476 



system of grain -cropping, and thinks it bas much to do in keeping it in 

 condition. His land is not onlj- heavy, but very hilly and uneven, which 

 would need, under horse culture, four good horses to plow three roods 

 ■per day, and the best farmers cannot, with horses in such land, make a 

 clean seed-bed on an average of years for £1 per acre. He states that 

 his own clay lands did not, under horse culture, produce over 20 bush- 

 els of grain per acre, and that the best-farmed laud of like kind in the 

 neighborhood does not now produce over 24 bushels per acre on an aver- 

 age of years, while his clay land yields an average of 36 bushels. The 

 character of the land has been entirely changed, and his oi)inion is that 

 clav soils in other districts would change uiuler similar treatment. 



THE BEITISH FOOD SUPPLY. 



The importations of wheat into Great Britain for the months of 1871, 

 as reported from the official records, amount to 32,365,338 cwt., against 

 25,969,710 cwt. for the same period last year. The Kussian contribution 

 is 13,310,475 cwt., against 8,219,154 cwt. for a similar period of 1870. 

 That of the United States, 10,832,561, against 10,666,001 last year. 

 Germany reduces her proportion for these periods from 3,085,895 to 

 2,447,256 cwt. France, usually sparing little, sends 122,004 cwt., 

 against 174,651 the previous year. Next to Germany, in quantity, comes 

 British North America, suj^plyiug 2,426,248 cwt. this year, and 

 2,212,723 in ten months of 1870. 'The United States has increased her 

 proportion but little, which stands at 33 per cent, of the wliole ; but 

 Russia has advanced from 32 to 41 per cent. The average price paid 

 for Eussian wheat was $2 84 per cwt. ; for that of the XJnited States, 

 $2 99, being an increase from last year of 37 cents per cwt, -The total 

 receipts for our wheat for this period have been $32,464,350 ; for flour, 

 $6,168,680. liussia sends little wheat in this shape ; none is sejiarately 

 reported this year. The total receipts of flour and wheat meal are but 

 3,347,001 cwt. The quantitv of Indian corn imported in ten mouth* 

 is 14,260,700 cwt., costing $27,330,870. 



NOTES FKOM THE GARDEN. 



DEPTH TO PLANT SEEDS. 



The proper depth to jflant seeds is a question of considerable import- 

 ance, and one which, like mnny other simihirquestionsrelating to plant 

 growth, cannot receive a deflnite answer that would be of general or 

 universal application. In dry sandy soils, situated in dry climates, a 

 deeper covering will be required than would be judicious where both 

 soil and climate indicate the reverse of these conditions. For instance, 

 it has been shown that peas continue longer in bearing condition, on 

 sandy soils, when sown at a depth of 6 inches, than they do when placed 

 nearer the surface ; and it is said that the Indians upon the table-lands 

 of the Colorado jflant corn 10 to 12 inches below the surface with the 

 best results ; but if planted with only 1 or 2 inches of covering, the crop 

 fails. Seeds also vary in their ability to penetrate depths of soil in 

 germinating. Leguminous seeds, and some of the largest seeding 



