194 



THE WHEAT CULTTJKIST. 



with the seed grain. Such a dressing would operate 

 like magic in the production of a heavy crop of wheat. 

 I would not recommend the practice of sowing wheat 

 flour, for the purpose of ]3roducing an enormous crop of 

 grain ; I simply allude to this suggestion of fertilizing 

 the soil with wheat flour, for the purpose of showing 

 that in order to raise wheat there must be some material 

 in the soil that the wheat plants will take up and appro- 

 priate to the development of the new grain. These 

 thoughts will show the young farmer what the soil re- 

 quires. 



IvTow, the question arises, how can a farmer employ 

 his grain as a fertilizer, and at the same time avail him- 

 self of its cash value besides ? _ I answer, by making 

 mutton, and applying the valuable manure of his fat 

 sheep to his soil. When grain or meal is fed to fat- 

 tening stock, only a small part of it is appropriated to 

 the growth and development of the animal, while a 

 large proportion is cast out into the manure heap. This 

 is the material for producing a large yield of grain. 

 Manure that is made by fattening sheep will furnish 

 large supplies of just such materials as the wheat plants 

 must have, to yield a bountiful crop of grain. Conse- 

 quently, if a farmer will combine sheep-fattening with 

 wheat-growing, he can scarcely fail to bring an ordinary 

 soil into such a state of fertility, in a few years, that he 

 can reap bountiful crops of wheat of a choice quality. 

 But sheep-raising and wheat-growing will not succeed 

 at all satisfactorily, unless sheep are kept in a growing 

 and thrifty condition by feeding large quantities of 

 coarse grain, and oil meal and turnips, or roots of some 

 kind. A farmer may just as well take the products of 

 his land and pitch them into the mill-pond, and think to 



