1861. 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMEE. 



13 



prairie or clover sod, he miglit sow to winter 

 wheat^ bat even then he would prefer the 

 risk of spring wheat. The principal reason 

 of failures with spring wheat was sowing it 

 on ground plowed in the spring, and with 

 oats. This, of itself, was sufficient to render 

 the crop uncertain. He considered spring 

 wheat comparatively a certain crop. Of 

 course it would not do on low, swampy land 

 as well as corn, but on good, dry prairie it 

 was always a paying crop, when properly 

 put in. The ground should be deeply 

 plowed in the fall, and sown early in the 

 spring, as soou after the 20th of February 

 as the soil and weather would admit, he 

 eared not whether the frost was ail out or 

 not, if it was so that it could be harrowed 

 in ; if the ground was dry he would roll, if 

 not, wait until the wheat was up. lie 

 would not like to sow after the sea.son had 

 advanced sufficiently to plow. By sowing 

 early the crop could make its growth during 

 the cool part of the season, and be out of 

 the way of the chintz bug. Mr. B. said 

 that all farmers were willing to admit that a 

 good crop of wheat was more profitable than 

 corn, but tliat the objection was the great 

 risk. If tl;cy v;ould put it it as he had 

 indicated, use a bushel and a half of good, 

 clean seed :o the acre, the risk would be no 

 greater thuu with a crop of corn. He 

 would not be confined to the wheat crop 

 alone, for that at the most could only occupy 

 a part of the season, at that part, fortunate- 

 ly, when the corn was at rest. He would 

 grow botii corn and wheat, as neither one of 

 then wouhl fill up the whole time of the 

 farmer; that though he expected the Hrheat 

 crop would pay the best for the labor em- 

 ployed, yet it was necessary to plant corn to 

 prepare the land for wheat. He was for a 

 judicious rotation, and one of the values of 

 the corn crop was to make the land clean 

 for wheat, He believed that with fair cul- 

 ture spring wheat would average not less than 

 twenty bushels to the acre, and putting the 

 labor at nine dollars, and the crop at fifteen, 

 would leave for the use of the land six dol- 



lars, while the corn crop at fifty bushels, 

 which would be an average, with good cul- 

 ture, would sell at twelve dollars and a half, 

 the cost of which delivered at the station 

 could not be less than ten dollars. He was 

 reared in Central Illinois, and was well 

 aware of the strong prejudice against spring 

 wheat, but he was satisfied it was but preju- 

 dice, and he was glad to know that valuable 

 staple was begining to be appreciated. He 

 cited instances in the neighborhood where 

 spring wheat had been sown in season, and 

 had alway produced good crops. In the 

 year 1858, when farmers, as a general 

 thing, did not get more than a return of 

 seed, the crops properly put in yielded 

 twelve bushels to the acre. The failures 

 was not in the seed or climate, but in the 

 mode of culture, and as we now understand 

 what was needed, we could go on tuccess- 

 fully with its culture. He would call atten- 

 tion to the uniform good profit of the crop 

 in the north part of the State ; most cer- 

 tainly we have as good if not a better soil, 

 our climate is more favorable, and he could 

 not see why we could not be at least equally 

 successful. He predicted that spring wheat 

 would soon take its place among our staple 

 productions. 



Mr. A. L. B. took the side of corn. When 

 he came to this county in 1856, wheat was 

 the main crop. He had a good crop that 

 year, but could get but fifty cents a bushel. 

 (A voice — " Enough for it considering the 

 oats in it.") Corn was worth seventy-five 

 cents; he had grown cora sicco. He would 

 ask if wheat w-.s so profitable, vrhy farmers 

 planted all their lands i]i corn ? lie would 

 put the cost of wheat at nine dollars the 

 acre, and yield at twenty bushels, worth 

 fifteen dollars, but he would not like to war- 

 rant twenty bushels to the acre. 



COST OF CORN. 



Plowing per acre ^1 00 * 



Plaining and seed 35 



Plowing four times is conimon' with Turn- 

 er's Illinois Cultivator, wiil cost 75 



Husking forty-five bushels at 1 35 



Shelling l SO 



Hauling to station 1 80 



. $7 06 



