406 ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



a pleasure to harvest. Most of the wheat has been sold at one dol- 

 lar, and rj^e at seventy-five cents, though much of this grain is fed 

 to stock on farms. The summer and fall of 1908 were unusually dry, 

 so that plowing for wheat seeding aud harrowing were done under 

 unfavorable conditions. WTiere plowing of wheat or oats stubbles 

 was done early, harrowed and packed with the roller, to conserve 

 moisture, a nice seed-bed was secured and wheat and rj'e seeded on 

 such soil germinated readily and a good stand was secured. But 

 clay, and low black soils, plowed later, turned up very cloddy, and 

 no rain falling as expected, such soils could not be gotten in proper 

 condition for a good seed-bed, resulting in a thinner stand of winter 

 grain than usual, aud many rough-looking wheat fields which do not 

 promise well for 1909. 



The importance of properly cleaning and grading seed wheat to 

 rid fields of cockle and cheat and get a good stand of strong plants, 

 needs to be emphasized, so as to raise the average yield of the iState 

 more than 2.1 bushels the next decade. 



Where farmers were unable to seed oats during the early part of 

 April, continued wet weather later on delayed oats seeding in low 

 fields till the latter part of April or early May, resulting in smaller 

 yields of light weight oats and less straw. Hard storms aud showers 

 when oats were nearly ripe caused considerable loss of grain, and 

 made harvesting this crop difficult, and the straw not so desirable 

 for feed or bedding, as it would have been. This crop varied in 

 yield from 25 to 50 bushels per acre, in different part of the State, 

 and also in quality. The market price for oats so far has been fifty 

 cents per bushel. 



The corn crop of 1907 did not muture properly, and much corn 

 moulded in the crib, but farmers tried to, and did secure, seed corn 

 which under favorable weather conditions for germination produced 

 a good stand of corn. Enough rain fell in showers during earing 

 time to make a good yield of solid corn, above the average yield, 

 with plenty of fine stover, and an unusually big growth of rag weeds 

 and fall grass in corn fields which had been "laid by early." Selec- 

 tion and care of seed corn are receiving greater attention by corn 

 growers, and seed testing along with them, will help to eliminate 

 the nubbin and increase the yield. White seed corn failed in ger- 

 minating last spring, in a number of cases, and farmers who grew 

 such corn for a quarter of a century, had to use yellow corn for 

 planting, because it had cured or matured better in 1907; though 

 more bushels of white corn can be grown per acre, usually. Many 

 carloads of corn have been sold on the ear at 60c for 70 pounds, and 

 yellow corn is preferred. 



Buckwheat was a good crop, and sold at its usual price. 



A cool, wet spring is favorable for grass, as well as winter grains, 

 and the good stand of timothy and clovers on the meadows last 

 spring made a si)lendid hay crop, especially of clover, which was thick 

 on the ground, made fine hay instead of coarse stems, as is the case 

 under favorable growing conditions, with a thinner stand. Weather 

 conditions were favorable during haying, so the crop was easily 

 cured and housed, though the yield was larger than for several 

 years. Alsike clover, seeded with medium red, is being sown more 

 each year, as farmers learn to know its value for pasture and for 

 fine sweet-smelling hay. 



