70 CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE 'MANUAL 



Study well this illustration and note the varied condi- 

 tions. The single grain at the right in the left hand sec- 

 tion is simply to show the surrounding condition as it is 

 deposited, compared with those in the loose soil to the 

 right. Do not simply look at the illustration, but study 

 the relative condition and reasonable results that may 

 be anticipated from each, and to aid you in this conclu- 

 sion, consider well what has already been said with ref- 

 erence to the ideal physical or mechanical condition of 

 the soil. 



QUICK GERMINATION 



This quick germination is always apparent in all our 

 fields, and is invariably followed by early and prolific 

 stooling, as shown in the chapter on wheat growing. 



On the Kilpatrick Brothers' ranch in Chase county, 

 Nebraska, where we had directed the preparing of some 

 ground for fall wheat in 1903, the wheat was sown Sep- 

 tember 14th, two weeks after the last rain, the field being 

 on a slope towards Champion, a town two and a half miles 

 away. On the morning of the nineteenth, really but four 

 days from seeding, the shape of the field was discernible 

 from Champion by its green color. This statement may 

 be emphasized from the fact that hundreds of acres of 

 wheat were sown that fall, and not another one showed 

 green that season. Because of over seven months without 

 rain, beginning September 1st, the Kilpatrick wheat was 

 all that was harvested in that county, making over thirty 

 bushels to the acre, the rest being a total failure. 



As a further evidence, let us refer to some of the more 

 common conditions that have occurred and many times 

 puzzled the farmer in years gone by. 



In the spring of 1899 a large amount of winter wheat in 

 the semi-arid belt was found to have been killed. We drove 



