WHEAT 59 
of digestible nitrogen-free substance than the rye. 
Owing to the fact that wheat contains more dry 
matter than rye, when at the best stage of growth, 
it can be fed immediately in the usual quantities 
without injury. From fifty to sixty pounds per 
day is the quantity most generally used. 
The average yields per acre are slightly greater 
than for rye, due mainly to the fact that it can be 
cut at a later stage of maturity. Yields are much 
increased by a judicious top-dressing of nitrate of 
soda, as recommended for rye, the increase being 
usually greater than in the case of rye, because of 
the longer period in which the plants have access 
to the food previous to cutting,—rye having about 
a month for the absorption of the nitrate, whereas 
the wheat has from six to seven weeks. The 
average increase in yield from the application of 
150 pounds of nitrate of soda per acre, at the New 
Jersey Station, was over 60 per cent. 
Wheat is slightly less useful as a cover-crop 
than rye, because it usually does not make so 
vigorous growth in the fall, and starts off much 
less rapidly in the spring. Still, it has its use 
for this purpose, and one which should not be 
ignored. Wheat and rye, because of their early 
maturity, are especially suitable for supplement- 
ing early spring pastures. In fact, they are the 
only crops, except in the South, that possess this 
most valuable characteristic. 
