The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1914-07-25

erage wheat yield in Kansas is
- less than fourteen bushels an
acre is that Kansas farmers
grow more wheat than they can care
for to the best advantage. The result
is that part Of the land must be
plOwed too late for good results and
that some OF the wheat must be sown
too early in order to get all the wheat
sOwn early enough
The average Kansas wheat grower
pays his hired man more than he him
self receives after paying the cost Of
growing the crop and the interest on
the Investment, and after deducting
the value OF the fertility removed
from the land Nebraska, with no bet
ter soil and a climate not so favor
able, produces more than seventeen
bushels an acre, and Washington
more than twenty-one bushels.
One OF the most important points
in growing a good crop of wheat is
the preparation OF the ground This
is true because the storage OF water
in the soil and the amount Of plant
food that is made available depend
upon it to a great extent Food and
water are as necessary for plants as
for animals If plants do not have
the right amount of food or enough
OF it at the right time, they become
stunted and viii not make so good a
yield as they otherwise would.
Ground that is left in stubbie after
harvest viii not absorb water read
lily. Also. the stubble continues to
carry water up from the soil and al
lows it to exapOrate into the air
Much Of the rain, instead OF soaking
into the soil. runs OF into the streams
But if the ground is plowed, run-Of
is prevented, and the water that falls
in heavy rains is more readily alb
sOrbed. This water gradually sOaks
down into the subsoiI where it re-
mains for the use OF the following
crop.
When crop Of wheat is harvested,
it takes from the soil most Of the
available plant food Consequently,
before another crop can be grown,
more plant food must be developed
This is done, to a large extent. by
bacteria which work on the vegeta-
bic matter stored in the soil As
bacteria require both moisture and
air, very little plant food is deveI-
oped in soil that is dry and hard.
as is unplowed ground For this rea-
son, ground that is pIowed late does
not contain so much plant food as
that which is p1owed early. The i'm
portance OF early and thorough prep
aration of the soil is shown by expeT-
iments conducted at Manhattan for
three years. In these experiments,
ground has been prepared for. wheat
in eleven different ways In 1918,
which was a very dry season, the
yields we're as follows:
Plot 1 was disbed at planting time
without previous preparation The
yield was "a bushels an acre. worth
at prevailing prices, $751;; the cost
/ of preparing the land was 81. leaving
/ 1851 for paying other expense.
Plot 2 was plowed three inches deep
September ia common practice
I among Kansas farmers The yield
was 1867 bushels an acre, worth
1911; the cost OF preparing the
ground was $40 per acre. leaving
| 1O.71
Plot was plowed seven inches deep
/ preparing the land This plot made a
yield of 17-5 bushels an acre and gave
/ a return to S11.14 after the cost OF
| preparation.
Plot was double-disked July Is
/ and plowed three inches deep Sep
I TENDER Is. The cost OF preparation
| for this plot was $3.50 per acre. the
4 yield 27-5 bushels per acre. and the
value OF the crop, less the cost Of
preparing the land, 1882. In other
! words, early disking by killing weeds
/ and stopping evaporation of moisture
was worth SS1 as is seen upon com
/ pairing the yield of this plot with that
Of plot ?.
Plot ; was pIowed seven inches
deep August Is. This cost Of prepar-
| ing the land was $3.50, the yield to
the acre 32.75 bushels, and the val1e
i Of the crop s26.26, leaving s22.71 20
I pay other expenses.
Plot 8 was prepared in the same
manner as plot 5, except that it was
/ not worked after pIowing until Sep
TENDER Is. The cost OF preparing the
ground was 65 cents an acre less than
in plot 3, and the yield was four
bushels less.
Plot Z was double-disked July Il
and plowed seven inches deep August
Is. The yield was 1915 bushels
worth s23-S7. The cost OF preparing
the ground was S475 an acre, 1eay-
ing '$1912 after paying for preparing
/ the land.
Plot was p1owed three inches deep
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