The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1908-04-30
Rolling mo t,arro sslrs eraln

W Rolling and narrowing Grain
To Dakota Farmer: Please answer
the following questions: E
a. Should grain field be rolled
before or after seeding and now heavy
should the roller be?
~ Would It be wise to. attach a
small roller behind the pillow in fall
blowing or would q section Of drag
he preferable
90 It is well to harrow grain with
9 straight, spike-tooted harrow and at!
what stage should the grain be har-
rowed for the best results what is
the best tool for narrowing grain?
lD Would oats and durum wheat,
mixed in the drill, and sowa at the
rate Of two bushels per acre, produce
a good horse feed?
CO Will our soil have to be inecu-
lated before clover and alfalfa can be
grown successfully? Would it be OF
advantage to SOW one or two pounds
OF these legumes per acre upon the
soil one or two years previous to
sowing the main crop w. "A. Pull
len, Ward Co. N. D. 5 Il
"a We believe that the old-fash-
Toned smooth roller.i is one Of the tools
that the farmers Of the western Da-
ikota can well afford to dispense
with. Rolling is always accompanied
with loss of mois ture, and farming
in this section should be done with
tools that conserve moisture. There
may be very special occasions when
a roller can be used to advantage
but such occasions are rare The sub
properly used, will practically elm
mate the necessity of using the roller,
surface packer, the plank harrow and
the press drill are tools, which, if
and the work will be done in a bet
ter manner.
~ certainly would not attach a
roller behind a plow, for the reason
given in the first answer. 1t might be
well to attach a section Of harrow be-
hind the pillow provided the draft was
not increased too much. Land newly
plowed should be gone over with
some implement to break the glaze
left from the moldboard, to form a
mulch on the surface and to compact
the lower stratum and thus prevent
undue. drying out.
90 narrowing grain after it is up,
with the harrow indicated, is apt to
be pretty severe on the grain. "A
home made harrow made of spikes
and 2x4's will do the work better. A
lever spike-toother harrow is perhaps
still more preferable. Many farmers
prefer the weeders for narrowing
growing grain. These vary in width
and are walking or riding. Grain
may be narrowed at or before the
tim e itappears above the surface Of
the ground. The grain is easily in
jured when about two inches high.
The advantages Of narrowing grain
are three: it conserves the soil
moisture, kills the weeds and aerates
the soil.
az Oats and durum wheat are
often sown together for the purpose
OF providing horse feed. It is said to
make an excellent ration and grind
ing would probably enhance its val
ue as the durum wheat is not a suit
able grain to feed unground.
(5) It appears that the majority OF
soil in western North Dakota will
need inoculation for the, successful
growth of alfalfa Black soil, ricn in
organic matter, seems to be inoculat-
ed quite well naturally and nodules
form abundantly the second season.
AS far as clover is concerned, arti.
fetal, incubation does not seem to
be so necessary. Sowing one or two
pounds Of the seed desired per acre.
previous to sowing the main crop 7ill
aid in. tn incubation. The seeds of
the legumes carry some Of the bac.
terra and incubation is brought about
III this manner. The application of
barnyard manure is also of much val
ue While clover and alfalfa plants
growing promiscuously over the
farm might look like a little weedy to
some, yet they are such weeds as
should be encouraged and would
recommend such, miscellaneous SOW
ing.-E. r. Waldron, Supt., Dickinson
Substitution.
"A 5o,, s.,o 10 ~