The Wheat Crop 



PREPARATI0:N^ of seed bed— selection of SEED- 

 VARIETIES— soil CONDITIONS, ETC. 



By Waldo F. Brown 



Farm Specialist, Oxford, Ohio 



Revised by A. E. and F. C. Brown 



X World Problem — Wheat production 

 is a world problem. American investi- 

 gators have been at work for years upon 

 this subject. As a country grows older 

 the food supply becomes a more complex 

 problem. New soils give back in prodigal 

 measure, food for the eater and seed for 

 the sower. There are certain underlying 

 ^ , ^^ ^^^^, principles in wheat production appli- 

 Hflk JK^J^Hlj cable to all soils and all countries, and 

 ■■Bk'^^^^HH American investigators have been busy 

 collecting and classifying data from all 

 ages and all countries for the benefit of the American farmer 

 in his search for the best methods of seeding, best varieties of 

 seed, and most profitable ways of handling the wheat crop. The 

 farmers of the eastern part of the United States find they can 

 produce the best crops by early summer plowing and continual 

 working of the seed-bed until time for planting; while, with 

 worn-out soils where the problem of returning lost fertility is 

 added, the question becomes a scientific one, and the farmer may 

 turn to our agricultural experts for help. 



Some of the essentials to be considered in successful wheat 

 growing are natural or artificial drainage, a compact seed bed, 

 intelligent warfare against insect enemies, and a selection of 

 seed suitable to locality and soils. A wise rotation of crops is 

 also important in maintaining the fertility of the soil. In some 

 sections a three-year rotation is followed with success; in others 

 a five-year rotation gives paying returns. 



■ Rotation of Crops — Many farmers follow the practice of 

 seeding after corn where a three-year rotation of wheat, clover, 

 and corn is followed. In any rotation, one great advantage is 

 the fact that different crops make available different elements 

 in the soil. For instance, manure applied to the corn crop is 

 made available for the wheat crop that follows; and clover un- 

 locks hidden treasures of the earth for crops that follow it. 



91 



