;i}it|iliiiiilll SB 191 .W5 C97 t^^n^ *>^. c^ '-^^0^ ,0^ ^^0^ .^*^"- '^ A> o > %■ ^/ y^ v^v^-.- /\ -iii:- ^^'% .„/ .-'.^f^;-. %.,.' »v^>.': "^„/ -'»?^;'. H O y >''--<^. Jo e %.^^" .\^C€'» \/ »'S%'v \/ aV-^^. ^^ vmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmMM 'ijfVr^^jr WlEAT Of Lf f 11. 1 HOW TO DOUBLE THE YIELD AND INCREASE THE PEOFITS. saifes D^ S. 0URTI8S, Washington, D. C. XILjI_jXJST:E=L.^^T?En3. NEW YORK: ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, No. 345 BUOADWAY. ^ff^^liTi J;, NEW AMERICAN FARM BOOK. Tt OBIGINAIiLY BT AXITaOB OP 4.UTH0R OT "DISEASES OP DOMESTIC ANIMALS/' AND PORMKBLT 3DIT0B 09 THE "AMERICAN AGRICULTUKIST." REVISED AND ENIiARGE» BTT AMERICAN CATTLE," EDITOR OF THE HERD BOOK," ETC. AMERICAN SHORT-HOM* iNTRODxrcTiON. — Tillage Husbandry — Grazing — Feeding — Breeding — Planting, etc. Chapter I.— Soils — Classification— Description — Management — Pro- perties. Chapter II. — Inorganic Manures — Mineral — Stone — Earth — Phos- phatic. Chapter III. — Organic Manures — Their Composition — Animal— Ve- getable. Chapter IV. — ^Irrigation and Drain- ing. Chapter V. — Mechanical Divisions of Soils — Spading — Plowing— Im- plements. Chapter VI.— The Grasses— Clovers — Meadows — Pastures — Compara- tive Values of Grasses— Implements for their Cultivation. Chapter VII. — Grain, and its Culti- vation — Varieties — Growth — Har- vesting. Chapter VIII.— Leguminous Plants —The Pea— Bean — English Field Bean— Tare or Vetch— Cultivation —Harvesting. Chapter IX. — Roots and Esculents — Varieties— Growth — Cultivation — Securing the Crops — Uses — Nutri- tive Equivalents ot Diflferent Kinds of Forage. Chapter X.— Fruits— Apples— Cider — Vinegar— Pears — Quinces— Plums Peaches — Apricots — Nectarines — Smaller Fruits— Planting— Cultiva- tioa—Gatherinq— Preserving. Chapter XI.— Miscellaneous Objects of Caltivatioa, aside from the Or- dinary Farm Crops— B room-corn— Flax— Cotton— Hemp— Sugar Cane Sorghum— Maple Sugar —Tobacco — Indigo— Madder— Wood— Sumach- Teasel — Mustard — Hops — Castor Bean. Chapter XII.— Aids and Objects of Agriculture — Rotation of Crops, and tbeir Effects— Weeds— Restora- tion of Worn-out Soils — Fertilizing Barren Lands— Utility of Birds- Fences — Hedges — Farm Roads — ^ade Trees— Wood Lands— Time of Cutting Timber— Tools— Agri- cultural EducationJof the Farmer. Chapter XIII. — Farm Buildings- House — Barn — Sheds — Cisterns — Various other Outbuildings— Steam- ing Apparatus. Chapter XIV. — ^Domestic Animals — ^Breeding — Anatomy— Respiration — Consumption of Food. Chapiter XV .— Neator Homed Cattle Devons — Herefords— Ayreshires — Galloways — Short -horns — Alder- neys or Jerseys — Dutch or Holstein — Management from Birth to Milk- ing, Labor, or Slaughter. Chapter XVI.— The Dairy— Milk- Butter— Cheese— Different Kinds- Manner of Working. Chapter XVII.— Sheep — Merino — Saxon— South Down — The Long- wooled Breeds — Cotswold— Lincoln — Breeding — Management — Shep- herd Dogs. Chapter XVIII. — The Horse— De- scription of Different Breeds— Their Various Uses — Breeding— Manage- ment. Chapter XIX. — The Ass— Mule — Comparative Labor of Working Animals. Chapter XX. — Swine — Different Breeds — Breeding — Rearing — Fat- tening—Curing Pork and Hams. Chapter XXI. — Poultry — Hens, or Barn-door Fowls — Turkey — Pea- cock—Guinea Hen— Goose — Duck — Honey Bees. Chapter XXII. — Diseases of Ani- mals—What Authority Shall We Adopt ? — Sheep — Swine — Treat- ment and Breeding of Horses. Chapter XXIIL— Conclusion— Gene- ral Remarks — The Farmer who Lives by his Occupation — The Ama- teur Farmer— Sundry Useful Tables. SENT POST-PAID, PRICE $2.50. ORANGE JUDl) COMPANY, 245 Broadway, New-York. WHEAT CULTURE. HOW TO DOUBLE THE YIELD AND INCEEASE THE PEOFITS. J-. *Y D. S. CURTISS, "WASniNGTOX, T>. c. ILLUSTIIATED. A / ,% NEW YORE:-- ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 245 BROADWAY. 1880. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the j-ear 1880, by the ORANGE JIJDD COMPANY, In the Oflacc of the Librarian of Congress, at Washin;;lou. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I.— Wheat Culture. How to Increase the Yield— The Farmer's Capital— Cost of Raising Wheat 9 CHAPTER II.— The Wheat Plant. Geographical History— Botanical Origin— Spring and Winter Wheat. . .11 CHAPTER III.— How to Obtain a Large Yield. First— Underdraining. Second — Deep Cultivation. Third — Pulveriz- ing of the Soil. Fourth— Alkalies and Soluble Silica. Fifth — Clover and Pasture. Sixth— Selection and Preparation of the Seed 14 CHAPTER IV.— Incidental Requisites to a Lakge Yield. Top-Dressing — Insects and Diseases — The Average Yield Doubled — Improved Drills and Wheat Hoes — Early Harvesting— Rust, its Prevention — Experiments in Indiana— Experiments in England. . .18 CHAPTER v.— Planting or Sowing Wheat. Time to Plant— Benefits of Early Planting— Proper Depth to Plant- Germination of Seeds— Quantity of Seed to the Acre— Tools and Implements 24 CHAPTER VI.— Importance op the Wheat Crop. Commerce and Population — Various Statistics — Export of Wheat in 1830, and Since— English Wheat Growing Decreasing 31 CHAPTER VII.— Flour the Form in which to Sell Wheat. Milling Employs Many Persons — Value of Bran and Shorts — Profits of Milling— Incidental Benefits— The Straw Not to be Sold 36 CHAPTER VIII.— Varieties Most Grown in the United States. Varieties Preferred in DifEerent States — Experiments in Missouri Agri- cultural College — Experiments in Massachusetts — Varieties Grown in New York — Experiments in Pennsylvania — Varieties in Tennes- see and Virginia — Three New Varieties — Some English Pedigree Wheats..... 39 (III) IV TABLE OF COin'ENTS. CHAPTER IX.— Green Mai^iiring and Plowing. Plowing-undcr Green Crops— Plowing Prairie Land, Present Way- Plowing in the Gulf States 50 CHAPTER X.— Recapitulation of Operations. Eight Important Matters— More Knowledge Needed 5S CHAPTER XL— Examples of Successful Wheat Culture. Other Successful Examples— Yield and Product for Sixteen Years — Responses to My Circulars — Queries Contained in the Circulars — Table Giving Condensed Reports 56 CHAPTER XIL— Extracts from Letters 62 CHAPTER XIIL— Diseases and Insects. Rust and Smut — Winter-killing of Wheat — The Chinch Bug and Hes- sian Fly — Midges— Granary or Barn Weevil 64 CHAPTER XIV.— Improved Machinery and Implements 68 CHAPTER XV. - Analyses of Wheat and Straw 70 CHAPTER XVL— Conclusion.. 72 PUBLISHERS' ANNOUNCEMENT. The importance of the wheat crop as a source of rev- enue to the country induces the publication of this book. The object of the farmer should be to increase the prod- uct, improve the quality, and decrease the cost per bushel. The Publishers put forth this volume in the confident assurance that it will aid every wheat grower to accomplish these ends, and thus add greatly to his own prosperity and to the wealth of the country. (y) WHEAT CULTURE. CHAPTER I. WHEAT CULTURE. HOW TO INCREASE THE YIELD. It is a well-known fact that the average yield of wheat in this country is absurdly small, being only about four- teen bushels per acre — not half what it should and might be in so new a country — and that the profits of growing it are correspondingly light. All this we have long no- ticed with regret, and that feeling has stimulated us to prepare this little work, hoping that the facts presented in it may, to some extent, aid the growers to produce better results, to secure larger yields, and thereby larger profits. Whatever a man believes lie can do, if it be proper and he desires to do it, he is very likely to do. It is to the interest of wheat growers to greatly increase their yield per acre, to even double the prevailing average- yield, and thereby double their profits. We are well satisfied that this can be done, and it is our desire and aim to convince them that they can easily do it ; then, with that faith, they will be sure to accomplish the result. We believe that fuller knowledge and more thought among farmers generally will surely load to higher achievements in their important work ; that increased knowledge of the subject will secure increased yield, and 7 8 WHEAT CULTURE, also, as a consequence, afford enlarged profits for their operations. THE FAEMEE'S capital. Each acre of land, with its necessary appurtenances, constitutes the farmer's fixed capital. The more he can produce from each acre, "without exhausting his soil, the greater will be his interest on the investment. Labor, tools, seed, teams, and fertilizers, are the temporary capi- tal, and this capital is continually consumed and worn out, requiring as continually to be replenished. Exhausting or robbing the soil from year to year by improvident management,' is equivalent to a man's ex- pending or reducing his capital — the principal — instead of only the interest or income. All business men know this to be a ruinous performance, which will, sooner or later, result in bankruptcy. If a farmer has ten acres of land it is so much invested capital, and if by judicious culture he obtains from it three hundred bushels of wheat each year, instead of only one hundred and fifty bushels, it is so much in- creased income for the capital invested, which is the value of the ten acres — say one hundred dollars per acre, making a capital of one thousand dollars. COST OF RAISIls'G WHEAT. From various data it is safe to assume that, on the ma- jority of farms throughout the country, the cost of rais- ing and marketing the wheat crop is about ten dollars per acre, including taxes and interest on land and the wenr and tear of tools. Reliable statistics for the past few years show that the average yield per acre has been about fourteen bushels, and the average price of wheat per bushel about one dollar, giving an income of about fourteen dollars per acre annually, and a profit of four dollars per acre above cost of production, allowing noth- WHEAT CULTUKE. ing for the straw and refuse, whicli are required by, or should be returned to, the coil to leave it in fair condi- tion. This gives httle over one-third profit on the cost of the crop. But, as a business transaction, Avhat per cent of inter- est does it afford on the fixed capital invested ? It gives four per cent on the value of the land at one hun- dred dollars per acre ; certainly rather less than active business men are generally contented with. It will do for large capitalists, millionaires, who have bank and stock investments, and who give no labor or toil to earn and secure their incomes, but is too small return for working men with only limited investments, of a few hundreds or thousands of permanent capital. Xow, suppose that by doubling the expense of produc- tion in labor and manure to twenty dollars per acre, and thereby the crop or yield is doubled to twenty-eight bushels per acre of wheat, and, as m the other case, the wheat is worth one dollar per bushel, the profits will be eight dollars per acre instead of four, and the interest on the capital will be eight dollars, or eight per cent, just double, without doubling the capital ; a showing that will tell pleasantly on the prosperity of the operator. These calculations can be carried out to any extent and on any farm operation by any school-boy or the farmer's children. Suppose, for instance, a farm of one hundred acres, on which it is desired to raise one thousand bush- els of wheat every year ; at twenty busliels the acre, fifty acres would be required for the desired crop ; but at forty bushels, which many obtain, only twenty-five acres would be required for one thousand bushels. WHAT THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SHOULD DO. The results — improved agriculture and increased yield of wheat— which this little work is endeavoring to bring about, should be a leading object and an important part 10 WHEAT CULTURE. • of tlie business of the Department of Agriciiltnre. That Department should, long before this, have adopted the practice of sending thousands of circulars to intelligent practical farmers in all wheat-growing portions of the nation, submitting interrogatories and requests for an- swers, in order to obtain statements and reports of the largest yield, and the average yield, per acre of wheat in each locality, together with the details of the modes and conditions under which large yields and poor yields were produced, also the kind of seed and soil employed in the operation, and then publish the replies. Such reports and details would afford highly practical and useful lessons, and aid others in obtaining higher re- sults by such examples ; but probably we shall not have such practical service from the Department of Agricul- ture very soon ; at least, not until the agricultural papers everywhere speak out, and the farming community rise up in their might and demand the appointment of an earnest, honest, capable agriculturist to fill the important position of Commissioner, one who is not a speculator, seeking eclat, and who will have more regard for the best interests of agriculture than for his own purse and noto- riety. Such an official would make the Department a benefit to the farmers. Of the vast and vital importance of agriculture Mr. William Saunders some time ago wrote: *^At no time in our nation's history, more than at the present, has there been greater necessity for the encouragement by Govern- ment of this ^Art of Arts' — Agriculture — which is the foundation of wealth and greatness ; for to that source we must look for the means of paying the national debt. It is the fountain whence must flow that material aid without which it is impossible for civilized peoples to exist. " Notliing is truer than the above remark. Tlie farmer feeds all, and he pays most of the Government expenses ; THE WHEAT PLANT. 11 he is taxed, tlirougli the tariff Laws, on everything he buys, to give gain and wealth to commercial and manu- facturing classes. CHAPTER II. THE WHEAT PLANT. GEOGKAPHICAL HISTOEY. Writers on the subject differ widely as to the original home of our great bread cereal, Wheat ( Triticum vul- gar e). Some state it to be India ; others Persia, and we find it frequently mentioned in the Holy Bible. The earliest recorded history of man shows it to have been among his breadstuff s, and it has flourished to a greater or less extent wherever civilized people have made their habitation. Of course all localities where this grain may possibly be grown are not equally favorable to it. To understand the best conditions for successfully growing wheat is of more importance at this time than to know pre- cisely its original home, though knowing that fact is of some moment as indicating, to some degree, the most suitable conditions for greatest success in its cultivation. It is stated, and generally understood, that wheat first came to the United States from Mexico, and that it was introduced into that country by Cortez, or during his administration. One of the beneficent provisions of Di- vine Providence in regard to wheat is that it will flourish, to some extent, in a wider range of country, climate and soil, than any other bread grain now in use, thereby ren- dering it the most valuable of all for the liuman race ; but possibly Oats (A vena) will flourish in a warmer cli- 12 WHEAT CULTURE. mate, and Barley {Hordeum) in a colder, than our wheats.' BOTANICAL OEIGIX. Botanical authors differ about as widely as do others as to the origin or derivation of the wheat plant, Triticum. Some of them maintain that wheat sprang from an in- ferior grain or grass, and from that has been improved by cultivation, up to the superior grain which we now find it. Others contend that it was originally, and from the beginning, a pure, absolute wheat, with all the char- acteristics that it now presents, with increased excellence attained by cultivation, in some varieties, as is the case with horses, where the thorough-bred specimens show superior points to the common farm horse. The former class contend that wheat is derived from ^Egilops ovata, a handsome grass, one to two feet high, resembling wheat more than other grasses do, but more like barley than wheat, and found in the countries bor- dering on the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas. It is held that this grass simply, by good culture, has resulted in what is now our wheat. But in writing this little work it is not our aim or province to settle these disputed questions, in which the doctors disagree. Another beautiful characteristic of this chief of the cereals is its wonderful susceptibility to modifying in- fluences, resulting, under intelligent management of growers, in the production of new varieties, adapted to great differences of circumstances, and rewarding the cultivators with grains suited to their peculiar situations and necessities. Ten or a dozen species of Triticum arc mentioned by some writers ; while others refer all our cultivated wheats to a single species, with hundreds of varieties. Great changes in wheat are effected by two processes, that of hybridizing, and v>iiat is called the pedigree sys- thl: wueat plant. 13 tern ; both modes have given vahiable sorts of wheat. The pedigree system is best and most convenient ; it con- sists in selecting, from year to year, the best specimens, saving them for seed and pUmtiiig them year after year. SPRIN"G AND WINTER WHEAT. The great mass of the wheat grown in this country is the Triticum vulgare, which is divided into two sub- species or races — T. hibernum, Winter Wheat ; andl^. cbs- tivum, Spring Wheat. These are arranged in many groups, as the bald and bearded, the hard and soft, the white and red ; and still further subdivided as varieties which are known by texture and color of the kernel, the color and quality of the chaff or straw, and by many other characteristics which need not be enumerated here. In regions where forests abound, and where heavy loam or clay lands exist, winter varieties of wheat are most suitable. For light, friable soils, like the prairies, where there is but little snow, and the soil is liable to bo blown away, spring varieties succeed best, because, be- ing planted in spring, they are not subject to be laid bare and destroyed by winter wind and frost. On moist lands, such as river-bottoms and alluvial formations, the rapid -growing, quick-ripening varieties (whether winter or spring) succeed best. Maturing in shorter time, they are more likely to escape rust and other calamities inci- dent to such localities. Yet, almost every natural land can, by proper man- agement, be made a fair wheat soil. IJnder-draining, thorough pulverization, and a fair supply of vegetable manures, with ashes or lime, will render sand, gravel, or clay land a suitable soil for successful wheat-growing. But, first of all, it must be well drained and made fine and rich. 14 WHEAT CULTURE. CHAPTER III. HOW TO OBTAIN A LARGE YIELD. Besides the minor details, there are six essential re- quisites for the production of uniformly large yields, per acre, of sound wheat. FIRST — UKDER-DEAIKIKG. There must absolutely be a well-drained, deep, porous, warm subsoil, to the depth of at least two feet, with no stagnant water, in order that air and moisture may freely circulate through all parts of the earth to that depth, which will also allow the plant roots to run down and spread out easily for their necessary nourishment. AYhere the land is naturally of a loose texture, as gravel and sand, to a goodly depth, or with a gravelly sub-soil, the artificial drainage is less needed. SECOND — DEEP CULTIVATION. Deep cultivation by the sub-soil plow, is absolutely necessary, to the depth of at least twelve to fifteen inches, according to the nature of the land — whether porous or tenacious and hard — so as to enable the soil to retain moisture in a dry time, and to allow an excess to pass off readily in a wet season, as well as to allow the roots to have easy, wide range. Deep cultivation is, therefore, equally beneficial against the effects of drouth as against the drowning of the plants ; being loose and mellow to a goodly depth, moisture from below can freely rise to the surface when it is dry and hot, and heavy rains can readily sink down when they form surplus water on the surface. This operation does not require the raw sub-soil to be brought to the top. HOW TO OBTAIN A LARGE YIELD. 15 Most of the advantages of sub-soil plowing and deep cultivation will be lost or not realized, and even injury be done, if tlie land be not also well under-drained to a con- siderable depth — two feet at least — because the deep plowing makes a basin of the land so plowed, where sur- plus water Avill settle and remain stagnant, unless there are sufficient drains at a lower depth than the plowing, to freely carry ofE all excess of water. But the drainage being ample, the land cannot well be broken too deej^ly for best results in wheat-gr.owing. Let the sub-soil plow- ing be done so as not to bring much of the raw, stiff under-earth to the top at first, and the next year it will be first-rate soil for grain. THIRD — PULYERIZATIOX OF THE SOIL. Perfect pulverization, by fine plowing, harrowing, and rolling, is highly important, and will be productive of beneficial results, in giving larg;e yields, and will preserve the fertility and strength of the land, by preparing the soil and putting it in that comminuted form in which the rootlets can absorb and appropriate a greater portion of the nutriment than when it is in a lumpy condition. In fact, the constituents of the soil cannot be brought into that state of solution in which they must be before plants can appropriate them, until the soil is made very fine. No part of the earth, no matter how rich it may be, is avail- able for plant use, until it is very finely pulverized. Hence, much crushing, stirring, and culture is necessary. POURTH— ALKALI AND SOLUBLE SILICA. There must be a liberal quantity of alkali and soluble silica in the soil, in order to enable it to produce a heavy crop of healthy wheat. Alkaline matters, such as potash and lime, must be in the soil, to operate with the air and moisture in dissolving all the required elements or ingre- 16 VrHEAT CULTURE. dients, in order that they may be taken up in plant growth ; otherwise faihire is certain. Liebig and other chemists and experimenters have proved that but small quantities of potash and silica are necessary, but that these small quantities are absolutely essential, as arc moisture and air — those powerful solvents which reduce the constituents of the soil to a liquid state, so that plants can use them. FIFTH — CLOVER AKD PLASTER. With the above preparation thoroughly made — that is, under-draining and sub-soihng — plaster, on clover plowed under in rank growth, and with the use of good seed wheat — a yield of thirty to forty bushels the acre of sound wheat will be the result, three years out of four, as surely as fifteen to twenty is from the ordinary farm operations. If the drainage be thoroughly done, and the sub- soiling well done, twelve to fifteen inches deep, the sub-soiling will not be required oftener than every four or five years, and the ordinary plowing need not be more than six or seven inches deep in the intermediate years, and for plowing under clover or other green crops, or any manure, the plowing need not be more than five or six inches deep, with mellow sub-soil. In order not to bring raw sub-soil to the surface, it is best to cut the main f urrovf eight to ten inches deep with a large plow and stout team. Then follow in that furrow with a single horse and small, narrow plow, which will break the sub-earth four to six inches deeper and not quite so wide as the first furrov\^, and the next fuiTov»r will fall into and cover the small one, leaving the old surface soil still near the top. Most farmers know oi and have used the small, sharp sub-soil plows made on purpose for that work, and to great advantage. It is found to be a good plan to apply the alkalies — ashes, lime, potash, and salt, or whatever is used — to the now TO OiiTAIX A LAKGi: YIELD. 17 ground just before sowing or planting the wheat, and then harrow them into the surface at the rate of ten to fifteen bushels of lime, or six to eight bushels of ashes or salt to the acre. SIXTH — SELECTIOISr AKD PREPARATIOI^ OF THE SEED. Proper selection and preparation of seed are all-essential in getting highest results in wheat growing. Seed should be perfectly ripe, gathered, thrashed and binned without the least wetting or moulding, and without being cracked or heated in the lightning thrashers ; it should be per- fectly screened and cleaned in the fanning mill. Farm- ers would, in the long ran, be the gainers if they would each year gather with the grain cradle and thrash by hand with flail on a clean barn floor, sufficient wheat for seed, selecting the best growth in their fields, and letting it stand until perfectly ripe, taking that which seems to be earliest in ripening. When ready to plant, soak the seed six to ten hours in brine, and roll in plaster to dry it for the drill. In regard to seeding with clover and grass, there are several modes and varieties, and differences of opinion among growers. Our own experience for several years in different States, on various soils, as well as considera- ble observation and reading, lead us to believe that Red- top is better than Timothy to seed with Clover, princi- pally because it comes to maturity nearer the same time with the clover ; and we think early spring is the best time to sow the clover, say on the last snows of the sea- son, or during the first spring showers, or just before them, so that they will cover the seed into the soil and cause early germination; but we would sow the gras^^ seed (Red- top, Timothy, or Orchard-grass) at tlie time of sowing the wheat, so that it may get a start in the fall. 18 WHEAT CULTURE. CHAPTER IV. INCIDENTAL REQUIREMENTS TO A LARGE YIELD. PREPAEING THE SEED-BED. Incidental to the six essential points named, is the planting of the seed and the immediate preparation of the surface to receive it. The ground should be more thoroughly harrowed than some farmers do it, to level and fine it as completely as possible, but all farmers well know that the harrow will not crush the lumps, though it cuts some of them to pieces while it pushes others aside. The roller crushes and finely powders nearly all of the surface soil, making a fine seed-bed for the drill to run through and plant the seed, which it leaves in shallow gutters, lightly covered with small ridges each side. The ridges prevent the seed and young plant from being blown bare in high winds, and will also catch the snow and hold it to cover and shelter the wheat. TOP-DRESSING — IN'SECTS AND DISEASES. When the grain is well up in the fall, it will more than pay the cost to spread six or eight bushels of plaster to the acre on the crop, and after the frosts appear and the plants begin to be dormant, a dressing of four to six bush- els of common salt, per acre, will be worth more than the outlay, not only by making the crop more luxuriant, but also by affording much security against injury by rust and insects. In the spring again, as soon as the ground is dry enough to allow of walking over it comfortably, a dressing of four or five bushels to the acre of fine lime will afford still further security against all insects or dis- eases. Sowing lime and plaster as a top-dressing, fall and spring, is needed for each crop, but the ten or fifteen EEQUIKEMENT3 TO A LAEGE YIELD. 19 bushels applied in preparing the soil will bo sufilcicnt if given once ni three years. THE AVERAGE YIELD DOUBLED. We have no hesitation in saying that the system above marked out, if faithfully carried out for live years or longer, will as surely give all the growers who practice it more than double the average yield per acre of wheat, as tiie common practice gives that average. Every one who reads this can calculate the cost, and he will find that, although it will cost him less than one-half more j)er acre, it will as surely give him full double returns, and generally even more than double. Every farmer knows that it will cost very little, or no more, to cut and gather an acre which yields thirty bushels, than one that yields only fifteen. It costs no more to plant it, so that all tlie c.\tra cost is in sub-soil plowing and top-dressing vrith the lime and plaster, and preparing the seed. IMPROVED DRILLS AiTD WHEAT HOES. But if the grower would still further increase his yieUl, and without proportionally increasing the expense, he can effect it by first using the improved drill points. These spread the seed-gram further apart than the ordinary drill, require less seed, distribute more evenly in the soil, and give the same quantity of j^lants more room to grow and receive air and light freely. Also, let it be planted m drills wide apart (fourteen to sixteen inches), so that it may be hoed between the drills in fall and spring, witii either hand-hoes or horse-hoes, which can be done by either running a corn-cultivator through it, or, better still, by the use of the new wheat hoe shov>'n in figure 1. Iloeing wheat is very much in favor by those who have practised it, and is said to largely increase the yield, and 20 WHEAT CULTUEE. to generally give a better quality of grain. It is much practised in England and other parts of Europe, and has been adopted by some growers in this country, who uni- formly acknowledge valuable results therefrom. Among other advantages claimed for it are these : it more than doubles the yield for a given quantity of land and seed by allowing much better tillering out ; it keeps the land clean, any cockle or other weeds can readily be removed l^lS:. i. — THE WHEAT HOE AT WORK. that may get into the rows of wheat ; better opportunity IS afforded to dislodge insects and to apply ashes, lime, plaster, sulphur, or other remedies, for diseases and in- sects ; the grain is more pleasantly cut and gathered, giving twice the profit on every acre. The engravings, figures 2 and 3, show the difference between wheat not hoed and that hoed. EARLY HARYESTIKG. One important operation to assure large profits from the wheat crop, is early harvesting, as soon as it is passing REQUIREMElfTS TO A LARGE YIELD. 21 out of the milk into the dough state. This course is too little known or observed by the great majority of farmers, and, wlien better understood, will be more widely adopted. Five very important advantages, besides several lesser ones, are derived from harvestnig the wheat crop thus early : First — It is largely a preventive of injury by rust, as rust ceases to affect the gram as soon as it is cut, while Fig. 2.— WHEAT IN CLOSE BRILLS, UNCULTIVATED. t the substance in the straw perfects the gram if cut in the milk state. fSecond — It gives more and heavier gram. Third — It gives more and better flour to the bushel, as all the time the grain stands, after the dough state, it makes bran at the expense of starch and flour. Fourth — It causes less waste by shelling and scattering while har- Fig. 3. — WHEAT WIDE APART AND HOED— TILLERED OUT. vesting and handling. Fifth — The harvestmg can be sooner begun and out of the way, for other work, and is more pleasantly done, as the straw is tougher and softer to handle than when perfectly ripe. For flour and milling purposes, wheat cut early is the best, but the small quantity needed for seed should stand until perfectly ripe. RUST — ITS PREVEKTIOiq". A writer in the " Tecumseh (Mich.) Herald" com- municates the following on the subject of early harvest of wheat : — '^ Rust m wheat is caused, among other things, by exhaustion in the. soil of requisite mineral matters. 22 WHEAT CULTURE. • such as soluble silica, potash, and some others, which are required to make stiff, bright, well glazed straw ; and this condition is aggravated, or rather operated upon, by climatic changes, to produce fungi or rust. When the straw is too tender and soft, lacking sufficient flinty or glazed covering, which is the case when it grows too suc- culent witli excess of nitrogenous and lack of mineral matters, it is liable to be ruptured if suddenly struck by the sun while damp. When this state of things occurs, an immediate sprinkling of plaster or of lime has been sometimes known to arrest the disease and prevent serious diaster to the grain ; but when it occurs late enough to find the grain advanced to the milk or dough state, im- mediately cutting the grain will save it from injury by the rust, and secure a crop of sound wheat with some- what injured straw only." EXPERIMENTS IN INDIANA. He also quotes an early writer, in the agricultural reports from Indiana, who gives the following facts in his own experience : ^' He sowed three equal fields of similar quality of soil, and same kind of seed, to wheat, in September. On the twenty-fifth of June following, rust appeared in all three fields ; the wheat was just in the dongh state. On that day he cut one of the fields ; the second day he cut an- other field, leaving them lying to cure in the swath, as the grain was quite green, in the dough state. Four days later he cut the third field, which, by this time, was badly rusted. Upon thrashing and weighing the grain, separately, of each field, he found that No. 1 (the first cut) gave twelve bushels the acre of grain, weighing fifty-six pounds the measured bushel; No. 2 gave eight bushels the acre, weighing forty-six pounds ; and No. 3 gave less than the seed sown, of poor grain." '^ In 1858, ten years later, rust made its appearance REQUIREMEXT6 TO .V LAllGE YIELD. 23 again on his place, and he made another test of the utility of early harvest, with three patches of wheat. The third week in June, when rust struck all of his wheat, he at once cut one held, while very green, just passing out of the milk ; two days after he cut the second field ; three days later still he cut the third, by which time the rust was very bad. The early cut was left to cure in the swath. He thrashed and weighed each parcel separately, as in the former experiment. The first cut gave twenty- five bushels the acre, weighing sixty-one pounds the bushel ; the second lot only half as much, and weighing fifty-six pounds the bushel ; and the third lot much poorer than the second." Here are instructive lessons in regard to early harvest and rust. EXPERiiiEXTS m engla:n'd. '^An English farmer reports cutting three lots of wheat at different stages of maturity — in the milk, in the dough, and fully ripe. He thrashed separately, and had one hundred pounds of each carefully ground and the results weighed. The one hundred pounds of wheat, cut in the milk, made seventy-five pounds of flour, eleven pounds shorts, twelve pounds bran ; that cut in the dough made eighty pounds flour, five pounds shorts, thirteen pounds bran ; that cut fully ripe made seventy- two pounds flour, eleven pounds shorts, fifteen pounds bran ; two pounds lost by milling in each case. This shows the dough state made most flour, and the ripest made the least flour and most bran." Bran is made at the expense of flour, by standing late. Mr. Reid, of Indiana, reports to the Agricultural De- partment that he cut half of a fifty-acre field of Mediter- ranean wheat in the dough state ; the balance ten days later. The first gave most bushels, and weighed sixty- five pounds ; the last, less bushels, weighmg only sixty pounds ; the first also made more and better flour. 24 WHEAT CULTURE. CHAPTER V. PLxiNTINa OR SOWING WHEAT. TIME TO PL^li^T. In this matter, as in most others connected with plant life, it is safe to take nature as a guide to a considerable ex- tent. In most cases her ways and habits are the true ones ; and, in the operation of planting our grains, that guide is eminently correct, making due allowances for the changed conditions of artificial sowing. Hence early planting is tlie correct system, as nature usually plants the seed very soon after it is ripe and ready to fall from the parent plant. This would indicate that wheat should be planted as soon after becoming ripe as the soil can be made ready to receive the seed, after harvest and thrashing. There will be little danger of rust or insects, however early the grain may be sown, if the seed is well soaked in brine and dried in plaster or lime, if the land is well drained and deeply cultivated, and if, furthermore, the crop be liberally dressed with salt, lime, or plaster, in late autumn or early spring. There will, also, be little or no danger of too rank growth, or blasting, or shrinking, if the soil be well pulverized and deejoly cultivated, with a fair supply of potash or lime to secure a sufficiency of soluble silica to make sound, healthy straw aiid chaif. With all tlie proper, natural conditions, early planting is surely the best — from August first to September fifteenth, according to locality. On this point Mr. C. K Thorne, of the Ohio Univer- sity Farm, makes the following report of his experi- ments : "^ A piece of bottom land, about ten rods wide by thirty long, was laid olf in five equal strips, each two rods wide. PLANTING OR SOWING WHEAT. 25 and all sown with Clawson wheat — with seed at the same rate per acre — on the ninth, sixteenth, twenty- third, and thirtieth of September, and the seventh of October, 1878. ''The results were as follows : Strip sown September ninth yielded at the rate of thirty-three and one-fifth bushels per acre ; strip sown September sixteenth yielded at the rate of thirty and three-tenths bushels per acre ; strip sown September twenty-third yielded at the rate of twenty-six and two-fifths bushels per acre ; strij) sown September thirtieth yielded at the rate of thirty-two and seven-tenths bushels per acre, and strip sown October seventh yielded at the rate of twenty-six and one-fifth bushels per acre." nere it will be seen that the seed sown in the last half of September yielded best. BENEFITS OF EARLY PLANTING. Some of the benefits of early planting are that it will secure a stronger growth of plants during autumn for en- during the winter, giving them more power to resist any calamity that may attack the crop, besides giving more time for tillering-out and making a good fruitful stool ; and should any grower fear that his crop will make too stout a growth, he can feed it down or mow it off, either being preferable to having a slim, late crop. We find the majority of testimony among intelligent, observing experimenters, to be largely in favor of early planting, as early, at least, as the middle of September, while our own opinion, from many years' experience, is that even fifteen to twenty days earlier than that is preferable — say from the tenth of August to the first of September. And when the great mass of farmers come to know and prize the many benefits of early harvest, they will also see the utility of uniformly planting earlier than is no'.v the common custom ; this will bring forward ear- 2 26 WHEAT CULTURE. • Her harvests, leaving time and room to make more per- fect preparations for early planting. But with early harvesting of the main croj), a portion of the largest and finest of the grain, sufficient for their needed seed, should be left standing to ripen perfectly, to he gathered by hand with cradle or sickle, and then also tlirashed by hand vdth the flail. \ Many more arguments or reasons could be given for early planting or early harvesting, but space requires us to be brief. PROPER DEPTH TO PLA]S"T. In the matter of depth to plant, as in regard to time of sowing, nature's methods may be considered, making due allowance for attendant circumstances. K^ature ■drops the seed on the surface, then covers it very slightly with only dust and light leaf-mould or straw and chaff from the parent plant and surrounding litter tc shelter it from the sun-rays ; she plants in the shade, where de- caying matters cover and nourish until the plant is fairly rooted, but she never plants deeply nor covers heavily. Several circumstances must dictate the proper depth for wheat in different localities, such as the kiud of soil, the degree of temperature and moisture, and the season at which the planting is done ; these and other condi- tions must, more or less, control the matter, so that no invariable rule can be laid down for all situations and periods, but much must be left to the judgment and skill of the operator. In Ught, porous soils, that are rather dry and warm, more depth of covering will be needed than in heavy, moist lands. About one inch in the for- mer and three-fourths of an incli m the latter will not be far from right, as a general practice. A depth of not less than three-fourths of an inch nor more than an inch and a half are probably the extremes for wheat, to secure the best results. Sandy and gravelly lands will admit of PLAKTING OR SOWING WHEAT. 27 deeper i^lantiug than heavier, clayey lands ; but the light, friable soils of the Western prairies probably require the deepest covering of any in which wheat is grown, as that soil is more liable to be blown about by the winds, and there is generally less snow in winter to protect the crops from extremes. Then, in autumn, when the soil for some inches below the surface is warmer than in the spring, it will do to plant deeper than in the latter season. A waiter in the "New England Farmer" recommends a depth of not less than half an inch nor more than one inch. The "Michigan Farmer" favors a quarter to half an inch as giving the best results in most cases. ger:.iixatio:n" or seeds. Air, moisture, and v/armth are all necessary to cause seeds to germinate and send up plants ; they will "come up" sooner in warm than in cold soils ; in those that are moist than in very dry ; in loose, porous, than in stiff, hard soils. Experiments have shown that, wheat planted at different depths came up as follows : At half an mch, in ten days ; one inch, in twelve days ; at two inches, in eighteen days ; but m some cases of favorable warm conditions, wheat at those depths has been known to come up m six to four days, not usually, how^ever, so soon. A temperature of soil and air from fifty to sixty degrees is favorable for wheat, though it will sprout and grow at several degrees both below and above that. The "American Cultivator" gives the following useful tables : "Frequent complaints are made that seeds do not ger- minate, and dealers m them are found fault with w^hen, very generally, the fault lies in the improper manner in which people plant them. Many take no heed of the condition of the soil or of the depth at which the seed should be planted. The temperature and moisture also 28 WHEAT CULTURE. have a controlling influence. The temperature of germi- nation, of the following seeds, is : Lowest. 1 HirjJiest. Most rapid. Degrees F. Degrees F. Degrees F. Wheat . Barle}^ . Pea ... . Corn . . . Bean... Squash 41 104 84 41 104 83 44 103 84 48 115 93 49 111 79 54 115 93 '•Air-dried seeds will imbibe water of absorption com- pletely in from forty-eiglit to seventy-two hours, in the following percentage : eOlPea 107 60 Clover 118 Mustard 8iBnckwheat . . . .47|Oats Millet 25 Barley 49lHemp .. . Corn 44iTurnips 51 1 Kidney beans, 96jBeets 121 Wheat 45 Rye 58'Horse beans. .104' White clover..l27 Mr. S. K Betts, in the '^ Michigan Homestead," gives the following interesting results of his experiments : '^'Thc figures at the top of the table indicate the depth in inches at which the different samples were planted, and the figures at the left the time at which they came up, respectively. The other figures are the number of kernels that germinated in each forty : '/2 ! February 2 6 a.m. February 3 9 A. m. February 4 11 A, M. February 5 9 a.m. i'ebruary 10 a.m. February 7 11a.m. February 8 i 9 A. m. February 9 j 9 A. m. February 11 1 9 A. M. 7 34 9 n 35 36 24 23 39 33 36 2 26 34 30 8 35 32 IG 19 1 20 1 ''It will be seen that the seed planted one inch in depth gave the best returns. That planted respectively at three-quarters of an inch and two inches m depth yielded the same number of kernels. Seed planted three inches deep produced good, and that planted more than four inches very poor results. " PLAXTIK^G OR SOWI^^G WHEAT. 29 QUAJ^TITY OF SEED TO THE ACRE. As in many other farm matters, there is diversity of opinion as to the quantity of seed it is best to sow, but judgment and circumstances must determine tlie point in different situations. Different preparation of botli seed and soil will render more or less seed necessary ; climate and season have much to do Avith it ; kind of soil and variety of wheat, also, have a bearing upon the question. Wheats which tiller largely, like Clawson, Fultz, Gold Medal, etc., need less seed to the acre. Eich, fertile soil requires less than poor land. A long season and warm climate require less, as affording better conditions for spreading and growing ; fine, deep pulverization of the soil, which gives heavier growth to each plant, needs less seed, and w^ell-cleaned, sound grain requires less seed than otherwise. Then more seed is required when sown in the spring than in the fall on the same land. Many circumstances enter into the determination of the question, so that careful discretion should be exercised by each grower for his own special case. The manner of plantmg, whether by drill or broadcast, and the style of drill used, make more or less seed necessary. If seed IS well screened and brined, with all light, foul seed skimmed off, of course less will be necessary. From three to six pecks, per acre, is about right, as a general rule. Broadcast sowing is hardly safe with less than six pecks to the acre of good seed, to secure full seeding to all parts of the ground, as some spots will get too much, and some will not be covered. With drill j^lanting the seed is more evenly distributed, and more completely covered, with none too much in any one place ; hence less is needed. Some styles of drills distribute the seed better than others, some of them making four pecks necessary, while with the others three pecks will be suffi- cient. If every kernel were properly planted, and all 30 WHEAT CULTURE. • perfectly distributed and germinated, even much less than the above quantity would be needed to fully seed the ground. Yet, if the planting be not done in the very best manner, to secure the growth of all the seed, we would recommend too much rather than too little — say six to eight i^ecks to the acre. TOOLS AXD IMPLEMEIs^TS. Every prudent farmer will buy the best and most sub- stantial implements and tools, and those of the best pat- tern ; m the long run they are the most economical. The greater despatch of work and saving in labor will more than pay the extra price, in a single season, of a superior implement over a poor one. Often the loss of time and damage to crop, from hindrance by breakage of a flimsy tool, more than offsets the higher cost of a first class implement. Furthermore, the same good farmer will always take care of and shelter his tools and imple- ments from the weather, when not in use, and not leave them out in the fields to be storm beaten. IMPORTANCE OF THE WHEAT CliOP. 31 CHAPTER VI. mPORTANCE OF THE WHEAT CROP. COMMERCE AND POPULATION". As an additional stimulus to our farmers to make efforts for greater yield in the production of wheat, we will call their attention to its great importance in the commercial and financial world. Wheat is now the great sensation in commercial circles everywhere, and is the liveliest of all commodities in general trade. Especially to the United States is the matter one of great and growing importance, as many foreign countries are becoming more and more dependent upon us for their supply of breadstuffs ; and it is alike our duty and interest to supply them as fully as possible, and as cheaply as can be, consistent with fair returns for our labor. Our room and area are almost unlimited and our facili- ties unbounded. Our soils and localities are numerous and diversified, while our climate embraces a wide and varied range, and generally of the most congenial character — i-eaching from ocean to ocean, and from the tropics to the frozen zone. It seems emphatically our mission to feed the Old World in its decline. It has been our grand privilege to give the Old World, even in our youth, an example of the best form of human government yet known to them. And now, before we are half grown, it is our privilege, and within our power, to furnish them with the very means to sustain their natural lives, and avert from them threatened starvation. 32 WHEAT CULTUKE. EEPOKTS BY LETTERS. Many results reported in numerous letters received by the author, for last year's harvest^, show that the maxi- mum yield, in many sections of many States, ranged from thirty, forty, fifty, uj^ to sixty-one bushels per acre, under thorough, judicious culture ; and many reports, gathered from other authentic sources, for several years past, in different States, show that as high as fifty to sixty bushels per acre have frequently been obtained. Is it unreasonable, then, to claim that the great majority of farmers can more than double the average yield of four- teen bushels, and make the average even as high as thirty bushels the acre ? For instance, take the mean between these maximum rates of forty to sixty bushels, which is fifty bushels, and we believe it not a very hard matter for the majority of wheat growers to obtain that figure of fifty bushels the acre. AVhen farmers reflect that their productions have really become the controlling commodities in the com- mercial world, they will understand that they cannot become too intelligent in their business, nor too w^ell informed in regard to the markets and trade, where they must sell and buy. Daniel Webster is reported to have once said, in a speech, 'Hhat the time was not far distant when American wheat would regulate the money and exchanges of Europe and America,*' a prediction already well-nigh fulfilment ; and a similar remark was recently made by an English statesman, that " tlie breadstuffs of America would soon control the exchanges and commerce of the world," which is being realized by the farmers of America already. YAEIOUS STATISTICS. Different reports and estimates show that the total wheat product of the United States, in 1878, was very nearly four hundred and twenty million bushels, on IMPORTANiCE OF THE WHEAT CROP. 33 about thirty-one million acres of land, being nearly an average of fourteen bushels per acre. This quantity gave our people, for home consumption, two hundred million bushels, allowing live bushels per capita for the entire population, estimated in round numbers at forty millions, while the people of Europe have not more than three to four bushels a head for all the population. For seed, it likewise allowed us sixty million bushels for- thirty-two million acres the succeeding season, which is the average, probably, sown that year, and then left about one hundred and forty million bushels surplus for ex- portation, which is the quantity shown by various statis- tics to have been exported by the time the crop of 1879 was ready to go forward ; and for the crop of the latter year we have even larger figures. The acreage harvested in 1879 was about thirty-two million acres, and the en- tire product was not far from four hundred and forty million bushels, showing a trifle less than an average of fourteen bushels per acre for the whole area sown, which is an absurdly small yield for a new country and lands, such as ours, and which ought to be, and easily can be, doubled, if the farmers will all adopt the best known methods, whereby they can likewise double their profits. The Duke of Beaufort has made somewhat detailed estimates of the cost of the growing and transportation of wheat in America, and is very emphatic in his con- clusions, saying: ''As to the expense, I have no doubt but wheat can be raised in the United States and be landed at Liverpool, from the average of distance of shipping points on the coast of the United States, at a cost of four shillings per bushel, or thirty-two shillings per quarter," and then asks, '' Can 5^ou compete with this price in England? I say, certainly not." The Duke sums up his letter as follows : '' The result of my con- sideration of the subject is this — that climate, steam transport by land and sea, with the labor question on 34 WHEAT CULTURE. • both sides of the ocean, have made it out of the power of our agriculturists to compete with the growers of wheat in America, and tliat our farmers must turn their attention to better and cheaper modes of raising beef and mutton ; distance, with the difficulty and expense of transporting live and dead meats, gives us an advantage over them that we will be wise to improve, rather than waste time and capital in trying the impossible task of competing with them m growing wheat, or we shall be driven out of the meat market also by the Americans." From the *^ English Agricultural Gazette" we copy the following sensible remarks : ^* It is more than prob- able that the acreage of wheat sown here, for 1880, will be considerably less than for many years; farmers are disheartened as to wheat culture here ; they have lost confidence m their climate, soil, and market ; the ad- visability of growing less wheat has been advocated here for some years by many of our agricultural leaders, nota- bly by Mr. Lawes, and it is not difficult to restrict the acreage of wheat in the Kingdom." EXPORTS OF WHEAT i:t;r 1850, AKD SINCE. In 1850, the United States exported wheat and flour (re- ducing the flour to its equivalent in bushels) eight million bushels ; 1860, about eighteen million bushels ; 1877, over fifty-seven million one hundred and fifty-two thousand bushels ; 1878, over one hundred and thirty-four million three hundred thousand bushels ; and in 1879, known and estimated above one hundred and sixty-one million four hundred thousand bushels ; and the greater portion of this vast export, every year, went to Great Britain. In 1878, that country imported into her own borders some fifty-seven million five hundred thousand cwts. of grain, flour, and meal, of which forty-eight per cent, nearly half, were received from the United States. IMPORTANCE OF THE WHEAT CROP. 35 ENGLISH WHEAT-GROWING DECREASING. Another fact is auspicious to the prosjjects of the American farmer, which is — that the number of persons engaged in grain-growing in Great Britain is on the de- crease. By reference to reports in English journals, it will be seen that the number of persons there engaged in wheat-growing in 1861 was one million eight hundred and thirty-three thousand two hundred and ninety-five ; but in 1871 the number was decreased to one million six hundred and thirty-four thousand one hundred and ninety-two, a reduction of nearly twelve j^er cent in ten years ; and the decrease, during the past decade, is re- ported as being still larger, though the number engaged m grazing has remained as usual. It is also reported that the number of acres sown to grain, especially to wheat, is steadily becoming less, for the past ten years. Great Britain will, undoubtedly, for a long time, be the largest purchaser of our farm products, especially of wheats while some other countries of Europe and of South America will often need portions of our grains, but they will want it mostly as flour, which is really the true form m which we should sell all of our surplus wheat. From numerous reports and other sources, in foreign journals, we learn that the average yield, per acre, in France and Germany, until the last few years, was twenty-eight to thirty-two bushels ; and in England and Wales, from thirty to thirty-four bushels, until the late disastrous crops ; but that was the average yield, for many generations, even on their old lands, which had been cropped for ages. 3G WHEAT CULTURE. CHAPTER VII. FLOUR THE FORM IN WHICH TO SELL WHEAT. MILLIiq^G EMPLOYS MAKY PERSONS. For several important reasons^ all of our surplus wheat should be sold or exported in the shape of flour. j^iRST — It will afford useful employment to a large number of mechanics and others laborers here at home, such as builders and operators of mills, . coopers, and others, in making barrels or other packages — in packing and putting up the packages, handling and hauling, be- sides other incidental labor, not required in selling and shipping whole wheat. The business and profits of feed- ing, clothing, housing, and otherwise maintaining all of these yarious operatives, inside and outside of the flour- ing mills, are likewise very considerable, THE VALUE OF BEAN" AKD SHORTS. Secoi«^d — It will retain here at home the bran, shorts, and other refuse, always produced in milling, whence it can and always should go back to the farms and land where wheat is produced, as fertilizers to the soil, through feeding stock, to aid in preventing exhaustion or ^* running down" of the soil. It is well known, and IS shown by various analyses, that the bran and straw contain nearly all of the mineral or inorganic matter which the w^ieat crop has derived from the soil. Conse- quently those portions of the wheat plant do most towards impoverishing the land and rendering it less capable of producing a heavy crop of sound grain ; hence as much as possible of the bran and straw should go back to the land. FLOUR THE FORM IJ^" AVmCH TO SELL AVHEAT. 37 THE PROFITS OF MILLING. Third — The large iDrofits of milling and making and packing flour, by which many large fortunes are acquired, will be retained and accumulated at home, affording at- tractive investments for a large amount of capital. Of the one hundred and forty million bushels surplus of 1878, perhaps as much as eighty million to one hundred million bushels were exported in the shape of wdiole wheat ; that would make about twenty-five million barrels of flour, and at a casual guess it is safe to say that, includ- ing bran and shorts, the profits on milling that quantity of wheat would be one dollar j^er barrel, which would make the snug sum of twenty-five million dollars saved at home by grinding all of it into flour before exporting ; no matter whether the figures are precisely correct or not, they illustrate the proposition and pomt the argu- ment all the same. INCIDENTAL BENEFITS. Fourth — Considerable saving in freights and insur- ance would be made, and less trouble in handling, as a mass of wheat, when reduced to the shape of well-packed flour, occupies less room, is liable to less risk, and can be more pleasantly handled than its equivalent as whole wheat. For instance, twenty-five million barrels of flour will not cost as much freight and msurance for transport from Chicago to New York, or from Baltimore to Liver- pool, as would the quantity of wheat, one hundred mil- lion bushels, required to make it ; consequently, the difference would be so much saving to be added to the profits at the point of shipping or milling. For these and other reasons, as much as possible of wheat should be made into flour before exporting, or even before being sent from the county where grown. 38 WHEAT CULTURE. • Fifth — Where large flouring and coopering operations are carried on, many laborers of different classes are em- ployed. They, in turn, aid the prosperity of the gar- deners, orchardists, and small farmers, by consuming and making market for their vegetables, milk, fruits, and poultry products, to a considerable extent, upon which, generally, better profits are realized than on their wheat. Hence the agricultural classes should do what they can toward the building of mills in their neighbor- hoods, which will flour all of their surplus wheat before it leaves the vicinity where it is raised ; and then the farmers should seek to get back to their own premises as much of the bran and shorts as they well can, to feed the stock and soil. the straw xot to be sold. It is certainly bad policy to sell the straw off of the farm, as it largely contains the soluble silica of the soil, which is so essential to make a vigorous, healthy crop of wheat. There are of late, so many ways for using up straw, in making coarse paper and other fabrics, in towns and cities, which give it a merchantable price that offers tempting inducements for farmers to haul it to town for sale, in many districts, to the injury of their lands, by robbing them of their silica, without an adequate return. This in the long run will prove ruinous, unless an equiv- alent of useful manure of some kind is carried back and supjDlied to the soil. Nothing is really an equal substitute for straw except good stable manure, swamp muck, and leaf mould. VARIETIES MOST GROWJN" IN THE UNITED STATES. 39 CHAPTER YIII. VARIETIES MOST GROWN IN THE UNITED STATES. The following is a list of varieties that have succeeded in most of the States, and proved to be superior in some desirable quality — either for earliness, hardiness, prolific yield, freedom from disease, or some other good charac- teristic, or for adaptability to certain localities : Early May, Bald Mediterranean, Canada Flint, Velvet, Genesee Flint, Hutchinson, Kentucky, Indiana, New York Flint, Bearded Mediterranean, Turkish Flint, Harmon's White (New York Flint), Blue-stem, Boone, Gander, Hoover, Lambert, Michigan, Malta, Orange, Perkey, G olden-chatf , Quaker, Shot-berry or Starbuck, Dayton, Carolina, Golden-straw, Virginia, Reed-straw, Boughton or Tappahannock, Tennessee, Bald Genesee, and Zimmerman. The Early May, known also as Ala- bama, Early Ripe, June, and Watkins, has been cut as early as May twenty-sixth, in Ohio, yielded well, and weighed sixty-five pounds to the bushel. Mr. Klippart reports that the Orange has been known to yield seventy bushels to the acre, and eighty kernels in a single head ; and that the Early May, Genesee Flint, and Harmon's White, frequently weighed sixty-four to sixty-six pounds the bushel. Among later varieties, which are gaining popularity as prolific yielders, are the Keystone, Amber, Red Mediter- ranean, and Yellow Missouri (winter), and Champlain, Defiance, Russian White, and Touce (spring) ; the heads of some of them are said to be eight inches long, with seventy to eighty kernels in them. VARIETIES PREFERRED IN DIFFERENT STATES. In Colorado, spring wheats mostly prevail, the White Australian proving very prolific. In Connecticut, Red 40 WHEAT CULTURE. • Winter, and Gold Medal, with the Sherman as a spring Avheat, have given good results. Delaware produces the Virginia White and Fultz, and most other varieties of winter wheats that succeed in Maryland. Illinois and Iowa grow most of the winter and spring sorts that suc- ceed in Wisconsin and other States generally, including Fultz and Club. In Maryland, the Boughton, Blue- stem, Clawson, Fultz, Gold Dust, Gold Medal, Jennings, Lancaster, Mediterranean, and New York Flints, are popular. In Michigan both spring and winter varieties are grown extensively; of the latter, Clawson, Deihl, Early May, Gold Medal, Genesee Flint, Lancaster, Mediterranean, and Victor seem to be most popular ; of the former, Arnautka, Canada Club, Champlain, De- fiance, Fife, Milwaukee, and Touzelle are preferred. Minnesota grows largely of Arnautka, Fife, Odessa, and Club spring wheats and some winter sorts. Kansas grows spring and some winter wheats. EXPEEIMEIS'TS AT THE MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. In Missouri all the popular sorts succeed, particularly Clawson and Sandford. Prof. G. 0. Swallow, Dean of the Agricultural College, writing in regard to some interest- ing experiments made with wheat on the farm of that Institution, in 1877-78, reports that of sixty-one va- rieties of winter wheat experimented with, twelve were winter-killed and one was destroyed by rust. Of the remaining forty-eight kinds, all planted September twenty-ninth, 1877, forty-three were harvested in June, and five in July ; eight kinds grew to a hight of six feet ; six kinds weighed the standard of sixty pounds, or over ; five reached thirty bushels, or over, per acre ; two, less than one hundred pounds of straw per bushel, namely : Clawson, giving on an acre two thousand six hundred and forty-six pounds of straw to twenty-eight bushels of grain ; and the Sandford, giving on an acre one thousand VARIETIES MOST GROWX 11^ THE UKITED STATES. 41 two liundred and fifty-two pounds of straw and eighteen and three-quarters bushels of grain. The Missouri Agricultural College reports Red May ■winter wheat, the earliest ripening variety, raised on their experimental farm ; sowed September twenty-ninth, it was ripe on June eighth ; is a smooth, or beardless wheat ; gives about twenty-eight bushels the acre, weigh- ing fifty-nine pounds. The heaviest wheat which they raised was the Mediter- ranean, sixty-one pounds, and twenty-two bushels the acre — red grain and bearded heads. The largest yield of any was from Rogers' AVhite, thirty-eight and three- quarters bushels per acre, very plump, weighing fifty-nine pounds. EXPERIMENTS I:N" MASSACHUSETTS. In Massachusetts, as reported, some years ago, by J. H. Klippart, from " Philosophic Transactions," it is stated that ^^ 0. Miller, of Cambridge, on June second, planted a few grains of red wheat ; one plant tillered out so much by August eighth that he was enabled to divide it into eighteen parts, all of which he planted separately in pots of earth. Then, in September and October, so many of these had multiplied their stalks that the num- ber of plants was sixty-seven, which were divided and again set out separately. With the first growth of spring the tillering still went on, so that at the beginning of April a further division was made, and the number of plants was five hundred. These all proved to be ex- tremely vigorous, more so than wheat plants under ordinary circumstances, so that the whole number of heads of wheat gathered from the original plant, by this process of division, was twenty-one thousand one hundred and nine. In a few instances there were one hundred heads on a single plant, very fine and long, some being seven inches in length and containing seventy grains 42 WHEAT CULTUKE. • Gacli. The grain, when all separated from the straw, weighed forty-seven jDounds and seven ounces, measuring three pecks and six quarts, estimated number of grains being five hundred and seventy-six thousand eight hun- dred and forty, and all from one grain in one harvest." Mr. Killibrew remarks: — ^^Of course, such an enor- mous increase is not practicable on a large scale. Yet the experiment is useful as showing the vast power of in- crease possessed by this most valuable grain, under skill- ful, intelligent management, and is an encouragement to our farmers to put forth their best efforts. " VAEIETIES GROW:^T IK KEW YORK. Probably, in New York, a greater number of varieties of wheat are grown than in any other one State, possibly equalled by Ohio and Pennsylvania, where pretty much the same varieties are the general favorites. So far as we have been able to learn, Boughton, Clawson, Deihl, Gen- esee Flint, Fultz, Wicks, Gold Dust, and Harmon's White, are most popular, with Gold Medal, Jennings' White, Mediterranean, and Early May, with some others, are nearly as much so, all giving satisfactory results in various localities. New York has long been distinguished for its fine wheat and excellent flour ; the old, long time ago popular '' Genesee White Flint," known the world over for the superior flour made from it, was of Spanish origin, and has a wide progeny through the whole coun- try — the Boughton, Tappahannock, Blue-stem, Harmon's White, and many others, having originated from it. Hon. L. L. Polk, Commissioner of Agriculture for North Carolina, reports that the Fultz does well in that State ; others report the Clawson as popular. VARIETIES AI^D EXPERIME:N^TS IN^ OHIO. For Ohio, Prof. C. E. Thorne reports, in the ^'Farm and Friend," that ^Hhe wheat harvest commenced on the VARIETIES MOST GROWK IN" THE UNITED STATES. 43 twenty-fifth of Juno with the Velvet-chaff variety, a hard, amber wheat, and is vahied for its freedom from disease, stiffness of straw, earliness, and good flour. Fultz ripened about the same time, possessing good quaUties, with rather softer grain. Golden Straw was cat on the twenty-seventh. It is a white, plump wheat, originated in Tennessee, has short, stiff straw, but has not proved a very heavy cropper. June thirtieth Claw- son was cut, and has sustained its high reputation for freedom from disease, weight of crop, and good straw. Next Gold Medal was cut, a soft, white grain, short, Gtiff, clean straw, and heavy cropper, but shells easily. About the same time the Silver-chaff was ripened, a Canada wheat, is a tall grower, with stiff straw, not very liable to lodge on any soil, appears free from disease, does not shell easily, is white as the Clawson and flinty as the Mediterranean. Though not accurately measured, the yield was about as follows : Velvet-chaff, thirty- six bushels per acre ; Fultz, twenty-six ; Golden Straw, twenty-seven ; Clawson, thirty-four ; Gold Medal, thirty- six, and Silver-chaff, thirty-five.'"' In the palmy days of the Genesee Flint, the splendid varieties of Clawson, Fultz, Gold Dust, Gold Medal, and Jennings' AVhite, seem not to have been known, at least, are not mentioned by Mr. Klippart in his work, though they are now, perhaps, the five most popular varieties of winter wheat grown in our country. He names Canada Flint, Genesee Flint, Hutchinson, English, Blue-stem, Lambert, Orange, and Early May, as among the most popular white wheats in 1860. EXPERIMENTS IN PENNSYLVANIA. Reports from the '^Experimental Farm" of the Agri- cultural College of Pennsylvania, of which Prof. James Calder is President, show the Clawson, Gold Medal, Gold Dust, Fultz, and Lancaster, to be the most desirable 44 WHEAT CULTURE. varieties, among many, grown on their jDlace, and per- haps throughout the State. The proportion of grain to straw is an important consideration in determining the value of any variety of wheat. We here give some im- portant reports on the subject from the Pennsylvania Agricultural College and ^^Experimental Farm." Their experiments in 1878 included above twenty varieties, but I here give the results of the four most important varie- ties, viz. : Clawson, Fultz, Gold Dust and Gold Medal. They were all sown on Spetember twenty-eighth, 1877, and all harvested June twenty-eighth, 1878, with the same care and accuracy. Fultz and Gold Medal, light amber and beardless, yielded, of grain and straw, per acre, as follows : Fultz — grain, thirty-two and eight one-hundreths bush- els ; straw, two thousand five hundred and ninety- two pounds. Gold Medal — grain, thirty-one and fifty- four one-hundredths bushels ; straw, two thousand five hundred and fifty-two pounds, a remarkable nearness of yield, in both grain and straw, by these sorts. Clawson and Gold Dust, beardless, whiter than above kinds, sown and harvested the same date as above, gave the following results : Clawson — grain, thirty-two bushels ; straw, three thousand and seventy-two pounds. Gold Dust — grain, thirty-one and twenty-four one-hundreths bushels; straw, three thousand and forty-two pounds; very nearly the same yields of straw and grain, by each, re- spectively and proportionally ; but it will be noticed that the Fultz and Gold Medal gave slightly larger proportion of grain to straw than the Clawson and Gold Dust ; all of the other kinds (of the twenty tried) gave considera- bly more straw, compared to quantity of grain, than these four thus particularly mentioned. The ground on which all of these were sown was a clayey, sandy loam wheat stubble, plowed soon after har- vest, then liberally manured. The wheat was put in VARIETIES MOST GROWiN' IN THE UNITED STATES. 45 with the drill after the land was thoroughly rolled and all lumps crushed and powdered. Genesee Flint, Boughton, Mediterranean, Silver- chaff, Blue-stem, Jennings' White, Victor, and Wicks, are some of the varieties which give large proportion of grain to straw, while Sandford, Eureka, ''Bill Dallas," AValker, and Deihl, give greater proportion of straw to grain than those named above. Farmers desiring a wheat which will produce the best proportion of grain to straw, will find a lesson and a guide in this statement. VARIETIES IN TENNESSEE AND VIRGINIA. Hon. J. B. Killebrew, in his instructive work on Wheats in Tennessee, mentions, as succeeding generally in that State, the Amber, Boughton, Olawson, Deihl, Early May, Fultz, Genesee Flint, Golden-straw, Lancaster, Mediterranean, Quaker, Walker, and some others ; and he remarks, specially, that "before the introduction of Boughton, Olawson, Fultz, and Mediterranean, with some others, fifteen to twenty bushels the acre was con- sidered an extra yield, but since then twenty-five to thirty-five bushels the acre are not uncommon on prop- erly tilled lands." Hon. Thomas Pollard, Commissioner of Agriculture for A^irginia, in his excellent Report, 1879, shows that the varieties most grown and popular in that State are, about in the order named, the following : Fultz, Lan- caster, Scott, Amber, Blue-stem, Olawson, Oanada, Golden-straw, Mediterranean, and Genesee Flint ; and others, popular in localities, as the Jennings' White, Michigan, Kentucky, Missouri Yellow, New York Flint, Quaker, Ruffin, Weeks, and Zimmerman. Prof. J. R. Page, of the Virginia University Experi- mental Farm, in 1878, reports experiments with ''Eureka " and " Fultz " wheats, planted with drill, one-half acre each, 46 WHEAT CULTURE. on Xovember second, and harvested on June eleventh and fifteenth. Fultz, first cut, gave nine bushels the half acre, and eight hundred and thirty pounds of straw, grain weighing sixty pounds the bushel. Eureka gave eight and one-half bushels the half acre of grain, and one thousand one hundred and ninety-six pounds of straw ; the gram weighed sixty-two pounds the bushel ; the land was a gray, micaceous, sandy loam. He further experimented on six lots of land, of an acre each — j^oor, micaceous, siliceous soil, with many white flint rocks scattered over it. The land was all j^lowed and fallowed from the tenth to the eighteenth of September, 1877, harrowed, and wheat sowed — the Fultz by drill — October fifteenth ; m the following March, vv^as harrowed and sowed with clover seed. The wheat was harvested June tenth and eleventh. Lot one was manured with two hundred pounds ground bone, one hundred pounds nitrate of soda, one hundred pounds muriate of potash, i:i all, value nine dollars and seventy-five cents. Yield of grain was eighteen and one-half bushels, weighing sixty-one and one-half pounds per bushel ; straw, one thousand three hundred and twenty-five pounds, and chalT, two hundred and seventy-nine pounds. Same lot, suc- ceeding year, without fertilizers, produced two and one- half bushels grain, weighing sixty and one-half pounds per bushel, four hundred and twenty pounds straw, and thirty-three pounds chaff. Quantity of seed sown vras five pecks per acre. The other five lots, treated in simi- lar manner the same two years, gave similar results, less bushels of grain and of lighter WTight. ■ "A seventh acre-lot was manured with two hundred pounds dissolved bone, one hundred pounds nitrate of soda, one hundred pounds potash, all mixed ; value, nine dollars and seventy-five cents ; sowed by drill with five pecks Fultz wheat, October fifteenth. Yield was eigliteen bushels grain, weighing sixty-one pounds per YAKIETIES MOST GROWN li^" THE UNITED STATES. 47 Finr. 4.— CHAMPLAIN WHEAT. "WHEAT CULTURE. bushel, one tliousand three hnndrecl and forty pounds of strav,', and two hundred and ninety- seven pounds chaff." In AYisconsin, as in most of the prairie States, spring varieties are suited to large por- tions of the State. In spring wheats, Amaut- ka, Club, Odessa, Fife, and Eussian White, are most popular ; in the winter wheats, Clawson, Genesee Flint, Gold Dust, Fultz, Jennings, Lancaster, Mediterrane- an, and Eed, are the popular varieties. Fig. 5.— DEFIANCE WHEAT. THREE XEVv' YARIETIES. Eecently two new va- rieties of Spring Wheat have been produced in Vermont. They are re- ported as giving large yields, and being valua- ble, and are rejoresented in the engravings figs. 4 and 5 on the previous and this page. The ''Champlam" is a beard- ed, red-kernel wheat ; the other, "Defiance," IS a white, bald wheat, Fig, 6.— RUSSIAN SPPaNG WHEAT. VARIETIES MOST GROWX IJT THE UJ^TTED STATES. 49 and is generally i3refoiTed on account cf its lighter color, and being beardless. AVe also give an engraving (fig. 6) of a new Spring Wheat, called the " White Russian " (somevvhat like the Defiance), which, it is claimed, is a great cropper, and very valuable. SOME EN'GLISH PEDIGREE WHEATS. Mr. T. E. Pawlett, an English farmer, reports in detail some interestmg experiments. He says : " Oc- tober twenty-fifth, 18G1, I drilled ni the following seven sorts of wheat, in drills eight inches apart, covering about one and one-half inch, six pecks the acre, on clover- sod plo wed-under, after being fed a short time by sheep, and obtained results as follows : 1— Hallett's Pedigree, red SBV" bushels per acre. 2— Giant, r3i SS'/I " " 3— Tibbald's Wonder, red 4374 " " 4— Corner's, white 42^/4 '* *' 5 -Glory of the West, white ST'/a " " 6— Grace's, white 41 " " 7 — Russian, white 41 1/2 " " October twenty-sixth, same year, he made another ex- loariment, on another field, with six varieties, on gravel land, after clover plowed-under, and same quantity of seed drilled-m, same distance and depth as in the above experiment, Avitli the following results : 1— Tibbald's Wonder, red , 48Vo bushels per acre. 2— Giant, red 38V4 " ** 3— Browick, red 44'/4 " " 4— Russian, white So'/a " " 5— Corner's, white , 45'/2 " " 6-Talavera, white 36V2 " " He remarks that, from these experiments, it appears that Corners and Grace's are the best yielders of the white wheat, and that the Giant and Tibbald's are the best yielders of the dark wlieats, on his land, while Tib- bald's gave the heaviest yield of all ; Corner's is the best quality of gram. 50 WHEAT CULTUEE, CHAPTER IX. GREEN MANURING AND PLOWING. PLOWING-IK GREEK CROPS. It is, probably, safe to say that no other mode of fer- tilizing land — either to preserve or restore productive- ness — is so effective and cheap as plo wing-in green crops, such as clover, lucern, peas, buckwheat, and some others, treated with liberal top-dressings of lime or ashes just before jDlowing, and with plaster while grow- ing. This practice not only supplies the soil with veg- etable matter, but it tends to make it friable and porous, so that the air can permeate freely, and allows the roots of the i^lants to run and spread freely for their needed nourishment. It lightens up, leavens the land, as it were, doing much to prevent the evil effects of drouth by creating and preserving a degree of moisture in the soil during a dry time. Lucern, or Alfalfa, as it is called in some sections, is even better than clover in the estimation of those farmers v/ho have used it, as it runs its roots deeper than clover. The roots are also larger, and tend to sub- soil culture, and when cut off' eight to ten inches deep in the soil by the plow, they leave it moist and porous to that depth while decaying, and make a favorite bed for the roots of the wheat jjlaiit. PLOWING PRAIRIE LAND — THE OLD WAT. At the time of our first becoming a settler in the Western States, the ordinary mode adopted by the pio- neers for ^^ breaking prairies" was with a heavy teitm — four to six yoke of oxen — and a largo "break-up plow" that would turn a shallow furrow^ twenty-four to thirty- GKEENT MAKURING Aiq^D PLOWING. 51 six inches wide, two to three inches deep, and this broad, thin ribbon-like strip of prairie sod would be laid over smooth and flat as a strip of carpet. The aim was to cut and turn it as thin and wide and flat as possible and have it hang together, and be fairly inverted, each succeeding furrow lying nicely down in the preceding one, so that few spaces would be left for grass to grow up to the sur- face, with a depth that should be just under the main roots of the grass, generally from two to three inches. The plowing was generally done in spring or early summer, in order that the vegetable matter might be- come decayed for sustaining the wheat, corn, or other crop that might be planted upon it ; or in the fall, if the settler then first entered upon the land, and thus be ready for an early spring crop, as soon as the frost was out of the way. It was always a pleasant, satisfactory occupation to hold or follow the huge breaking-up plow, drawn steadily along by the stalwart team, as there was always such a sense or feeling of conquest, of subjugation. PLOWING PRAIRIE LAND — THE PRESENT WAT. But novf these things are somewhat changed, and re- cently a better and more elaborate mode has been adopted, as thus described in a communication to the American Agriculturist, as follows : ^'At Schuyler, Nebraska, West of Omaha, J. T. Clarkson showed some fields of prairie prepared for wheat which were broken up by him in the spring ; he first turned over the virgin sod, about three inches deep, in the usual way ; then a second plow followed in the furrow and took up about an inch more of the soil and threw it over the inverted sod ; this, being carefully har- rowed, filled up the spaces between the sods and fur- nished a fine soil seed-bed for the grain." ''At Marshall, Minnesota, E. S. Youmans treated a part of his land thus : He broke it up on May tenth ; 52 WHEAT CULTURE. • July tenth to September fifteenth. The disk harrow or sod-cutter was used and the sod all cut finely ; it was then ''back set/ that is, the plow was run under some- what deeper, and the cut sods were buried under the loose, turned-up soil. On this seed-bed spring wheat was sown from the sixth to the twentieth of April. Thus treated the prairie land will yield five to seven bushels, per acre, more than with the usual single plowing. W. L. Nevins had six hundred acres of sj)ring wheat, near Tracy, Minnesota, five hundred and forty of which were treated like the above, and it seemed to give a yield of about eight bushels, per acre, more than that with the single plowing. He sowed the Fife wheat, from the sixth to the sixteenth of April, fifty quarts of seed to the acre." Double plowing, cutting the sod finely and covering it with the rich, friable prairie, making a loam-bed of the whole, was certainly a paying operation. PLOWII^G IN" THE GULF STATES. With an improved cultivation, deeper, finer plowing and pulverization, much more of the lands of Florida and Georgia can be made to produce good yields of wheat. But before the deep plowing is done it is neces- sary to have the land well underdrained to the depth of at least two feet, in order to secure the advantages of the deep plowing ; and the plowing should be done with good, heavy two-horse or three-mule teams, then thor- oughly harrowed and rolled, to compeletely pulverize the land. This treatment wall insure a good crop of wheat on all the ordinarily fair lands of the Gulf States, but the single-mule plowing, which, we are informed, gener- ally prevails there, will never secure uniformly good crops of wheat, there or elsewhere. Land must be well drained and deeply tilled to produce wheat. EECAPITULATIOX OF OPERATIOiq^S. 53 CHAPTER X. RECAPITULATION OF OPERATIONS. We will here sum up, in brief, the i^rocess or requisites essential to produce increased, yield of wheat and contin- ued good crops, as follow^s : First — Perfect Drainage, by both under-drains and surface ditches, as shall be found necessary to pre- vent stagnant water in the sub-soil or any standing water on the surface, for any length of time after the thawing of ice and snow, or after heavy showers. Second — Deep Cultivation, by sub-soil plowing or trenching, at least twelve to fifteen inches deep, in order that plant roots may run deeply for sustenance, and also that moisture may rise from below to the surface in sea- sons of drouth. Third — Alkaline Matter. — The soil needs a lib- eral supply of ashes, lime, or other substances of alkaline properties, and also salt. A two-fold benefit is caused by these ingredients in the soil, namely — they aid largely in dissolving the silicia (or flint) and they are, to a con- siderable extent, preventives to ravages of insects and of diseases ; especially the salt, which is effective, very often, in preventing injury by rust. Any or all of these things are beneficial to the wheat crop, particularly where there is prevailing liability to rust and crinkling straw. Fourth — Clover and Plaster Rotation, the fre- quent use of, and plowing-under of various green crops as manures ; the plaster to be applied to the clover, or other crop to be plowed-under, to induce ranker growth, together w^ith the liberal application of lime to the land by being harrowed into the surface before seeding. 54 WHEAT CULTURE. Fifth — The Seed. — Careful selection of and brining tlie seed in salt, and drying in lime or plaster. Sixth — Haerowikg Ais"D Eolliis^g. — The land, just before seeding with the drill, should bo thoroughly har- rowed and rolled, to crush all lumiDs and completely powder the soil, so that the largest possible portion of it will be available to nourish the young plants. Another ob- i ject is to make a soft, mellovv seed-bed into which the drill can drop the wheat, and haye fine earth to fall back into the drill furrows to cover the grain perfectly at even depth, with no hard, coarse lumps to hinder or smother the growth of the young wheat. Seyekth — HoEiKG OR CULTIVATING the growiug wheat in fall and spring, often enough to keep down weeds and keep the soil mellow and moist, which will greatly in- crease healthy growth, letting in air and sunshine more freely, and will also facilitate the apj^lying of remedies for diseases, as well as the dislodging of insects when they infest the crop. Eighth — Early Harvesting — Much will be added to quantity, quality, and safety of the crop by early harvest- ing, while the wheat is in the soft, dough state, which tends to prevent injury by rust, loss by shelling and bad weather ; enables the work to be better done by not crowding so much into a short space of time, and the work is more pleasant, as the straw is softer and tougher ; furthermore, as has been shown in previous pages, early harvest makes heavier grain, while the same weight of grain makes more and better flour. more knowledge needed. 'No matter how much a farmer may know or avc learned by reading, or from experiments made by his neighbors, he can be further enlightened and benefited by making experiments himself on questionable points, or RECAPITULATION OF OPERATIONS. 55 in regard to i)ractices of the utility of which he is not assured. He can make the experiments at first on a small scale, if he wish, so that the loss will not be great or disastrous, in case of failure. More scientific and ])ractical knowledge would enhance both the pleasure and profits of agriculture, were the large mass of farmers better informed in regard to Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Mineralogy, and the Physiology of Animal and Vegetable Life, it would be greatly to their advantage, by enabling them to make their farm opera- tions both more effective and productive. For this rea- son practical agriculture should be taught as a regular study, by competent teachers, m all of our district and academic schools. Large numbers of the children, especially in the rural schools, are to grow up practical farmers, and they should be armed and qualified as thoroughly as possible, with such education and knowledge as v\rill prove of ad- vantage to them in their special avocation, and render them as useful and intelligent citizens and farmers as they are capable of becoming ; and they should receive the rudiments and first principles of such education when young and in the primary schools. Dr. Blake, the distinguished scientist and educator, once said m an address, that '^ Lecturers, in all parts of the country, should be sent out and maintained by the Government, and the farmers should hear them every month on topics interesting to them as cultivators and stocli breeders — lecturers of ability and learning." 56 WHEAT CULTURE. CHAPTER XL EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL WHEAT CULTURE. As an encouragement, especially to our younger far- mers, and as a stimulant to all, to make efforts for the highest possible achievements m wheat growing, we pre- sent many examples of large yields per acre from yarious sections of our country by different farmers, who have far exceeded the common yield of thirteen to fifteen bushels, which has been the average throughout the country for several years past. While m Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Oregon, the average, per acre, m 1878 and 1879, was about twenty-two bushels ; in Illinois, Xew York, and Ohio, it was nineteen ; California, Kansas, Indiana, Texas, and Vermont, seventeen ; Pennsylvania and New Jersey, fifteen ; in all of the other States, as low as fourteen or under, and in some of the States as low as six to eight bushels. Now, we believe the lowest of these named may easily reach the figure of the highest, and that many of the States may attain an average of thirty to forty bushels to the acre, simply by fairly adopting the thorough system and methods pointed out in these pages. One fanner, of Hudson, Ohio, stated m the *' Country Gentleman," that he got from a field of sandy-clay loam land, tbirty-two bushels of Clawson wheat, and twenty- four bushels of Fultz, per acre ; that he weighed m the scales kernels of each, and found that thirty kernels of the Clawson balanced forty kernels of the Fultz, and that he planted eight pecks of Chiwson and seven pecks of Fultz to the aero. On that portion of his land which EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL WHEAT CULTURE. 57 was not well under-drained, both varieties suffered some- what by winter killing ; otherwise his whole yield would have been one-quarter larger, while no injury occurred from that cause on the well-drained land ; the largest yield he ever knew from the Fultz was forty bushels the acre, while his best tliree acres of Clawson gave one hundred and eighty-one bushels, being sixty and one- third bushels per acre." Mr. Harroon, of Monroe County, N". Y. , obtained from eleven and three-quarter acres of clover turned under, four hundred and forty-three and one-half bushels of handsome Blue-stem wheat, being over thirty-seven bushels per acre. Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, K Y., thrashed from eight acres an average of fifty and a half bushels of good wheat on land thoroughly drained and well worked, which had previously been a nursery and orchard, show- ing the advantage of having land well drained and per- fectly pulverized for wheat. A correspondent of the old " Genesee Farmer" reports a crop of Genesee Flint wheat giving ninety and three- quarter bushels on one acre of land, containing, by an- alysis, only two and forty-three one-hundredths per cent of organic matter, but contained thirty per cent (very large) of soluble silicia, with potash, soda, and other minerals, in larger proportion than is generally found m good lands. The ''Michigan Homestead" says that Dr. Smith stated, in an address before the Saganaw (Mich.) Farm- ers' Club, that David Geddes, of that county, obtained seventy-three bushels of good wheat from one acre of land. James L. Rea, of Lewis and Clark County, Mon- tana Territory, produced one hundred and two bushels of good wheat from one acre, and he obtained the first pre- mium, at the Fair, for the largest yield of wheat raised m the Territory. 58 WHEAT CULTUEE. OTHEE EKCOUIIAGIN-G EXAMPLES. It is stated, on wliat is regarded good authority, that a farmer in Lake Coujity, Colorado, sowed one acre of sandy land, May first, with White Eussian wheat, and in September harvested from it one hundred bushels of good, sound grain. The land was irrigated with water from a mountain stream, A farmer in Carroll County, Illinois, reports that for several consecutive years he obtained twenty-five bushels, the acre, of Odessa Spring wheat, from the same field ; he also found that the Odessa answers a good purpose as a fall wheat, giving that yield, sowed either in fall or spring, in that region. Some time since it was reported in the ^' Ohio Farmer " that a Mr. Cavin, of Indiana, obtained an average yield of forty-nine bushels per acre from eleven acres ; also, that Mr. Eichards, of Ohio, obtained nearly the same average yield from an entire field of twenty-seven acres, and that Andrew Smith, same State, obtained an average of fifty-four bushels the acre from fifteen acres, with the Clavvson variety. Mr. French, of Berkshire, Massachu- setts, obtained, by drainage and thorough cultivation, an average of fifty-five bushels the acre, with the Clawson wheat, one acre of the same field giving sixty-five bush- els ; the Clawson is noted as a remarkable tiller, hence its large yields. Father Weikamp, of the Convent Farm in Emmet County, Michigan, is reported to have thrashed one hundred and seventy-four and one-half bushels of wheat from three and one-half acres of land, giving a fraction over fifty bushels the acre. A Bel Air (Md.) pa- per states that William Oldfield, of that county, in 1878, raised one thousand bushels of wheat from twenty-eight acres. Part was sown with Fultz wheat, giving forty-five bushels the acre. The balance was sown with Mediterra- nean, which gave thirty-five bushels the acre. One EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL WHEAT CULTURE. 59 groover in Arkansas reports getting eighty-two stalks, in one stool, from one kernel of Fiiltz wheat. YIELD AKD PRODUCT FOR SIXTEE^T YEARS. From statistics in the Agricultural Reports, for the fif- teen years prcA'ious to 1878, it is learned tliat the total average area sown of wheat was twenty million five hundred and seventy-nine thousand eight hundred and thirty-ono acres ; total average product, tvv^o hundred and fifty mil- lion two hundred and seventy thousand one hundred and twenty-seven. In 18G3, thirteen million ninety-eight thousand nine hundred and thirty-six acres were sown, producing one hundred and seventy-three million six hun- dred and seventy-seven thousand nine hundred and twen- ty-eight bushels of wheat, and showing an average yield, per acre, of a fraction above thirteen bushels, for that year. The average yield, per acre, during sixteen years, including 1878, was found to be twelve and one-half bushels. In 1878, the area harvested was reported at thirty-one million acres, and the product at about four hundred and twenty million bushels, giving a fraction over thirteen bushels per acre. The average price, per bushel, for sixteen years, was one dollar and twenty cents and four mills ; average price from 1871 to 1878, inclusive, was one dollar aud four cents ; the highest average price, any one year, during the sixteen years past, was two dol- lars and six cents and four mills. When the writer was a boy, on the Genesee Flats, fifty years ago, it was a common thing among farmers to obtain as high as forty, fifty, and often sixty, bushels the acre. RESPONSES TO MY CIRCULARS. During the latter part of last year I sent out several ' hundred circulars to reliable and practical parties, in most of the States, for the purpose of obtaining reports of the best achievements known in wheat growing, by the best 60 WHEAT CULTURE. and most successful farmers, asking answers to the fol- lowing questions : QUESTION'S COIfTAIKED IN" THE CIRCULAK. What is the largest yield of wheat, per acre, known to you, in your neighborhood, on not less than two acres ? On what kind of soil ? What the plowing ? What the yariety of wheat ? What date, and manner sown ? What date harvested ? What the fertilizers used ? and other useful information. Many responses to my circulars, with the desired in- formation, have kindly been returned to me from all parts of the country, showing that some gi'owers, almost everywhere, have succeeded in getting extra large yields, ranging from thirty up to sixty-one bushels to the acre, on the whole of large, fields, and portions of many of those replies are given in pages further on. Chief among the valuable lessons which the reader may learn from these reports, is — that the larger yields advocated by me in this little work, are perfectly and easily practicable for all farmers who possess the ambi- tion and energy to secure them. EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL WHEAT CULTURE. Gl ? P »;o5; o tS^ i^ uf\ lS\ ;feiS28S88fe:^ISg?SSfe§?ggS!25 On • ^ ^ .x^s: ■ ■ OS !§3|. fiPi. S§3gif3 3:0 5" £,! o o o o '""i K"o? B>£2e»o2 »2. po29»2p=.£»o 5 cffo2222^ a> p ft P p p p jj* B§o g,SS3 ,O,C0 SP?3 a?? S a^s?3 « a, » 2- p o 2 p 2 ^ 2 ^o rp cr5 05 «> •"' ft •" f5 ^ eC:OI-'«1UIOOH .BCCCCCCCgi CeCCCCCCCCBBBCBCCBCCdCC ' "^-^C"* O/^rB/^Brin K^BBBB ^ B B C«''Cr'«^«^«^ B ^^^^^^^^t^ •*!^ -"< -'-^ «^ I *< n T, ffl Cft^OXB^^^^^ ffl^^^^^^^^^ I l^s^3^:M ^.3»o i-i -. i-i i_i jo >-. i-i i_i i_i i-i to i-i jo i-i — If-" mo or ' «^ ! I ££S, >ooj >tnc;od, Cheap, and very Valuable Paper for>|jf Every Man, Woman and Child, INCITY, VILLAGE and COUNTRY, THE AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, FOR THE FARM, aARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD. Including a Special Department of Interesting and Instructive Reading for CHILDREN and YOUTH. I The Agricttltxtriift is n large periodical of forty-four pagen, quarto, not octaro, toeaatifully printed, and filled with plain, practical, reliable, original matter, incliid- Ins hundreds oi beautiful and instructive Engra-vingi In every annual Tolume. It contains each month a Calendar of Operations to be performed on the Farm, iB the Orchard and Garden, in and around the Dweliis£, etc. The thonsanda of hints and su^sestions given in every volume are prepared by prac- tical, intelligent ^working men, wlio Icnow what they talk and write about. The articles are thorouglily edited, and every way reliable. The Ilonschold Department is valuable to every Housekeeper, affordlnR Terymany useful liints and directions calculated toligliten and facilitate in-door work. The Department for Children and Yoath, is prepared with special car* Bot only to amuse, but also to inculcate Icnowledge and sound moral principles. Circulation.— TermB.— The Circulation of the American Agricultuiist \ is so large that it can be furnished at the low price of f l.£0 a year ; four } copies, one year, for $5.00 ; six copies, one year, for $7.00 ; ten or more 1 copies, one year, $1.C0 each; postage prepaid by the Publishers in each case; i single copies, 15 cents cacli. THE American Agriculturist, THE BEST PAPER FOR EVERY HOME. TPtY IT J^ YE^I?,! ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, PubUshers. 245 Broadway, New- York. — ^=>4' i #> ,« v % ^^w^^.^^ /'^ ^^^/ ^'^% ^}^^^^>^^ " %^^" »«'• ""^ _ - ^^ ^ ■^ DOBBSBROS. "^ ^ \:2 tlBKAHY BINDINQ /\ ^ , " o ^ ST.^GUSTINE '"'T.v^^t.^. , ,^ FLA. ^i*' < O^ ' i^