The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911, 1911-09-14

q matter of fact they are very sale
guides for the farmer to follow
Wallaces' Farmer.
Preparing Ground For Fall Wheat.
We have been raising fall wheat
for a good many years and in the last
quarter of a century have prepared the
ground in many different ways. AS our
soil gets older We find we must do
better farming and give the land bet
ter preparation. In the early days
we broke the virgin soil in June. back
set it in August, narrowed it the first
of September and sOwed from the tenth
up to the twentieth of that month.
Then, in q few years, We discovered
We got better results sowing in the lat
ter days of September and now in Neb-
raska We get some pretty good wheat
from October seeding. This gives US
a longer time in the autumn to get the
seed bed in proper condition.
Recent experiment station work
has demonstrated that good plOughine
done the last days of July and up tt
the middle of August was the best
way to begin preparation, then by the
use of the harrow and disc, We kept
up the dust mulch condition and re-
tanned the moisture, assuring an idea
place to drop the golden grains OF
promise.
We have been following this plaI
this season and find that We are get.
ting a fine place to sprout the whea
and give it q start toward a good fal
growth. If one has the horse powe1
on the farm, it does not pay to wai1
for a rain to soak the soil and make
| it pillow easy. No matter if the clOds
do roll up and make it look like poo
farming, if the horses can stand thu
work, push the early blowing withou
reference to the weather conditions.
OF course, by early blowing We ar
apt to have a stand of volunteer whea
or oats on the land. This can be elm
mated by good disking and the'
when you have rain, the soil is read!
to harrow down in fine shape.
We had some extra horses on tn
place. We put them on the harrow
and followed the gang and kept tn
fresh blowing narrowed down. 1t onl!
took a couple of hours each evening
to harrow the days blowing and i
saved unhitching from the pillow ant
using the tired horses to pulverize tn
days working. Even the driving
horses can stand few hours harrow
ing each day. OF course We did n
narrowing when the ground broke u
in clods as big as a mans head, a
they did before the first rain but a
soon as it rained We put the harrow
on the land and kept the narrowing
done up right along afterwards.
Some farmers who do not follow tn
practice of sowing oats on the groun'
where they expect to put fall whea
follow the practice of sowing whea
in the cornfields. We have done this
but it almost invariably failed to pa.
and although We have not been raising
many oats to the acre of late, We still
follow the practice of sowing ever.
bit of wheat land in oats the proceed
ing spring. We would rather SOW
wheat two years in succession tina
sow in stalk ground. We remembe
one case when We got 80 bushels o
wheat the first year and by early an
good preparation of the soil, obtaine
q 33-bushel crop the next year. w
attributed the increased yield to tn
better and earlier preparation of tn
soil, for we got the wheat stacke
early and set about blowing at once
In early days We burned the stubble
but no one does that these days, as i
Nebraska We have learned the fact ths
we need all the humus We can retur
in the way of stubble and weeds.
. We recently took trip through tn
famous wheat lands of Canada an
found that they were growing whes
for several years in succession and M
even blowing the ground. They sim
I ply disked the land, narrowed it dow
and sowed with q disk drill. Thi
brings big crops on the virgin soil Q
that country and this method is follow
ed on our western farms of the ari
belt, where they do not summer-fal
low every other year, but westerner
will find in coming years that sum
mer- following will pay better. if the
have no time to pillow and properl
prepare the ground and want to US
it every season.. o. Shroyer,
Nebraska Farm Journal.
Wheat in Standing Corn.
In your issue of August IL, pag
11O6, there is q reply, "Wheat j
%h~k -