140 EXPERIiMENTS ON WHEAT, Part 11. 



tinual rains, with little fnow or froft. The corn in general fuffered 

 greatly, and the crops were, very inconfiderable in this country. 



" Early in the lpring,theie plants made flrong flioots,and had much 

 the better of the corn in the common way. Their blades were very 

 large, and of a deep green, and the number of ftalks increafed great- 

 ly. The alleys were hoed in good time, and the advantage refulting 

 from this operation, was very manifeft. I vifited my plants towards 

 the latter end of April, and found their numbers greatly diminifhed. 

 The mifchief which the fnails had done them, was almofl the only 

 caufe. The inclemency of the winter likewife deftroyed fome : fo 

 that I found I had loft 1068 plants of wheat, and had but 1812 

 remaining. My plants of barley fell Ihort by 412, their number 

 being reduced to 1079. The winter dellroyed fo many plants of 

 the oats, that very few were left. 



" From this time, all the plants grew exceedingly : they branched 

 fo much, that, as far as I could judge, every plant of wheat, taking 

 them one with another, produced 28 flalks, the barley above 40, 

 and the oats flill more. Each plant formed a large tuft, fome of 

 60, 8q, and above a third part of the plants of about 150 ftalks : 

 fo that, though they were at firil at a great diftance from one ano- 

 ther, in June and July they entirely covered the furface of the alleys. 

 All thefe fpindled, and produced, each in its kind, very long and 

 large ears, full of grain from one end to the other. They ripened 

 kindly, but had not yet got over all their mifchances. Thefe fine 

 ears,. were a prey to birds, which could not be kept off. This 

 is. an inconvenience to which all fmall experiments are Hable. That 

 I might fave fomething, I was obliged to cut my corn down before 

 it was quite ripe. But before I did that, I examined myfelf as care- 

 fully as I poflibly could what the lofs might amount to which I had 

 fuftained by the birds : and befides this, I fent for four farmers, 

 (in quality of appraifers,) to eftimate the damage. They all agreed 

 that it was above half the crop, and affured me I fhould not miftake 

 if I reckoned it as fuch. I had formed the fame judgment myfelf. 

 We found the lofs fomewhat lefs confiderable in the barley. As ta 

 the oats, it could not be fo well afcertained : but we believed it 

 could not be lefs than a third part of the crop. 



" While the wheat ripened, I difcovered that fome plants were 

 blighted. All thefe, whether blighted totally or only in part, I caufed 

 to be plucked up, before I cut down the reft of the crop. They 

 ;^.mounted to 297 i fo that I was reduced to 151 5 plants of v/hear, 



the. 



