THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



437 



tlie competitors, and to be sent to the secretary not later 

 tlian 1st August, 1858 ; 



1. On the Dry- Rot and otlier Diseases in Larch and 

 Spruce (Medal). 

 II. Entomology (Medal). 



III. Introduction and Cultivation of the newer Coniferas 



and other Forest Trees, with special reference 

 to the Climate of Great Britain and Ireland 

 (Medal). 



IV. Drainage and Fencing (Medal). 



v. Thinning and General Management (Medal). 

 VI. Management of Home Nurseries, with special 

 reference to the preservation of the best varie- 

 ties of trees (Medal). , 



Further particulars as to the essays Avill be furnished by 

 the secretary on application. 

 Mr. Gardiner, Eglinton Castle ; Mr. Brown, Grantown ; 



and Mr. Balden, Lennoxlove, were appointed judges of the 

 essays for the ensuing year. 



A letter was read from John I. Chalmers, Esq., of Aldbar, 

 in which he called attention to the importance of ascertain- 

 ing the origin of the seeds of the best larch timber growing 

 in this country, and gave details of some fine larches pos- 

 sessed by Mr. Chalmers. The attention of the members 

 was called to this subject, and such as possessed information 

 were invited to communicate the same to the secretary, in 

 order that it might be circulated among the members. 



Thanks were voted to the Chairman, and the Society 

 then adjourned; the next annual meeting to beheld at 6 

 York Place, Edinburgh, on the first Wednesday of Octo- 

 ber 1858. 



After the meeting the members dined together in the 

 Regent Hotel ; Mr. Brown in the chair, and Mr. M'Corquo- 

 dale croupier. 



THE WHEAT PLANT, 

 CHIDHAM WHEAT. 



From the following paragraph, which appeared in the 

 Mark-lane Eapress in the autumn of 1841, and which in 

 that paper formed a portion of the proceedings of the Royal 

 Agricultural Society of England, the credit of having raised 

 this variety belong.s to Mr, Postlothwaite, of Chidham, 

 Sussex — 



"H. Hollist, Esq., of Ledsworth, Sussex, presented to 

 the Council a specimen of heavy, clean, and fine Chidham 

 wheat, as a thoroughly good sample for the market, the 

 seed having been drilled on a light loamy soil on the 26th 

 November, and the grain weighing (iTlbs. per bushel, and 

 expressed his willingness to supply small quantities to any 

 of the members who were desirous to cultivate this variety 

 of wheat. Mr. Hollist stated, in reference to the history 

 of Chidham wheat, that it was probably known in other 

 parts of the country bj' other names, but that in Sussex it 

 was genera'ly called ' the hedge wheat,' from the circum- 

 stance of an ear having been found twenty years ago on a 

 hedge, by Mr. Postlothwaite, of Cliidham, and excited his 

 curiosity and interest in its cultivation. The specimen 

 sent by Mr. Hollist wai heavier than the prize wheat at 

 Cambridge, but not so bright in its appearance, a difference 

 he attributed to the state of the weather during its growth. 

 Mr. Hollist having also found in his own experience the 

 most decided differences in the result of trials on the growth 

 of wheat aiise from the slightest differences of s'ul and time 

 of .sowing with the same grain and in the same field." 



Chidham wheat obtained the prize for the best 

 wheat, given by the Royal Agricultural Society 

 of England, at its Oxford and Cambridge meet- 

 ings. The ear is symmetrically formed, the straw 

 long, with grain of the finest appeai-ance, and weigh- 

 ing heavier than any other variety cultivated in Britain. 

 ^Vllen the crop is luxuriant the chaff is often streaked with 

 purple in the early stages of ripeniug, and large blotches of 

 the same colour occasionally appear upon the straw. Not- 

 withstanding all the seeming advantage possessed hy this 

 variety, it has not been found productive in East Lothian, 

 where its career has been even more extraordinary than the 

 fortunes of Mungoswell's wheat. 



Same time, about ]o"2,0, Chidham wheat was introduced 

 into East Lotliian, from Ross-shire, by the late Mr, James 



Allan Balgonebarns, under the name of Ross-shire wheat. 

 It soon obtained a trial upon some of the best lands, and 

 became the subject of panegyric and remark in the news- 

 papers of Edinbnrgh for several years afterwards ; but being 

 disliked by farmers for its meagre return of grain, and by 

 bakers for its want of gluten in the flour, the name of 

 Ross-shite wheat was soon unlieard in the market-place. 



In the autumn of 1838, Chidham wheat came into tlie 

 possession of the late Mr. John Watson, Leith, under the 

 name of Oxford prize wheat, and was sown upon the farm 

 of Craigielaw, East Lothian. In the following year the 

 produce, as seed wheat, obtained a premium, given by the 

 United East Lothian Agricultural Society; and next day it 

 was advertised by Cleghorn and Co., seedsmen, Edinburgh, 

 as " Pearl Wheat" — a name happily chosen, and adroitly 

 applied by the company's agent, the late Mr. Arthur. 

 Premiums were also awarded to this wheat by the same 

 Society in the autumns of 1840 and 1841. At this time 

 the United East Lothian Agricidtural Society made some 

 inquiry into the origin of the Pearl wheat; and the follow- 

 ing letter from Mr. Watson formed part of the corres- 

 pondence on the subject — 



" I am in receipt of your favour of this date, and regret 

 that I have no means of knowing whether Pearl and Chid- 

 ham wheats are the same variety. My opinion is they are 

 not, as my friend the grower gave me a different name for 

 the kind he sent me, and which in Scotland has been 

 christened the Pearl." 



From the weight and fine appearance in the gra'n, aided 

 by advertising. Pearl wheat became extensively known, 

 and was speedily introduced into almost every county in 

 Scotland. But the inherent defects of the variety could 

 not be removed by the influence of christening ; the poor 

 return of grain obtained by the farmers soon deprived the 

 gem of its beauty ; and a second time was Chidham, under 

 the designation of Pearl wheat, discarded the farm, and 

 cloaked in the market place with new names. 



In the corn markets of the Lothians, Chidham wheat has 

 been sold under the following names— Ross-shire, Oxford 

 Prize, Pearl, Mummy, Talavera, Slate's Talavcra Bell's, 

 Golden Straw, English, &c., &c., including almost every 

 county in the south of England, a number more than suiR- 



