July 2, 190S.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.JF. 575 



Wheat^growing 



At Wagga Wagga Experiment Farm. 



G. M. McKEOWN. 



Preparation. 

 Experience in a variety <>f seasons has furnishefl ample proof that it will 

 pay wheat-growers to thoroughly prepare the land for sowing, and it is 

 recommended that all soils of fair depth should lie ploughefl to a depth of 

 6 inches where practicable. This cannot be accomplislied under all conditions 

 experienced here, as m\ich of the Riverina soil sets very hard in dry weather, 

 and is then difficult to work. 



The use of rotary disc ploughs has largely improved these conditions, as 

 with them it is possible to start ploughing much earlier after the removal of 

 a cr.ip, or when weather conditions are unfavourable. In all seasons we 

 have been able to commence work in January, and in a large proportion of 

 our land it has been possible to perform excellent work in deeply ploughing 

 and pulverising the soil. In addition to their being excellent dry-weathei- 

 implements, their work is very economical, as we have ploughed up to 5 acres 

 in eight hours with one plough drawn by five horses. The cost of discs is 

 moderate, an expenditure of £3 10s. per year covering the wear and tear 

 under this heading for, say, o()0 acres. The cost of repairs is light, one of 

 our ploughs having recently required some new parts for the first time after 

 nearly six years' use. For fallowing, however, the use of mould-board ploughs 

 is essential, as in the spring season weeds which are then plentiful are better 

 covered by them than is possible with disc ploughs. 



The pulverisation of the soil to as great a depth as possible is of very great 

 importance ; therefore, the value of these implements cannot be overrated. 

 Tin system of shallow ploughina; is ti be condemned ; and if farmers would 

 prepare areas side by side, respectively ploughed deep and shallow, they would 

 soon become convinced that the extra cost incurred of breaking their land 

 6 inches instead of 3 inches deep would be more than repaid to them in the 

 increased crops. 



It is sometimes urged that, as wheat is a surface-feeding plant, shallow 

 ploughing is all that is necessary. A forest tree may exist in the soil 

 contained in a 6-inch pot, but it cannot attain its full development ; and 

 wheat compelled to find nourishment in the upper 3 inches of the soil naturally 

 cannot find as much food and moisture in that: space as in 6 or 7 inches of 

 free soil. Besides this, it is often found that wlien the first 6 inches of the 

 soil is broken, that next below is sufficiently free to readily admit the roots 

 of the plants in search of nourishment at a greater depth. 



