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VOL. LXVI
INDIANAPOLIS, JULY 29, 1911.
NO. 30
USE THE DISK NOW.
CLOVER     SEEDING       LOST.—NOW
P1SK STUBBLE LAND AND REPLANT.
than harrowing is to sow the grass
seed with a grain drill, letting the seed
run down the grain tubes from tin-
grass seed  box and  covering the seed
sown in the central and western States
as late as September 15, and still make
a good stand that will not winter kill,
but in the extreme northern States the
One great advance made in agriculture is that of the use of the disk on
bubble land, and especially in dry sea-
seists. When the grain crops are har-
verted the soil is exposed to the great
heat of the sun, and the moisture
ev»poratlon Is greatly accelerated
„hen the ground becomes hard, and is
very cloddy if broken in that condition
(or fall crops. Under such conditions
.: Is almost impossible to pulverize the
mil and make a good seed bed for the
fall grain crop.
The Disk a Great Helper.
Fortunately the disk has come to
help In this very work, and it can be
used most effectively on this kind of
Und before plowing It. And indeed
advanced farmers are doing this very
thing. They use the disk, many of
them also cross disking the stubble
land before breaking it, and have
| lound that the hard top crust is put in
\ ina <*>miltion for breaking, and the
(and when plowed is largely already
pfterlxed and is easily put In good j
condition  for seeding.
Experience With the Disk.
In this connection we call special attention to the letters of good practical
farmers this week in our-Experience
Department on another page. These
ihow the great value of using the disk
Wore plowing, and we commend the
reader to what they say on this sub-
llect
A timely circular also has just come
j us from the Department of Agricul-
to» at Washington, giving the best
■Jp^rience on the subject of a free use
I the disk under the conditions we
iave mentioned. We give this late
| circular  below,  as  follows:
The clover and grass seed sown this
I Wing In  wheat,  rye  and  other grain
has been parched up and killed, either
'holly or in part on thousands of fields
In the  central   western   and   northern
Sates.    This is a serious situation and
| oils for prompt    attention.       If    the
is   not   replanted   lt   means   no
r hay next season and the plant-
"' of    some substitute crop    for hay
**t spring  at   considerably   increased
will probably    be    necessary.
** only  that,   but   the  failure   of  the
v«r crop means the loss of the green
Wnuring crop  in  the rotation  and  a
'•Arrangement of the whole farm plan
I otation.     The situation should
■* mft at once.     Every piece of new
_*^'ng should be examined and, if it
|**» !>een burned up, steps taken to re-
*»t It at once.
One of Uie Best Ways
•''Wn to get a stand  of clover ls to
'* the stubble  fleld  as soon  as  the
*■ is off, allowing the  disk  to  run
;:  three   inches  deep  and   working
[%^*«ubble into the soil.     The disking
' "osa  disking should   be  sufficient
t of weeds and grass and put
j*tf>P three Inches of soil in fine tilth.
,^'"' the  ground  cultivated   until   the
1^ *°*klng rain, then sow about ten
[|7**Vof Cover seed  mixed with  6 to
^inds of timothy per acre and har-
tl>e seed in.      A atlll better way
Forty Acre Wheat Field of P. S. Hamilton,   Morgan   County,   Indiana.
Threshing Wheat on the Hamilton Farm, Average 30 bushels per Acre.
from 1 to 1%   inches deep.
By Sowing Clover
and grass seed alone in this manner,
without a nurse crop, it makes much
more rapid and vigorous growth than
when sown with grain. By disking the
land also, a much better seed bed is
made than could be obtained by plowing, since when ground is plowed in dry
weather it breaks up lumpy and lies
up loose and is very difficult to work
down Into a compact seed bed such as
Is essential for the best results with
clover and grass seed. In addition,
the grain stubble worked into the top
soil by disking seems to form a top
mulch  especially  beneficfal  to  clover.
Tliis Method of Seeding
clover is becoming quite general in
some of the middle eastern States
where farmers over large sections are
giving up the practice of spring seeding with grain because of frequent
failure to catch, and seeding alone after the grain is cut instead. By this
method clover and grass seed may be
seeding should not be made later than
August 16.
To summarize, grass seedings in
spring grain have been burned out on
thousands of farms. Replant now by
disking the stubble about three inches
deep and sowing clover and grass seed
alone without a nurse crop   In   August
only difference ls there were three lots
of seed from three different seedmen
bought as one kind of corn. The three
strips can be seen today as one passes
along tin- highway. It looks as if there
was at least two varieties of corn, the
late one In the middle.
If ynu walk through the corn the difference is more apparent in full hills,
size of stalks and height of corn, let
alone the tasseling of the best.
So you see, Thomas, it does make a
difference what you do about the seed
corn.
You renuember we were talking last
spring about testing the seed corn.
The corn in the best part of the Breed
Held has a backing. It shows that the
seed was grown right, selected on the
stalk—I mean when It was a stalk in
the hill uncut—and that stalk not a
poor slim thing. I am going to watch
that fleld and I believe. George Breed
will bo able to select, early, much fine
corn there for seed. I believe too,
that it will average more stalks with
two or more ears than either the other
parts. That seed corn had vigor. Its
strong, healthy sprouts started out
early and have kept on going.
Have you been over to Geo. Even-
son's field lately. You remember I
said his seed corn only tested 80 per
cent. It was true. To-day It ls true
his corn, on a better field than Mr.
Breed's, Is many days behind. It ls
fair corn where he did not plant over
but shows the seed did not have the
germinating power Mr. Breed's has
shown.
I still say the farmer who plants any
grain without testing and knowing he
has 90 per cent seed is more than foolish. Now is the time to get ready to
improve the seed for next year.
An Old Agriculturist.
LESSON   ON   SEED.
Kdltora Indlsna Farmer:
"Our corn fields in this neighborhood
are about ready to tassel out. Some
hills and parts of fields have done so.
"The different fields," said Uncle
Parker, "are a good lesson on seed
The same soil, same culture, yet here is
a fleld with three stages of growth
The seedmen of whom the seed was
bought claimed that each lot was A
No. 1 Wisconsin seed corn. It was
all planted th" same day and by the
same means. Every part of the fleld
was well fed last fall with a good top
dressing on sod of stable manure
spread by a manure spreader, then
plowed under. This spring the fleld
was  well   disked   and   harrowed.    The
TO KILL WEEDS AND SPROUTS.
Editors ilwdlana Parmer:
Please say to your many farmer
readers and everybody else concerned
in the killing of noxious weeds and
sprouts that from now till white frosts
come is the time to ki" and the remedy is cheap and the labor is not very
hard, it is well worth a trial. With a
bucket of salt go out in the morning
while the dew is on or just after a rain
and sprinkle with dry salt all patches
of sprouts and weeds, not forgetting
the sorrel, and see how the sheep, cattle and horses will go for them, and so
practice about every other morning,
and if in a few weeks sprouts and
weeds or briars begin to grow again,
give them another dose of the same
remedy, and so follow up a few years,
and all will feel well paid for the cost
and labor so expended and ln the fall,
winter, or spring sow grass, and not
pasture too close. And for dense
patches of persimmon, sassafras, rose
briars or other sprouts or bushes, such
as would be too big or too thick to eat
down, a good treatment that the writer
has often tried successfully, is to haul
out a few loads of straw after wheat
thrashing and cover well and the
thicker the better, and burn, and follow with grass seed. Another good1
way to kill out bad patches of persimmon or sassafras is fo chep sprouts
close to the ground and scatter straw
from thrashing machine to the depth
of three or four feet, and po let it be
for one season Is generally enough and
will be for all time to come.
Worthington. Ex-Farmer.