234 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



straw is not only very short, but of very unequal 

 height. It yields abundantly, ov/ing, it is thought, 

 to the distribution of the ears through the various 

 heights above the land. On this point, our readers 

 will recollect the account, published in the same num- 

 ber, of s^me experiments made last year in France 

 with some fifteen varieties of wheat. A mixture of 

 all the varieties produced a larger crop than any sin- 

 gle variety, — a result which the experimentor, M. 

 RoossEAU, attributed, in a great degree, to the fact 

 that the " ears, not being on one level, are more free, 

 aflFord more protection to each other, and derive more 

 advantage from light." The Fenton wheat gives the 

 same result, in this respect, as would be obtained by 

 sowing a number of varieties having straw of various 

 heights. 



Hunter's Wheat (fig. 3) is one of the oldest and 

 most esteemed varieties in Scotland. It is hardy, 

 tillers well in the spring, and is remarkably well suited 

 to medium and inferior soils. The ear is thickish in 

 the middle, a little awned and tapering to the neck 

 and point; grain of a brownish color, a little elon- 

 gated in shape, but of a fine, hard, close, flinty tex- 

 ture, and weighing sometimes as much as 66 lbs. per 

 bushel. 



White Irish Wheat (fig. 4) has long been culti- 

 vated in Ireland, under the name of the Old JVhite 

 Irish. It is exceedingly hardy, and very productive, 

 but somewhat late. Straw taH, and more like that 

 of rye than wheat; ears very long, loose, pointed and 

 ojjen; chatf white, smooth and slightly awned; grain 

 large, oblong, and of a brownish, dull color. It is 

 best suited to inferior and medium soils. On rich 

 soili; it is apt to lodge. It has been introduced with 

 ^e^l advantage into Scotland, and John Haxton, of 

 (Jupaa Fife, says he is " satisfied that no sort can 

 compete, in point of profit, with the White Irish, 

 when cultivated on light, easy soils, or even on clays, 

 situated in an early climate." 



Pearl Wheat (fig. 5) is not very hardy, but of 

 moat excellent quality. It has long, stiff straw; ear 

 square, and free from awns; grain small, round, plump 

 and white. It is early, and well adapted for sowing 

 on rich, loose soils. It is sometimes sown as a spring 

 wheat. 



Spalding's Prolific Bed Wheat (fig. 6).— This 

 is said to be the " best of all the red wheats." Straw 

 tall, strong and stiff; ear long, sfjuare, and free from 

 awn; grain round, plump, and of a yellowish color. 

 Morton's Cyclopedia of Jigricvlture says: "On the 

 clay soils of the eastern district of Fifeshire, it has 

 been known repeatedly to produce 64 bushels per 

 acre." 



It is quite probable that some of these wheats 

 have been introduced into this country and Canada, 

 aad are cultivated under new names. The most ap- 

 proved varieties of wheat in this section at present 

 are the Soule's, or the English Flint, a bald, white 

 variety; the Improved White Flint; the Blue Stem; 

 and the Hutchinson, or Canada Flint Some object 

 to the latter on account of its liability to shell out 

 when not cut early. It should be sown thicker than 

 the two former kinds, as it does not tiller so much in 

 the spring. The Australian wheat does not sustain 

 its reputation in this vicinity. On the east end of 

 Long Island, it is cultivated with much advantage. 

 ^nce the advent of the midge, the chief object in 

 Meeting varieties of wheat has been to get the earli- 

 <«st Oa this aoGount^ the Mediterraueaa is becoming 



every year more and more popular. It is a coarse, 

 bearded variety, with a thick skin, and yielding a dark 

 flour; and on good soils, in districts where the midge 

 is not troublesome, is far inferior to the other kinds. 

 It is, however, earlier than any other kind, and fre- 

 quently escapes the fly when the later varieties suflfer 

 much damage. It is productive, and though the 

 flour is dark, it makes excellent bread. 



As we have said, the great object with wheat 

 growers, in many sections of the country, is to g^ 

 varieties that mature early. On this account, the in- 

 troduction of seed from more northern and southern 

 latitudes is worthy of more attention than it has yet 

 received ; for, paradoxical though it may appear,- 

 there are many facts which indicate that wheat is 

 earlier when brought either from a warmer or colder 

 climate. In no other country have farmers such fa- 

 cilities for the interchange of seed as in America, and 

 we entertain no doubt that great benefits will accrue 

 from the practice. 



Soil best Adapted for Wheat. — A friable loami- 

 or a calcareous, clayey soil, naturally or artificially 

 drained, and abounding in all the elements of plants,- 

 is what is generally understood by "a good wheat soil." 

 In England, this phrase always indicates a dry, firm 

 compact soil, of considerable depth. In this country', 

 many of our most profitable wheat farms are some-' 

 what sandy, though the calcareous clays are the more 

 durable, and, when well tilled and drained, the most 

 productive. No one, however, who has seen the 

 magnificent crops of wheat which are now raised on 

 the light, sandy soils of Norfolk, or the fens of Lin- 

 colnshire, or on the thin chalks of otiier districts of 

 England, can doubt that any kind of soil, when drain- 

 ed, cleaned, and enriched by judicious manuring, caa 

 be made to produce paying crops of wheat. 



Preparation op the Soil. — If there is one fact 

 more prominent than another in regard to the culti- 

 vation of wheat, it is that the wheat plant requires a 

 firm foot-hold. The soil must be compact. It is 

 quite easy to work land too much for wheat. This 

 may be one reason why a modification of the old 

 summer fallow is becoming more general on the lighter 

 soils of Western New Tork. Instead of plowing^ 

 the land three times, as formerly, a clover sod ia 

 broken up the latter part of June or first of July, 

 and this is all the plowing that is done. The weeds 

 and grass are subdued by the use of the harrow and 

 cultivator, or gang-plow. The cost of preparing 

 land for wheat in this way, is much less than by re- 

 peated plowings, and the crops, in most cases, so far as 

 we can learn, quite as good — though there are many 

 good farmers who prefer the old practice. 



Fallowing on light land is not as beneficial as on 

 rich, clayey soils. Its chief object on such soils is to 

 destroy the weeds. This can be done by growing 

 corn, potatoes, beans, and other crops, in rows which 

 admit the free use of the horse-hoe. It is, however, 

 a mistake to suppose that the growth of any crop 

 does not impoverish the soil. The advantage of 

 growing clover, beans, peas, turnips, &c., is owing to 

 the fact that they obtain considerable fertilizing gases 

 from the air, dews and rain. But if these crops are 

 removed, the soil is not enriched. They must be 

 plowed under, or consumed on the farm, and the ma- 

 nure made from them returned to the soil — other- 

 wise the land will be made poorer, instead of richer. 

 Soils containing a portion of clay, or, more definitely, 

 the double silicates of alumina and lime, soda, &e. 



