No. 9. 



Deterioration of Grain. 



267 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Deterioratlou of GraiUa 



Complain not of results which your own negligence 

 produci'S. 



Having recently read in the March num- 

 ber of Hovey's Magazine of Horticulture, 

 published in Boston, an essay entitled " Some 

 hints upon the growth and selection of supe- 

 rior varieties of seeds, by Dr. G. Watson, 

 Philadelphia," in which it is stated that "the 

 farmer ought to be aware, when he is de- 

 sirous of obtaining superior kinds of grains 

 for seed, such as wheat, oats, barley, &ic. 

 that he should select only that which is of 

 the best quality, from any neighbouring 

 farm; if imported, so much the better." He 

 also states that, " the farmer should never 

 sow his own wheat above two years, at most ; 

 a change of the seed is beneficial, although it 

 may be only procured from the farm of the 

 nearest neighbour; more especially if the 

 soil is materially different from that on which 

 it had been grown ; as grain taken from one 

 soil, and planted in that of a different kind, 

 will produce better, and there will be much 

 less chance of deterioration. By this prac- 

 tice, the farmer will find the quantity in- 

 creased, and the quality much improved. Let 

 any cultivator continue to sow one kind of 

 grain for a series of years, and it will run 

 out, as the term is ; that is, it will be almost 

 entirely useless. Many farmers complain 

 that certain kinds of wheat will not produce 

 now as they did formerly; the reason is ob- 

 vious, from what has been stated above." 



I think it would be difficult to show that 

 benefit would be derived simply from chang- 

 ing of seed, unless you obtained a kind that 

 was superior to what was previously pos- 

 sessed; and in relation to the difference of 

 soil, it might or might not be advantageous, 

 for the chances would be equal either way, 

 unless experience had indicated that a re- 

 moval from a particular soil to that of ano- 

 ther given kind was attended with favoura- 

 ble results ; for it is far from certain that any 

 random-shot exchange would be beneficial in 

 any case whatever. The injunction to select 

 "only that which is of the best quality," is 

 good advice, and should be pertinaciously 

 adhered to in all cases whatever; but that 

 resort should be had to any "neighbouring 

 farm," or "if imported, so much the better," 

 is not quite so clear. The venerable Joseph 

 Cooper, late of Camden, N. Jersey, was as 

 Buccessful a cultivator as our country fur- 

 nished an example of; he survived to a great 

 age, and he commenced a series of experi- 

 ments at an early period of life, founded on 

 rational principles, which led to most unex- 

 ampled success in his agricultural and horti- 

 cultural operations. The results of his expe- 1 



rience, with the principles on which they 

 were founded, were published in the agricul- 

 tural societies' transactions, and in the" alma- 

 nacs and newspapers of tiin day, under hia 

 signature; and it is believed, no instance can 

 be produced where the plans suggested by 

 him have been carefully carried out, but 

 what the same beneficial results have been 

 witnessed. He was not a believer in " dear 

 bought and far fetched ;" but he resorted to 

 his own grain field, when the grain was be- 

 ginning to ripen, and passing \hrough it, he 

 carefully selected such heads as appeared to 

 him to be superior to the rest; these he re- 

 served to raise his seed from, and in this way 

 in the course of three years, he would propa- 

 gate sufficient to seed his field ; and he con- 

 stantly persevered in this mode of selection 

 of seeds of every kind for his own planting 

 and sowing. The celebrated " Cooper corn" 

 was annually selected on this principle, and 

 continues to preserve its well earned reputa- 

 tion, on the farm where the selection was 

 first made and in its neighbourhood, although 

 it is now nearly seventy years since he first 

 commenced the planting of it, and it has 

 been carefully preserved from admixture with 

 other varieties. The writer of this, procured 

 seed-corn of him more than thirty years ago, 

 and having within the present week exam- 

 ined some of the ears of the Cooper corn 

 raised at Camden, they do not appear to have 

 undergone any deterioration or change. 



The principle adopted by J. Cooper in se- 

 lecting his grain and corn, he carried out to 

 its fullest extent with his garden seeds, pre- 

 serving those only of the best and finest speci- 

 mens that ripened earliest for seed ; and he 

 never found it necessary to change his seed 

 to prevent its " running out ;" for he kept the 

 stream constantly running the other way, by 

 judicious selection from his own stock. But, 

 although he never changed his seed, others 

 did, for those who were careless and negli- 

 gent, were annually resorting to him to pur- 

 chase a fresh supply of his superior selections 

 of seed and grain. 



The scientific and practical who carefully 

 scrutinize what is going on in the world 

 of plants and animals, no longer believe 

 in the doctrine of deterioration, provided 

 care is taken to breed constantly from the 

 best and most perfect specimens. Be careful 

 in selecting your grain, seeds and roots, and 

 it will not be necessary to go from home to 

 procure a supply of the best every " two 

 years." 



A good farmer never goes abroad to seek 

 that which, by industry and intelligence, he 

 can procure at home. 



Agricola. 



Affectation is at best a deformity. 



