CULTURE OF WHEAT. 183 



This point so completely depends upon circumstances, 

 that no rule can be given ; the novice who has never be- 

 fore raised a crop of wheat, will lose less by erring upon 

 the side of caution, and the farmer, used to grow wheat 

 under the ordinary methods, will readily avoid what he 

 knows to be injurious. It will not hurt a crop of wheat 

 if the ground should get dry occasionally, and excess of 

 water encourages growth of straw at the expense of grain. 



Other Grains than wheat require very similar manage- 

 ment. Oats will thrive with more copious watering, but 

 barley needs care about the time of filling and ripening 

 of the grain. The duration of a watering, for all the 

 small grains, should not exceed 24 hours. 



Corn and Broom Corn. Corn luxuriates beneath heat 

 and moisture ; and for its rapid and healthful growth the 

 soil should be kept moist. The plan adopted in the val- 

 ley of the Po, in Italy, where maize is a very common 

 and productive crop, is to plant in rows, and apply the 

 water in the spaces between them. The corn may be 

 planted in hills, and watered in a similar manner. As 

 soon as the grain becomes glazed, the water may be with- 

 drawn, and the ground dried for harvesting. Broom corn 

 is managed similarly to maize, being kept regularly water- 

 ed ; at the time of the heading out of the panicle, water 

 is given plentifully to force a good growth of brush, and 

 produce a smooth, long, straight fiber. The broom corn 

 grown in Tulare Co., Cal., under irrigation, is found to 

 be of the very best quality and color. As these crops re- 

 quire frequent cultivation, the irrigation should be given 

 at a sufficient time before this must be done, to permit 

 the ground to become dry enough for proper working, but 

 not too dry. The cultivation should follow the watering, 

 and not the watering the cultivation ; then the soil is 

 kept mellow and moist during a longer interval. Fodder 

 corn requires copious watering. This crop is one that 

 may be grown to advantage upon fields that are in course 



