The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1913-06-13
BIC Loss FROM
MONCREL WHEAT
PROPER METHODS AND GOOD
SEED URGED BY AeRIcUL
TURAL EXPERT.
CONDITIONS ARE CONSIDERED BAD
Million Dollar Loss Yearly In Expos
ure, Declares H. M. cottreiI, the
Rock Island Agricultural
Expert.

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raising. wheat in Oklahoma, per acre
per farm and per man, than In the far
northwest, II right methods are fol
lowed and the right kind of wheat
planted, was the statement of II. M
Cottrell, agricultural commissioner oil
the Rock Island railroad, in an ad
dress at Oklahoma City before the
Joint convention of the Oklahoma Mil.
lers association and the State Grain
Dealers association.
Many Oklahoma farmers in the past
year went from Oklahoma to the
northwest country, believing they
could make more money there raising
wheat, said Mr.. Cottrell, but they are
making a big mistake. He said:
Sharpening the Disks.
Every grain dealer and miller in
the state should induce each wheat
grower In his territory to have the
disks on his disk harrow sharpened
before harvest. The disk harrow
should follow directly behind the
binder, putting good mulch on the
soil before the grain is shocked.
Wheat land left untouched after har-
vest will lose by evaporation, mois-
ture equal to an inch of rainfall a
week. Disking stops this loss.
"All wheat should be stacked. The
average loss in Oklahoma by leaving
wheat In the shock Is from to 8
cents bushel. The total loss to the
farmers of the state Ia more than
$1,O00,000 each year by the exposure
OF wheat in the shock. Wheat left in
the shock until threshed loses In
weight per bushel, In yield of -four
per bushel. in loaves OF bread from
each barrel Of -four and in size Of loaf
from each pound OF -four Leaving
wheat in the shock brings heavy
loss to the grower, the grain dealer,
the miller, the baker and the consum-
er. 1t has caused more loss in Okla
homa the past five years than chinch
bugs, green bugs and Hessian fly.
"The stubble should be plowed or
listed not later than July Is. At the
Kansas Agricultural college, under
conditions similar to those In the
wheat belt of Oklahoma, land disked
but not plowed, yielded AZ bushels
OF wheat an acre, while land plowed
deep yielded 1914 bushels an acre.
The land that was disked but not
nIow roturnad Q1 AZ m aora ohoua noof
of preparing the soil; the land that
was plowed deep July 10 returned
$25.74 an acre above cost of preparing
soil. Where the wheat grower has so
much land that he canot pillow 1t early
he should list 1t deeply early in July
and work 1t down level later. Land
listed deeply returned $24.35 an acre
above the cost Of preparing the soil
Failed to Show Weight.
"Oklahoma wheat in 1911 was
plump and large and much of 1t
weighed So pounds to the bushel as 1t
came from the thresher. 1t was ready
to ship the latter part of June The
year before wheat in the northwest
was badly damaged by frost so that
northern and eastern mills did not
have enough wheat to fill their orders.
Buyers from the mills at Minneap-
oils, Chicago, Buffalo and even as far
east as Boston came down to Okla
homa, got samples of this heavy,
plump, fine appearing wheat and sent
them to their mills for testing. We
never heard of them afterward.
81 knew something was the matter
and went to Minneapolis to find what
1t was. When | arrived, one of the
mills had just completed baking
test Of this heavy, plump Oklahoma
wheat. 1t made 260 one-pound loaves
to the barrel Of -four. The Minneap-
oils mills were guaranteeing 800
one-pound loaves and said that one
shipment of -four made from this
wheat would kill their trade The
same conditions were true In other
northern and eastern mills.
"They said that the trouble with the
bulk of the wheat in Oklahoma is
that 1t is mongrel wheat. Many of
the farmers raise hard and soft wheat
on the same farm. Several varieties
of wheat are grown in the same COM
munity. These conditions have been
continued for years, the threshing
machines mixing all kinds as they go
from farm to farm until a mongrel
wheat has been produced. Mongrel
wheat. the world over, IN favorable
year, is large, plump and heavy but
the flour from 1t lacks rising strength
and produces too few loaves. The
remedy-plant pure Turkey red
wheat"