state where soil and cli-
matte conditions are favorable to the
culture of durum wheat.
Selection of Ground-This wheat
should be sown on ground where small
grain mas not been grown for at least
two years. When the seed bed is
clear of volunteer grain and wild oats
| the farmer should be able to keep this
wheat pure.
Preparation of Seed Bed.-lt is not
advisable to seed on spring breaking
for the sod is usually too dry to fur
nish moisture sufficient for vigorous
growth. The best returns are otained
when the ground has been plowed the
| previous season and worked enough to
make a good seed bed for the wheat
plants. If spring plowed, the ground
| should be narrowed the same day II is
| plowed to prevent the loss of moisture
by evaporation. Close up the large
1 nj in "a 4
TO prevent excessive evaporation OF
moisture. A sub-surface packer follow
ing the plow firms the soil, but should
be followed by a spike-toothed harrow
TO form an earth mulch and arrest too
rapid evaporation of soil moisture.
| When a sub-surface packer cannot be
| obtained. a corrugated roller followed
AT ONCE by a harrow, prepares a
very good seed bed.
| Treat Your Seed Wheat for Smut
All seed wheat should be treated for
smut. Use the formalin treatment,
since it is cheap. easily applied and.
when the treatment Is THOROUGH, 1t
| Is always effective.
Method of Seeding-All wheat un-
| der dry-farming conditions should be
seeded with grain drill. putting the
wheat in the ground some two to four
| inches below the surface where suffi'
| cient moisture will be obtained to give
| quick termination of seed. This de-
| velops the wheat beneath the earth
mulch and insures rapid growth from
the start. DO NOT SOW BROADCAST.
Press seed drills are preferable to all
other forms of drills for seeding, un-
der semiarid conditions, but even
| these are open to objections. They are
1 he. l.ar hay ut q N
Drill openings eight inches apart are
preferable to those six inches part.
| After the wheat is up, run over the
| field with weeder to loosen the surface
| soil and maintain the earth mulch
which prevents rapid evaporation of
soil moisture. Use weeder In opposite
| direction to drill rows of wheat. III
you have no weeder. smooth harrow
| the wheat ground with teeth sloping
back SO as not to tear out the growing
| wheat Harrow ACROSS and not
| WITH drill rows. Maintain SURFACE
cultivation as long as 1t can be done
| without serious injury to wheat, break
ing up any crust that may form after
showers, until wheat is eighteen to
twenty inches high.
| Amount of Seed.-Sow from forty to
sixty pounds per acre. When less
| seed Is used, 1t gives thin stand and
weeds too frequently rob the soil Of
| considerable amount of moisture. II
seeded too heavily, the wheat requires
more moisture than you can store In
the ground by dry-farming methods.
and it will therefore ''ire-burn."
Time of Seeding.-This wheat Is
not easily injured by frost and IL
should be seeded as soon in the spring
as weather conditions are at all favor
able. This gives the young wheat plant
the benefit of the early spring SHOWS
and rains, enabling 1t to make Wig
orous growth from the start. Early
eeding means early maturity. Kindly
report date and rate Of seeding, to.
gether with condition of your crop May