Practical papers —wheat Culture. 391 
ated with the soil. Whereas, if the clover was thin, or if it stands 
up and is thick, the sun will dry the soil, and the ammonia (it 
being an exceedingly volatile substance) evaporates and is lost to 
the land. If the clover lodges, it will retain the moisture, en¬ 
abling the land to take up the ammonia and retain it in the soil, 
thus drawing from the great store-house of nature genuine wheat 
food, for the next year. A good mower will cut all the clover 
that is of any value for hay, and leave the bottom to still mulch 
the ground in connection with the new second growth of clover. 
There is no way this strong growth of clover can be produced so 
cheaply as by the use of plaster, and there is nothing that will 
manure the land so cheaply. 
My best results in wheat raising for the past four or five years 
have been on clover sod, turned in the fall after cutting the second 
crop of clover for seed, with plaster sown in the fall or early 
in the spring at the time of sowing the wheat, about 100 lbs. to 
the acre. As stated above, my crop put in this year in that 
manner was 27 bushels per acre. 
In June after, I sowed the remainder of the field to plaster. 
The wheat had become stunted, and looked yellow and sickly on 
this part not plastered; on the other, it was rank and vigorous, 
and continued so. Now for the results. They opened my eyes and 
understanding, and I relate the experiment, thinking it may be of 
benefit to others. The part plastered in the fall yielded 25 bushels to 
the acre, of first rate wheat, 57 pounds to the bushel. The other, 15 
bushels to the acre, weighing 54 pounds to the bushel. What 
was the cause of this difference ? simply, the plaster started a 
strong growth ol wheat from the commencement, and continued it 
until it came to maturity. In the other case, the wheat had be¬ 
come enfeebled, but the plaster started a vigorous, active growth 
from the time it was sown, causing new rootlets to start, and mak¬ 
ing the wheat later, thereby causing it to shrink and rust. I am 
aware the common opinion is, that it is poor economy to sow 
wheat or any grain on new sod land; so indeed it would be only 
for the plaster to aid in assimilating the decaying vegetable sub¬ 
stances in the soil, to the growth of the wheat, which it will surely 
do. But is it possible to take two crops of clover from the land 
