The Glenwood post., 1915-10-02
npv lsuuu D ~ Anas,

The question Is to hOW much seed
should be planted to AL acre Is one on
which there is apparently \ wide diver
gence of opinion. Take, for instance,
the matter Of wheat, and scarcely any
two farmers are agreed rs to the
amount of seed that is the most suita-
BILE for conditions in this country. 1t
has been the custom of many of our
farmers to sow from 60 to 80 pounds #
winter wheat to the acre and as 10
spring wheat which is plumper in gram
100 to l20 pounds is often used. This
ration applies to irrigated land while
for dry land somewhat less seed has
been used, but We have not yet heal
of any of our farmers advocating the
use of less than 40 pounds Of Turkey
Red to the acre, while for spring wheat
they use from 40 to 60 pounds, depend
ing upon the views of the farmer along
those lines.
Under the heading, Twenty Pounds
to the Acre." an article in q recent
number of Field and Farm, written by
Philip Held, discusses this question
with the suggestion that many of our
farmers are using altogether too muca
seed. The following is the Field and
Farm article:
The safest quantity Of winter wheat
to SOW to the acre is about twenty
pounds. This will seem to the mex
perienced in semi arid farming as IA
unmitigated and disastrous imposition.
But there is . philosophy connected
with this twenty pound seed PROPOSE
tion that is entirely effective in refut-
ing all controversy In the first place
it is q fact beyond dispute, both from
my own personal observation and from
the testimony Of Others, that the tom
mage of organic growth on an acre is
limited almost to the hundred-weigut
of available moisture. In the case Of
heavy seeding the moisture may be
readily absorbed in the setting and
roofing, leaving nothing for the joint
ing up and the formation Of grain. And
since fall wheat, the plant with which
we are At this time particularly con-
cerned, is planted for the sole purpose
of developing and producing grain, this
ought to be the only consideration.
Under certain conditions it is well
and proper to sow forty pounds of fall
wheat to the acre. This is the amount
used in the best irrigated districts.
Here the moisture is practically unlim-
tied and is not only enough to star.
the plant, but at any time when the
moisture is needed to provide such
amount as in the judgment of the
learned wheat grower may be required
to produce the best results. But on the
supply of moisture is absolutely limit
ed and that in many instances to an
average available rainfall of, We will
say sixteen inches. Suppose now that
forty pounds of seed is used and sup
pose further that it will take eigut
inches of the moisture in sprouting,
roofing and setting and the other eight
inches in stooling and jointing up.
There can be no development of grain
without mSisture; and if the growth OF
the roots, blades and straw has used
up all the available plant stuff then no
moistNre will be left for the grain AMI
t he whole enterprise will be failure.
Let US now consider the twenty
pound proposition under the same con
ditions. 1t will take only four inches
of the rainfall to germinate. root an1
set the crop, four inches more for stoo.-
ing and jointing. This is as far as the
moisture with forty pounds of seed
would. reach. But now with only
twenty pounds, half the moisture is
still in the ground. -Four more inches
will make the grain and four inches
would constitute reserve to be drawn
from in case of any special emergency
such as an extended period of drouth.
This is the philosophy and its logic Is
incontestable. Plant a few grains of
anything into a foot square space and
the plants will grow and reproduce
themselves, twenty, thirty, fifty or q
hundred fold. But throw \ handful of
seed into the same space and the avail
able plant matter will be used up in
for the development of seed or grain.
Whatever stems and grains may foIn
will be stunted just to the degree Of
the thickness of the seed. If the sea-
son is dry all plants will be more Or
less retarded in their growth; but the