282 ON THE CULTURE OF THE CEREALS. 



hindrances to this crop. In the east the wheat fly has destroyed entire fields : in the south 

 the Hes^an fly is a great nuisance ; the grain is not attacked directly, by this kind of fly, but 

 the stalks are broken and weakened, and much seed is lost. The rust is an evil which can not 

 be shunned : what may be effected by adopting certain varieties for culture is not yet fully de- 

 termined. The softer and less silicious stems are more subject to rust than the harder and 

 stiffer kinds. There is a change in regard to the practice of wheat growers ; formerly the 

 Mediterranean wheat, which is less subject to rust and the attacks of the Hessian fly, could not 

 be manufactured into good flour ; but, within a few years, experience in grinding has enabled 

 all the good western millers to manufacture a fine flour from this variety, and hence it is likely 

 to prove that proof varieties may come into cultivation, which have been objectionable on ac- 

 count of the character of the flour. So much has been said already of the cojnposition of wheat 

 and its straw, that I shall dismiss the farther consideration of the culture of this important crop. 

 I am satisfied that New- York possesses a climate and soil as well fitted to wheat as any of the 

 western States, and that she can still compete successfully with them in the growth of this 

 grain, and in producing one of a quality superior to them. 



Cultivation of Barley. 



Barley may be cultivated with profit at many places, where wheat is too uncertain to warrant 

 the expense of its culture. It succeeds in the mountainous parts of New- York and New- 

 England, upon the primary soils, which are generally strong, particularly those which are based 

 on mica slate. The field is to be deeply ploughed and sowed in April, with three bushels of 

 seed to the acre : ordinarily, on land in a common condition thirty loads of barn-yard manure 

 to the acre is sufficient. 



The composition of barley differs from wheat in the presence of more silica and lime : lime 

 is one of the elements of straw. It seems to be a plant more hardy, and less subject to diseases 

 and accidents, and especially less liable to the attacks of insects, than wheat. Ground with 

 buckwheat, it is an excellent food for working horses. The crop is very uniformly profitable ; 

 it yields upwards of fifty bushels to the acre ; the bushel weighs forty-eight pounds. 



Cultivation of Rye. 



Rye is still more hardy than barley, and will grow well on sandy soils j on the lighter 

 gravelly or sandy loams, with slaty rock, the quality of rye is superior to that grown upon a clay 

 loam. The best rye, however, is raised upon new lands : upon a burnt fallow, when too stony 

 to be ploughed, rye may be sown, and raked or hoed in ; good crops are often thus obtained 

 for two or three years in succession. The bread of rye flour retains its moisture longer than 

 wheat. It is sparingly used, compared to what it was twenty years ago : very little wheat 

 flour was consumed in New-England, in the country towns, at their early settlement ; wheat 

 has now usurped its place. Rye is heavier than barley, by some ten or twelve pounds to the 

 bushel, having nearly the same weight as wheat. The gluten of rye is less fibrous and glu- 

 tinous, and hence forms a light raised bread with more dlfl'iculty. Boussingault states that 



