Book VI. WHEAT. 753 



roots quit the soil and perish ; and if the land be rough and cloddy, the roller has a still 

 more beneficial effect than the harrows in pulverising the inert masses, and extending the 

 pasture of the plants. Hand-weeding, so far as to cut down thistles and other long 

 weeds, is never neglected by careful farmers ; but the previous culture ought to leave as 

 little as possible of this work to be done when the crop is growing. (^Supp. ) 



4632. When wheat has been drilled, ribbed, or dibbled, the intervals may be hoed or 

 stirred either by hand-hoes, common or pronged, or by horse-hoes, or drill harrows. 

 In general, the drill used at sowing, will by the changes it admits of in its double 

 character of drill and horse-hoe, be the best to use for hoeing or stirring. Or if a single 

 drill should have been used, the expanding horse-hoe, or Blakie's inverted horse-hoe, 

 may be successfully adopted. The operation of hoeing or stirring should generally be 

 performed in March, and need not be repeated. When grass-seeds are to be sown 

 among the wheat, the hoeing is an excellent mode of covering them. Weeding the rows 

 should not be neglected, nor delayed later than the beginning of June. 



4633. IFhere ivheats rise too thin in some places, and too thick in others, whether in rows or 

 broad-cast, the'practice of transplanting from the latter to the former has been recommended. 

 This is said to be practised occasionally in Essex -and Norfolk, and the time is the end of 

 March. To be attended with success the soil must be in a good state, and the blanks to 

 which the plants are to be transplanted, must be stirred up with a trowel or small two- 

 pronged fork. Under such circumstances we have no doubt of the plan being attended 

 with success ; but we are certain that without stirring the soil, the operation will not pay 

 for the expense. Blanks are sometimes filled up by sowing summer wheat, dibbling 

 beans, &c. but these are obviously bad modes ; a better is either to stir the soil well, and 

 encourage the tillering of the plants, or to stir the soil and then trainsplant. 



4634. Top dressing wheat crops has been recommended, in cases where the land is not 

 in a sufficient state of fertility or preparation to bring the crops to perfection. Substances 

 cf both the solid and fluid kinds have been made use of for this purpose ; the first 

 consist chiefly of the dung of different sorts of birds after being brought into a powdery 

 state, bone dust, soot, peat ashes, and various saline matters. The latter are prin- 

 cipally the drainings of dunghills and other similar liquid materials. The former 

 should be thinly sown over the crop with as much evenness as possible, as early 

 in the spring as horses can be admitted upon the land without injury ; and if it can be 

 done when the weather is inclined to be moist, it is the better, a roller may then be 

 passed over the crop with advantage. Where the latter substances are made use of, care 

 should always be taken that the plants be not injured by having too large a quantity 

 applied to them. In this practice the expense should be a primary consideration, and 

 small trials first made where dungs have not been used. The proper season for perform- 

 ing the business is the beginning of February. 



4635. When wheat appears too forward and luxuriant, it is sometimes eat down in April, 

 with sheep or even with horses, but this requires great judgment to be effected without 

 injuring the crop. 



4636. In harvesting wheat, the best farmers both of Britain and the continent agree, 

 that it ought to be cut before it become dead ripe. When the latter is the case, the loss is 

 considerable, both in the field and stack-yard, and the grain, according to Professor Thaer, 

 produces aless white flour. In ascertaining the proper state. Brown observes, it is ne- 

 cessary to discriminate betwixt the ripeness of the straw, and the ripeness of the grain ; 

 for, in some seasons, the straw dries upwards ; under which circumstance, a field, to the 

 eye, may appear to be completely fit for the sickle, when, in reality, the grain is imper- 

 fectly consolidated : and perhaps not much removed from a milky state. Though it is 

 obvious that, under such circumstances, no further benefit can be conveyed from the root, 

 and that nourishment is withheld the moment that the roots die ; yet it does not follow, 

 that grain so circumstanced should be immediately cut : because, after that operation 

 is performed, it is in a great measure necessarily deprived of every benefit from tlie sun 

 and air, both of which have greater influence in bringing it to maturity, so long as it re- 

 mains on foot, than when cut down, whether laid on the ground, or bound up in sheaves. 

 The state of the weather at the time also deserves notice ; for, in moist, or even variable 

 weather, every kind of grain, when cut prematurely, is more exposed to damage than when 

 completely ripened. All these things will be studied by the skilful husbandman, who 

 will also take into consideration the dangers which may follow, were he to permit his wheat 

 crop to remain uncut till completely ripened. The danger from wind will not be lost 

 sight of, especially if the season of the equinox approaches ; even the quantity dropped in 

 the field, and in the stack-yard, when wheat is over ripe, is an object of consideration. 

 Taking all these things into view, it seems prudent to have wheat cut before it is 

 fully ripe, as less damage will be sustained from acting in this way than by avoiding 



acontrary practice. 



4637. The mode of reaping wheat is almost universally by the sickle. When cut, it is 

 usually tied up in sheaves, which it is better to make so small as to be done by bands the 



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