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TJlc Countrv Gentleman's Magazine 



in fiveridges,measuringalittle over I )^ imperial 

 acres. Our impression at the time, judging 

 from the quantity of seed sown, in propor- 

 tion to the ground seeded, and its appearance 

 when sown, was that it was thick enough. We 

 are now under the idea that it was too thin. 

 The next variety • sown was Nursery red, 

 which, having the smallest grain in the series, 

 required a considerable alteration of the ma- 

 chine. We sowed the 4 bushels equally over 

 five ridges. Our impression was, that it was too 

 thick. The Bearded wheatwas next sown. The 

 proportion of seed here was, we think, correct. 

 Fenton was put in next, and was well pro- 

 portioned in the ground, Lammas being last. 

 Of this we only sowed one ridge to avoid varia- 

 tion of the soil. Now, we are most anxious 

 by the publication of these experiments not 

 to mislead, but to give a fair and unprejudiced 

 opinion of these different wheats; although 

 Ave admit that the germ of perfect accuracy 

 may be wanting from the difficulty of properly 

 adj usting the quantities of seed required, in pro- 

 portion to the extent of land, owing to the great 

 variation in the size of the grains, especi- 

 ally with reference to the King Richard and 

 Nursery red, and a slight variation in the 

 width of the ridges. The proportion in num- 

 ber contained in the small measure being 

 more than i-3d in favour of the latter, we 

 endeavoured to conduct the trials on the 

 principle, or rather general practice, by 

 which different varieties of seed wheats are 

 tried — viz., a given quantity per acre, with- 

 out reference to the size of the grains. 

 Let us turn to the results of the experiments. 

 We take the various wheats seriatim, as 

 given in the table. First comes King Richard 

 — a name most appropriately bestowed — for 

 a bold kingly-looking wheat it is. This is a 

 new variety, propagated by Mr Shirreff of 

 Haddington. The grain is large, and bears 

 a strong family likeness to Talavera. The 

 straw is singularly tall and stiff, and the ear 

 finely developed. The proportion of grain 

 to the 7i'eight of straw is greater than in anv 

 of the others. We consider this wheat weil 

 adapted for most of the best wheat soils in 

 the country. But it should be sown thicker 

 than ordinary varieties. We observed a 



greater tendency to rust than in any of the 

 others, but the rust passed away without inj uring 

 the quality of the grain. Nursery red stands 

 next. This variety is much grown in Wilt- 

 shire. Its fine baking qualities make it a 

 favourite in France, and large quantities are 

 sent across the channel. The grain is small, 

 the straw very tall in soil adapted for it, 

 and likewise stiff, the ear is not large and 

 tapering. To shew the necessity for ex- 

 perimenting carefully with different varieties 

 on distinct kinds of soil, we tried this 

 wheat on light sandy land, and the 

 style, in fact the appearance of the wheat, 

 seemed quite changed. The straw and ear 

 developed themselves to the full, some of 

 the straws measuring 6 feet 6 inches. In the 

 field where the experiments were made (an 

 average turnip loam) the straw was shorter 

 and the ear smaller than any of the others. 

 It was the heaviest grain, and stands third 

 in weight of straw. This wheat, from the 

 small size of the grain, should be thin sown. 

 We highly prize this wheat for soft land. 

 Shirreft's White Bearded comes next. This 

 wheat surpassed all the others in quality, 

 but was deficient in its appearance both on 

 the ground and in the stook. As a valuator we 

 would have placed it first, fudging by apparent 

 bulk, both in produce of grain and straw. It is 

 a distinct and true variety, and much prized 

 by some farmers ; but we question much 

 if a high price per quarter will make up 

 for deficiency of produce. The quality of 

 this vv'heat is superb, but we would rather 

 lean to a coarser variety yielding more 

 sacks per acre. Fenton wheat has long held 

 a pre-eminent position in the opinion of most 

 farmers, and its position in this trial of its 

 productiveness .shews how well it has stood 

 the test. The peculiarity of this Avheat is the 

 great dissimilarity in the length of the straw. 

 A sheaf of this grain is eared down to the 

 band. The straw is very stiff and will stand 

 much adverse weather. Our last is Lammas 

 red. It has long been a favourite, but of late 

 gone rather out of favour. It is tall and stiff 

 strawed, and the grain a great favourite with 

 bakers. Here we would remxrk on the very 

 large weight of straw per acre of this wheat. 



