406 



Early Sowing of Winter Wheat. 



[Aug., 



productivity, and consequently farmers have had to deal this 

 year with a greater extent than usual of bare fallows. Fortu- 

 nately, the weather has been very favourable for bare -fallowing. 

 Weeds will have been turned to useful account in the form of 

 humus, and the soil will have recovered in fertility and in the 

 condition known to farmers as " tilth." The importance of a 

 good tilth cannot be overrated ; no amount of subsequent manurial 

 or mechanical treatment will make up for the deficiencies of a 

 bad seed-bed. Farmers, therefore, especially on heavy land, 

 should resist the temptation to sow a catch crop on a fallow 

 already clean, and should reserve the land for the early sowing 

 of autumn wheat. The sheeping off or ploughing in of a green 

 crop may, in the case of a heavy soil in a wet autumn, result in 

 the loss of soil texture and of the advantages of an early seed-bed. 



Early sowing is likewise possible in many cases after " seeds " 

 hay. The past year was not, generally, favourable for " seeds," 

 particularly clovers, and the result has been in not a few cases 

 a thin plant, with weeds taking the place of the absent clovers. 

 In such cases it would, as a rule, be advisable to forego the after- 

 math and break up immediately the hay crop is off the ground. 

 A half -fallow in favourable weather will, if kept rough as long as 

 possible, kill the weeds and mitigate, if not altogether prevent, 

 attacks by wire worm. So, also, after picking peas, winter barley 

 or winter oats, it will in many cases, provided that the weather 

 is suitable, be possible to sow wheat early. Eecent develop- 

 ments in machinery have provided farmers with an effective 

 means of speeding up autumn cultivation, and the best way of 

 recovering the capital outlay involved is to keep the machinery 

 going while the days are still long and the weather favourable. 



On typical wheat lands, more particularly those of a heavy 

 nature containing chalk, corn crops may be successfully repeated 

 several times. The main consideration in this connection is 

 suitable manuring, and either dung or artificial manures may 

 be used with an equal measure of success. 



Wheat will doubtless be sown to an appreciable extent in 

 circumstances other than those mentioned ; it is mainly desired 

 here to draw attention to the importance of early sowing. If 

 the seed is sown early the plant is able to make good growth 

 before the cold, wet weather sets in, and is thus in a better 

 position to utilise plant food and prevent ' ' washing ' ' in the 

 course of the winter. If it is too forward or too luxuriant in 

 spring it can be sheeped oif without damage, and will stand up 

 all the better at harvest. 



