Import and Export of Agricultural Commodities 



277 



During August we only exported 322 

 horses, of which number, 207 went to France. 

 In the same month last year, 776 left Eng- 

 land. Since January we have exported 2210 

 of these animals, for which we received 



;,^i2r,487, or about an average of £s^ per 

 horse. Last year, up to the 31st of August 

 we exported 5764 specimens of the equine 

 breed, for which were paid ;^2i2,io2, or 

 an average price of about ^36 per head. 



WHEAT CULTURE. 



UNDER this heading the Allnviy Cultiva- 

 tor and Country Gentleman pubhshes 

 the following remarks from a well-known 

 American agriculturist, Mr. W. H. White, of 

 Connecticut : — 



Perhaps there is no one product of the 

 soil that is more nearly related to domestic 

 economy and a nation's finances, which 

 affects the nation's prosperity and well-being 

 to an equal extent, as the influence exerted 

 by this single crop, whether short or an 

 abundant one ; for upon it, to a large extent, 

 are the people of all civilized nations de- 

 pendent for their bread. Its importance then 

 to the people should place it high in the scale 

 of culture and improvement with all culturists \ 

 how is the fact, in this respect, in all the 

 wheat-growing sections of the United States? 

 Let individual culturists answer, and ask: 

 themselves — Do I do my best, or am I try- 

 ing to improve the quality and product on 

 my own farm ? All improvement in this line 

 must devolve upon individual eftbrt ; advice 

 and theory are good, so far as they go, but 

 one ounce of practice will weigh down a 

 pound of the former ; yet without them there 

 would often be failure in practice ; the two 

 together establish fact and science. 



All varieties of plants have an appropriate 

 or natural soil and climate, in which they will 

 thrive best ; yet many of them are endowed 

 with a flexibility of structure to such an 

 extent that their natural element may be 

 greatly increased by culture. The wheat, 

 through culture, has given us a great number 

 of varieties, some best adapted to one soil 

 and climate, some to another, yet each pos- 

 sessing the quality or power of adapting 



itself, by culture, to a widely different soil, 

 &c. ; yet in our selection of seed for sowing, 

 reference should be made to the soil on which 

 it grew, as also the soil on which it is to be 

 sown, as any radical change affects the pro- 

 duct materially, and to this cause often may 

 be ascribed the reason of failure or partial 

 failure of a variety to .succeed in a new 

 locality. 



When our country was nev/, with a virgin 

 soil, wheat succeeded in a large portion of 

 it ; yet, after the lapse of years, its culture 

 ceased to be a paying one ; why this de- 

 terioration in the yield and quaHty? The 

 question is frequently asked and as often 

 answered, in theory at least. Wheat is a 

 grain composed of certain elements which it 

 draws from the soil ; the soil, of course, must 

 hold these elements in proportion, and in 

 such a state as to yield them readily to the 

 growing crop, and at the proper stage, or it 

 will vary in quality as well as in the propor- 

 tion of its elements. If the soil contains all 

 the requisite elements, and a crop is taken 

 from that soil, it stands to reason that that 

 soil has lost a portion of its elements, and in 

 order again to produce an equally good crop 

 there must be some return made thereto, 

 although there may be such a thing, if good 

 culture, otherwise, is given, that several crops 

 may be taken from some soils without any 

 perceptible deterioration; yet still the fact 

 remains that if something is taken fiom some- 

 thing less remains ; now if that something is 

 returned to the soil there can be no deteriora- 

 tion from that cause. 



There are one or two leading principles 

 which should be adopted by all wheat 



