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VOL. XXXI.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., JULY 1$, 1896.
NO. 29
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EXPERIENCE DEPARTMENT
PBEPABING GKOUND  POB WHEAT-
Bowing on Tallow and in Oorn.
Vahatle   Inforrfiation   by   Experienced
Wheat Growers.
1st Premium.—The best soil for wheat
Is a rather compact clayey loam, well
drained ;bnt quite sandy soil can be made
to prodnce fair crops by good cultnre. To
prepare groand for wheat it should be
broken deeply, not later than the middle
of August; earlier would be better. While
the breaking should be deep we must not
forget to do it in time so the crop of green
staff turned under, let it be weeds, clover
or whatever it may, will have sufficient
time to be well decayed and the soil settled into the proper condition to sow to
wheat* All weeds should be kept down
after breaking till time for sowing, by
frequent harrowings and rolling, by
which time the soil shall be line ahd free
from clods. To > prepare corn gronnd, if
the corn has been cultivated as it should
. be, it can be got in good order by running
the cultivator deep and'close over the
ground crosBways,if the corn was drilled,
bou to tear up the corn stubble better;
and then harrow both" ways and roll. »If
not in right, condition, to ■»>""", I harrow
.Md N-ii; nfitlrtt^lsrrigiit,'J6Kn<jthlng:
lost by getting the ground in condition
before seeding to any kind of seed. -But
if the corn can be* got off outof the way
in time,I prefer breaking the corn gronnd,
and then working down to the right condition by means of a good harrow and
roller as stated above. I think thataseed
bed for wheat should be broken deep and
then packed- by* harrowing and rolling,
but the harrow should be run ahead of
of the drill to furnish loose, fine dirt to
cover the wheat, which should not be
deeper than .one and one-half inches.
The best time for sowing has been with
ns for the last few years from the lirst
nntil about the middle of September.. As'
tc quantity I - think that one and one-
fourth bushels to'the acre is the best. As
to fertilizer about 150 pounds or 200
pounds of good raw bone should be drilled
with the wheat in our section to make a
good crop of wheat. _     J. D.L.
Harrison Co. -   _  -
2d Premium.—Now is my time to plow
for wheat. I have a 24-acre field that I
am going to plow right away. I am - pasturing it now. It was sown to clover and
timothy, but the worms ate the clover out
»nd fall grass is coming in its stead. I will
harrow it with a good harrow just often
enough to keep down the weeds until I
am ready to sow. .When I am ready to
•ow I harrow my gronnd both ways, roll
»nd sow with about a bushel and a gallon
"f wheat, and 200 pounds of fine ground
bone meal per acre. I prefer • clover
gronnd for wheat when I can have it. I
let my clover stand two years because it
has better roots, and I think they are as
•Mentlalas the tops. I mow the first crop
w hay and turn under the second crop
'or wheat. And I think this is worth
Wore than all the fertilizers, yet I always
Me some fertilizer. I think it ripens the
"heat better and gives ft a better start in
j08 'all. It also makes it stand up better,
generally sow about the last week in
September or the first week in October.
1 generally have the best luck by sowing
-*%. I do not want to dust in my wheat,
"either do I want it clodded in.   I want
A field was sown to oats in the spring
of '95. Oats were very short, owing to
the extreme .drouth. After oats were
threshed, the ground was broken about
6 inches deep, and rolled down, as lt was
broken. It was allowed to remain In this
condition until the middle of September,
when it was plowed up with cultivators
about as deep as broken. Then it was
rolled down again, harrowed with a drag
harrow, and rolled once more. Immediately after the roller, the wheat (good
clean seed) was drilled from one to one
and a half inches at the rate of \\i bushels to the acre with an eight hoed
press drill. Fertilizer rich in phosphoric
acid was sown at the rate of 200 pounds
per acre. In the last half of March clover
seed was sown, at the rate of one bushel
to six acres. The wheat is not threshed
(July 3d) but is in' the shock, and has
been estimated at from 18 to 25 bushels
per acre. Will probably yield 18 bushels
and have a pretty good stand ot clover
While this is far from a large yield, yet
the wheat in this county (Morgan) will
not average half that, many fields not being cut at all. The crop has cost, including labor of sowing harvesting, and estimated cost of threshing, fertiliser, rent
seed wheat, etc, $3 30. If it should yield
18 bushels per acre I would get 005 bushels. The wheat is sold at 52c per bushel
and would bring $314 50 leaving a balance
in the loss column of 1550. But If half ths,
cost of fertilizer is charged to clover, as
tshould._bq,it.wonld.leave^a.profit of
$&.!-&._-"4-'am aware that this is not profitable figuring, but it is the facts. But I
believe if we had not prepared our
ground properly and had not used fertilizer our wheat wonld have been almost a
failure.': We usually sow wheat in corn
because in a three years' rotation it follows corn better. O. P. Macy.
the
ground like corn meal; or in other
~~ords like new ground. If wheat is sown
» dust when it raina theground will bake
*"nard It will not come up right. If it is
•own in dry weather the clods will not
old moisture enough to sprout the grain.
Harrison Co. A Hoosier.'
My experience in raising wheat has
been so variable that I do not feel able to
give any instruction of value, but some
thoughts on the subject and iny actual
experience, and I believe that ia what you
desire. On at least two occasions I have
broken meadow land as soon, alter harvest as possible, followed with the roller
and left it nntil time to prepare for seeding when it was thoroughly, harrowed
and drilled, using 100 pounds of bone dust
(some of the popular brands of commercial fertilizer being used) and one bushel
of good seed per acre, to give the wheat
an early start. I believe I have had better success with this method than by sowing in corn, stubble, I say stubble for I
cut up all of my corn, then harrow and
cross harrow until I have a good seed-bed
when it is subjected to the same process
as the other ground. I have had very
poor, clay land to contend with and will
not give the yield, for I have had extremes I might say both ways; especially
extremely small.   . Joe W. Williams.
Clarke Co.
REVIEW.
Wheat and potatoes are two aged plants
which adjust themselves to vast areas
with wide climatic variations, and with a
great variety of soils.
I notice that our southern growers
break oats ground and work corn stubble
a number of times. Probably their soil
is firmer than ours. A friend of mine
was running a Planet Jr., through his
standing corn just ahead of his five-hoed
drill, and as I passed I asked him if he
felt sure it wonld be helpful, his corn was
on clover pasture and fairly loose. He
finally stopped the Planet Jr. and drilled
on unprepared ground. The next year
we couldn't,tell any difference in the
wheat. And if. there is any grass -pr
weeds in parts of the field .the.drill will
comb ■ through them -better and- cover
wheat better if they are not loosened from
the ground with previous working. This
is equally true with us in sowing oats
stubble.  Last year, the chinch "ate up
my millet," and we drilled to rye without
working the ground. It was a firm seed I
bed not hard, and the rye all lodged.
We are glad to see that most all want a
firm, fine seed-bed.;
Mr. Macy has a clay farm and may need
to "break"3nore often than we; but we
would suggest that it is far bettet after
breaking td leave the seed-bed harrowed
rather than roiled. Rolling Is all right,
but experiment shows that much more
moisture is evaporated from a rolled surface than from a broken surface. Harrow
last.       '^.
I can __>ardly see how farmers can afford
to grow wheat where they have to do so
much work on the seed-bed and use commercial.fertilizers.
My wheat was sown last year on corn
and potato ground, with no preparation
as the thorough summer tillage was
thought to be a good preparation.
It averaged nearly 16 bushels of fine
Wheat per acre on the 30 acres. I suppose
one-half of the wheat in this country was
not worth cutting. Suppose mine had
failed I would have been out the cost of
drilling and the seed. The wage money
for drilling would have been $5 and the 40
bnshels seed $20. I used to break clover
sod and put lots of work on it, but prices
have compelled me to do one - breaking
for three crops, corn or potatoes, wheat
and clover.
, Allow me to commend especially the
thought expressed ih above copy to give
.wheat.itgood start;,!^ the^all. -Nothing
we can do helps more to insure a crop.
All plants make a great effort to "hurry
up" while small, to get hold of the soil
and to shade their vital parts.
Two or three of us were talking one
day and one farmer said, "I like to sow
early and let the wheat have time to get
a good hold on the soil so the freezing
can't break its roots."
He was wrong about freezing breaking
roots as the lifting power of frost will
raise a house. But the secret is in the
the mulch protecting from the severest
freezing and especially from frequent
thawing. I went on my wheat one morning after a sharp spring freeze during
the night, and the soil between the drill
marks would about bear a horse, but a
way down under a heavy top of wheat in
the bottom of the drill mark' the soil was
not frozen.
I do not "take much stock" in the idea
of sowing late to avoid "liy" The habit
of the fly is to kill the central blade in
the fall. Any one can tell it by its dark
green stunted appearance. The plant
stools around this blade. The fly remains
in the "flax seed" state over winter and
on maturing flies about and lays eggs on
leaves, often when the plant is half
grown. These eggs hatch and the tiny
worm crawls down behind the sheath
and weakens the stalk so that it "bends"
and becomes "strawfalien." Now that
female in seeking a place to lay eggs In
the spring may fly to other fields. If the
conditions of a weak growth of plants
are right it may rum a field sowed late.
I have seen a corner of a field protected
by timber damaged as though the enterprising insects during mating and laying
had been carried there by the eddy of
wind and found it a warm place to lay.
- The risk to the orop by a feeble fall
growth which-makes it an easy prey to
both climate and pests,is far greater than
the protection from fly gained by late
sowing.
We sow about one and one-fourth
bushel. Less would do as well if the drill
would distribute regularly. 1
Experiments show that sowing large
grains'. tend to produce the same.' Of
course'our friends'all fan seed wheat,
however clean the machine may seem to
leave it. '■"'-
Next week'I hope to go to Cleveland,
O., on my "bike." May learn "a little bit
about weeds" and things.
No. 22, July 25.—Experience with winter oats.
No. 23, Aug. L—What social, intellectual
and spiritual opportunities do you enjoy
in the home life and surroundings of your
family.
No. 21, Aug. 8.—Digging and storing potatoes. •      -
No. 25, Aug. 15.—Economical hog feeding for market—{does not include breeding).   ^
Ten Wonders'Of the World. s
The following are considered to have
been the ten most remarkable wonders
of human labor: _ ,
1. The pyramids of Egypt and Mexico,
the largest ot which, near Cairo, known
as the Great;Pyran_id, built by Cheops,
king of Egypt, took 300,000 men twenty
years to build.
2. The artificial reservoir—Lake Moer-~
is—built by Amenemha of the twelfth .
dynasty, which served to store up the
waters of the Nile during the dry season. Its circumference was 3,000 furlongs, and on Its being allowed to fall into ruin, the fertility of the region became
to a serious extent, a thing of the past.
3. The Taj Mahal,' a tomb erected at -
Agra, in Hindustan, by Shah Jehan, over
the queen, Noor Jehan. _ It is built of the
purest white marble, and yet seems so
airy that when seen from a distance it ls
so like a fabric of- mist and sunbeams,
with its great dome soaring up, a silvery
bubble about to .burst ln the bud,,that,
'eVJin''eUte^yo%'>HiVe>iQ'&<3^"Ili^^x^ ~^-~V7-
to Its summit, you almost doubUtri'ea.- -
Ity.   It cost over $3,000,000.  .-'""'"
4. The temple of Baalbec, in the erection of which stones sixty-two feet thick
were used—more prodigious masses than
have ever anywhere been moved by hu--
man power, and much exceeding in size
any stones used in the pyramids.
5. Temple of Karnak, described by
Ferguson as the noblest effort of architectural magnificence ever produced by
the hand of man. It covers twice the
area of St. Peter's at Rome, and undoubtedly is one of the finest buildings in the
world.
6. The great wall of China, 1,280 miles
in length. It is twenty feet high, and
in thickness twentyrfive feet at the base,
and fifteen feet at the top.
7. The Eiffel tower, erected in the
grounds ofthe 1889 Paris, exhibition, and
984 feet high.
8. The Suez canal,-with eighty-eight
miles of waterway, connecting the Mediterranean and Red seas, and forming
the principal route to India. It cost more
than £17,000,000 sterling, and 172,602 out of
the 399,677 shares were purchased by, and
belong to, the British government.
9. The railway bridge—the largest cantilever In the world—over the Forth,
with two spans, each of 1,700 feet, erected
at a cost of nearly £4,000,000.
10. The leaning tower of Pisa, which
deviates thirteen feet from the perpendicular.
The following works were by the ancients esteemed the seven wonders of the
world; the pyramids, the tomb of Mauso-
leus,the Temple of Diana.tho hanging gardens of Babylon, the colossus of Rhodes,
the ivory and gold statue of Jupiter
Olympus, the pharos, or watch-tower,
of Egypt.—Glasgow Citizen.
-.z
,—-jVr -krv-/*""***S.
The Concord grape still leads among
the black varieties. The Worden is much
like It, and a little earlier. Moore's Early
is larger, but not so prolific; Is two weeks
earlier and of rather better quality, and -
for table use is perhaps the best early
grown grape. "-..._.*
The golden or tri-colored leaved privet
is a grand shrub, because its beautiful
foliage is not hurt by the hot sun of sum.
mer, as is that of many other variegated
shrubs. Beside this, its panicles of white
flowers in June are very pretty.
Jm