16 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



ber. The thorough cultivation of the corn crop has prepared 

 the soil for the wheat. A much better practice consists in 

 cutting off the corn and thoroughly disking and harrowing 

 the ground before drilling the wheat. "When wheat follows 

 oats, the ground should be carefully plowed and harrowed 

 as soon as possible after harvesting the oats. Wheat likes a 

 firm sub-surface and a fine " onion tilth" for a seed-bed. 

 When wheat follows clover, the plowing may be delayed to 

 get the advantage of some second growth clover to plow under, 

 but this must be done early enough .to allow the seed-bed to 

 settle before sowing the wheat. 



Seed time. The best time to sow winter wheat in the 

 central states varies from the second week in September to 

 the first week in October. On fertile, well-prepared soil, 

 seeding may safely be done later than where conditions are 

 less favorable. 



On account of the danger of trouble with the Hessian fly, 

 it is advisable to delay seeding as late as possible. Late sown 

 wheat often escapes infestation from the fly, and will often 

 bB just as far ahead when winter comes on as the earlier 

 sown wheat. For spring wheat the land may either be plowed 

 in the fall or early in the spring. The preparation of the 

 seed-bed from fall or spring plowed land does not differ from 

 the practices already described. 



Methods of sowing. Wheat does better when sown with 

 a drill. From experiments in drilling and broadcasting the" 

 results have invariably been in favor of drilling, especially 

 with winter wheat. Drilling requires less seed for a full 

 uniform stand, and insures better germination. Drilled wheat 



