French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1916-1919, 1917-09-20
"GROW MORE WHEAT.

1nere are about 1O, 10000 bushels OF
wheat produced in North Carolina each
year, while amount consumed is about
1S,OOO,OO0 bushels. According to these
figures We must grow 100000 bushels
more wheat than we are at present
growing, in order ito furnish our own
wheat. This will, mean \an increase
Of about 25 per cent above the amount
usually harvested in this county. The
average yield of wheat per acre in
North Carolina for the 10 years from
1907 to LIS was 10.5 bushels. This is
the year of all years when a great
effort should be made to increase the
yield per acre.
Wheat, as you all know, does best on
well-drained loan, silt loan, and some
Of the clay soils; while light, sandy
soils and poorly drained clay soils are
not adapted to wheat Wheat should
not be sown on land that is not we'll
drained, or on land that is subject to
overflow or where water stands after
rain. for the plants will not thrive on
such land. Too much water in the soil
is liable to result in winter killing
If possible the land should be brok-
en- sometime before time of seeding and
allowed to settle. A good seed7bed
should be made by disking and harrow
ing thoroughly before sowing. Land
that has previously been in clover, say
beans. cOwpeas or velvet beans will be
excellent for wheat. A soil to be good
for wheat should contain plainly of
vegetable matter and plant food and
should not be acid or sour
AS most Of our soils here are sour It
will be found that an application of
lime will be beneficial to wheat. This
should be applied, IL possible. a few
weeks before time of sowing. You will
find on the bottom soils here with
plenty of organic matter in them, that
lime and phosphorfc acid will be all
that is needed to take a good wheat
crop. While on thin uplands some
form of nitrigen will be beneficial. All
of the tests made in the western part
of the state show greater increase IN
yield of wheat when phosphoric acid
alone was applied than with any other
element
Most of you know that it is best to
SOW wheat early enough to let it get
we'll rooted before the winter freezing
comes on. You may sometimes see
late sown wheat make very gooa
crop. but it is an exception rather
than the rule. At the Iredel1 County
test farm the following was the result
of several paintings: Sown October
1n+N. 1-ioId was 313 bushels per acIC;
sown October 2St-l, ~'eld was q bush
els pc racre: sown November 9th, yield
was 1856 bushels per acre; sown Nov
ember '25rd, yield was 22.6 bushels per
acre; sown December 7th, yield was
21.6 bushels per acre; sown December
2-st. yield was 173 bushels per acre.
From this you see that the early SOW
ing was 31.3 bushels per acre. From
this YOU see that the early sowing
yielded almost twice as much as the
late sowing.
AS to the proper time to SOW, Mr.
Franklin Sherman, chief in entomolo%y
at Raleigh, has written me the follow
ing: 'FWith reference to dates to SOW
wheat to be safe from HeSsian fly and
also from winter freezing, would say
that study of may, calendar elevtton.
ETC., as sent out from the q. S. De-
partment of Agriculture, Washingt p,
D. c., gives the following dates for
your locality:
At elevation of 1000 feet, whea'
should be sown between October 7th
and October 18th.
At elevation of 2,100 feet, wheat
should be sewn between October 9Th
and October 10th.
At elevation of 1900 feet, wheat
should be sown between October 9th
and October 18th.
At elevation of $500 feet. whea.
should be sown between October tn amt
At elevation of 2,4OO feet, wheat
should be sown between October 5ro
and October 18th.
These dates refer to average years
.nd are therefore safest for general
practice. 1t may occur that wheat
will do well when sown outside OF
these dates. but the farther you depar!
rom them the greater the risk, /. e. II
Won SOW earlier than the dates glVeh
Won take a risk on the fly II you SOW
later than the dates given there is FISK
" winte rinjury-in average years.
u FTP ANIK FLEMIN,