Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 June 1875 — Thick vs. Thin Sowing. [ARTICLE]

Thick vs. Thin Sowing.

Mr. Mechi, of Tip Tree Hall, England, who is celebrated for making experiments in everything connected with the improvement of land and the increase of the acreable yield of all kinds of crops, is a warm advocate for thin sowing, and several farmers in various parts of the world in adopting this theory have suffered considerable loss from deficient crops. Before the practice of thin sowing is adopted it is necessary to ascertain: Is the soil in a suitable condition for increasing the plants by tilling and covering the ground? Before we commence sowing a very limited portion of seed to the acre it would be well to be perfectly sure that the soil is rich, properly tilled, and ’ perfectly free from weeds. Thin sowing affords a very favorable opportunity for weeds to spread and occupy the ground. An extensive grower of wheat in England, having tested both sides of the question, has come to the conclusion that thin sowing is not a safe practice except within very narrow limits, and he grounds his opinion on the following facts: If wheat is very thin in winter, should the months of March and April be dry, it does not tiller sufficiently to produce a full crop, and in all seasons it ripens later, sutlers more from the attacks of insects, especially wire worms, and is much more liable to mildew. It is true that a sufficiently full plant may be obtained from early sowing, but this only applies to a portion of the crop, for that portion of land which is under turnips and other root crops cannot be sown early, and, as there are no naked fallows on good ground, it is a question for the farmer to decide whether it would be for his advantage to have a portion of his wheat sown so early as to save a bushel or a bushel and a half of seed per acre; or whether his horses would be more profitably employed in cleaning the stubbles intended for root crops the following season, as long as the weather permitted, and begin his wheat sowing at the usual time at the cost of a few more bushels of seed. He thinks that sufficient alteration is not in general made in the t quantity of seed, as the season of sowing advances. If four pecks are considered sufficient at the end of September, an additional peek should be used for every fortnight beyond that time This would give five pecks for the middle of October; six for the end of October: seven for the middle of November, and eight for the end of that month. Supposing. however, that this is a good approximation to the truth as a general rulev it must of course be* considerably modified in accordance with the varying circumstances of soil, climate, previous, crops and causes, of /which each farmer will be the best judge in his own case. The size of the grain of the particular variety of wheat sltould always be taken into account when determining the quantity of seed to be sown per acre.- He weighed half an ounce of “Spalding’s Prolific” wheat and found it to contain 240 grains. The same weight of Hunter’s White (a moderate-sized, wheat) contained 303 grains, being one-fourth more in number,*so that for ever)- bushel of Hunter’| White that was thought necessary five pecks of Spalding’s Prolific ought to be sown in order to produce an equal number of plants, and if a smaller variety of wheat is chosen the difference would still be more striking. 44 The adoption of the system of sowing three or four pecks of wheat per acre on the average soil of England would lead to ruin. The farmer has numerous and insidious enemies to guard against —the seasons fight injurious insects attack the crop below and above ground, weeds contend for the mastery, and it will not do to increase the difficulties of the position by adopting the dangerous theory of thin sowing to the extent advocated by persons who make it their hobby.”

Although the season for sowing wheat is much shorter in the United States and Canada than in Great Britain and Ireland, still it is long enough to permit of a discrimination being made between the quantity of seed used for early and late sowing. The size of the grain is a matter of importance, which is worthy the attention of every farmer, as is also the early or late ripening properties of the variety to be sown. In all wheat-growing countries it is well known that the soil must be properly tilled and perfectly free from weeds in order to insure a full crop of this cereal. —Western Rural.