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THft SOUmatN WORLD, JtJftE 1, 1882, 1 mlttee, the following named gentlemen: Col. John M. Meek, of JefTerson; J. Q. A. Remine, of Greene; and W. S. Taylor, of Hamblen. "How to make the greatest yield of wheat per acre," was the subject of a paper by Col. John M. Meek. (It appears elsewhere in the Southern Would.) Col. J. B. Stokely was elected President, and John M. Meek, Secretary. Knoxville was selected as the place and Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in May 1883, as the time for the next meeting. The meeting throughout was a success and great praise is due the Knoxville Trib une, and Col. C. W. Charlton, for their un tiring efforts. We have given a brief epit ome of the proceedings; of some of the re ports we will write you more. Be assured East Tennessee is grateful to the Southern World for its kindly interest in behalf of our convention and section. Mow to Make the Greatest Yield of Wheat to the Acre. Essay by Col. John M. Meek, of Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, Secretary of the East Tennessee Parment’ Convention, read before that body at Its session In Knoxville, May Dtb, last It is presumed that the purpose of the foregoing inquiry is not to develop how a single acre of ground may be stimulated to its maximum yield of wheat, but to demon strate practically if possible, by what means or process of handling, we os farmers, may bring up the yield of wheat per acre upon our already depleted fields, to its maximum point, at a cost of production which will leave a reasonable margin for profit, and at the same time leave our fields in a condition to grow a remunerating crop of any other farm product. Theories and suggestions are valuable only when it is possible to practi cally supply them on the farm, or after they have been actually tested und proved sus ceptible of profitable application. This requires years of valuable time in patient and intelligent labor. The timeand labor occupied in making these experimen tal tests, to say nothing of the cost in money, is frequently lost, us the theory may be proved barren of practical and profitable susceptibilities. The average farmer can not make these costly experiments in testing the various theories presenting themselves for solution, by methods sometimes known only to science, and by men acquainted with the scientific means to be used in their de monstration. Agricultural and organic chemistry holds the keys that alone will unlock the doors to the many hidden avenues to nature’s vast laboratory, from which are evolved the life producing elements sustaining the organic and animate universe. These avenues have been exploded and the results given to the agricultural world, by the labors and research of such benefactors of their race us Justus Von Liebig, of Ger many, and Drs. J. B. Lawcs and Gilbert, of Kothamstead, England. These with men of less note, both in our own country and Europe, in the same line of research, have lifted agriculture from the ruts of hopeless, aimless and ignorant toil and placed it upon the plane of intelligence, where scientific knowledge, not brute force, constitute the elements of success in the cultivation of our fields and beautifying our homes. How very important indeed then is it that farmersshould be men of research, acquiring useful information, by availing themselves of all the means within their reach neces sary to insure success, and lighten and ren der attractive labor on the farm. This brings us now to the immediate discussion of the topic under consideration. All crops do not require the same ele ments in their production, nor do they re quire the same kind or amount of cultiva tion. If we set out to grow a certain kind of crop intelligent inquiry will teach us that the first step is to find out what are the constituent elements and necessary environ ments of the crop proposed to be grown. The next step ’will be to know if the ground upon which it is to be grown is sup plied with a sufficiency of these necessary elements. It not, then they must be sup plied. We are then ready to proceed with the preparation of the ground for the seed as well as also as the seed for the ground. The topio has given us wheat as the crop upon which we are to make the effort to demon strate the possibility of a maximum yield. Wheat is the most valuable and healthful of the bread producing cereals, and is culti vated on a wider range of latitude than any other. It has been cultivated from the earli est ages, and was a chief crop in ancient Egypt and Palestine. We are all familiar with the history of the Egyptian famine In which Joseph and his brethren appeared as chief actors, in which also the barns of Pha- roah were filled with wheat sufficient to feed the people during the seven years of famine. Though during the 17th century it was cul tivated only to a limited extent in England, so much so that the wealthier classes had wheat bread only once a year, and that was on Christmas. With this as prefatory, we proceed to con sider the proposition given for discussion. Upon the unworn and virgin soils of the Northwest, as well as the Southwest, the question iseasy of solution, fertility not be ing a factor, but preparing the ground, time and manner of seeding with variety of seed being the important points to consider. With us, upon our exhausted lands, the question assumes a far wider scope of in quiry, there being but two elements of suc cess easy of access within the reach of all. These are climate and natural adaptability and drainage. Fertility must be supplied by either natural or artificial means, and in our choice of these means we should be gov erned by the cost, and permanency of re sults attained in increasing the fertility of our fields. My practical information in regard to the application of artificial ma nures, is limited to my own observation, and the experience and observations of others who have used them. And accord ing to my own judgment this does not jus tify us in their extended or extensive use only in exceptional cases. Large numbers of those using them report unsatisfactory re sults, both as to permanent increased fertil ity of their land and yields of wheat. Though many, and among them those in terested in the sale of commercial manures, report satisfactory results, a little common sense in the consideration of this phase of the question will teach us some valuable facts. In the purchase of commercial ma nures the wheat market becomes an im- portant factor. The freights paid on the wheat and ferti lizer are to be looked after. Who pays the freight upon wheat shipped from points along our line of railroad? We all know that the freight is taken from the price of the wheat in the hands of the producer. Who then pays the freight upon the com mercial fertilizer shipped from the manu facturer and sold by agents to the farmers all over the country ? Does the same rule upply to the producer of fertilizers that is applied to the producer of wheat ? Certain ly not. Every one knows that the freight is added to the price per ton, which is paid by the farmer to whom it is sold. So that we see the farmer in paying for his commercial fertilizer with his wheat, has to pay the freight upon his wheat to market and, also the freight upon the fertilizer laid down at the same point from which his wheat was shipped. In addition to this he has the heavy risk of purchasing a bogus article ab solutely worthless; for many of the commer cial fertilizers on the market are of this character. Now the question ai ises, can the farmer foot all these bills out of his wheat crop and take the risk of being swindled in the fertilizer, and have sufficient margin left to clothe, feed and educate his family, and make his home what our Christian civiliza tion demands it should be ? I unhesitating ly and emphatically answer he can not do it. I can not do it upon my lands and they are much better than the average uplands of East Tennessee. We can not then depend upon artificial means for a permanent increased production of wheat per acre, which will leave a margin of remunerative profit to the producer. Our help must come from natural resources aided by intelligent rotation of crops of grains and grasses, and especially of red clover. And we repeat, especially is the cultiva tion of red clover for at least two years (tlyee is better), previous, the best preparation for wheat, with the addition of all the barn yard manure available, on the poorest places. Other grasses, with the grazing of sheep and cattle, will attain the same results, though perhaps not so soon. Red clover is the only grass known to the writer that will clothe and feed our families, and at the same time increase the fertility of the lands upon which it is grown. By a proper and persistent rotation of crop with red clover as the principal, lands producing only from 5 to 7 bushels of wheat to the acre, may within from two to three years be made to yield from fifteen to twenty-five bushels of No. 1 wheat per acre. This is no theory; I have accomplished this result upon my own farm, and some of my neighboring farmers have done the same thing, and what we have done others may do without the aid of commercial fertilizers and with better permanent results. Chem istry informs us that there are only thir teen substances that enter into the formation of agricultural plants. These are potassium, sodium, cslcium, magnesium, iron, carbon, silicon, sulphur, phosphorus, chlorine, hy drogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Of this list, iron, carbon, silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen, are furnished in sufficient abundance by nature. Sodium and chlo rine are found in sufficient quantity in most soils for ordinary crop. If more is needed it may be obtained by the application of two or three bushels of common salt to the acre. In like manner the application of plaster will supply the neoessary calcium and sulphur, directly, and indirectly, magnesium. It will thus be seen that nature supplies in abundance ten of these thirteen chemicals of agriculture. Or they may be obtained by the application of salt and plaster. This leaves only three of these elements to be looked after, namely, potussium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. But these are of such vital importance to the farmer, that without them all his efforts fail, and successful farming is impossible. Then we are confronted by the question, how shall we obtain these three important elements? The answer to the question 1b found in the cultivation of Hed Clover. A small amount of nitrogen combined in the form of ammonia and the nitrates, is found in the air, and the average amount precipitated on the acre yearly by the rains and snows is only 8.75 lbs. "The nitrogen in the air in the form of ammonia and the nitrates is insufficient for a full crop."— Prof. Kedzil." While an acre of wheat requires 45.60 pounds, an acre of red clover contains 108 pounds. Let us see now what is the actual value of red clover as a mnnuriul agent. An acre of good clover , will make 5,000 pounds of hay, containing 282A pounds of mineral matter or ash. In this ash is found 97 A pounds of potash, 06 pounds of lime, 'H'A pounds of magnesia and 28 pounds of phosphoric acid. The hay will also contain 108 pounds of com bined nitrogen. This is what may be real ized from an acre of luxuriant clover plough ed under, and is also available when a clover sod is ploughed up after mowing the clover, for it is found the mower leaves as much material, both organic and inorganic, as is taken away in the hay. In two and one-half tons of clover hay, or in an acre of clover sod of similar quality, there will be both for grain and straw, enough phosphoric acid, for a crop of 34 bushels of wheat, of combin ed nitrogen for 71 bushels, of potash for 102 bushels, of magnesia for 120 bushels, and of lime for 270 bushels. In other words, the clover hay or sod contains enough phos phoric acid for more than double an aver age crop, enough nitrogen for more than four average crops, and potash for more than six average crops of wheat. Here then is the answer to the inquiry of despairing farmers, how shall we restore our worn out fields and make them produce their maximum of wheat to the acre. Let the triple leaf of the red clover become the emblem of the new gospel of agriculture, symbolizing to the farmer the trinity of blessings found in a sufficiency of the three vital elements of potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. Let us clothe our fields in red clover and it will be to us the talismanic power that shall fill our barns and granaries to burst ing, and establish an era of pastoral happi ness in which the “pastures will be clothed with flocks; the valleys also be covered with corn. They shall shout for joy, they shall also sing.” The proper preparation of the ground, which means the time of plowing, with the time and manner of seeding and the variety of wheat sown lias very much to do in determining the yield per acre. The ploughing if possible should bo done In July and August and the ground broken to the depth of eight to twelve inches. The ground should be prepared for seeding by the 15th of September, at which time sow ing should in this latitude begin, and should be finished by the 15th of October following. As to the manner of seeding whether (with drill or broadcast) it does not matter so much, if it can be distributed evenly by broadcasting, which is a somewhat difficult matterand then thoroughly covered. Though broadcast seeding machines are being man ufactured extensively, and cost much less than drills, which are said to do satisfactory work. 8everal testa have been made be tween broadcasting and drilling. Every thing being equal the result has almost in variably been in favor of broadcasting. Up to last year I have followed broadcasting when I purchased a drill and put in the principal part of my wheat crop with it. A part of it was sown broadcast and put in with double shovels and bull tongues, so that I may be better able to judge of the relative merits of the two processes of seed ing. The drill has some points in its favor though not so many as claimed by its special advocates With these it should be credited in a fair comparison. This brings us to the point of seeding, the methods of which we have partially discussed. The variety of wheat ha/also very much to do in determining the yield. 1 have attained the best results and highest yields from the Fultz wheat, and far as my obser vation extends, this has been the case throughout the State for the last eight or ten years. There is no doubt but that the aggregate yield of wheat in the State of Tennessee might have been increased from eleven million bushels to twenty or twenty- five millions, if our people had selected the variety of wheat best adapted to our soil and climate; and my own opinion is that this is the Fultz or some of the red or Amber wheats. I am experimenting npw with German Amber wheat which promises favorable results. Having attained the proper variety, it should be thoroughly cleaned of all the trash and small grains, and only the large The result is that nearly all other interests have received the fostering care of the Gov ernment, while agriculture has been left alone to carry the burden and pay the debts saddled upon it by professional politicians and insolent monopolies. Who is to blame for this but those only engaged in agricultu ral pursuits? Almost forty million of the population are engaged in agriculture. The other ten or twelve million are clothed and fed from the labor of the farm. They also control the Government and hold all the offices, assess and collect all the revenues, and the farmer is satisfied with an occasion al package of garden seeds, sent to him by his member in Congress. Millions of acres of public lands are given to build railroads, and these in turn are used to corrupt and control legislation in the in terests of railroad kings and monopolies, and these lay tribute upon the productive ener gies of tlie country, by setting a price upon everv bushel of grain or head of stock shipped over their lines to the markets. Had half the amount of money given by Government to foster such enterprises been expended in the' improvement of the navigation of the Mississippi river and the construction of sound levees on it and its tributaries the present calamitous flooding of the Missis sippi Valley, with its consequent fearful loss of life and property, might have been avoided and millions of dollars left in the pockets of the farmers of the country. Lack of information among fanners is what has made such things possible, and they will continue just so long as farmers choose to remain in ignorance and in want of prop er information as to the rights and necessi ties of the agricultural interests of the country. Then let me beg farmers every where to begin at onco to acquire useful knowledge from books and papers that will assist in and lighten the labors and burdens of the farm. Subscribe for agricultuial journals and purchase agricultural books; labor intelligently and with the beat lights attainable. In this way may we expect to make agriculture wliat It is and ought to be, the most noble avocation known to men. The burdens of Government will be in this way equally distributed, and one class or in terest will not be taxed to sustain another. All industries will stand or fall upon its own merits. All this, and more, may and will follow from the intelligent cultivation of our farms. All human Industry demands in telligence in its direction and control, and farming, however homely it may sound, de mands more wisdom and knowledge and forethought, than all other avocations in or der to make it successful. Let us no longer then be satisfied with fur nishing the mere brute force that feeds the world; let us furnish our part at least of the intelligence that shapes the policy and guides the spirit of progress pulsing through the years of the nineteenth century. I may be permitted to say that for many of the tacts and chemical results given in this paper in regard to red clover, I am indebted to a lecture delivered before the faculty and students of the State Agricul tural College of Michigan, by R. C. Kedzil, Professor of Chemistry. This lecture in full may be found published in the Clover Leafol February. _ "What shall the harvest bet" Of wheat and other grain?