10 



Cultivation of Wheat. 



Vol. IV. 



Low's Elements of Agriculture — Le Cou- 

 teur's Treatise — Farmers' Assistant, &c. &c. 



A Farmer. 



Chester county, Pa., July 28, 1339. 



Cultivation of Plants. 



The plants of the description termed cereai 

 grasses that are most usually grown in this 

 country, are, wheat, rye, oats, and in a lesser 

 degree, barley. To these we may add maize, 

 (Indian corn, which is one of our most im- 

 portant crops,) and buckwheat and rice, 

 which are very important crops, and likewise 

 millet. 



The chemical composition of plants has 

 been made the subject of numerous experi- 

 ments, within these few years. Some of 

 them have been attended with very interest- 

 ing results ; but as the subject is too exten- 

 sive to be treated of here, I give the fol- 

 lowing brief quotation from the works of a 

 gentleman now no more, whose labors in the 

 cause of science have thrown much light on 

 the art of agriculture.* 



" The compounds in vegetables really nu- 

 tritive, are very few ; farina, or the pure 

 matter of starch, gluten, sugar, vegetable jel- 

 ly, oil and extract. Of these the most nutri- 

 tive is gluten, which approaches nearest in 

 its nature to animal matter, and which is the 

 substance that gives to wheat its superiority 

 over every other grain. 



" The next in order as to nourishing power 

 is oil, then sugar, then starch, and last of all 

 gelatinous and extractive matters. Sugar 

 and farina, and starch, are however, very 

 similar in composition, and are capable of 

 being converted into each other by a very 

 simple chemical process. 



" All the varieties of substances found in 

 plants, are produced from the sap, and the 

 sap of plants is derived from water or from 

 the fluids of the soil, and it is attended by, or 

 combined with, principles derived from the 

 atmosphere." 



But they are subject to variations how- 

 ever, in quality and proportion, not only in 

 the different kinds of grain, but also in those 

 of the same species: the temperature of the 

 season, the nature of the soil and manure, the 

 degree of maturity which tlie crop has ob- 

 tained, and the weather at harvest, all give 

 rise to distinct degrees of quality ; and tliis 

 occasions grain to contain more nutritive pro- 

 perties in some years than others. 



Seed of cvenj kind should attain full ma- 

 turity ere it be sown. — There is always 

 risk in employing that which lias not arrived 

 at perfection, although instances may occur 

 in which such seed has produced sound crops, 



* Sir fliimplircy Davy— First liucture on Agricultural 

 Chemistry. 



when favored by soil and season. Several 

 cases of this season's occurrence might be 

 mentioned in illustration of the fact. 



There is a particular period at which each 

 species of seed ought to be sown, in order to 

 bring the plants to a perfect state of ripeness. 

 This, however, depends so much upon the 

 soil and season, that it cannot be fixed by any 

 general rule, and the farmer can only be 

 governed by the state of the weather, and the 

 forwardness of his work, for whatever may 

 be his experience, his judgment may be de- 

 ceived in the choice of time. 



The condition of the land is, in fact, the 

 best guide ; for, if it be in a mellow state, 

 between drought and moisture, the seed may 

 be put in with confidence. Some kinds, how- 

 ever, prefer a dry and warm £oil ; others, that 

 which is more humid and tenacious. Thus, 

 barley, rye, and buckwheat, succeed best on 

 the former; and wheat and oats on the latter. 

 It has, indeed, been remarked that a certain 

 state of the atmosphere — with which all 

 farmers are well acquainted — is favorable to 

 sowing.* 



The depth at which seed should be sown 

 is a matter of nicety, as well as of importance. 

 If too deeply buried, germination is impeded, 

 and may be altogether prevented ; while, if 

 .sown too shallow, sufficient moisture is not 

 left in the surface to afford nourishment to 

 the roots of the plants. 



The depth at which seed ought to be 

 placed must, therefore, be regulated by the 

 nature of the soil. If stiff, more moderate 

 covering should be used than if light and 

 porous; wheat, barley, and oats also require 

 more than rye or buckwheat; but, except in 

 a few instances, from one and a half to three 

 inches, is in every case, the lowest to which 

 it should be carried. 



WHE.-VT. 



O^ lohat country wheat is a native, is, ac- 

 cording to Loudon, totally unknown. It has 

 been supposed indigenous to Asia and Africa, 

 and unquestionably it is more likely to be- 

 long to these parts of the world than any 

 other; but all that can be advanced on this 

 subject is conjecture. 



VVheat, with the exception of some parts 

 of the southern coast of Africa, (where, ac- 

 cording to the declaration of Pliny, it yield- 

 ed more than an hundred fold,) is cultivated 

 in every part of the temperate and torrid 

 zones, and in some places as high as two 

 thou.sand feet above the level of the sea. 



Species and Varieties. — Botanists reckon 

 seven species of triticum, which are or may 

 be cultivated for their grains, besides many 

 varieties and sub-varieties of those in common 

 culture. The species or sub-species, are, 



* Library Useful Knowledge— Farmers' Series. 



