270 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



it from the too ardent action of the sun's rays. This is 

 generally done in Flanders, and the wheat of that 

 country passes, in all the markets, as being of the best 

 quality. Besides, numerous conclusive experiments 

 have been made, one of which I shall relate, because it 

 appears to me to be the most correct and arithmetic. 



When the Institute of Versailles was in existence, M. 

 Boitel, one of the Professors caused a field of wheat to 

 be cut at intervals of five days each, commencing on the 

 15th of July. This was rather too soon, but in matters 

 of experiment it is allowable to go to the extreme. 



The wheat cut the 15th July, weighed 75 kilos, per hect. 

 ,, 20th „ 75 „ 



„ 25th „ 72J „ 



„ 80th ,, 71i 



This wheat was placed in shocks till the 4th of August, 

 when it was thrashed. The first cut therefore had stood 

 nineteen days and the last only seven days. The ex- 

 periment would have been more complete if the shocks 

 had all stood nineteen days before thrashing ; but in any 

 case, the difference in weight is all in favour of the early- 

 reaped wheat. 



However, M. Boitel declares that, in the last days of 

 July, the puceinia, a kind of mildew, had slightly 

 attacked the straw, and he does not know whether he 

 ought not to attribute to this cause the difference in 

 weight. 



I do not, however, hesitate to affirm that the puceinia, 

 which appeared so late, could not have had a marked 

 influence on the size and weight of the grain, and that 

 the difference of from two to three kilos, observed, was 



entirely produced by the slow and gradual maturation 

 effected by the shade in the shocks. 



At all events the experiment of M. Boitel proves 

 beyond dispute, that it would have been more advan- 

 tageous to reap the wheat from the 15th to the 20th 

 July, in order to protect it from the scorching influence 

 of the sun as well as from that of the puceinia ; and 

 the weight of the wheat is, in this case, the most con- 

 clusive proof of it. When I look at all the details of 

 the common practice of the farmers — the choice of seed, 

 the sowing broadcast, the harvest, &c., I discover 

 numerous defects which annually deprive them of a 

 profit of many millions of francs, without taking in(o 

 account the privations and sufferings of the consumers. 



It is therefore certain that the year 1856 would have 

 yielded an excellent return in the Departments of the 

 North-east of France, if the cultivators had known how 

 to conduct their operations best for their own and our 

 advantage. 



There are great improvements to be made in the cul- 

 tivation of wheat. The sowing in drills, by which half 

 the seed is economized ; the spring-tillage, which in- 

 creases the produce ; the harvesting before the complete 

 maturity of the wheat, and the gradual drying of the 

 straw, are important objects at which we shall arrive 

 with time and patience. The Journal of Practical 

 Agriculture, by its interesting publications, will have 

 the glory of having powerfully contributed to it. 

 Andre, 

 Former President of the Metz Committee. 



CHICAGO— A COMMERCIAL REVIEW. 



DIRECT TRADE BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND CHICAGO. 



Yesterday morning the British schooner Madeira Pet, 

 from Liverpool direct, dropped into our river, and modestly 

 lay to at the north pier, near the mouth of the harbour. 

 Intelligence of tlie arrival, however, soon reached the city, 

 and before 10 o'clock she was visited by a large number of 

 our citizens, who were anxious to look upon the first British 

 vessel that had made the passage from Liverpool to Chicago. 

 The question of direct trade with Europe had, it is true, 

 already been satisfactorily demonstrated by the trip last 

 ear of the barque Dean Richmond, from this port to Liver- 

 pool ; but that was looked itpon by many as merely the 

 American side of the argument. The solution of the pro. 

 blem in the arrival of the Madeira Pet is considered as the 

 European demonstration. If both are satisfactory to the 

 public and the parties interested, we maj- at once consider 

 the trade as permanently established. That the interest 

 manifested by the citizens of Chicago was not mere curiosity, 

 the action of tb.e Board of Trade on the occasion proves. 

 As soon as it was known on 'Change that the schooner had 

 arrived, there was evidently some sensation produced. The 

 Board of Trade met, and the following resolutions, on the 

 motion of Alderman Bross, were unanimously passed — 



" Whereas the Madeira Pet, Captain \Vm. Crang, has 

 arrived at this port this morning with a cargo sliipped 

 direct for Chicago ; and whereas this event is regarded as 

 one of the most important and significant events in the com- 

 mercial history of oiu- city ; therefore — 



"Resolved, That we hail the arrival at this port of the 

 Madeira Pet direct from Liverpool as the pioneer of an im- 

 mense foreign trade soon to he opened between Chicago and 

 Em'ope. 



"Resolved, Thftt we congratulate Captain Crang, W. .1. 



Gilbert, Esq., the originator of this enterprise, and T. R. 

 Gordon, Esq., interested with him, in the successful voyage 

 she has made, and that they have our best wishes that they 

 may realize a liberal profit from their enterprise. 



" Resolved, That the successful voyage of the Dean Rich- 

 mond last year from this port to Liverpool, and that of the 

 Madeira Pet from Liverpool to Chicago, have fully estab- 

 lished our confidence in the entire practicability of direct 

 trade between Chicago and the ports of Europe ; and that to 

 facilitate this trade our Canadian neighbours will doubtless 

 enlarge the Welland Canal, and construct the Georgian 

 Bay and Ontario Ship Canal, with the capacity to pass 

 vessels of a thousand tons burden, at as early a day as prac- 

 ticable. 



" Resolved, That in our judgment the growing commerce 

 of the north-west will warrant the making of the above im- 

 provements, and that they be and are hereby commended to 

 the encouragement and the careful consideration of business 

 men and capitalists of Canada, the United States, and of 

 Europe. 



" Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the 

 chair, to confer with the hon. mayor and common council to 

 recommend a suitable celebration of the arrival of the Ma- 

 deira Pet, and to testify to her officers our high appreciation 

 of their enterprise." 



The Madeira Pet is a small topsail schooner of 123 tons 

 register, is only 79 feet long, breadth of beam 18 feet, hold 

 iTfeet deep, drawing with her present cargo (240 tons) 9 

 feet of water. She is not what would be termed on these 

 lakes a good model, but is by no means so tubby as the 

 generality of PInglish-built vessels. In fact, she has a trig 

 and neat appearance not often found in vessels of her size. 

 She sailed from Liverpool on the 24th of April, and in 35 

 days reached Montreal. From Montreal to this port she 

 took 45 days •, but she was delayed eight days in the Wel- 

 land Canal, and had, between Detroit and here, quite a 



