132 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Ch. IX. 



It is commonly imagined that a change of seed is necessary, and there- 

 fove farmers generally choose what they purchase out of a different district 

 from that in which they reside. There may be some truth in the opinion ; 

 for unquestionably a change has frequently proved beneficial to the succeed- 

 ing crop, though it is contradicted by many men of sound judgment, who 

 liold that the only advantage thus obtained is by the eff"ect of superior 

 quality being generally selected ; and that, by paying equal attention to the 

 choice of seed of their own growth, they have never found any necessity for 

 purchasing elsewhere. It seems, however, as if it were an inscrutable 

 law of nature that all seeds, to maintain the vigour of their growth, require 

 a change of soil ; and, therefore, those who adopt that ])lan appear to us 

 to act wisely, and cannot, we think, be justly accused of prejudice. There 

 is also another circumstance which may render it advisable, and which, 

 though not generally adverted to, may have added strength to the idea : 

 it is, that grain, however carefully it may be screened, can i-arely be 

 found unmixed with the seeds of weeds ; which, if grown on land of one 

 kind, will not prosper on ground of a difierent nature : thus, wheat grown 

 in the fens is generally very full of weeds, which will seldom grow upon 

 the high-lands, and are consequently not much to be dreaded*. 



Tliere are, indeed, many peculiarities in grain of the same species, and a 

 change may sometimes be hit upon which will prove advantageous ; or in- 

 stances maybe found of akind which was originally suitable to the soil, having 

 from unknown causesdegenerated. In such case, doubtless a change sliould 

 be made without hesitation ; and provided a sort be chosen which is adapted 

 to the land, and in every respect perfect, it cannot prove injurious. The 

 nature of the soil upon which the seed is to be sown should however be 

 taken into consideration, and it is generally thought advisable to procure 

 it from land of an inferior quality, as well as from a drier, or a warmer 

 climate : for strong lands, from poor light soils, or from the fens ; and for 

 friable loams, from stiif clays. Thus a shrivelled sample of wheat from 

 a ))oor gravel has produced a beautiful crop when sown upon an adhesive 

 clay, and other instances of a similar nature are too numerous to be 

 recorded t; but attention should always be paid to the colour, as well as 

 the weight of the grain. 



QUALITY AND PRESERVATION. 



It has been assumed as an axiom, regarding the qualily of corn, that 

 " the more severe the climate, the thicker is the skin of the seed J." From 

 this, however, as a universal law, we must dissent, as perhaps some of the 

 thinnest skinned wheat grown in all Europe is produced in the northern 

 parts of Poland ; but the observation will hold good if applied to hinnid 

 soils and climates. Thus the Scotch and Irish wheats are generally found 

 to be more productive of bran than those of the same species grown in the 

 midland and southern counties of England; and it is alleged by distillers, 

 that in parcels of English and Scotch, or Irish barley, of equal weights, the 

 former will produce more spirits of equal strength : the difference arising 

 from the tliickness of the husk. 



It is extremely important to the pref!crvatio7i of grain to guard it care- 

 fully from damp and heating; for although, if thus injured, it mav not be 

 entirely deprived of the power of germination, and the young shoots from 

 it may show an early appearance of vigour, yet, at a more advanced stage 

 of their growth, they fall oO", become weak, and produce crops which are in 



* Drew's Norfolk Husbandry, p. 129, f Marshall's Minutes of Agric, p. 87. 



I Macvicar's View of Vegetable Economy, Fai-t I. 



