291 



that they reverse the national motto, E PJuribus Unu?n, and produce ?7iany (rora 

 one, and the berries are heavier, the heads longer, and the farmers are happily 

 disappointed in the harvesting. 



In Indiana county, Pennsylvania, it is said, " The backward season makes 

 harvest ten days later than usual, and gives the weevil a chance to work upon 

 it." 



Deterioration of seed. — A correspondent in Washington county, Maryland, 

 veferrino- to the enemies of wheat in his region, adds : " In addition to these 

 enemies, a formidable difficulty arises from the repeated use for a series of years 

 of the same variety of seed on the same soil, in the same locality. Each va- 

 riety of wheat seems to do well here for a series of eight or ten years, then it 

 seems to languish and become more liable to injury from the Hessian fly, the 

 nist, or smut, &c. Whether the declension in the crop is attributable to the 

 fact that each variety of wheat exhausts so much of some particular constituent 

 of the soil that it can no longer flourish as at first, or whether the wheat dete- 

 riorates from neglect, inattention, or mismanagement of the farmer, I am unable 

 to determine. Prior to 1836 our farmers had used varieties which failed totally 

 that year to made a remunerative yield. Soon after, some wheat was imported 

 from the Mediterranean, which for some ten to twenty years was cultivated here 

 almost exclusively. In 1858 the crop failed almost entirely. The Lancaster 

 wheat was then introduced, and has been successfully cultivated ever since. 

 This year the 'Lancaster' has sufi'ered much from 'fly;' some also from rust. 

 At seed time last fall we had a dry spell, so that wheat came up badly. That 

 which was sown first and came up well was damaged by 'fly;' the later sown 

 was injured by rnst. We estimate our crop this year to be about a half crop ; 

 the quality of that which ripened early is good; the later wheat was injured by 

 rust." 



Early tclieat. — Many correspondents call attention to the necessity for seed 

 wheat that matures early, and thus escapes rust and the ravages of insects. One 

 in Indiana deems it essential to success in wheat-growing. Everywhere it is 

 acknowledged to be a great desideratum. Tens of millions of dollars might be 

 saved to the country by the dissemination of a species ripening reliably ten days 

 earlier than the average. May it not be attained on the principle of selection, 

 by which improvement in species is efi"ected both in vegetable and animal life ? 

 Who will essay the improvement ? 



Injuries — Some farmers maintain that wheat was killed by a heavy sleet in 

 midwinter, continuing five weeks, while others say that it was alive after that 

 date, but was killed by cold, dry weather in March. 



In some parts of Kentucky the injury is attributed to excessive and sudden 

 rains, and severe cold weather, and sudden freezing after heavy rains. 



In Missouri injuries by the fly are reported. 



The only injuries noticed in Kansas have resulted from the overflow of val- 

 leys by heavy rains, in some localities doing essential damage. 



From Harrison county, Indiana, comes a statement that there was less than 

 an inch of snow during the entire season. There was much rain instead. 



A correspondent in Johnson county, Indiana, attributes the failure of winter 

 wheat, in connexion with this lack of snow and excess of moisture, to the bad 

 seed. The Avheat of last year was generally poor, in some localities notoriously 

 so ; it did not make good bread, and it could not be expected to possess suffi- 

 cient vitality to produce a vigorous growth capable of resisting the effects of al- 

 ternate freezing and thawing. 



On the eastern shore of Maryland, a correspondent reports that the crop 

 " was injured by hard freezing when wet in winter, and by a dry, cold March." 



In Newcastle county, Delaware, the winter wheat suffered severely through 

 the winter by freezing and thawing, but the spring months have been unusually 



