Other Points in Wheat Culture. 217 



With less plants they grow more naturally. The straw is heavier, 

 the sun gets in more, and the plant is healthier. Serious lodging 

 is not nearly as likely to occur. My friends, Thorne and Hickman, 

 of our station, assure me, that in all their experiments, they have 

 found the above true, and they do not know of any fertilizer that 

 can be sown on the crop that will avail in this direction. And 

 I have the same from other good authorities. If possible to keep 

 my wheat up always I could get greater yields, and hence I have 

 sought far and wide for a way. I do not believe it possible on 

 our soils and with our storms to keep wheat up that yields much 

 over thirty-five bushels per acre, and sometimes not that, although 

 I did have one field that produced just forty, stand up fairly 

 well, except about an acre. 



Does it pay to harrow the wheat in the spring? I do not 

 think it would on my soil. It starts up so quickly that it 

 covers the ground, so harrowing is not much needed and would 

 not do much good, before the ground is dry enough, usually, so 

 I would want to put a team on it. I have a horror of tramp- 

 ing my land in the spring when it is at all wet, or even moist, and 

 I believe it is wise to have it, too. Breaking the crust might do 

 some good if one could get on just right, if, say, it dried up 

 suddenly and early, and then we had a slight shower that mois- 

 tened the surface slightly. But the trouble is that the only entirely 

 safe way to sow clover seed is very early, and that prevents 

 harrowing later, of course. So for these reasons I have never 

 harrowed any wheat. Some of you will remember what a craze 

 there was in this line, years ago. I have carefully watched, and 

 some men who claimed enormous results from harrowing at that 

 time, I notice, have quit doing it, or saying anything about it. 

 We reasonably conclude that they were a little too enthusiastic at 

 first, and it does not pay them to keep up the practice. It has 

 died out, as it seemed to me it would, because our best farmers 

 do not want to tramp their land in the spring, and do want to 

 sow their clover seed early. 



The lay of the land has something to do with one's success in 

 wheat culture here. An easterly exposure is very safe. A north- 

 westerly one is not nearly as good. I have both and the differ- 

 ence is decided. I have tried to protect the wheat on the north- 

 west slopes by spreading a very light coat of straw on at the 

 beginning of winter, as soon as the ground froze so we could 

 drive on. I have had varying success. First, never try it on 

 undrained, cold clay soil. It will make it worse. On a well- 

 drained soil it has twice done me some good. The wheat was 

 decidedly better. I put on only a very light coat. You could see 

 through it easily all over. Wheat is readily smothered if you get 

 on too much. One year it did me decided damage, as did also 

 manure spread as a top dressing on some poor spots. It happened 

 thus: The winter was remarkably warm and open. Wheat grew 



