No. 2. 



Cultivation of Wheat. 



43 



A very strong pickle of salt dissolved in 

 v^rater may be used instead of urine ; but salt 

 brine is not quite so secure a mean of de- 

 stroying the infection of the disease as urine. 

 That of urine ought to be preferred as being 

 the most efficient ; but it should be neither too 

 fresh nor too stale; for it is ineffectual in one 

 case, and injurious in the other. Its strength 

 also differs according to the nature of the food 

 from which it is extracted ; and is more pow- 

 erful when produced by human bcinijs than 

 animals. There are many other steeps known 

 to our farmers, some of which arc valuable 

 and much used. 



We will here repeat, that we wish every 

 grain grower to bear constantly in mind that 

 wheat, aft;er being pickled, must not remain 

 long unsown, otherwise its vegetjitive pow- 

 ers may be injured or destroyed. No more 

 should be pickled at a time than can be then 

 sown. When, from any cause, as from rain 

 intervening, it is not practicable to sow the 

 wheat for a day or two, it should be spread 

 thinly upon the floor, but never kept in sacks, 

 in which it would soon ferment. 



The wheat, when, pickled, then, is to be 

 carried directly to the field. It may be sown 

 either by the hand or the broadcast sowing- 

 machine, in the manner already described, or 

 in rows by the drill machine. 



To guard against worms and grubs in the 

 soil, a mixture of slaked lime and ashes, at 

 the rate of from three to eight bushels to the 

 acre, harrowed in at the time of sowing, is 

 the best preventive, and will act at the same 

 time as a valuable manure, if the land has 

 been previously exhausted by too frequent 

 cropping. 



Grain for seed should be selected from the 

 cleanest and most thrifty parts of the field — 

 a constant attention to this will cause a per 

 manent improvement in the kind. By gath 

 ering single heads, remarkable for their early 

 maturity, size, &c., and propagating from 

 them, improved varieties may be gradually 

 obtained. 



The most experienced farmers prefer a 

 change of seed to that grown by themselves. 

 In order that they may be enabled to judge cor- 

 rectly ofthe sample by whicli they purchase, it 

 should be retained a minute or two in the 

 closed hand, and then passed gently through 

 it to ascertain if the grain be plump, hard, dry, 

 and smooth, with a certain sense of mellow ful- 

 ness in the feel ; for, if it handles rough, and 

 does not slip readily through the fingers, it 

 will be found thick skinned, damp, and un- 

 profitable to the miller. 



The tinne oi sowing winter wheat must de- 

 pend upon the condition of the land, as well 

 as the season, and it is not always in the 

 farmer's power to choose the moment which 

 he would prefer; for if the wheat be sown 



after another crop, that crop must first be re- 

 moved, and even if it be sown upon a fallow, 

 the operations of a late harvest, or the state 

 of the weather may interfere. 



In regard to the time, there is a difference 

 of opinion — many give a preference to early, 

 others to late sowing. By early sowing the 

 roots of the grain have sufficient time to es- 

 tablish themselves before the frosts of win- 

 ter set in. it has also been ascertained that 

 grain sown early, will throw up a greater 

 number of lateral stems and branches, than 

 that which is sown late. We have also the 

 authority of Mr. NicHOtsoN, author of the 

 Farmers' Assistant, for stating that late sow- 

 ing requires one-third more grain to the acre, 

 than if put in early. Early sown, a bushel is 

 sufficient — late, a bu.'-hel and a half, to the 

 acre, and sometimes more, may be necessary. 



The quantity of seed per acre varies accord- 

 ing to circumstances. It should vary with 

 the time of sowing, and with the size of the 

 grain. Late, requires more than early sow- 

 ing; and large and fiill seed should be in 

 greater quantity than that which is small, in 

 order to compensate for the less number con- 

 tained in a bushel. Much, therefore, must be 

 left to the discretion of the farmer, who will 

 take into consideration the time of sowing, 

 the quality and preparation of the soil, as well 

 as the plumpness or the shrivelled state ofthe 

 seed wheat. 



The best period of sowing wheat, it has 

 been said, is from about the middle, to the 

 end of September. The early part of Octo- 

 ber, however, is well suited to the sowing of 

 wheat, and it may be continued until the mid- 

 dle of November. Such is the great divers- 

 ity of climate and soil in this country, to- 

 gether with the changes of weather and other 

 circumstances, that it is impossible to desig- 

 nate a fixed period, or lay down any general 

 rule— but on the whole, early sowing is to be 

 recommended. 



The proper time for sowing must not 

 in any case be neglected ; an error of a 

 few days on this point, will not unfrequently 

 diminish, but in some instances prove ruinous 

 to the crop. But, as a large crop cannot be 

 sowed in a few days, it is better to sow a fort- 

 night too early than a week too late. 



Wheat, and all the cerealia, have the com- 

 mon property of sending out numerous shoots 

 from the roots during their growth. This na- 

 tural process is termed tillering, and is fami- 

 liar to all farmers. 



It is to be observed, too, that often the roots 

 of the grasses are partially raised above 

 ground, in which case the plant becomes fee^ 

 ble and perishes. This accident sometimes 

 occurs from too thick sowing, and too rapid 

 growth in that state. But it is more fi-e- 

 ' quently ;produced by the sudden contraction 



