CHAPTER IV. 



THE CEREALS, 



CONSISTING OF OATS, BARLEY, MILLET, RYE, WHEAT AND INDIAN CORN. 



The importance of the cereals to man has never been over-estimated. They constitute his 

 food in all climates ; and, without them, it would be difficult for the race to subsist. In 

 their composition they contain the materials for bone, muscle and fat, and from these all 

 the tissues are formed and supported. Hence the cultivation of the cereals has ever con- 

 stituted one of our main employments, and indeed will, if any thing, become more and 

 more the object of our attention. In consequence of their great value as sources from 

 whence we derive our chief nutriment, we find that the soil upon which they grow is 

 soon deprived of some of its essential elements, which, if not replaced, will end at last 

 in so diminishing its fertility that the seeds will cease to be perfected ; when the crop 

 necessarily fails, and the farmer is obliged to lose his labor. It is for this reason that it 

 becomes necessary to know what elements are removed from the soil, and how much is 

 carried away in the crop when disposed of in a distant or even in a home market. 



The possession of these facts enables the farmer to supply the specific losses he is con- 

 tinually sustaining. He need not be at a loss on this point, inasmuch as it is mainly the 

 inorganic matter which is removed. It is that part which is contained in the ash, or which 

 is left after the combustion of the plant. It may appear in many instances to be inconsi- 

 derable ; yet, in ordinary soils, the effect of the crop is often perceptible in one year. In the 

 highly favored counties of Western New-York, a long period has elapsed in the cultivation 

 of wheat, without the accompanying signs of barrenness. This fact has been already 

 explained in the first volume. It is well known that a very large portion of the western 

 and central counties, those constituting the Fourth district, are underlaid by decomposing 

 shales, which supply almost continually new and fresh matter for the wheat crop. If to 

 this is also added the fact that gypsum and clover are liberally employed, the secret of 

 constant fertility is explained. It can not be doubted that many large tracts of country in 

 New-York have the best soil for wheat, all things considered, in the world. 



Those tracts, however, are not the best for indian corn. This cereal requires a soil con- 

 stituted somewhat differently from that which is most suitable for wheat : there should be 

 a larger amount of the phosphates. There is a much larger growth of the plant itself; 



