Year: 1877

strate the necessity of introducing
some system by which wheat can
be cultivated in order to make it
more fully remunerative as a crop.
We have urged our people TO a
higher culture rather than the cheap
and too often slovenly system prac
ticed by too many farmers with all
kinds of crops; and now it is fast
becoming a matter of prime impor.
tance for them all to know and
practice the very best possible plan.
This can only be found out by eX-
perimental tests and accurate OBJ
servations of all surroundings. The
farmers who will not make efforts
to improve their plans so as to
make crops profitable, arc just farm
ing for a mere living, and very
poor one at that.


The Rural New Yorker says that
"any man who cannot raise 20 to 40
bushels of wheat, or 80 or 70 bush
els of corn per acre, had better own
up at once that he is not fitted TO
be farmer, and retire, taking up
some other occupation.


Blessed with a splendid soil and
climate for raising grain of all
kinds, we produce a less average
per acre than in countries where the
cereals are cultivated under any
thing but favorable conditions, and
all because our farmers fail TO adopt
the best and most scientific system
of culture


"The old method of sowing wheat
and other similar grain broadcast
and half covering with a harrow,
must be abandoned and drill cul |
ture adopted"


We are satisfied that the usu-
al average OF eight bushels per acre
will not pay our farmers in wheat
raising; but if the wheat be drilled,
after the ground has been thorough
ly and properly prepared, by ma
nure and working and then har-
rowed and rolled in the spring, we
see no reason to doubt that double
the usual crop would repay the la
Dor of the farmers.


Others go still further and urge
that the wheat should be drilled
far enough apart to allow the gang
cultivators to pass between the
drill rows, and thus let it be cult
waited like corn, which plan, it is
claimed, will increase the yield TO
three fold what it would be other
wise. There are those who are |
now going a step farther, and plant
wheat in hills and thus give it cul-
ture like other crops. AS an indi-
cation of the practicability and what
may be accomplished by hill culture
of wheat, we append a report of an
experiment made by ID. A. Bissel,
published in the Bidwell Herald,
Modoc county, California, which |
says


"Owing to an accident TO about
one-half the ground planted, it
yielded only about sixty bushels
per acre; but the balance of the
piece yielded little over eighty |
bushels per acre; / should have
planted it a little thicker, but
wished to plant but just one pound
to the acre, and am doubtful if it
would have yielded more if il had
been planted thicker. l planted |
but one seed in a place, 81 by 10
inches apart. There was a time in It's
stooling when it gained five spears a
day, as counted by neighbors; yet |
most of it headed as even as an or
binary field, but few spears would |
continue TO come later.


81 would cultivate with two
horse walking cultivator, with a re
versible shovel, cultivating both |
sides of the row at once, turning |
from the row the first time, |
and 10 the row afterwards. One |
great object of cultivation is to
keep the ground free from weeds, as
well as loosening the soil. And |
here ] wish TO correct an erroneous
opinion, that thickly sown grain
will shade the ground sooner, and
consequently stand drought better
than thin.


II have proved by actual expert
ments that thinly sown grain will !
stand the drought better than
thick. l have for three succe ssive |
years tried thinlY sown wheat, with
out cultivation the first time on two 4
acres, in drill; the others on one !
acre, each sown broadcast, one peck |
to the acre. They beat successful
ly 20, "a and rs acres adjoining,
sown with from one to one and half
bushels TO the acre, by about one.
third. / should have long since
sown the whole place with only
from fifteen 10 thirty pounds TO the
acre, but have been renting 70 men
whose grandsires did not know that
way. / attribute a great deal Of my
success in that experiment 70
careful selection of heads from year
to year. Some think you should
not cut the roots for cultivation. |
think IL you cut one, three comes ia
its place. We know we cannot cul
tivate corn without cutting the
roots"


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