264 THE WHEAT CULTURIST. 



fly, which was not known in our country until the 

 war of the Revolution, was supposed to have been intro- 

 duced here in the straw of the bedding of those merce- 

 nary troops (the Hessians) whom our good mother sent 

 over here to cut our throats. Your committee know of 

 no remedy for this pest. It has been thought that late 

 sowing obviated it to some extent. This is, no doubt, 

 true. But there are several difficulties attending it. 

 First — late sown wheat is more liable to be winter-kill- 

 ed than that which is early sown. Second — it is just 

 as liable to the spring crop of the fly as the other. And 

 third — if it escapes these, it is much more liable to that 

 worst of all difficulties, rust — indeed almost sure to be 

 materially injured. Then the question comes, what 

 shall we do ? It would probably be best not to sow 

 early or late, but take a medium, say from the 25th 

 September to 10th October. Very early sown wheat 

 is very liable to be badly injured by the insect." 



Moore's " Rural New Yorker," published at Rochester, 

 New York, in the centre of a fine wheat-growing: conn- 

 try, says : "If the question is presented to the farmer 

 whether he shall sow his wheat very early in the season 

 on soil hastily and imperfectly prepared, or wait until a 

 later period and expend more labor in the preparation 

 of the seed-bed, let him decide in favor of late sowing 

 and thorough preparation. Under most circumstances 

 early sowing is of no advantage, and often it is highly 

 injurious. The supposed benefit to be derived from it 

 is a large fall growth, and strong-rooted plants which 

 can endure the winter. But it is not always the largest 

 growth of top in the wheat plant in the fall which 

 makes the best root. Early sown wheat may have its 

 growth, by means of warm, wet weather, thrown largely 



