274 



The trials with commercial fertilizers in the production of wheat do not indicate 

 that their application will be found generally profitable in Central Illinois. * * * 

 Although the per cent of increase from the use of stable manure, cattle tankage, 

 and superphosphate was often considerable, being as high as 92 per cent in one case 

 and in many cases 25 per cent or more, still the total increase in yield was not suffi- 

 cient to pay for the cost of the fertilizers used. » * * Fertilizers containing phos- 

 phoric acid generally produced the most effect, those containing potash the least. 

 Good stable manure was generally equal to any other fertilizer. In one trial made 

 during a season favorable to wheat, no benefit was obtained from mulching wheat 

 with straw at the rate of H tons per acre. 



Methods of soil preparation. — In 3888 four different methods were 

 tested. Wheat was in one case drilled in standing corn, and in three 

 others on fourth-acre plats from which silage corn had been removed, 

 the land being in one instance plowed, rolled, disked, and harrowed ; in 

 another twice disked, but not i)lowed ; and in a third case receiving no 

 preparation. In 1889 the land on which wheat had been drilled in 

 standing corn in 1888 was drilled to wheat after the following prepara- 

 tion : On two plats the stubble was burned, the land being in one in- 

 stance plowed, and in the other disked six times, and on the third plat 

 the stubble was plowed in. 



" Drilling wheat in plowed ground has given better yields than drill- 

 ing in corn stalks or drilling in open ground prepared with a disk har- 

 row. Rolling the ground after drilling did not injure the wheat this 

 season, which was a severe one." There was very little difference in the 

 first trial between the yield where the land was disked and where it re- 

 ceived no preparation ; in the second trial the plat on which the stubble 

 had been burned gave the best results, but the low yield on the un- 

 burned plat may have been due to the fact that the ground was some- 

 what lower than the rest and " the wheat killed out much worse." 



Quantity of seed per acre. — Experiments were made in 1888-89 on four 

 plats, 2 by 6 rods each, seeded at the rate of 4, 5, 6, and 8 pecks per 

 acre, and in 1889-90 on five plats, 2 by 4 rods each, seeded at the rate 

 of 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 pecks per acre. 



The tabulated results show the largest yield of wheat in 1888-89 to 

 have been where 5 pecks of seed were used, while in 1889-90 with 4 

 pecks and 8 pecks the yields were practically alike and larger than the 

 others, though less by 10 bushels than the largest yields in 1888-89, 

 " It would seem that the rate of seeding affects the yield less than other 

 items in wheat culture." 



Time of sowing. — In 1888 and 1889 wheat was drilled at different 

 dates between September 12 and October 15, 6 pecks of seed being 

 used per acre. In the former year the plats contained 12 and in the 

 latter 16 square rods each. " The character of tbe seasons materially 

 influenced the results," as is shown by the table of yields. The largest 

 yields were on plats which were seeded in 1888, September 29, and in 

 1889, September 12. "The experiments indicate that sowing wheat in 

 October is not a safe practice in this latitude." 



