El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-10-01

A YIELD of ESQ bushels of Egyp-
- tian wheat per acre during a
- period of about nine months is
something worth talking and writing
about 1t sounds almost as fabulous
as the Alaskan wheat story that was
widely circulated over year ago. In
the case of the enormous yields of
Egyptian wheat made this year in the
lower valley Of the Rio Grande, the
proofs of the statements that the pro-
duction per acre will average about ESQ
bushels are easily available. They are
fully corroborated by the state depart
ment of agriculture. Professor Fred
erick W. Mally, agricultural expert of
that department, made a personal in
vestigation of the Egyptian wheat
crop in the lower valley of the Rio
average yield of the grain per acre for
the present year will be about 2S0
bushels If anything it will be larger
than that estimate.
Yield From Three Cuttings.
This enormous yield is obtained
from three cuttings of the grain. The
first two crops upon the same land and
from the same stubble have already
been harvested this year and the third
crop will be ready for cutting the lat
ter part of November. Each Of the
of approximately 100 bushels per acre
1t is calculated that the third crop
will yield at least so bushels per acre.
Some of the growers say that they
see no reason whey the yield from the
third harvest should not be as large as
that of each of the other two
Resembles knffir Corn.
Although this grain is called Egyp-
tian wheat 1t bears very little resem-
blance to the ordinary wheat that is
extensively grown in other parts Of
this country. Egyptian wheat resem-
bIes Kaffir corn, milo maize or sor-
ghum cane in the general appearance
of its head The grain. is small and
light of color. 1t is said to contain
much greater nutriment than the other
grains which it resembles. The stalk
of the Egyptian wheat is small and
delicate It's foliage is specially suited
for fodder. In Russia the grain is
ground into flour and is the staple
bread product for the poorer classes.
The growing of Egyptian wheat in
the United States is not a new thing.
1t has proved a profitable crop in
many sections of the semi-arid regions
of the southwest for several years
past, but it was not until this year
that the experiment was tried of rails
ing the grain in the lower valley of
the Rio Grande in Texas by means of
irrigation. Several fields of the wheat,
each embracing several acres, were
planted in the vicinity of Mercedes,
Donna and Lyford and also near
| Kingsville, in the upper Gulf coast
region The seed was planted in
March, and the first cutting was done
the latter part of May and the first of
June The stubble was given good
irrigation, and a new growth of the
wheat Immediately sprang up. This
crop was equal to the first one. 1t
was harvested the. latter part of
August and the early part of Septem-
Der. The same stubble is producing an
other crop that promises to give an
| abundant yield of grain. The third
cutting will be over with early in De-
cember and the new growth from the
stubble will afford an excellent winter
pasturage for livestock.
Large Forage Yield.
Another remarkable feature of this
| crop which adds materially to its value
I is the large yield of forage which each
| cutting produces This year from two
to three tons of fodder were obtained
| off of each acre after the heavy heads
of grain had been cut from the stalks.
This yield of two to three tons was
from each cutting. making total
yield of six to nine tons of fodder per
acre for the nine months.
| 1.-THE slender stalks. and foliage OF
| this wheat rank superior to Kaffir
| corn, milo maize or sorghum profess
| sor Mally said. The forage is an
! ideal feed for livestock. The growth
| of Egyptian wheat in the lower valley
! of the Rio G-ande is little short OF
marvellous. The heads are from II to
| Is inches long. Each head is literally
| loaded down with plump, light colored
| grains. The grain srows to a height
of eight to 10 feet. I walked through
| fields of it which hid me completely
from sight"
1t is the opinion of professor Mally
that the remarkable yield of this grain
! which is obtained in the Rio Granie
valley is due to the ideal china Tic
| conditions, combined with rich -css q
! soil, and the fact that proper method: