Year: 1868

many years such thing US a failure


in the wheat crop was unknown


nor did the farmers think il posi-


BILE; yet il was possible, aud for th'


last three years they have only beer


wasting seed they have continued
To sow, but had nothing TO reap
The inquiry naturally presents Il


self-tO what are We to look for thi'
unexpected aud total failure; eau
wo find il in the quality of the seed
sown2 Not so, for only three years
since but few farmers sowed n bushel
OF wheat that did not weigh more
than sixty pounds-clear of cookie
aud cheat aud almost free from smut


Yet, in three years the crop has fail
cd, until to-day there is not, even
Of the most indifferent quality, that
would weigh forty pounds TO the
measured bushel, enough TO seed
ono.fourth OF tho usual quantity OF
land. Then can We find il in the
quality of the soil upon which il has
been plantodY Not so, our lands
are rich and possess the same wheat
growing properties that they ever
did. But il is contcndcd by some
that by tho continuous production
OF wheat upon the samo soil, some
of the elements necessary to tho
growth ofthc plant become exhaust
cd, aud hence the failure.


Now, this position is equally un-
tcnable-for within the last three
years, thousands of acres of rich,
black prairie lands, just such us had
been in cultivation, have bcen broke,
put in q state of cultivation, and
planted with wheat, and shared the
same fate with the lands, which, it
is said, wcro exhausted. This fact
alone proves to my mind that the
failure cannot be attributed to cx-
haustion. Then, if the cause is not
in either the soil or quality of the
soil, where and what is it, and can
it be overcome? Now, these arc
important questions, and more casi-
ly asked than answered; yet think
u correct answer may be given, with
much less skill and labor than it
will require to make the answer
available to the Texas farmer: First,
it is necessary to have good seed
and that of n sort that will mature
early and stand the winters well ;
SOW early, say in September, on land
well prepared, and give the requisite
quantity of seed, and with ordinary
seasons, such rs we have had in years
gone by, we will be again blessed
with good crops; but with such sea-
sons as we have had for the last
three years, and with our farms in
the condition that they have ever
been in, and are now in, and with
the best seed, either native or foreign,
that ever was planted in Texas, we
shall fail to make crop-not be
cause of the bad seed, not because
the land was not sufficiently well
plowed at and before the planting
time, but because of the peculiar
character of the soil upon which we
plant, and the late hour we did plant,
say November and December, the
want of rain in the fall and early
winter, and the superabundance in
the spring. Now we cannot make
it rain at our will, or stop it at pleas
ure, but we can do much to lessen
the deleterious effects of drought
or flood upon the crop. TO accom-
plish this we must ditch and drain
the land to the depth of at least two
feet. To do this it requires skill
and labor, the last of which
scarce and hard to command at this
time. By skillful and well order
ed system ofundcrdraining, of SO as to
relieve the surface Of the land in cul-
tivation of the superabundance Of
water, we make the elements neces-
sary to the growth Of wheat availa-
BILE, we get rid of great quantity
of stagnated water that without this
orsome other efficient mode ofdrain
ing must remain in the subsoil un
til disposed of by evaporation, dur
ing which time the subsoil is kept
cold, becomes sour, produces, or
causes fungi, which seizcs upon the
wheat in the form of rust, first upon
the blade and then the stalk, and
the crop is lost; but this is not all
when the land is ut full saturation,
both surface and subsoi1, wheat will
not grow, it cannot make roots, and
without roots the stalk and heads
fail. Think of this-there are but
few plants that can flourish upon a
wet, cold, sour subsoil; an excess of
water will defeat any and every
cereal crop, and moro certainly the
wheat crop than any other.


Now. 1 wish to PROFOUND ques
tion to those farmers who have been
raising wheat on the black lands of
this country for the last ten to fif-
teen years: Have you not made
your best wheat crops when you
sowed early, had sufficient rains to
bring the young crop up in due
time, and give it a short time TO
grow, followed by dry spring, SO
much so that the oat aud corn crops
were almost failure? | think that
you will, to a man, answer in the
affirmative. Ifso, then, go to work
and prepare your land TO meet those
unexpected and unprecedented wet
seasons-make it dry by draining.
1t does not only enhance its value
for wheat, but it makes il better for
every plant and tree you may choose
to put upon it. This done, plow
deep, plant early. aud you have no
fears Of il being drowned, or rust
in any shape; your wheat will come
up sooner and more regular in the
fall, and your drained land will,
when well worked, be warmer and
freer from frost in the spring; and