Book VI. WHEAT. HIT 



consider quite unsuitable to the present improved state of agriculture ; but it may sometimes happen, 

 that on rich loamy land, especially in a showery season, there may be no other way of getting in the 

 seed. 



5035. The afler-cuUure of wheat, or culture of the growing crop, depends on the 

 manner in which it has been sown. 



503fi. When wheat is sown broad-cast, the subsequent culture must generally be confined to harrowing, 

 rolling, hand-weeding, or hand-hoeing with a pronged hoe. As grass seeds are frequently sown in spring 

 on winter-sown wheat, the harrows and roller are employed to loosen the soil, and cover the seeds. Hut 

 these operations, to a certain extent, and at the proper season, are found beneficial to the wheat crop 

 itself, and are sometimes performed even when grass seeds are not to be sown. One or two courses of 

 harrowing penetrate the crust which is formed on tenacious soils, and operate like hand hoeing in raising 

 a fresh mould to the stems of the young plants. Rolling in spring ought never to be omitted on dry porous 

 soils, which are frequently left in so loose a state by the winter frosts, that the roots quit the soil and 

 perish ; and, if the land is rough and cloddy, the roller has a still more beneficial effect than the harrows 

 in pulverising the inert masses, and extending the pasture of the plants. Hand-weeding, so far as to cut 

 down thistles and other long weeds, is never neglected by careful farmers ; but the previous culture ought 

 to leave as little as possible of this work to be done when the crop is growing. (Supp.) 



5037. When wheat has been drilled, ribbed, or dibbled, the intervals may be hoed or stirred either by 

 hand-hoes, common or pronged, or by horse-hoes or drill harrows In general, the drill used at sowing 

 will, by the changes it admits of in its double character of drill and horse-hoe, be the best to use for hoeing 

 or stirring; or if a single drill should have been used, the expanding horse-hoe, or Wilkie's brake 

 harrow, may be successfully adopted. The operation of hoeing or stirring should generally be performed 

 in March, and need not be repeated. When grass-seeds are to be sown among the wheat, the hoeing is 

 an excellent mode of covering them. Weeding the rows should not be neglected, nor delayed later than 

 the beginning of June. 



503S. Where wheats rise too thin in some places, and too thick in others, whether in rows or broad-cast, 

 the practice of transplanting from the latter to the former has been recommended. This is said to be 

 practised occasionally in Essex and Norfolk, and the time is the end of March. To be attended with 

 success the soil must be in a good state, and the blanks to which the plants are to be transplanted must 

 be stirred up with a trowel or small two-pronged fork. Under such circumstances we have no doubt of 

 the plan being attended with success ; but we are certain that without stirring the soil, the operation will 

 not pay for the expense. Blanks are sometimes filled up by sowing summer wheat, dibbling beans, &c. 

 but these are obviously bad modes; abetter is either to stir the soil well, by the hand pronghoe, and 

 encourage the tillering of the plants, or to stir the soil and then transplant. 



5039. Top-dressing wheal crops has been recommended in cases where the land is not in a sufficient 

 state of fertility or preparation to bring the crops to perfection. Substances of both the solid and fluid 

 kinds have been made use of for this purpose; the first consist chiefly of the dung of different sorts 

 of birds, after being brought into a powdery state, bone-dust, soot, peat ashes, and various saline matters. 

 The latter are principally the drainings of dunghills and similar liquid materials. The former should be 

 thinly sown over the crop with as much evenness as possible, as early in the spring as horses can be ad- 

 mitted upon the land without injury ; and if it can be done when the weather is inclined to be moist, it is 

 the better, a roller may then be passed over the crop with advantage. Where the latter substances are 

 made use of, care should always be taken that the plants be not injured by having too large a quantity 

 applied to them. In this practice the expense should be a primary consideration, and small trials first 

 made where dungs have not been used. The proper season tor performing the business is the beginning 

 of February. 



504(1. When wheat appears too forward and luxuriant, it is sometimes cat down in April with sheep or 

 even with horses, but this requires great judgment to be effected without injuring the crop. 



*5041. In harvesting wheat, the best farmers both of Britain and the continent agree, 



that it ought to be cut before it becomes dead ripe. When this is the case, the loss is 



considerable, both in the field and stack-yard j and the grain, according to Professor 



Tliaer, produces a less white flour. 



5042. In ascertaining the proper state. Brown observes, it is necessary to discriminate betwixt the 

 ripeness of the straw, and the ripeness of the grain ; for, in some seasons, the straw dries upwards ; 

 under which circumstance, a field, to the eye, may appear to be completely fit for the sickle, when, in 

 reality, the grain is imperfectly consolidated, and perhaps not much removed from a milky state. 

 Though it is obvious that, under such circumstances, no further benefit can be conveyed from the root, 

 and that nourishment is withheld the moment that the roots die; yet it does not follow, that grain so 

 circumstanced should be immediately cut : because, after that operation is performed, it is in a great 

 measure necessarily deprived of every benefit from the sun and air, both of which have greater influence 

 in bringing it to maturity, so long as it remains on foot, than when cut down, whether laid on the ground 

 or bound up in sheaves. The state of the weather at the time also deserves notice ; for, in moist, or even 

 variable weather, every kind of grain, when cut prematurely, is more exposed to damage than when com- 

 pletely ripened. All these things will be studied by the skilful husbandman, who will also take into con- 

 sideration the dangers which may follow, were he to permit his wheat crop to remain uncut till completely 

 ripened. The danger from wind will not be lost sight of, especially if the season of the equinox ap- 

 proaches ; even the quantity dropped in the field, and in the stack-yard, when wheat is over-ripe, is an 

 object of consideration. Taking all these things into view, it seems prudent to have wheat cut before 1 

 it is fully ripe, as less damage will be sustained from acting in this way than by adopting a contrary 

 practice. 



5043. The mode of reaping wheat is almost universally by the sickle. When cut, it is 



usually tied up in sheaves, which it is better to make so small as to be done by bands the 



length of the straw, than so thick as to require two lengths to be joined for bands. The 



sheaves are set up in shocks or stooks, each containing in all twelve, or, if the straw be long, 



fourteen sheaves. In the latter case, two rows of six sheaves are made to stand in such a 



manner as to be in contact at the top, though in order to admit the circulation of air they 



are placed at some distance below : along this line, two sheaves more are placed as a 



covering, the corn end of both being towards the extremities of the line. In a few days 



of good weather the crop is ready for the barn or stack-yard. In the stack-yard it is 



built either in oblong or circular stacks, sometimes on frames supported with pillars to 



prevent the access of vermin, and to secure the bottom from dampness ; and as soon 



afterwards as possible the stacks are neatly thatched. When the harvest weather is so 



wet as to render it difficult to prevent the stacks from heating, it has been the practice 



to make funnels through them, a large one in a central and perpendicular direction, 



3 G 



