172 Our Experimental Farm — Asiatic Seeds. [April, 



the rule with agents is to obey orders though they br£ak owners ; and 

 even if you do not derive the measure of gratification you have antici- 

 pated from the import, there will be at least this consolation, that it has 

 not cost so much as the capture of Sebastopol ! 



I have numbered the various kinds and append such brief hints and 

 explanations as may seem to be in place. It has seemed to me hardly 

 worth while to send many seeds of any one kind, as a few will serve your 

 purpose of giving them a fair trial in your soil and climate. Should 

 there be found any thing encouraging in the result, and should I remain 

 a year or two longer in this land, I will with great pleasure aid you in 

 enlarging the experiment. 



SEEDS SENT — NOTES. 



No. 1. Wheat : — This is of the kind called " Hamath Wheat ;" and 

 is, indeed, the only kind produced in this region of Homs and Hammath, 

 the OTeat granary of Syria. The only other kind I have seen is of a 

 reddish hue, and a smaller kernel. I have not seen the Hammath 

 Wheat growing, but suppose it is beardless, and therefore not easy to 

 shell, and of course, hard to thresh. 



No. 2. Barley : — The Barley is used for horse food mostly ; yet 

 DOW, as in the days of the Saviour, the * barley loaf ' is here no marvel. 

 Barley is never brewed in Syria. Both this and the Wheat are sown in 

 the autumn ; but it would do no hurt to try a few seeds in the spring as 

 an experiment. 



No. 3. Mash : — The name is Persian ; and the seed, being nutritious 

 and easy of digestion, is regarded as very good for persons recovering 

 from wasting sickness. It is not grown in large quantities , but is for 

 sale in all our cities. It seems to be not improbable that this constituted 

 a part of the food of the good man Daniel, when he ' refused the king's 

 meat.' I have seen it growing in the field, and it appeared as though it 

 had been drilled in planting. It produces pods in clusters suspended on 

 a single stem — the pods close together, parallel, and in the same plane. 

 The plant resembles a bean. 



No. 4. Baya : — This is of the same general nature, but of a larger 

 bean than the Mash. It is used for food, and probably grown in the 

 same way. 



No. 5. DucHEN : — This is a field plant, grows higher than barley, 

 and with a sprangling top. It may be sown broad-cast; but. when 

 ripening, will need to be guarded from the birds, for so great is their 

 fondness for its seeds that they seem literally crazy for it. Its grain is 

 sometimes used for food, but is here principally devoted to the use of 



