The Science of the Soil 



August the plants had tillered and grown fairly well, but were not con- 

 sidered satisfactory, although they averaged 2J to 3| ft. in height. On 

 September 24, the plants being sufficiently ripe were cut, and the following 

 results were tabulated: Out of the 400 plants, about 40 failed altogether, 

 that is 10 per cent. The best plant had 83 stems, and bore 45 ears of corn, 

 the gross weight of the plant being 2 Ib. Other plants had 50 stems and 

 37 ears; 39 stems and 36 ears; 37 stems and 17 ears; and the very poorest 

 had 24 stems and 11 ears, and a weight of 1 Ib. The average per plant for 

 the whole crop was 46'6 stems, 29*2 ears, and 1'45 Ib. Taking an acre of 

 wheat grown on these lines, there w r ould be about 40,000 plants, producing 

 an aggregate of about 2,000,000 stems and 1,200,000 ears of corn, having 

 a gross weight of nearly 26 tons, of which 19 tons may be regarded as 

 straw, and 7 tons as corn; or over 31 qr. of wheat per acre. By tilling 

 the ground deeply and well on true horticultural principles, there is no 

 doubt but that far larger supplies of wheat two, three, and four times as 

 much could be obtained from the acreage already under that crop. The 

 cost of producing it would be increased naturally, but taking an average of 

 four years' cultivation and manuring, it need not exceed an average of 

 9 10s. per acre per annum, apart from cutting. The cost of cultivating 

 wheat on horticultural lines, as indicated above, and the receipts, may be 

 estimated as follows: 



EXPENSES PKK ACRE 



RECEIPTS PER ACRE 



To the average agricultural mind these figures may appear extraordi- 

 nary. If, however, it is possible to obtain 5 qr. of wheat year after year 

 merely by scuffling over the ground to a depth of 6 in., there is nothing 

 very remarkable in obtaining four and five times as great returns from 

 soil that has been deeply tilled, well manured, and thinly sown. After all 

 an average turn over of 75 10s. per acre is much better than 12 or 14, 

 although the cost of cultivation is greater on horticultural principles than 

 it is on agricultural ones. Once the land has been broken up, if the spade 

 and the fork and the hoe are substituted for the plough, not only would 

 wheat growing be revolutionized, but thousands of men would be kept on 



