10 



NEW ENGLAND PARMER, 



July 2T, 1831. 



From the New York Fanner. 



SMUT IN WHEAT. 



Sir 111 reply to your cnrreppondent, N. W. T. 



of Newai Ic, New Jersey, in your last inonlli's Farm- 

 er, I lieg leave to state a lew pailiculars on the 

 subject of Ills itiquirie?, relative to ' (he H'eevil and 

 Smut in ffheal.' 



Your correP|ionilcnt states ' that two persons 

 bought seed wheat of me, in which there had been 

 some Binut. In the crop of one, there was a 

 great deal of stnut, that of the other was free 

 from it. Was this difference owing to tho 

 soil ? An answer to these inquiries would be ac- 

 ceptable. 



To t!ie latter inquiry, ^ was this difference otving 

 to the soiir I lieg leave to inform him, and your 

 reader.s, that I have never known it the case in a 

 single instance, and from many years of practical 

 experience I am enabled to assert, that when seed 

 wheat is perfectly free from disease, and prepared 

 in a proper manner, previously to its being sown 

 or drilled, that the soil, of whatever nature, or how- 

 ever great the distance, will not produce smutty 

 wheat. The following narrative may serve to il- 

 lustrate the fact. 



A neighbor of mine, having purchased some 

 very excellent seed wheat, the same was delivered 

 in the farmer's bags of whom he had bought the 

 wheat, with a jnoniise that he, the purchaser, 

 would return the bags immediately afier the grain 

 was sown or deposited by the drill. Jly neighbor 

 complied with this request, and having drilled about 

 half the quantity from those bags in which he had 

 received the wheat, he took opportunlly on the 

 following day, which liad been very tret and xtn- 

 favorahh, for drilling the remainder, 'o empty those 

 bags, in order that tliey might be returned, agree- 

 ably to the proposed bargain. Thus, was this ex- 

 ceUent,clean, and till then, unadulteiated seed wheat, 

 put into bis (the purchaser's) own bags, which 

 before had contained some \CTy foul and diseased 

 smutty wheat, as he, together with his farm ser- 

 vants acknowledged the fact. On the third day 

 the remainder of the wheat was drilled on the 

 same soil, and in the same field, but not from the 

 clean bags of the seller of the seed wheat. 



Now, sir, marlt the result at harvest : the clean 

 seed wheat which had been euiptied into the far- 

 mers own filthy, smutty bags, produced about one 

 twentieth part of smutty ears ; whereas fi o'u the 

 former day's ilrilling, not a single ear of smutty 

 wheat could be found ! 



Hence the infectious disease, not only in the 

 Animal, but also in the Vegetable world. 



Should you consider the foregoing deserving a 

 corner in your interesting and truly useful publica- 

 tion, I may be induced to continue my corresjxin- 

 dence on the subject of destroying the insect called 

 ibe Weevil. Yours, respectfully, 



A.N Old Farmer. 



State o/.V. Y. May, 1S3I. 



From Ihc Oil III Sun. 



WEEVIL IN WHEAT. 



Mr Editor — Perhaps yourself and some of 

 your readers may consider me as stepping out of 

 my proper department, in offering any observations 

 on the subject of farming, having never been my- 

 self a practical farmer. 



The amount lost yearly by the weevil is so great 

 ri>at it almost exceeds the power of thought or cal- 

 culation, and that the use of weevil eaten wheat 



may occasion disease, cannot be denied. — Our 

 food by various processes and modifications, prin- 

 cipally liy the process of assimilation, forms a 

 part of our texture and organization and that 

 healthy fluids and solids should spring from or be 

 formed of bad n:alerials, is contrary to all the es- 

 tablished laws of nature. 



During si.\ or seven years past, I have examined 

 many publications in relation to this interesting 

 subject. — Nimierous plans have been proposed to 

 save wheat from the destructive enemy, and the 

 method which lo me appears best, may be found 

 in Mackenzie's Universal receipt book, page 529 ; 

 the whole secret consists in cutting wheat about 

 eight days before it is ripe. It is stated that wheat 

 reaped in this way is fuller and finer and never 

 devoured by weevil, which was proved by cutling 

 one half of a field in the green state and leaving 

 the other half till the usual time. The early reap- 

 ed portion gave a greater number to the acre and 

 more bread by weight from the same (luaiitily of 

 flour. The weevil attacked that portion whicli 

 was reaped late, but not the early reaped wheat. 



It is stated that it is always necessary to dis- 

 criminate between the ripeness of the straw and 

 the ripeness of Ihe grain — that straw in some 

 seasons dies from the ground upwards, which may 

 mislead, if the ripeness of the grain is judged from 

 the appearance of the straw, but the true and 

 proper time for reaping is, when grain presseil 

 between the fingers has a doughy appearance, 

 like bread hot from the oven pressed in the same 

 way. 



Wheat ought never to be stacked until the straw 

 and porlion of weeds and grass that may be mixed 

 with it is entirely dry, otherwise it will heat in the 

 stack. Under existing circumstances the field 

 may be considered the best stack-yard until the 

 farmer is ready to thrtsli out the whole crop — in 

 this way the cio|( is sometimes saved from de- 

 struction. 



Millers and manufaclurers of flour generally 

 agree, that early reaped wheat makes the best 

 flour, and that nothing is gained by the late reap- 

 ing, except more bran, and that of a darker cohir, 

 which, after grinding and bolting, gives a dark 

 color to the flour. 



II' one or both of the publishers of Newspapers 

 in B.iiavia consider this ciimnuinication worthy of 

 publication, it is at their service. 



Bethel, June 10, 1S31. Be.njami.n Morris. 



REAPING GRAIN. 



The French claim the merit of a new discovery 

 of great importance to agriculture in the advanta- 

 ges, which, according to them, result from tin- 

 practice of reaping grain before it is perfectly 

 ripe. This theory, which has just been promul- 

 gated by M. Cadetle de Vaux,,originatcd with M. 

 de Salle.", of the Agricultural Society of Beziera. 

 The fi)Ilowing are the particulars: Grain reaped 

 eight days before the usual time, is, in the first 

 place, secured from the dangers whicli threaten it 

 at that time — this is only accidental ; but a posi- 

 tive advantage is, that the grain is fuller, larger, 

 finer, and that it is never attacked by the weevil 



The truth of these statements has been proved 

 by the most conclusive comparative e.xperiments 

 upon a piece of grain, one half of which was reap- 

 ed before the usual time, and tlie other half at the 

 degree of maturity fixed by the ordinary pr.actice. 

 The first porlion gave a hectolitre of grain more 

 for half a hectar of land. Afterwards, an equal 



quantity of flour from the wheal of each portion 

 was made into bread ; that of the grain reaiied* 

 green gave seven pounds of bread more than the 

 other si.x decalitres. Lastly, the weevil attacked 

 the grain which was cut ripe, the other was ex- 

 empt from it. The proper time for reaping is, 

 that when the grain, on being jiressed between 

 the fingers, has a <lougby appearance, like the 

 crumb of !)read just hot from t he oven, vi hen 

 pressed in the same manner. 



BEES. 



It has been found by observation, that Bees 

 will not colonize while Ihey have space to in- 

 crease and woik at home. We were recently 

 called to examine a Bee house, or Ajiiarv con- 

 structed on this principle by Mr Munch of Put- 

 nam. It is closely covered and lin.-d by nnplan- 

 ed, though jointed boards, to defend its inhabi- 

 tants from the extremes of heat and cold, and di- 

 vided by partitions into five chambers suj)porled 

 by [losts aI>out 2i feet from the ground and about 

 4 feet square, and as many in hei:;ht. Those 

 have doors on the backside of sufficient size, to 

 introduce a common hive, which is placed in front 

 of the chamber, and raised by a small block at 

 each corner, about half an inch from the floor j 

 and the cap is, at the same lime removed. The 

 Bees soon adjust themselves to their new habita- 

 tion which seems very agreeable to them, and be- 

 gin to raise their work from tho top of the hivo 

 in beautiful and sparkling conical pillars, whicli 

 they attach to snndl bars passing at right angles 

 across the chaudier at distances of about G inches 

 in a perpendicular direction, and 8 to 10 inches iu 

 a horiziinlal one. 



As their number increases, new orifices should 

 be made at different heights for entrance and 

 egress, and furnished benea^h with an alighting 

 board and a weatherboard above for turning the 

 water. The access of insects is prevented by 

 something like a moulding, around and near the 

 fiiot of each post, so made as to hold tar, or a 

 mixture of tar with oil. 



The great ailvanlago of a house so made, is 

 supposed to be in the greater quantity of hiving 

 in |>roportion to the number of bees ; since none 

 of their lime is lost, for want of room to deposit 

 their store. 



V/c hope this plan of Mr Munch, for which he 

 intends to take a patent, and his mode of manag 

 iiig the bee will prove useful to the public, and bo 

 gratifying to the Muskingum Agricidtural Society, 

 of which he is a member. — Zanesville Gazette. 



HOW TO PRESERVE VARIETIES OF 

 FRUIT. 



It often happens, that gentlemen who have a> 

 taste for choice fniit.<=, are disappointed, after hav- 

 ing sent their orders to a distance for trees, paicl 

 their bills, and planted out their yjfBBog trees with* 

 all the care possible, when aOflf*'"watohmg them 

 from ilay to day, and from week to weak, they 

 find that some favorite tree will not even show a 

 a leaf, and they have the mortification lo watch 

 it, until it becomes a dry sapless fagot, fit only 

 for the fire. Now all Ibis is extremely trying to 

 the feelings of the lover of good fruit, not taking 

 into consideration the expense attending it. Th* 

 kinds ordered from a distance, are of course such 

 as cannot be obtained in the neighborhood, and 

 the loss of a variety consequently puts the horti- 



