ROTATION OF CROPS— WHEAT. 493 



be derived in a decade of j^ears (if unable to adopt some 

 rotation by which at least to get the cost of cultivation out 

 of the small grains), by letting one-half the land lie fallow 

 each year, as the increased crops and only the half expense in 

 cultivation would more than counterbalance the trifling differ- 

 ence there might be in the yield in bushels ; besides, there is 

 the advantage of keeping the land in a fertile condition. I 

 refer, of course, more particularly to the old and long culti- 

 vated farms of the county. 



WHEAT. 



My wheat is usually sown on fallow ground, and is always 

 manured, except in the event of the land being new. The 

 principal cause of failure in raising Fall wheat with profit in 

 this latitude, is attributable to Winter, or more properly, 

 Spring killing of the plant, caused by the alternate freezing 

 and thawing of the ground in early Spring, and which not 

 unfrequently raises the wheat plant and its roots entirely above 

 the ground. My experience and observation have convinced 

 me that such Winter killing may be obviated to a considerable 

 extent by a liberal application of barn-yard manure in its green 

 or raw state. Many good farmers prefer to apply the manure 

 as a top dressing after the wheat has been sown, first having 

 the manure thoroughly rotted ; but to my mind, the latter 

 method is calculated to lose too much that is valuable as 

 plant food ; neither will it furnish as good and efficient a mulch 

 for the young plant as when applied in a partially decomposed 

 condition. Observation has led me to the conclusion at which 

 I have arrived on this subject. A chemical analysis, with the 

 whys and wherefores, I leave for minds better versed in 

 botanical and chemical lore than mine. 



My wheat crops have been fairly successful, ranging from 

 twelve to twenty-five bushels per acre. I do not raise wheat 

 extensively, as I think it rather uncertain; at least too much 

 so to depend on largely for profit. I raise oats, mainly because 

 they count in my rotation. I usually have abundant crops, but 

 there generally comes a few days about the Fourth of July in 



