The Prescott daily news., 1914-09-14
WEEKLY LETTER OF COM
 MISSIONER JOHN H. PACE
Commissioner of Mines, Manufactures and Agriculture, save Wheat can be Grown in Almost any
 Section of Arkansas.

There are soils in Arkansas that are cotton sick" and soils that are sick from a continuous growth from year to year of the same crop; but there are few in Arkansas that have been hurt by a single cropping of wheat. And wheat can be grown as a money, pasture or cover crop to ad- vantage in almost any section of Arkansas. Wheat does best on we'll drained rich clays and heavy loans, but good profitable yields are given on a variety of soils, even on light soils where moisture is not deficient. An abundance of organic matter is necessary for the best crops of wheat There is no section of Arkansas that cannot produce wheat in quantities that will make it a paying crop, pro- vided it is given the proper attention and care. With as much attention as some of our other staple crops it would be sure to be success.
 Now is-the time to SOW wheat. There has been a good market for wheat almost the entire season. and next year it is very reasonable to sup pose that there will be much better market and price. Seeding should be done as early as possible in October, and it would be much better if it were seeded now, in order to give it start before frost. Six to eight pecks is a good seeding. The kind of soil and it's condition, of course, will possibly change in some instances what is termed good seeding. Many farm CTS have had success by seeding in the cotton middles after the first picking, and then chop the cotton stalks after the cotton is out without much dam age to the wheat, but a seedbed is much better. Preparation is worth a great deal in the handling of any crop. Especially if the wheat is sown as a money crop. Of the many varieties l prefer the Forecaster Bearded Wheat, but any Southern grown soft winter wheat will give you satisfaction. In my opinion, now is an excellent time to try some of the other crops besides cotton, and see | for yourselves whether there is as much money in them as there is in cotton.
 Our farmers in all parts of the State are increasing their acreage of all the clovers, alfalfa, oats, rye, wheat and all of the other fall planted crops More of these crops are being planted now than ever before in the history of the State. It is timely. Wheat is staple crop the same as cotton, and is adapted to our soil and climate The world can do without any cotton very well for a few years, but the world must have wheat. Wheat is just as much an Arkansas crop as cotton.
 1 want to caution new wheat grow CTS about one disease, known as Smut. If you will d!p the seed just before planting in solution made from mixing one pint of 40 per cent for maldehyde with forty gallons of wa ter, you will never have that disease in your wheat. It is cheaply and easily prevented. Many old growers have allowed smut to ruin their wheat By all means you should dip the seed in the formaldehyde solution whether you know the seed to be pure seed or not. The wheat crop is we'll worth this little trouble as a sort of preventative. If you want any further information l shall be glad to have you write me.
 JOHN H. PAGE, Commissioner of Agriculture.