The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1913-07-04
PREPARING
WHEAT LAND
RIGHT NOW IS THE TIME TO DE.
TERMlNE VALUE OF NEXT
YEARS CROP.
FIELDS SHOULD Be WELL DIsKED
This Should Be Done Immediately
After Harvest Even " the
Ground 10 Dry.-Llstlna
Means Ruination.

Wheat harvest is now over all over
the state and the crop this year fur
nishes an excellent object lesson, as
to the dollars and cents value of the
proper preparation of land to be plant
ed to wheat. Wherever the fields
were properly prepared last year, the
crop suffered no injury from the short
period of dry weather which occurred
Just before harvest. Where the wheat
was planted in poorly prepared seed
bed, there was no moisture reservoir
to keep the plants during the dry
period and, therefore, the crop was
badly injured.
With such an object lesson before
them, farmers should try to plant all
wheat on a properly prepared seed
bed, this fall, and right now is the
time to begin to prepare such a seed
bed. Wherever it is possible, disc
harrow should follow the binder round
for round. There is plenty of mois
ture in the ground at this time and it
should be kept there so that blowing
can be done after the wheat harvest
III wheat fields are thoroughly dlsced
Immediately following the binder, the
grain should be removed as early as
possible and the surface of the fields
should then be thoroughly pulverized
by the use of the disc harrow. This
should be done even If the fields are
dry af thn time ttrba 10,
done. If there is plenty of moisture
in the soil at the time the fields are
disced, the pulverized surface will
hold this moisture and extend the
length Of time during which blowing
can be done. The moisture vapor ris-
ing from the sub-soil will be held by
the pulverized surface and the soil
Immediately beneath the disced sur
face will remain in condition to be
plowed for some time. In addition,
any rain which may fall will pass into
the ground readily instead of running
off and being lost.
Many western Oklahoma farmers
have found that if they would thor
oughly disc the surface of the field
at the time when it was becoming too
dry for blowing, that the moisture ris-
ing from the sub-soil would be stopped
just beneath the disced surface, and
in few days blowing could be re-
sumed, even though no rain had fallen.
After the discing is done, the plows
should then be run as soon as pos
sible. Early blowing, following disc
ing, makes big wheat yields in Okla
homa. The pillow should be run to the
depth of one or one and one-half
inches more than the land has been
previously plowed. Do not turn up too
much raw soil at one time, but in
crease the depth of blowing gradually
from year to year Each days plow-
ing should be gone over with the har-
row before the team leaves the field
at night. Unless the land is very
loose, the entire field should be gone
over by a weighted disc harrow with
the discs set straight, after the plow-
ing is done. This packs the plowed
soil back to the sub-soil.
The surface of the field should then
be gone over once or twice with the
section harrow before the planting is
done.
The plaetice of listing wheat and
then levelling and planting has done
more to decrease the yield of wheat
in Oklahoma than the burning of
straw and the lack of rotation, al
though these two faults are Bad
enough. Even double listing is not so
satisfactory as blowing, especially If
the following spring happens to be
dry,