A NEW CEREAL. 



A new grain has been introduced in the 

 western section of the United States dur- 

 ing the past two years. It is known as 

 speltz and promises to be one of the most 

 valuable cereals^for cattle. hogs, sheep and 

 general farm purposes. It may be sown 

 in the fall or spring and will make good 

 winter pasture and summer green manur- 

 ing. Keports from Illinois are to the ef- 

 fect that speltz has yielded 90 bushels of 

 seed and 8 tons of hay per acre. The 

 grain furnishes excellent food for all kinds 

 of stock, and the hay is of the best quality. 

 It has the power of resisting drouth and 

 stools out so much as to make a poor stand 

 return fair crops of grain. 



Speltz comes from Germany, where it 

 is recognized as one of the most valuable 

 plants. It is not a wheat, oat nor corn, 

 but a grain incorporating all the elements 

 of these cereals. It grows very rank and 

 resembles barley heads when ready for cut- 

 ting. . Some call it a mammoth wild rye. 

 It succeeds well on sandy soil and yields 

 better when in rich land. It takes up 

 much of the natural plant food and re- 

 quires annual dressings of the land with 

 potash to give the best returns. It will 

 yield better if sown on land that formerly 

 had clover, cow peas or other legumes. 

 The addition of a perfect fertilizer, con- 

 taining about 9 per cent available potash, 

 7 per cent phosphoric acid, and 2 per cent 

 nitrogen will insure a satisfactory crop. 



Land should be plowed in August or 

 September and put in thorough condition 

 before planting. Sowing broadcast is ad- 

 visable, but the crop will give satisfactory 

 returns by being drilled in rows the same 



as wheat, using the ordinary press drill. 

 If sown in the fall, it will grow up and 

 stool out wonderfully, having as much as 

 100 stalks from one kernel of seed. It 

 can be pastured throughout the winter and 

 early spring and left to grow into seed 

 stalks in midsummer. A field of speltz 

 will make excellent winter pasture for 

 sheep, hogs and cattle. The farmers of 

 Austria report it better for winter feeding 

 than any of the grains or grasses. 



Speltz may be harvested the same as 

 wheat or other grain and threshed in the 

 same manner. The grains are larger than 

 in barley and the thresher needs to be set 

 accordingly. When threshed, the grain 

 may be crushed or chopped or fed whole. 

 Some boil it and mix with hay rations for 

 milch cows, and others make it into chop 

 feed. The hay left from the thresher is 

 greedily devoured by all kinds of stock and 

 is rich in muscle making food. A Cana- 

 dian stock grower states that 1 his speltz 

 yielded at the rate of 100 bushels per acre 

 and he found it one of the most valuable 

 stock foods grown. 



The seed of spletz is limited yet and 

 naturally sells for a good price. It can be 

 purchased from the leading seedsmen for 

 about 5 cents per pound. It may be sown 

 with perfect assurance of making a crop in 

 all latitudes. Being a native of Austria, 

 it is adapted particularly to the dry dis- 

 trits of the south and west. It is certainly 

 a most desirable crop where the rainfall is 

 light or drouths are of frequent occurrence. 

 In sandy soil requiring a strong grassy 

 binder, there is nothing better, as the 

 stooling qualities and stiff straws make it 

 a perfect wind break. The long blades 



