Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 December 1876 — Look to the Ditches. [ARTICLE]

Look to the Ditches.

Few farmers who raise winter grain have escaped an occasional loss through what is termed “winter killing.” This is usually caused by a superabundance of water in the soil, but sometimes from exposure of the young grain upon bleak, dry and poor knolls and hillsides. Under-draining and deep tillage of all heavy, tenacious and wet soils are the best preventives of winter killing, as well as rust in summer; but there are very few men who have the capital to spend on such improvements, or who feel disposed to make them if they do have it; consequently, the larger proportion of our farmers depend upon open surface ditches to carrv off whatever surplus moisture may fall in the form of rain or snow Grain sown upon level land is, of course, more likely to suffer from drowning out than that sown on an undulating surface, but it is always safe to provide water courses on all kinds of land, in order to secure a uniform stand of plants over the entire field.

It is not every plowman who possesses an eye sufficiently weir trained to detect slight variations in the contour of the surface of a field, consequently mistakes will often occur in locating the ditches or furrows opened for watdr courses, and they can only lie rectified after the commencement of fall rains. It is now time to attend to such matters, and it is far better to destroy a narrow strip of the grain 'in making such ditches than to have large patches drowned out by ponds of whter. A few hours of even days in large fields spent in removing surface «water or preventing its accumulation later in the season may save many a bushel of grain in the next harvest. A hint should be sufficient in this matter, for every farmer knows just the spots in his fields requiring attention, also where the grain has been killed out in past winters, and is likely to be again. In addition to the loss of grain through winter killing in the low, wet places, that great peat of wheat fields, chess or cheat, is usually more abundant in such spots than elsewhere in the fields. Chess, being a more hardy grain than wheat, withstands water and cola better; and when the latter dies out the former has more room to grow, and consequently spreads rapidly, and often takes entire’ possession of these otherwise bare spots. This peculiarity in the growth of chess has led many farmers to believe that the wheat had actually turned into chess. In tn* rich, high soils best fitted for the growth of the wheat plant chess is crowded, and in great part smothered, and makes so little show that the casual observer is likely to overlook it when it is actually present in abundance; but once let the wheat be killed out and the chess tillers rapidly fill up the place made vacant. It is seldom that the soil over a large field is of a uniform fertility, and there are usually more or less poer"spots where the yoqng wheat will show at this season that there is something wrong at the root, either because the soil is too hard to admit of the penetration of the small fibers, or nutriment is not within their reach. A few loads of manure scattered over these spots will not only protect the plants during winter, but generally secure a vigorous growth next spring. If manure cannot be had for this purpose, almost any coarse litter, such as straw, chaff, leaves, or even light vegetable mold from the woods, will answer as a protection as well as add something to the fertility of the soil. Winter grain, growing upon bleak, exposed hills and knolls, is greatly benefited by a slight mulching applied soon after the ground begins to freeze in the fall and early winter; and if every farmer would give proper attention to such matters as Opening the ditches and protecting and manuring the grain on the unfertile and exposed spots in the field, the average of the crop would be largely increased. It is the uniform heavy yield over the entire surface of the land occupied by a crop which tells at harvest time, as well as when the farm accounts are made up for the season.—W. Y. Sun.