Rensselaer Union, Volume 5, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 October 1872 — Wheat-Growing. [ARTICLE]

Wheat-Growing.

Many farmers at the West are discouraged in attempting to make wheat-grow-ing as profitable as other grain crops, and have abandoned this branch of husbandry. The reason of this discouragement arises chiefly from the failure to : grow wheat with the indifferent Management practised,when the country was comparatively new and the soil iii its primitive State. We.have raised this grain with heavy yield by simply harrowing the seed into the surface soil (without ploughing at all) among the stumps on newly cleared land, and have also raised heavy crops upon old worn land during the past few years, but the difference in management was very dissimilar. Those who. get good crops of wheat upon old laud have got to labor for it, hut the improved facilities for harvesting and the increased value of the grain make the crop, with right treatment, as profitable to-day as it ever has been. In the first place, soil rightly adapted as to position and condition must ;be selected; second, use good seed; third, well put in ; and fourth, thoroughly drained. The lay of land is very important; it is best where lyingfhigh, and shielded on tlie north or west side by woods; if on *both of these sides, all the better, as the forest gives winter protection in preventing snow' from being blown off and drifted up. The field also should be so situated that complete surface drainage may be given, fdr whefever a pool of water is allowed- to stand for a few days, there will be a bare spot at harvest time. More fields oi wheat are injured by

frost than by insect, and to contend with this element successfully ex-tra care should be exercised. ~1l is a well-estab-lished fact thlt when this grain is-put in with the drill, it stands the winter much better than when sown broadcast . It has further been proved that when mulched in earty wmterwith a sprinkling of straw the roots are protected to a great extent, not from the light costing of straw alone, but this coating retains the snow, and during many trying days blankets the field and securely shields it. i - - As to manure for wheat we have never found any so good as that from the sheep shed; this we put on the surface before harrowing in the grain. A piece of land once came into our possession that had been under the plow for twenty years and was considered almost worthless. This was plowed up in the fall about seven inches deep, and Being heavy clay, the work required fourhorses; it lay in large lumps during the winter, but through the action of the frost, the most of t|icm? 1 ar.ked do wn in the spring, when a good coat of manure was put upon it and turned under. During the summer we gave it one or two good workings with the cultivator, and in August threw it up 'with ridges with a singlehorse plow, and about, the 20th of September gave a sprinkling of sheep manure and sowed one bushel and a peck-of red wheat per acre. From the piece we harvested thir-ty-two bushels per acre of clean, plump wheat. The piece was then stocked Mown and has since produced heavy crops of grass. ’*~*‘~*— —

Mr. R. A. Hunt, of Euclid, Ohio, tells us. that he has made some experiments in the use of plaster and ashes upon wheat land, and has had the best success in the use ofthese fertilizers. Mr. Hunt, on the 25th day of September last, sowed some wheat on corn land; and cultivated the same ft: without plowing,, and *n every other plow-land of this piece he put unleached ashes at the rate of thirty-five bushels per acre, and the wheat upon these lands ripened three days earlier than that upon the others,- and gave a yield of one-third more grain. Now«this 'tvaS'afairtest; the field was ifot divided in the center, one-half coat fed ; “with-rthe ashes and the other not,/bat alternate plow-lands taken. grain came on earlier in the spring “Where the application, of ashes was made, kept ahead through the season, "and so distinctlymarked was the difference in growth that .it was noticed by casual-observers.. ~ In the fall of 1869, Mr. Hunt, after sowing a field of wheat on com ground and cultivating the same in, applied to ,one-half of the piece old plaster from a

thirty bushels per acre, and on the half where the plaster was applied a result was obtained very similar to that spoken of above when ashes was used. The wheat stood thicker and returned a much heavier yield. In the spring of IBIOj the piece of land upon which the experiment was made was seeded to clover, and the crop cut this year from that land was fully twice as heavy upon the limed part as upon the other, the former yielding some three tons of hay per acre, Further than this, Mr. H. says that upon the* part to .which the plaster was applied, a giowth of clover was made the same season of sowing, Sufficient to lay a good swath.— Olno Farmer. " * ' ' / At a party where questions were asked, and facetious if not felicitous answers expected, a coal dealer asked what le£al authority was the favorite with his trade One answered “Coke.” “Right*” said the coal dealer. Another suggested "jßlackstone.” “Good, too,” said the questioner. Then a little hard-faced man in the corner piped out “ Littleton,” whereupon the coal dealer sat do wn without saying a word.

The only persons left at the Tip-Top house on Mount Washington are three signal officers, who are equipped with a large stock of coal, four barrels of onions, about forty hauls, twenty bushels of potatoes, a good supply of canned goods, and all manner of groceries in profusion, a violin, harmonicon, a good-sized library and quantities of newspapers, and expect to spend a pleasant winter. Fever and Ague prevails to a painful extent in most sections of the West. A good) 1 safe and sure remedy is looked for by the people; one they can take to their homes to use in time of need. We would, therefore, recommend to all, Perry Davis’ Pain Killer, as being a safe and sure remedy; by using it internally and externally freely, it will soon dme all appearances of the disease from the system. For sale by all medicine dealers. It is stated that thirty of the best European engravers are employed in New York in manufacturing counterfeit plates of European bank-notes. Fifty persons' travel between New' York and Europe, carrying over the counterfeit bills to the Old World, and as many more act as agents in the larger cities of Europe for tiie circulation of spurious currency.

1-A NON sold a farm a few days since as “perfectly level.” The-buyer -went to look at it, and found a mountain on it. “But,” said the man, “the land willhe perfectly level—after you take the hill away; I sell you the level land underneath and throw in the mountain.” Adding Poison to Poison. — There is UO disease in which the blood is not more or less . impregnated with unwholesome matter, and the direct inevitable effect of all preparations containing spirituous excitants is to increase the volume of poison inrtbe veins, and thereby aggravate and prolong the malady. Hence it is that dyspepsia, bilious fever, cholera-morbus, lung-complaints, gout, dropsy, rlieuma tism, nervous disorders, and cases of •general and local debility, originally mild in type, are frequently rendered chronic and; dangerous.,, by dosing the sufferers with the alcoholic hitters advertised as •medicinal stimulants. Asa counterblast to the canards put forth by the proprietorAof those pernicious compounds, the plain, honest, philosophical statements of Dn. Joseph Walked, relative to the nature and effects of his Vinegar Bittees, are doing a world of good. He has opened the eyes of the public to the important fact that a pure vegetable tonic and alterative, unpolluted by alcohol, if not an absolute specific for every variety of disease, is the nearest approach to it yet attained. His Vinegar Bittehs -are unquestionably working speh wonders in affections of the stomach, bowels, nervous and muscular systems, and the glands and respiratory organs.

Heavy oats are good for horses; none will deny that; but oats can’t make'a horse’s coat look smooth and glossy when he is out of condition. Sheridan's Cavalry Condition Powders will do this when all else fails. Cramps and pains in the stomach are the result of imperfect indigestion, and may be immediately relieved by a dose of Johnson's Anodyne Liniment. A teaspoonful in a little sweetened water is a dose. Godf.y’s Lady’s Book.— The November number is presented to the public as one of e'st' pedal intereM to all classes. We have here fashions for those Wh& desire them; literature of a high Character, with instructions in everything that make up the pleasures- of a Jiappy fireside.; The beautiful steel and wood engravings are something to look upon. We understand that the announcement of fioimv in his October number that he will give a Clii-omq to every subscriber for the year 1878 has created a sensation throughout the country. Jfis well-known reputation of fulfilling, and in fact exceeding, all his promises, has led the reading public to look for something extra in the Chromo line. And they will not be disap-., pointed. Those who have seen the early proofs of "Our Barium" speak of it with the highest praise, and as far surpassing anything before offered by publishers. *