140 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



^357 ; and I am fixing to raise largely next sea- 

 son, having a good house well fixed, plenty of 

 trees, and 80 ounces of good eggs, hands about me 

 who have now had some experieuce, and Irom 

 some account of cost kept last season, I am confi- 

 dent that, alter having liie three above requisites, 

 I can raise silk in the cocoon elate at .9I per 

 bushel, or say what when reeled will make one 

 pound. *•*«*** 



ON THE CAUSES OF DETERIORATION OF THE 

 WHEAT CROPS IN VIRGINIA. 



For llic Fanners' Register. 



The causes which have led to ihe fiiilure of the 

 wheat crops in Virginia, lor a succession of years, 

 deserve the deep consideraiion of every farmer ; 

 and i am gratified 10 perceive that the subject is 

 becoming one of public discussion. It is with the 

 view of contributing my mite towards the eluci- 

 dation of these causes that 1 submit the annexed 

 observations ; though I have had but littlc'con- 

 nexion with practical agricul'ure Ibr several years. 



For the last twenty-six years, during which f 

 have been an observer of the progress and ma- 

 turity of the wheat crop; a very great but gradual 

 change has taken place in the time of ripening. 

 In 1816 and '17 my harvest of the later varieties 

 of wheat, growing on a heavy and rather slow 

 soil, was commenced on the 17th and 18th of 

 June. The earlier var'elies, the old purple straw 

 and May wheat, then extensively cultivated, but 

 now extinct, usually came to the scythe Irom six 

 to ten days sooner. Ten or fifteen years previous 

 to that period, I have heard that the May wheat 

 was Irequently harvested in the moni'h from 

 which it derives its name. From 1816 down- 

 wards my memorandum book shows thai the 

 harvests became later and later; and last year, 

 in the region of country in which I reside, there 

 was scarcely a field ot wheat ripe enough to be 

 reaped before the 25th of June, and the harvest 

 extended several days into the month ol' July. 

 It was perhaps the latest harvest that we have 

 ever known, though there have been several sea- 

 sons in which a large portion of the wheat has 

 not been in a condition to cut before nearly the 

 close of June. 



Another fact, which all farmers have doubtless 

 observed, is that in proportion as the period ot 

 harvest is protracted, whether by the season or 

 the variety of wheat cultivated, the more indifle- 

 rent is the crop. A late crop is almost invariably 

 attacked by the rust, which is decidedly the most 

 formidable enemy we have to contend with. A 

 long series of observations on the weather has 

 convinced me that, from about the 20ih of June 

 to the 1st of July, we have a regular accession 

 of hot, sultry weather, accompanied by frequent 

 showers, most disastrous to the wheat that has 

 to ripen during that interval. This slate of the 

 atmosphere recurs with as much unifbrmiiy as 

 the " long spell in May ;" and equally with the 

 latter may be considered as in accordance with 

 the laws which influence our climate, [n the one, 

 for the most part, the wheat is in flower ; in the 

 Other it has to mature. When the harvests were 

 earlier, as they were twenty years ago, the wheat 

 was generally in blossom before the recurrence 



of the wet season in Blay, and there was conse- 

 quently less of scab and blight, and open shuck, 

 than 01' late years. The organs of fructification 

 hadperibrmed their office beiore they were mu- 

 tilated by the storms of the season. And in re- 

 gard to the last half ol tiie month of June, what 

 larmer has not frequently beheld his fields of 

 wheat wither and dry up rather than ripen, be- 

 neath the influence oi the scorching rays of the 

 sun? Kven if ii escapes the rust, which it sel- 

 dom does under such circumulances, the weather 

 is too hot for it to come regularly to maturity ; 

 and hence a light product, wiih very rare excep- 

 tions, must be the consequence of a late crop. 



The obvious inlerence to be drawn Irom these 

 fiicts is, that farmers should exercise llie utmost 

 precaution in the selection and preservation of 

 their seed, and in the cultivation only of the ear- 

 lier varieties. In the time of flowering they 

 should aim to anticipate the long spell in May ; 

 and in the time of maturity, the suilry spell ol 

 June. This coursi;, judiciously Ibllowed, will go 

 lar towards arresting the evil. But it will require 

 care and perseverance. It was Ibrmerly practised 

 With, gi-eai success by the manager at Maiden's 

 Adventure, in Powhatan, u'ho selected every 

 season from the earliest ears in his fields a bush- 

 el of wheat ; and preserved his May wheat in 

 the highest purity for a long lime. His neigh- 

 bors, lor many miles around, were in the habit of 

 sending to him lor seed. The English larmers, 

 by similar lyeans, perpetuate the purity of their 

 wheat, and keep each variety entirely distinct. 

 Their example is worthy of all imitation ; lor as 

 the lijilure ot a crop of wheat in England is at- 

 tended with liar more disastrous consequences 

 than it is in this counlr}', it may be reasonably in- 

 ferred that ihey have learned well how to mul- 

 tiply guards Ibr its security. 



The means here indicated are within the reach 

 ot all ; but they do not constitute all that is ne- 

 cessary to the highest state of productiveness ol 

 ihe wheat crop. A great deal depends also upon 

 the soil ; so much so that the opinion is very 

 generally entertained that wheat soon degene- 

 rates in our soil and climate. Hill Carter, in a 

 late commuiiicatiun to the Farmers' Register, 

 dir(5ctiy avows his belief in this docirine ; though 

 William Carmichael appears rather indisposed 

 to subscribe to it. 



A highly cultivated plant is like a highly im- 

 proved animal : neither will bear neglect without 

 maiiilesting a tendency to deteriorate. Each is 

 income measure an artificial production. The 

 race horse requires the greatest care, to be main- 

 tained in the lull possession of his qualities ; the 

 short-horn cattle can only thrive on the most 

 abundant and nutritious Itire ; and in like man- 

 ner, the plant in its state of amelioration can only 

 be kept up by a supply of that lood which is in- 

 dispensable to its full developement. 



In respect to climate, the changes which the 

 seasons have undergone in the last 25 or 50 years 

 must be almost imperceptible. Natural laws are 

 so unilbrm in their operation that we are hardly 

 justified in supposing that there has been any de- 

 parture from their ordinary course. If there has 

 been any change, it has been one of amelioration, 

 and therelbre propitious to the earlier maturity of 

 plants. But our soils by a long train of cultiva- 

 tion may have become partially or entirely ex- 



