practical papers — Wheat Culture . 3S9 
farmers seem determined to continue in the same old way. The 
trouble is, they have got into those old ruts; they do so 
and so, because father did. Or they are in debt; they must 
raise another crop of wheat and try to clear up the incumbrance ; 
then they are going to improve their farms, unconscious that the 
next crop must be poorer than the one preceding it, that it is not 
going to pay the expenses of raising; that it is of necessity 
going to make them poorer instead ol relieving them of embar¬ 
rassment. Well, what can we do differently, say they? Any¬ 
thing is better than the course you are pursuing. Practical expe¬ 
rience is what they want; demonstrated fact, figures and data from 
which to judge. How can they obtain the evidence ? Let farmers 
tell their experience ; I am going to tell mine. 
I have more than doubled the production of my farm in the 
past five or six years, without extra expense, more than the 
resultant profits, year by year (pardon the egotism). 
I made a statement last year at the convention, that my crop 
was nearly 20 bushels per acre average that year, and that I hoped 
to raise 25 bushels average the coming year. Well, I have not 
quite done it, but should have done so, only for a calamity that 
befel a part of my crop of about 15 acres, which the army worm 
destroyed, or very materially injured. (By the way can any one 
tell where they come from and how long they are going to stay.) 
Still, from 91 acres, my crop was almost 2,200 bushels, thrashers 
measure ; by weight it would have exceeded that, as the wheat had 
no weeds or foul seed in it, and was plump, good grain. 
If the 15 acres injured by the worms that did not yield more 
than 12 bushels per acre, were deducted, it would show an average 
fully equal to my estimate last year. My poorest crop, aside from 
that portion injured by the worms, was, on corn ground, 18 
bushels per acre ; the straw was large enough but the wheat was 
missing. My best results of spring wheat were on clover sod 
broken in October and November, after cutting my clover seed, 
27 bushels per acre on 28 acres. 
My best crop was winter wheat, from 11 acres, thrashers 
measure ; 462 bushels of the very finest wheat; by weight it would 
exceed that, making a little over 33 bushels per acre. 
I made a statement last year that I hoped to raise 25 bushels 
