CULTURE OF WHEAT. 295 



Acme harrow was repeated twice before sowing. 20 loads 

 per acre of good manure was plowed in, and the two work- 

 ings with the Acme mingled this with the soil. Just before 

 sowing 40 bushels of air slaked lime per acre were spread, 

 after which the seed (the Treadwell variety) was sown at 

 the rate of one bushel per acre, and covered, along with the 

 lime, by the Acme, which was lapped half over the previous 

 bout at each turn. The plants stooled out well and grew 

 evenly, with the result mentioned, 13 acres producing 545 

 bushels of cleaned wheat. Early plowing, when wheat suc- 

 ceeds oats, is indispensable. If left later, the ground becomes 

 hardened by the dry weather, and the plowing is defective. 

 No other crop demands more thorough preparation of the 

 soil, by perfect pulverization and firming by repeated har- 

 rowing. Wheat is a shallow rooted plant and a poor for- 

 ager; hence its food must be prepared for it and placed 

 within its reach. The early plowing, when manure made 

 the previous winter and well decayed is covered in; the fre- 

 quent workings after that; and the lime; all tend to reduce 

 the manure to its original elements, and to liberate a large 

 quur^ity of plant food from the eoil, and thus provide a 

 rich and copious nourishment for the crop. 



Wheat is profitable when 30 bushels per acre can be 

 grown, and that this yield can be secured is unquestionable 

 if the necessary conditions of the soil are provided for it. 

 The author once sowed 3 ounces of wheat upon a square 

 rod of ground in rows 12 inches apart. The ground was 

 hoed once a week from the planting until the spreading plants 

 wholly covered it, which was before the Avinter set in. In 

 the spring the soil was stirred as much as possible until it 

 could no longer be done. At the harvest the grain was 

 thrashed, and made 34 Ibs. which was equal to 90 bushels 

 and 40 Ibs. per acre. English farmers by good culture 

 and the use of the hoe in spring have grown from 65 

 to 70 bushels per acre. Is there any reason why, with 

 equally good culture, American farmers could not produce 

 a similar yield? We think not. 



CORN, like wheat, is greatly influenced by climate and 



