The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-08-20

ard. b. the way. wheat CIT - this
stage claks@ - e13id food fer stock
II seems % furnish both bag ana
grain. and stock YORK ~st4 On / vita
out anything ..se. and 4 pays - -
grow wheat FOR cur stock But ae
get hack - the grain proposition
We need = crop Ike wheat 70 FL
out ctr rotation = that wc can xFV@
peas or japan clover after T. 20 CAP
t4re nitrogen from TIE air. and vege-
table matter TO our soil. \ build ~
our land The thing n ID thea. 10 -
make this wheat crop Just as prort-
able as possible. and &C DO tbs ~e
must give special attention - tao
thingz the seed bed and the te-tAI-
ger.
The seed Bed.-There - DC other
small gram crop quite 50 dependent
% The proper preparation q the lAat
a. wheat. n you plo@ your land
deeply, turning under a lot Il grass
and harrow and driH IN your wheat
on the aurface. tho first working
The soil down firm. you VIII very
probably make . ia4Ilre of your
wheat crop The soil viii be too loose
down IN. the roots viii not be aols 20
obtain a good hold. and the plant Viii
be thrown up and injured 81 cold
II would have been decidedly better
70 have plowed your land with an old
fashioned scOotsF plow which would
break the land. leavIng the trash on
the surface Then harrow and drag
this trash down veil. leaving IL on the
surface, and then work in or drill IN
your seed right through the trash II
ths land you intend 10 put in wheat
has been IN corr and Is comparatively
free from grass, 1t Will pay Ia break
il deeply with a Malloy. or some
similar pillow. which will break the
land well without turning up much Of
the sub-soil, and also provided you
can do this work early enough In the
fall. so as 10 give you plenty of time
10 work the land down fine and firm
afterwards before planting. Now. re-
member. we must not turn under the
trash. but must leave 1t on the surface.
Also we must break the land as deely
and closely as possible without turn
ing up the sub-soil. Then We must
work it down fine and firm. To do this
work we use a smoothing harrow,
Getaway harrow. log drag and roller.
and with these tools we can put land
in fine condition for wheat.
The Fertilizer.-The next most i'm
portant part is the fertilizer and the
kind OF fertilizer to use must depend
largely upon y01r yaEd. II your land
Is already rich and we'll supplied with
vegetable matter by growing coWpeas
anG other legunes you Will need no nj
trcgen in your fertilizer when planting
your wheat. Tn SUCH lana L nave
found II much more to use
IN acid potash fertilizer, analyZing,
say, 10 per cent. phosphoric acid and
4 per cen potash on red clay land.
or 6 per cent potash on gray or san
dy loan land, apply from 400 to 500
pounds per acre broadcast. Then, If
we fin dthat the wheat needs more nj
trogen in the spring, we give a top
dressing of nitrate of soda. / find it
pays better to apply a portion of the
nitrogen in the spring, anyway, so that
where a nitrogen fertilizer Is used at
planting time, two per cent amonia
is sufficient. making the fertilizer
about s-2-4, or 1926 for the ordinary
run of wheat land. You will need a
fertilizer with a good percentage of
potash for wheat to a. the grain
fill out we'll. Keep the plant healthy
and prevent lodging by making strong
straw. Now I prefer to apply this
fertilizer after the and has been brok-
en- and while we are working down the
seed bed, for by so doing we get IL
thoroughly Incorporated with the soil.
II is also a good plan to do this fully
two weeks before sowing or drilling
your wheat. You will find it will give
you much better results and you will
get a better stand of wheat. I have
Known several cases where farmers
nearly ruined their crop by applying
cotton seed meal in their fertilizer
n drilling IT In with their wheat
The decomposition of the meal seemed
to injure the vitality of the seed, sc
it failed to terminate.
Now the best time to plant wheat
is after the first white frost, between
the 18th OF October and the 18th OF
November, but we should begin pre-
pairing our LAND fully a month before
this, so as to have everything in good
shape. For my purpose / prefer the
beardless varieties, such as the Blue
Star or Currelrs Prolific, both OF
which have done finely with us. The
Blue Stem makes a little more foliage
and is a little inclined to rust. We
sow eleven or twelve pecks per acre
according TO the size Of the grain
Drill it in if you have a seed drill, az
this will put it more evenly and al
the same depth. If you ave no drill
run burrows every 20 feet for guide
rows, and sow carefully by hands
and work it in with cultivator harrow
or c~Eltivator; then drag or roll. II
you roll, it is a good plan to run a
smoothing harrow lightly over the
land afterwards, as this will leave the
surface in better shape to a k up rain
and less likely to form a crust.
F. J. MORRIAM.