THE WHEAT CULTUEIST. 



203 



or more in height. The second object of harrowing the 

 soil is to form a mellow seed-bed at the sm^face of the 

 ground, around each plant, through wdiich the second- 

 ary roots may spread with facility, when that period in 

 the growing season has arrived for the young plants to 

 put forth their secondary roots. Roots of trees, bushes, 

 vines, or roots of grass or plants that produce grain, 

 spread with the utmost difficulty through clods, or a ha,rd 

 crust of almost any kind of ground. But when there 

 is a liberal supply of calcareous matter in the hard 

 lumps, or crust of earth, roots will not spread through 

 the soil in such a condition much sooner than they will 

 enter soft stones. 



Still another object in harrowing winter wheat is to 

 bury the grass-seed, or clover-seed, when the land is 

 stocked down in the spriiig of the year. 



A few years ago, a correspondent of the " Cultiva- 

 tor " wrote thus : " Myron Adams, of East Bloomfield, 

 ]^ew York, has for many years harrowed over the whole 

 of his wheat fields every spring, pulverizing the crust 

 and greatly benefiting the crop. If the ground is to 

 be seeded with clover, it is harrowed in at this time. 

 The whole amount torn up by the roots has been found 

 by examination not to exceed the amount of a bushel 

 on ten acres. The wheat looks rather unpromising 

 when thus dusted over with earth ; but the first shower 

 washes it off, and leaves it clean, fresh, and vigorous." 



Wheat on Sod Ground. 



Raising a crop of wheat on sod ground in some sec- 

 tions of the country is practised with satisfactory success, 

 while in most instances, all efforts to produce a fair crop 



