116 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



AVERAGE INJUEY FEOM THE WHEAT MIDGE. 



Messes. Eds : — In the February Farmer, while 

 discussing the feasibihty of coutinuitig "Wheat Grow- 

 ing in Western New York," you estimate the usual 

 injury from the midge at tive bushels the acre, be the 

 crop more or less. A yield of ten bushels, will be 

 one half destroyed, one of thirty, one-sixth, and so on. 

 The latter will leave a fair profit while the former 

 will scarcely pay for the labor bestowed in its cr.l- 

 ture. Hence you advise the selection of suitable soil?, 

 6S to fertility and character, and early maturing vari- 

 eties, so as to increase the product as I'ar as possible 

 ^beyond the destructive power of the midge. In most 

 of your suggestions, 1 coincide, and will here state 

 some facts which have fallen under my observations 

 on this farm. 



In 1854, our wheat crop wa,s somewhat injured by 

 the winter — on the low land, nearly destroyed. The 

 average product expected, was from twelve to fifteen 

 bushels per acre, but the midge attacked it, and on 

 harvesting and threshing, we realized from six to ten, 

 according to the vigor of the growth and the prom- 

 ise of the crop before the midge ajipeared. In 1855, 

 oar wheat looked better, and that part sown to the 

 golden drop, even after the midge had done its worst, 

 (it ripened too soon for it,) promised us tsventy bush- 

 els per acre. The wet weaiher sprouted it repeated 

 ]y, belore and after cutting, and damaged it far more 

 tliau the midge. Between the two, the product was 

 about eight bushels per acre. Another field of a 

 later maturing varietj , promising well, was almost en- 

 tirely destroyed by the midge, and finished by the 

 wet weather at harvest. In 185G, we sowed our 

 wheat on pretty good land, some of it too light, per- 

 haps, but it appeared favorably, in parts stout, and 

 was estimated as full up to twenty bushels per acre. 

 This was also, golden drop, an early maturing variety. 

 The midge came, and for a time it seemed that there 

 would be nothing left, but the centre of the field was 

 injured comparatively little, and tlie product on thresh- 

 ing was fourteen bushels per acre. 



You can draw what conclusions you please from 

 the above facts. / think, by selecting good soils, 

 early varieties, and cultivating in the best manner, we 

 eau still raise wheat profitably in 



Niagara County. 



SOWING PAESNEPS IN THE FALL 



Mtsssrs EniTORs : — I observe in your January 

 Number, an inquiry as to growing parsneps by fall 

 Bowing. If my experience is of any value, it is quite 

 at your service. 



Some years since, I sowed some parsnep seed in 

 tlie last of April. It came on very cold, and the seed 

 did not appear above the ground till the 10th of May, 

 and then only sparsely. A little rain fell on the 12th 

 of May ; and from that day until the 24th of June 

 not a drop of rain fell, and the .season throughout was 

 very dry. Of coarse my .seed not sprouted before the 

 12th of May did not germinate after that. The 

 ground (having only half a crop) was well cultivated, 

 ajid was in September free of weeds. About the 1st 

 of September, rains falling,the soil became moist and 

 in fine condition. About the 28th of September the 

 tmgerminating seed began to sprout, and in three oi 

 four days the vacant spaces were all filled. The crop 

 Btood through the winter. In the spring all those 



which had come out of the ground in May, were dug 

 and used, except some quite tniall ones. The Sep- 

 tember started plants looked well and commenced to 

 gro\"ni in March, which was a fair month for thi3 lat- 

 itude. I paid no attention to them till May, when I 

 had them weeded. In April, however, I filled up the 

 vacant spaces, (h-om which I had drawn the used 

 parsneps,) with seed. The season was a good one, 

 this second year, and the seed of the second year's 

 sowing grew finely and plants did well, as did those 

 which sprouted in Sej)tember of the first year. All 

 the plants of both sowings growing beside each other, 

 and scattered among each other, were treated alike 

 in all respects. There could be no advantage of the 

 one .set of plants over the other in any regard, either 

 of ?oil or care. 



The whole crop, composed of both sowings re- 

 mained in the ground till the third spring, (two years 

 from the first sowing), when all were dug and used. 

 The two sets were separately dug, and the yield oa 

 the parts where the plants had stood two winters, 

 was forty per cent more than on the other. 



This was a field crop, and the seed used in both 

 years was the same kind, being grown from plant.«, the 

 kind of which had been long grown in my garden. 



A few of the plants which germinated in Septem- 

 ber, showed a disposition to go to seed in the second 

 year, perhaps twenty in the whole piece of two acres. 

 ! heie were pulled. In other respects the crop of 

 September germination went on as if sown in s])ri/ig. 



This chance growing of an autumn crop, induced 

 me afterwards to gtow parsneps by fall sowing wholly 

 for three or four years. And they aiwttys germina- 

 ted, and I had no failure in sprouting and they always 

 yielded better than with any $pring sowing. I have 

 not for some years grown them at all, except in my 

 garden. But there the fall sowing is always more 

 successful in point of certain germination and larger 

 product. 



I can confidently recommend a trial of the faH 

 sowin? in preference to that of spring. 



Balavia, JV. Y. A. SxKVEiVs. 



BirnKG WESTERN LANDS. 



Messrs Editors: — Without doubt many of yoor 

 readers are longing for homes at the west, on lands 

 which they suppose can be bought at government 

 price readily enough. And so they «ught to be, bnt 

 there are such shoals of " laud sharks," (so called here) 

 or speculators, that they absorb all the best claims 

 as soon a,s the lands are offered for sale. So exten- 

 sive is the business done in this way by these cormo- 

 rants, that a larpe proportion of actual settlers have 

 to buy their lands of dealers, at double and many 

 times more than double, the usual cost at government 

 price. 



Any eastern man desiring land at government price, 

 iiad better come in the spring and enter or pre-empt 

 his land, and not be too sanguine of obtaining it even 

 then in Iowa, Wisconsin, or Illinois. Pcrhsps aa 

 good a way would be to secuie the .services of some 

 trusty individual, engaged in such buf<iness, to enter 

 land for you. The usual charge for services is twelve 

 and a half per cent, on the money invested. Much 

 'j;ood land will be sold in Iowa and Wisconsin, when 

 the ofSces open again at double the usual rate, or 

 twenty shillings per acre. Jno. SANfiKLUt ' 



Illinois. '•* 



