From the Genesee Farmer. 

 THE CULTIVATION OF WHEAT. 



The following paper on the cultivation of wheat 

 was read belbre the Agricultural Society of this 

 State at its meeting in February last, by H. Hick- 

 ock, Esq. of Rensselaer county. 



There are two causes which, when our winters 

 are open, operate injuriously on wheat crops. — 

 One is, the high and dry winds, which prevail in 

 March; these blow off the soil in many situations, 

 and by leaving the roots of wheat exposed, occa- 

 sion their destruction. Another cause, is the 

 heaving of the soil, occasioned by the alterations 

 of cold and warm weather. The water in the 

 soil, in the act of freezing, expands and raises up 

 the earth, and also the roots of the wheat plants 

 which the earth embraces when a thaw succeeds, 

 the earth being heaviest, falls down first and leaves 

 the roots of the wheat a little elevated, and by re 

 peated changes of the weather, the roots are so far 

 thrown out as to perish. 



Farmers, when convenient, usually sow their 

 winter grain early in September, upon a supposi- 

 tion which guides their common practice, that 

 grain thus early sown withstands best the action 

 of unfavorable seasons. This supposition, is 

 founded upon the very plausible theory, that as 

 the oldest roots will be longer and more numerous 

 and take a firmer hold of the soil than those which 

 are younger, they will be less exposed to be 

 thrown above it, and at the same time, from their 

 strength, be more tenacious of life. But expe- 

 rience informs us, that wheat, sown as late as the 

 first or even the second week in October very often 

 survives with less injury than that which is sown 

 in the early part of September. Indeed farmers 

 very generally admit, as the result of their expe- 

 rience, that rye, whose laws of vegetation must 

 be nearly the same as those of wheat, sown so 

 late in the season as barley to come up, is most 

 likely to withstand an unfavorable winter. Still 

 the very plausible theory, which has been men- 

 tioned, very generally induces them to sow rye 

 early as well as wheat, in direct opposition to con- 

 clusions, which have been drawn from actual ob- 

 servation. 



An experiment was made last autumn for the 

 purpose of collecting some further information on 

 this subject On the first day of September last, 

 I excavated a spot of ground six feet square. On 

 the one side, the excavation was about six inches 

 deep, on the opposite side, its depth did not exceed 

 one inch. Seed wheat was placed over the bot- 

 tom, so that the kernels were about four inches 

 distant from each other, the excavation was then 

 filled up. The soil was a suitable mixture of gra- 

 vel, sand and clay, for wheat; and of ordinary fer- 

 tility. This was the latter part of the extreme 

 drought which prevailed last summer, and the soil 

 was dry, warm and finely pulverized before it was 

 thrown on the wheat. The circumstances, ex- 

 cept the extreme dryness of the soil, were highly 

 favorable to the vegetation of seed at the 

 greatest depth in the earth. On the fourth qf the 



Vol. Ill— 25 



month there was a heavy shower which not only 

 wet the soil, but beat it down close and hard. On 

 the ninth of the month, the plants began to show 

 themselves; but none come up from a greater depth 

 than about three and one-half inches. Two or 

 three days after the second leaf had displayed it- 

 self, some of the roots were taken up and exam- 

 ined. It now appeared that nearly an inch below 

 the surface of the ground, a new joint was found 

 which was the basis of the second leaf, and also 

 of a new system of roots. There were now two 

 tiers of roots; the seed or knot adjoining it, had 

 generated the lower tier, and the new joint the up- 

 per one. These two tiers or systems of roots were 

 connected together by a root resembling a cord or 

 thread, and in one instance, I cutoff this connect- 

 ing thread and transplanted the upper part. This 

 grew with little apparent check from its curtail- 

 ment; but the under part died, although the soil 

 above it was opened so as to afford it the advanta- 

 ges of air and solar heat. On the 20th day of 

 September, I examined another plant, which had 

 its regular formations as expected, and, what was 

 not expected, a blade was discovered about an inch 

 long, which had started from the lower system of 

 roots and would doubtless have found its way to 

 the surface, had it not been disturbed. It is to be 

 remarked, that this plant sprung from seed placed 

 under cover of nearly four inches of soil, which 

 was about an inch deeper than any of the other 

 plants examined, and that some of the tops of the 

 wheat plants had been eaten off and trodden down 

 by accidental intrusion; a fact unregarded at the 

 time. On the 26th day of September I examined 

 another root, expecting to see the blade from be- 

 low more perfectly developed, none however was 

 discovered; but a third tier of roots was found at 

 the surface of the ground, which proceeded from 

 the second as that had from the first system of 

 roots. On the 16th day of October I placed soma 

 seed wheat about two inches in the ground; their 

 delay in coming up induced me. to suppose that 

 they had perished from cold and wetness; but at 

 the expiration of three weeks they made their ap- 

 pearance, and although the ground remained open 

 several weeks longer, no second leaf appeared, of 

 course no joint or second system of roots had been 

 formed. The very different formations in the roots 

 of wheat, which this experiment has disclosed, 

 proceeded from causes appropriate and capable of 

 being ascertained, but to distinguish Ihem with 

 certainty, other trials must be made and conducted 

 with greater accuracy than the one of* which an 

 account has been given. 



From these experiments, though inaccurate, 

 some conclusions may perhaps be drawn of prac- 

 tical use. All plants which live over winter, pos- 

 sess an apparatus, by which they supply them- 

 selves, in autumn, with food for their sustenance 

 in spring. This food consists mostly of saccha- 

 rine matter, which is enclosed in a proper recepta- 

 cle. When this receptacle is formed near the sur- 

 face of the earth, the fermentation of its contents i6 

 excited by frequent changes of weather, the sac- 

 charine matter is decomposed, and the plant pe- 



