WHEAT. 45 



his daughter, and pointing to them, exclaimed, 

 " These, Romans, are my instruments of witchcraft, 

 but I cannot here show you my labours, sweats, and 

 anxious cares." '* 



It will easily be conceived that the quantity of 

 straw must vary considerably from year to year, ac- 

 cording to the seasons, and that this produce will 

 likewise be generally influenced by the nature of the 

 soil. It is therefore impossible to give any certain 

 information upon this point, but it will perhaps 

 amount to a near approximation to the truth if we 

 consider that for every twelve bushels of wheat, one 

 load, containing thirty-six trusses of straw, will be 

 obtained, the weight of which is 1 1 cwt. 2 qrs. 8 Ibs. 

 The straw of summer wheat is more agreeable to 

 cattle than that produced from winter sowing. 



This most important vegetable is not wholly free 

 from casualties apart from climate. The principal of 

 these are, blight, mildew, and smut. The examination 

 and treatment of these diseases have proved fruitful 

 topics with writers on agricultural subjects. It does 

 not, however, appear that the public has hitherto 

 benefited much by their speculations, and an author 

 of considerable eminence is so far of a contrary 

 opinion as to have asserted, that ' in proportion as 

 words have been multiplied upon the subject, the 

 difficulties attending its elucidation have increased. 'f 



Blight is a disorder to which the cereal grains are 

 known to have been liable from the earliest times. 

 Among the ancient Greeks it was regarded as a sign 

 of wrath on the part of their offended deities ; and 

 whenever it occurred they consequently gave them- 

 selves up to the infliction, without any thought of 

 providing a remedy. The same superstitious notion 

 was entertained by the Romans, who believed that 



* Nat. Hist., hook xviii, chap. 6. 



t Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Gnrdening, p. 236. 



