80 Means to prevent the mildew of Wheat, Uc, 



in favour of steeping seed -wheat in salt : of Mr. Andrews 

 in the 6ih vol. of the Agricultural Annals of A. Young 

 in favour of arsenic and a ley of wood ashes, and those of 

 Mr. Jennings in the 9th vol. of the Bath memoirs in fa- 

 vour of diluted sulphuric acid, all of which shew the 

 truth of the theory respecting the cause of smut, as giv- 

 en by Mr. Knight, and should induce every farmer to 

 try them in case his situation is liable to either smut or 

 mildew, or he is under the necessity of using grain any 

 way infected with either disease. 



With regard to the influence of the perfect maturity 

 and good quality of the grain on the future crop, there 

 can be no question. The same principle that operates 

 with so much force in the animal creation, viz. the pro- 

 duction of a healthy and vigorous offspring by healthy 

 and vigorous parents, is every day perceived in the 

 case of vegetables : and by an attention to it, our philoso- 

 phical countryman, Joseph Cooper, has been enabled not 

 only greatly to improve a variety of Indian corn, but to 

 preserve thdt acquired-excellence unimpaired for a series 

 of years ; and it is to the diffusion of the knowledge of his 

 practice, that a revolution in this respect may justly be 

 attributed among our farmers, who either influenced by 

 prejudice, or from being ignorant of the evil consequen- 

 ces of a contrary conduct, were in the habit of constantly 

 selling the best of their various crops, and of reserving 

 the most inferior for seed, and thus were under the neces- 

 sity of renewing their stock of seeds by purchase from -.h- 

 ers, who were possessed of better than themst ives f I can 

 myself furnish additional testimony, were any necissary, 

 in proof of the propriety of a change of seed. The far- 

 mer whose land joined mine in Delaware county, was 



