THE WHEAT CULTTTRIST. 215 



give it a good start in the fall, and a little well-rotted 

 manure, not ploughed in deep, would be very accepta- 

 ble. A dressing of Peruvian guano, say one hundred 

 and fifty pounds to three hundred pounds to the acre, 

 would perhaps be better still. It will pay if we get one 

 dollar and fifty cents per bushel for wheat. At one dol- 

 lar per bushel the profits from the use of guano will be 

 very slight, and may be on the wrong side of the 

 ledger. 



" Gypsum, or sulphate of lime, seldom does any good 

 on wheat in Western New York, although it has a very 

 good effect on clover, and sometimes on peas. Some 

 good farmers sow a bushel of plaster (gypsum) per acre, 

 on the wheat in the spring; but it is done, not to ben- 

 efit the wheat, but for its effect on the clover sown with 

 the wheat." 



Ploughing in Clover foe Wheat. 



Clover is an excellent crop to precede wheat. The 

 heaviest crops of wheat I ever succeeded in raising, were 

 sown on clover sward. In ploughing under clover I prefer 

 waiting until it has perfectly matured. Many prefer 

 ploughing when it is in full bloom, but this does not 

 coincide with my experience. It is true that there is 

 apparently a greater amount of vegetable matter upon 

 the ground at the time of flowering, but it is too sappy, 

 and disappears very soon after being turned under, in 

 consequence of a too rapid fermentation taking place. 



The objection may be raised to ploughing down a 

 crop of clover, that it is an expensive mode of manuring; 

 but this, I think, is incorrect; for the expense should 

 not be counted at a higher figure than the interest on 



