Vol. XVIII, Skcoxd Series. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y., FEBRUARY, 1857. 



No. 2. 



SHALL WE HAVE TO ABANDON WHEAT GROWING 

 IN WESTERN NEW YORS! 



Owing chiefly to the depredations of the weevil — 

 or more correctly the wheat midge [Cccidomyia trilici) 

 it is feared that wlieat culture will have to be given 

 np in Western New York, at least for a few years. — 

 The subject is one of great importance, and is at- 

 t-acting some attention. At the late meeting of the 

 Farmer's Club of ^lonroe County, the question for 

 consideration was, " What substitutes for the Wheat 

 crop can be adopted with the most profit in this 

 county?" The fact that such a subject should be se- 

 lected for discussion at two successive Farmers' 

 Clubs in a county which, according to the census of 

 1845, produced more wheat per acre than that of any 

 other county in the State, and a greater number of 

 bushels in the aggregate than the whole five New 

 England States, is well calculated to create alarm. — 

 Is it true that wheat culture must be abandoned in 

 Western New Y'ork ? We think not. We are well 

 aware that the midge has done serious damage to the 

 wheat crop in this vicinity for the past few years; 

 still we believe the extent of the injury has been over 

 estimated. In 1855, we should have had a full aver- 

 age crop of excellent wheat had it not been for the 

 rainy weather which set in jr.st as the crop was ready 

 to cut, and which continued for nearly a fortnight, 

 causing the grain to sprout to an extent never before 

 known in this country. One of our most experienced 

 millers estimated that at least three-fourths of the 

 crop was destroyed in this way; and from careful ex- 

 amination of the crop in several counties at the time, 

 we believe the estimate is none too high. This grown 

 wheat was vsed for seed to a great extent, in the fall 

 of 1855, and the crop of last year suffered materially 

 in consequence. The failure of the wheat crop in 

 1855-6, therefore, cannot be ascribed to the depreda- 

 tions of the midge alone, but, in some degree at least, 

 to causes which are of unusual occurrence. 



While this is true, we cannot close our eyes to the 

 fiict that the midge has made serious havoc with the 

 wheat crop in some sections. On one field in this 

 vicinity, which came under our own observation, last 

 year, at least one-half of the crop was destroyed; but 

 this took place on land which was too low and too wet 

 to grow a good crop of wheat, even under the most fa- 

 vorable circumstances. On another Geld on the same 

 Carm, where wheat waa sown on good, dry, well-pre- 

 pared soil, a little over twenty bushels of good wheat 

 •was obtained per acre. So far as we could judge, 

 t^e vUdge injured one nearly as much as the other. 



Had not the midge injured either of the fields of 

 wheat, the one would have produced a crop of 10 

 bushels, and the other a crop of 25 bushels per acre. 

 The midge destroyed 5 bushels per acre on both 

 fields, and left, on tbe low, wet land, 5 bushels, and on 

 the good land, 10 bushels per acre. The midge de- 

 stroyed as much wheat in both cates, though it took 

 half the crop on one field, and only one-fifih on the 

 other I 



There may be instances where the midge has destroy- 

 ed more than five|,bushels per acre, but wa think that 

 in this neighborhood, except under very unfavorable 

 circumstances, this was the extent of the damage. Now, 

 while a loss of five bushels per aere causes no trifiing 

 diminution of the profits of even an unusually largs 

 wheat crop, yet it is evident that the loss is far less 

 under a good than under a poor system of cul- 

 tivation. It seems to us, therefore, that instead of 

 looking for substitutes for the wheat crop, we should 

 endeavor to ascertain the most economical means of 

 increasing the fertility of our farms, and of concen- 

 trating more labor and manure on those portious of 

 the farm best adapted to wheat culture. 



On the farm of Mr. E. S. Hayward, of Brighton, 

 in this county, results were obtained, last year, even 

 more favorable to "high farming" than in the in- 

 stance already mentioned. He obtained his seed 

 from Canada (where the harvest weather of 1855 was 

 propitious, ana the wheat was not injured as in this 

 neighborhood,) and sowed two bushels per acre, oa 

 naturally good, dry wheat soil prepared in the best 

 manner. From the quantity of shrunken grains, it 

 was estimated that the midge destroyed about five 

 bushels per acre, and yet the crop yielded over thirty 

 five bushels of very superior wheat per acre. The 

 midge in this instance destroyed as much wheat per 

 acre as in the first case mentioned, where it eat half 

 the crop, and yet here only one-eighth of the crop 

 was lost. 



We are well aware that it has of late years been 

 fashionable to recommend " High Farming " as a 

 remedy for every evil that afifects the farmer; and 

 though we have more than once shown the ab^-nrdity 

 of such recommendations, it is evident to us that th« 

 best means of alleviating the fearful injuries caiiBed 

 by the wheat midge will be found in a better systera 

 of cultivation, or if you will excuse the term, ia 

 " High Farming.'' 



It is well known that early wheat is less liable to 

 injury from the midge than that which matures later. 

 The reason for this is well known, and we need not 

 allude to it here. On this account early Bowiiag ia 



