THE WHEAT CULTTJRIST. 249 



the same means as those so successfully followed out by 

 horticulturists — hybridizing, and more especially by se- 

 lecting the best ears, and growing the seed so obtained 

 until sufficient quantities are secured to seed consider- 

 able portions of land preparatory to disposing of a 

 portion of the seeds raised from the selected ears. The 

 improvement of the domestic animals and birds has been 

 mainly effected by selection, and the same principles are 

 equally applicable for the improvement of the various 

 varieties of the cereals in cultivation. This field of ex- 

 periment is open to all, and the persevering may cal- 

 culate upon success. Where so much can be effected 

 with even an ordinary amount of attention, the experi- 

 menter who possesses a knowledge of the cereals, and 

 also of vegetable physiology, is certain to reap a good 

 harvest. (See North British Agriculturist on the 

 subject of selecting new varieties.) 



Procuring Earlier Seed Wheat at the North. 



Mr. J. W. Clark, of Wisconsin, writes on this subject 

 as follows : " Why should we suppose southern seed will 

 give us earlier wheat, when we know our own wheat or 

 corn cannot ripen so early farther north as it does in our 

 own latitude ? Do not middle latitudes- bear nearly the 

 same relation to the south as northern ones do to them, 

 and so in proportion of intermediate differences of dis- 

 tance and temperature % 



" We have good reason to believe there was no such 

 thing as Dent corn grown in latitudes 42° to 44° north, 

 fifteen years ago. But when Brigham Young and his 

 dupes were scattered from Missouri — -Yellow Dent, and 

 subsequently White, in consequence of the Yellow suc- 



11* 



