Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1906-08-10
Why Not Grow Winter wheat!

winter wheat crop-in sections where
it has been demonstrated to be a sue
cess-is the most certain of all our
crops, for the reason that ripening as
it does from the first of June to the
Fourth of July, according to latitude
it is less likely to drouth, rust and
smut than any other grain crop
growing. 1t Is besides the best nurse
for a grass crop, partly because 1t
permits of being narrowed in the
spring, thus securing covering OF
grass seed and at the same time bene-
fitting the wheat, and partly because
it is removed before the extremely
hot weather. We believe that this
winter wheat area will be extended
north Indefinitely and that in the
course of the next ten or fifteen years
farmers in the United States will
cease to grow spring wheat except,
possibly, in the open prairie regions
of the DakotaS, winter wheat being
the substitute. Within the memory
of our older men is a time when
spring wheat was grown exclusively
as far south as southern Illinois, n
for a time was grown exclusively IN
Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, central
Illinois, southern Iowa, and Indiana.
1t has now disappeared from all these
sections. 1t is worth the while, there
fore, of our readers to study how to
grow winter wheat, using it as a sub
stitute for both oats and spring
wheat. We have been induced to
write this on receipt of a letter from
Carthage, Illinois, as follows:
81 wish to know the best time to
SOW my winter wheat, what depth l
should cover it, and in what condi-
ton the ground should be. The con-
dition, quality, and fertility of my
ground is as follows: / wish to pillow
in August very deep to assist me in
| Kidding the ground of some noxious
| weeds, c%ockfeburs, "devil's shoe-string
(Muhlenburg smartweed), sometimes
called all-root, etc. The ground is
deep, black gumbo soil that is very
low, but which has been tiled, the
tile working perfectly. The soil it.
self is very productive. l wish TO pre-
pare my ground thoroughly and
would like your advice in the matter.
l shall buy the very best seed obtain
able and grade it with my seed clean
err and grader
There are two ways of growing
winter wheat: By drilling it in on
corn stubble after the corn has been
cut up for the silo, and without fur
ther preparation, not later than the
first of October and using a disk drill.
This is the method we follow on u
Iowa farm.
The other method is to take Oat
stubble, pillow it in August, harrow
Immediately after blowing, and go
over it once a week or ten days with
the disk OF harrow, as the circum-
stances my require, the object being
to secure a seed bed thoroughly. com
pact at the time, with close capillary
connection with the sub-soil, and
about two inches of loose dirt on top.
Winter wheat should always be drill
ed. The time of sowing varies some
what with the latitude and with the
season, but in the latitude of Garth
age, Illinois, it can be sown with safe
ty up to October fst, while further
north it should be sown earlier-as
soon as possible, say from the 10th
to the 25th of September. The reason
for the later sowing south is to avoid
the ravages of the Hessian fly, which
is the greatest enemy to winter
wheat. The time of the laying of
the eggs of the fly is determined by
the GOODNESS Of the evenings, and
hence the further south the later
should be the sowing, which is rem
dered practicable by the length of
the season. On account of the longer
autumn in the more southern lati-
tudes, the late sown winter wheat
has time to get thoroughly rooted to
cover the ground, thus furnishing
winter protection, while further
north, earlier sowing is advisable.
The important thing in sowing
winter wheat is to get the ground
in proper physical condition. Unless
you have a thoroughly we'll prepared
seed bed it is scarcely worth while to
SOW winter wheat. If you have a
thoroughly prepared seed bed and the
right kind of seed to SOW, there is less
risk than in any other crop we know
Of, although it may be n year or
two years in ten that winter wheat
may fail, only under conditions that
favor the winter killing of clover as
we'll. In other words, winter wheat
is just about as hardy as clover, and
where clover will live through the
winter there is no reason why winter
wheat should not live quite as well,
provided a hardy. variety is sown,
such as the Turkish Red. There are
sections where the Turkish Red does
not do we'll. Its southern limit is
about the latitude of Topeka, Kansas;
south of that the soft wheat seems to
do quite as we'll, or better, but utter
Iy fails when sown in northern Mis-
souri,, Kansas, Nebraska, central
Iowa, and central Illinois.
We therefore advise our readers to