VOL. XXIX.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND.  JUNE 9, 1894.
NO. 23.
MANAGEMENT OP CLAY SOILS.
PRIZE ESSAY NO. 14. •
Although a very recent subsariber for
your excellent paper, and then in the
name of my daughter, Florence, I feel that
I must give your readers the benefit of
my experience on a piece of about three
acres of heavy freestone land, and badly
worn out by long cultivation without improvement.
Many years ago when I had a fruit farm
on a high sandstone ridge, where the laud
would run together from heavy rains, I
had an old life long farmer in my employ
who induced me to give the management
of the oats patch up to him, that he might
show me what oats he could raise on three
acres if he had his own way about it. He
had also a vanity for demonstrating how
much more practical a regular farmer is
when it comes to growing crops than a
mere "book farmer." After some agru-
ments I gave up and let him have his way,
and he hauled out the manure that had accumulated through the year from one
horse and a cow, and scattered over the
ground, and plowed it under with a turning plow. Then he sowed it in oats broadcast and harrowed it in all nicely. This
was all against my own judgment, but being a denist by profession and only a
"book farmer" agriculturally, I submitted
to Lib, reasoning, which was that the manure being buried at that depth was
bound to keep moist all through the summer and at the same time be placed right
where the oats roots would go to draw
nourishment for the growing plants. The
old farmer's reasoning all seemed nice
enough at the time, but the oats never
come to anything and the crop was not
harvested—an entire failure.
I hated awful bad to lose the benefit of
this fine lot of manure which is prized so
highly here on the poor hills of Southern
Indiana, so in the fall I had the oats patch
plowed with a turning plow to get the
manure back on top again, where I
thought it should have been left in the
first place for the oats crop, and I had it
sown to rye and all harrowed in nicely.
But the fertilizing properties must all
have been smothered and killed out of the
manure by the weight of the heavy, close
soil lying on it all summer, which had
been melted and run together by the
spring rains. The proof that it was killed
was that my rye did no good at all. I do
not think there was any plant food left in
that manure for the rye—it was absolutely
killed.
The winter following this oats crop failure, I decided on carrying out my own
notions for raising oats on that poor,
heavy soil, if I was only a "book farmer,"
and I had a patch of ground about the size
of the first oats patch, and the same sort of
land in the same field, turned over with a
turning plow about the last days of December, the ground being a little frozen at
the time. This ground laid in the rough
all winter, as the plow left it, and first
nice day in March I had it harrowed down
smooth and the year's accumulated manure spread over it, and sown broadcast to
oats and all harrowed in together. The
oats came up and grew off strong, and I
had as good a crop as I ever saw in this
county, fully verifying my notions for the
treatment of our heavy clay soil.
Now I do not claim to have carried on
much farming myself; have not worked
on one, excepting the fruit farm I spoke
of, since the days of my boyhood, which
is a long time ago, but my mind has all
run on that subject, and I have been a
very close observer, probably more so
than farmers generally themselves, having
continually been the owner of one. I
have observed that spriDg plowing and
plowing ground when wet any time
through the summer is ruino"s to it, and
should be avoided if possible. It makes
heavy clay land hard, crusty and lifeless,
the truth of which I verified to my own
mind without a doubt by experiments I
made on the aforesaid fruit farm.
One year I leased my psach orchard of
four-year-old trees to an old friend, and
by the way an old farmer, on the halves
and in the bargain he was to plow and
harrow the orchard over once to cultivate
the trees. He was decidedly in favor of
cultivating the trees in the spring, and I
was as fully decided that the cultivation
should be done in the winter, so we compromised the matter by plowing one-half
of the orchard to suit each of us—one-half
was plowed in December and the other
half in April, and the result was overwhelmingly in my favor. The peaches
that grew on the winter-plowed part were
worth twice those on the spring plowed
and the trees kept green a month later.
This poor heavy clay soil, I believe is
much more sensitive to scientific management than rich loamy lands, and therefore
I doubt if every farmer can appreciate
what I say concerning my experiments
which were on very poor land, containing
but a small amount of plant food within
itself.
To make a long story short, I say that
for spring planting, heavy clay soils
should be turned up roughly as late in the
fall or winter as possible, to kill out the
noxious insects and their eggs that Are
found buried in the ground at that season,
and to let the ground get well aired and
frozen at a time of year when the hot sun
will not injure it and because it can be
pulverized early in the spring for planting
simply leveling it off with a harrow, and
thereby avoid the necessity of stirring it
again before late in May, when it will be
dried out and can be stirred without injury to the land.
Manures or commercial fertilizers
should be spread and harrowed in on the
surface for if plowed in, the heavy soil
will run together and smother out and destroy the fertilizing properties; and it
should be done early in the spring that
they may have time to incorporate their
fertilities with the soil before the hot sun
comes to dry up and evaporate them.
PRIZE ESSAY NO. 15.
We have many patent medicines that
olaim to cure all manner of diseases, under
any and all circumstances. Not so with
our clay soil. We cannot adopt any iron
clad rule to be goverened by in the pulverizing and cultivating of our clay soil,
but it requires much judgement and the
use of the means best calculated to bring
about the required result under present
circumstances. The season, whether wet
or dry, has much to do with this subject.
But as everything has to have a beginning
and it is very important to begin right, I
would say if there is much litter on the
ground it should be broken ln the fall.
Why? 1st. Because it is more of a leisure
time. Teams are more able and 2d. the
most important reason is that the litter
turned under will be well rotted in good
time for food for the corn. The litter
turned under will prevent the undersoil
from packing and should the top of the
ground become somewhat packed we have
plenty of harrows, such as spading, disc
spring tooth, so that a good seed bed can
be easily made. 3d. It destroys all insects
and all seeds of weeds. 4th. The crop is
much easier cultivated.
If the ground is clear of litter I would
not break until spring and be careful not
to break until sufficiently dry. Being
well drained is of great 'importance
to make the ground easy to pulverize.
As to best way to pulverize clay soil, as
I have said before, it depends altogether
upon the season; if dry and the surf<ice
hard use a harrow that will cut it up and
a heavy roller to mash the clods.   If the
ground is  fresh  broke  and  sufficiently
moist to pulverize easily no better plan
could be  adopted than  to  use a spring
tooth harrow and drag.   What we want is
a thoroughly pulverized and packed seed
bed.   Why do we want it pulverized and
then packed?   1st. Because it retains more
moisture.   If  a dry season the moisture
from |below   has   a    better   chance  to
climb to the surface.   2d. It permits the
roots of the corn to came in contact with
the soil that they  may draw therefrom
such    chemicals    as    are   necessary   to
made a rapid top growth.   If the soil is
left cloddy or very loose the roots will not
come in contact with so much of it. Planting should be done early as the season will
admit.   Watch nature, and when you see
the trees begin to show green, corn will
grow.   The depth of planting should not
be more than one and a half to two inches,
if the ground is moist; if dry, deeper. The
soil must  have  moisture to sprout  the
corn, and if checked rowed it is very important  that  it  be straight both  ways.
Plant two stalks to the hill.   The yield is
often cut short by leaving corn too thick
in the hill, or if drilled, too thick in the
row.   Cultivating should begin before the
corn comes up, and should be done with a
two-horse cultivator, with five small shovels on each plow.   I use the Eagle Claw,
made at Mton, HI.   They have breakpins
and do much better work and run much
steadier than any plow fixed on springs,
round or flat.   The cultivation should be
shallow and level, and often enough to
keep the surface clean and loose, which
serves as a blanket to retain the moisture.
Never let your plow run deep enough to
break the roots.   They are the life of the
stalk.   Cultivate until the corn gets too
tall to straddle the row without breaking
the corn.   With such seasons as the past
a drag would be a good substitute for the
last working.   Some of my neighbors the
past season made almost a complete failure in corn, caused by plow'ng too close
and deep, while fields adjoining and no
better soil with shallow cultivation made
a fair crop.
Cost of a Bushel of Wheat. ]
Epi.Toits Indiana Farhbb:
W. W. Stevens certainly states the real
cause of the great depression in the wheat
market, when he says that "wheat is produced in excess of the world's demands."
He also states a great fact that will be much
more evident in the future than now,
when he says that "wheat can be produced
in other parts of the world in unlimited
quantity," almost.
We may as well face the fact. Can we
afford to raise wheat for 50 cents? If not,
we had better try some other crop instead.
The Senate committee, of which Mr. Pef-
fer is chairman, in its report, February,
1894, on the "Depression in Agriculture,"
gives the cost of producing a bushel of
wheat in various localities, the lowest
being upon the "bonanza" farms of California and Dakota—California being 22
cents, and Dakota next, 35 cents; Kansas
ranks next higher, 50 cents. Then New
York and Pennsylvania 65 cents. There
is no report from Indiana, but Illinois estimates the cost at 72 cents, and Ohio at
84 cents. Our State being located between
the two latter, we suppose our average
cost of producing a bushel of wheat should
be 78 cents. If these estimates are correct,
then, without doubt, certain bankruptcy
in the near future awaits those who persist in growing wheat. Possibly these
figures include, besides actual cost, the
rental value of the land, interest upon investment, also a reasonable profit in addition. Upon these points the report does
not inform us. The cost muBt ever vary
with the price of labor, adaptability of soil,
amount of labor expended in cultivation
and yield per acre.
The cost of seeding is much less in corn
ground than stubble or fallow, but the
yield is usually also less; so that in the
end the profit or loss is about the same.
The preparation of ground for seeding iB
done at a time when most horses upon the
farm would otherwise be idle.
We submit the following estimates for
corn ground, assuming 15 bushels to be an
average crop. Last season ours made over
10 bushels, (30 acres), the year preceding
23A bushels, (35 acres). Our highest upon
corn ground was 28 bushels:
Seeding, allowing six acres per day.—
Dragging wheel, one boy 50 cents, one
horse 50 cents] f 1; drilling, one man, f 1 25,
one horse 50 cents, $1 75; seed, nine bushels,
55 cents, $4 95; use of tools per acre 5 cents,
30 cents; breaking stalks per acre 10 cents,
60 cents; total cost of six acres, I8 60; total
cost of one acre, $1 43.
Harvesting (14 acres per day).—CuttiDg
14 acres, 50 cents per acre, $7 00; twine, 21
pounds, 10 cents per pound, $2 10; shocking, two men $1 75, f3 50; cost of 14 acres
f 12 60; cost of one acre 90 cents.
Stacking (20 acres) —Two men and
teams, $6 00; three men (extra), $5 25; cost
of 20 acres, f 1125; cost of one acre, 56 cents.
Thrashing and stacking straw (cyclone).
—750 bushels per day 334 cents per bushel,
f26 25; eight men one day, $1 75 per day,
(14 00; two wheat haulers and teams, f 6 00;
one extra shoveler, $1 75; board for five
thrashers, 50 cents per day, $2 50; fuel,
|3 50; total thrashing 750 bushels, |:!4 00;
cost of one acre, 15 bushels, $ 1 08; total
cost of one acre, $3 97; cost of one bushel
about 26A cents. Deduct from this the
value of the straw if sold to the paper mill,
per acre 50 cents, the net cost per acre
would then be $3 47, and net cost per
bushel about 23 cents.
Under favorable circumstances this cost
may be redaoed. Those who thrashed
from the shock last season saved much of
the expense of stacking. Again, we estimate 750 bushels a day's thrashing, with
pay of men and board accordingly. Last
season we had 835 bushels thrashed in
less than three-fourths of a day. Where
neighbors assist each other in thrashing,
so that no fancy priced wages have to bo
paid, the cost is lessened.
Prof. Huston, of our experiment station,
estimates the wheat straw of Indiana to be
worth—for fertilizing purposes—$6,000,000.
We find the acreage to be (round numbers)
3,000,000, that would make the straw worth
$2 per acre, less the cost of fermenting and
distributing upon the land; allowing this
expense to be one-fourth, that would leave
the net value of the straw $1 50 per acre.
If we deduct $1 50 instead of 50 cents from
the total above we have $2 47 as the net
cost of one acre of 15 bushels, and about
1634 cents as cost of one bushel.
A larger yield, 20 or 30 bushels, if the
proportion of straw to wheat be the same,
will reduce the cost per bushel of harvesting and threshing but very slightly except
in the item of cutting per acre. But it
will reduce the cost of seeding per bushel
and increase the rental value of the laud.
If the seeding of one acre of 15 bushels
costs as above, $1,43, that is about 934 cents
per bushel; a yield of 20 bushels would
cost a little over 7 cents and 25 bushels
would cost only about 5% cents.
Another matter to be taken into account
is that 50 cents will purchase about as
much of the essentials and luxuries of life
as 75 or 80 cents would 10 or 15 years ago.
This is specially true of most farm implements, binders, plows, cultivators, buggies, etc., and household goods as well.
Our conculsion is that where the soil is
reasonably adapted to growing wheat it
can be raised with profit—though not large
—for 50 cents and that its cultivation will
pay the men and teams employed as good
or better wages than they oould obtain
upon public works and if the yield be
good also a fair rental for the land.
Shadeland. Ct. M. BlackstocK.