96 FOB BETTER CROPS 



thing that will contribute to this end should be done. The 

 maxim, ''Tillage is manure," should also be kept in mind, and 

 where stable manure is not abundant, the fact should be empha- 

 sized that too much work cannot be done in preparing the wheat 

 field. If a soil is kept fine for two months or more during the 

 heat of summer, it becomes vitalized and enriched, so the seed 

 truly falls on good ground and sometimes brings forth, if not 

 "a hundred fold," an abundant crop. It is of the utmost 

 importance that all work of preparing the seed-bed be done at 

 the best possible time. There are generally two or three days 

 of cool weather after a rain, and this is the time when the 

 teams should be kept busy early and late. The land then works 

 to the best possible advantage, and a team will work for twelve 

 or fourteen hours with less strain than they will for eight hours 

 when the ground is dry and hard and the mercury up in the 

 nineties. Again, when pulverizing the land just before seeding, 

 there are times when one day's work will accomplish more than 

 three a little later. There is a time after each rain when the 

 ground is in ideal condition, and the farmer can harrow a large 

 area in a day and put the land in the best condition to be 

 benefited in the highest degree by sun and air. Stirring the sur- 

 face checks evaporation also. A few days' neglect, and all these 

 advantages are lost, moisture is carried off, a crust forms, and 

 the land becomes dry and cloddy. 



Drainage — Where land is not w^ell drained, much good may 

 often be accomplished by opening with the plow little outlets, 

 at every low place in the field, to prevent water standing on any 

 part of it. Open furrows are not desirable in a wiieat field, as 

 they may be troublesome in the use of machines or cause wash- 

 ing, but they are better than an excess of water. As a farmer 

 prospers, nothing should appeal to him more than the desira- 

 bility of drainage, and as soon as possible the farm should have 

 a complete system of underdrains. 



Selection of Seed — The selection of seed wheat is an ever 

 present problem. The long list of old and new varieties is 

 bewildering, and the claims for some of these are so enticing, that 

 the farmer is perplexed to make a selection. A study of local 

 conditions and varieties will often result in finding the best 

 seed wheat near home, as wheat usually suffers more or less 

 deterioration from change of locality. The points to be kept in 

 mind in selecting a new variety are as follows : A full grain of 

 good weight, stiff straw with ability to stand up in adverse 

 weather, a compact head ripening early and not liable to shat- 

 ter good bread quality, and power to resist insect enemies. A 

 variety that tillers freely has greater chances to escape destruc- 

 tion at the hands of its enemies. 



