Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1908-03-04
WONDERFUL WHEAT
In Answer to Botetourt County
Farmer's Prayer

The following remarkable stcry
appeared in the Philadelphis
North American, and is repro
duced because the scene of OCCUR
renee is neighboring county:
There is one man in the United
States. a. least, who believes that
prayers are answered. He Else
believes and will Offer to show you
proof that the age OF miracles has
not parsed.
In answer to the prayers of many
years, he saYs, he has been re
warded with withdrawing less
remarkable than "a mysterious kind
of wheat which grows in poor
ground and yields many times a.
much grain as tie ordinary yari
ETY..
X. B. StOner, farmer Of Fin
castle, BOtetOurt county, Virginia,
grows wheat which, declare gov
erhment experts, yields TWO to three
times as much as any variety
grown in the country, which they
acknowledge was propagated from
plant which came from an un-
kncwn source.
A wheat from an unknown
source" Mr.. Stouer calls it "mir-
acle wheat, and when you ask
him whence it came he will look
heavenward, and then tell you the
following story:
During the civil war the farm
owned by him was devastated, the
buildings RACED and he was left il
an i'm impoverished condition. Year
after year he labOred, and there
was small return for his work. The
land was poor, and it refused tc
give a profitable harvest.
With implicit faith, Mr.. Stoner
begair to pray. He prayed that
the Lord might show him a way
to redeem his fortunes and retrieve
himself.
Besides, he had a wife much
younger than himself, and he
knew that, in case he died, she
would be unprotected. Then two
children came, and the farmer
prayed the more devoutly and in
tenselY.
Nearly four years ago, Mr.. StOn
er will tell YOU the answer came
to his prayers.
While blowing the land, in the
spring of 1904, ne observed a lit.
tie green luxuriant plant in the
field. His son, then years of age.
rushed before the pillow, and, with
an exclamation OF delight, fondled
the green bit of grass.
"Let it be, please, papa" he
pic6ueu' huHb WIS iINN'C w
of grass. Please, papa"
Mr.. Stoner plowed about the
stalk of grass, ard forgot ali
about it. But the child regarded
it with especial interest. and tend
ed it carefully. One day, four or
five weeks later, the hey ran into
the kitchen of the farmhouse weep
ing as if his heart were breaking.
at amt grass at all !" he
walled. sits weeds-it's weeds !"
The father, in sympathetic
mood, walked out into the field
and saw the stalk of grass hac
grown into a promising stalk OF
wheat. Well, he let it grow.
Ard when the child lost interest,
the fathers interest increased. For |
1t was certainly singular stalk OF
wheat. 1t occupied space Of
about Il inches aEd-wOnder of |
wonders when it had come TO |
its harvest it produced l42 heads !
of grain,
Naturally, Mr.. Stoner carefully |
preserved the heads, and the next
year sowed the seed. Continuing TO
do this he discovered "a phenomena
brand OF grain. And each year his
an szenent increased.
The first year after discov-
ering the plant ne got 1900
grains. In 1906 he got 10 bushels,
and has now raised the crop OF
wheat, all carefully preserved for
seed, to 800 bushels.
What is most remarkable about
the wheat is this: Whereas there
lie produced in the wheat sections
Of that country an average at the
best of II bushels to the acre, the
average yield of the miracle
wheat" during the last three years
has been Sc bushels to the acre.
Whereas from 8 to 10 pecks Of
seed are required to plant an acre
In Virginia. Mr.. StOner uses only
two pecks, and, in comparison to
The yield of ordinary wheat In tie
which is about 8
bushels for each bushel of seed MIR.
Stoner gets about rs bushels for
me. An ordinary stalk of wheat
covers about four inches of space.
The "miracle wheat" covers ~.
Last year United State govern
nent officials became interested in
he remarkable wheat and cent As /
istant Agricultural H. A. Miller {
O examine it. In his report he
declares:
1.-THE wheat, which came from |