The Delta independent., 1915-09-17
Twenty Pounds to the Acre.

twenty Pounds to the Acre.
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 an
unmitigated and disastrous PROPOSE
tion. But there is philosophy con
nected with this twenty pound seed
proposition that is entirely effective
in refuting all controversy. In the
first place it is a fact beyond dispute.
both from my own personal observa-
tion and from the testimony of others.
that the tonnage of organic growth on
an acre is limited almost to the hun
dred-weight of available moisture. In
the case of heavy seeding the mois-
ture may be readily absorbed in the
setting and roofing, leaving nothing
for the jointing up and the formation
of grain. And since fall wheat, the
plant with which we are at this time
particularly concerned, is planted for
the sole purpose Of developing and pro
ducing 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 un-
limited and is not only enough to
start 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 best results. But on the
uplands under semi-arid conditions,
the supply of moisture is absolutely
limited and that in many instances
to an average rainfall of, we will say
sixteen inches. Suppose now that
forty pounds of seed is used and sup
pose further that il will take eight
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 moisture: and if the growth
of the roots, blades and straw has
used up all the available plant stuff
4 then no moisture will be left for the
grain and the whole enterprise will
be failure.
/ Let us now consider the twenty
/ pound proposition under the same CON
ditions. 1t will take only four inches
set the crop. four inches more for
/ stooling and jointing. This is as far
as the moisture with forty pounds of
seed would reach. But now with only
I twenty pounds. half the moisture is
still in the ground Four inches more
[ viii make the grain and four inches
would constitute a reserve to be drawn
I from in case of any special emergency
such as an extended period of drouth.
/ This is the philosophy and its logic
is incontestible. Plant few grains
of anything in a foot square space
and the plants will grow and repro
duce themselves, twenty, thirty. fifty
or hundred fold. But throw hand
/ full of seed into the same space and
the available plant matter will be
used up in roofing and setting, leaving
1 nothing for the development of seed
or grain. Whatever stems and grains
may form will be stunted just to the
| degree of the thickness of the seed.
/ II the season is dry all plants will be
more or less retarded in their growth;
but the thinly planted stand is by far
the best conditioned to mature nor
mally. II the season is normal, or
wet the thinly planted shoots will
stool to almost the exact amount of
Grain that heavier seeding would
make. Taking all things into consid-
Grafton. twenty pounds the acre of
fall wheat on summer titled ground is
safest and will insure the very best
1sults-Phlip Held in Field and
Farm.