76 THE WHEAT CTTLTURIST. 



say that, for the most part, theories touching wheat 

 have been promulgated from year to year, by men who 

 never raised a bushel of wheat, and who were utterly 

 ignorant of the fundamental principles of agriculture. 

 On this subject, I herewith copy a few paragraphs from 

 a work written by J. Disturnell, on the Influence of 

 Climate, for the purpose of showing how common it is 

 for writers to reiterate, for well-established facts, cer- 

 tain theories that are palpable absurdities. The writer 

 says : 



" The limits of the culture of wheat and the common 

 cerealia are not so well defined in the United States, and 

 Canada and other portions of British America, owing to 

 the want of correct meteorological observations in the 

 different parts of this extensive and unexplored region. 

 It is safe, however, to say, that in Canada it extends 

 north as far as the 48th parallel of latitude, from the 

 Bay of Chaleurs to near the mouth of the Saguenay 

 River, and from thence to the Lake St. John, 48 deg. 

 30 min. north, including the valley of Lake Temiscaming 

 and all the head sources of the Ottawa Biver, extending 

 to Michicopoten Bay, situated on the north shore of Lake 

 Superior, 47 deg. 50 min. N. lat., having a mean summer 

 temperature of 59 deg. Fahr. 



" To the west of Lake Superior it embraces the valley 

 of the Lake of the Woods, on the 49th parallel, running 

 northward and embracing the whole of the valley of 

 Lake Winnipeg, elevated 700 feet above the ocean ; and 

 the great valley of the Saskatchewan Biver, extending 

 still further northward to the 60th parallel of north 

 latitude, in the valley of Mackenzie's Biver. To the 

 west of the Bocky Mountains, in the northern part of 

 British Columbia, and on the Island of Sitka, 57 deg. 



