294 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



CULTIVATION OF WINTER WHEAT. 



Dr. Holmes : Once more I wish to call the at- 

 tention of the farmers of this state to the importance 

 of raisin;:; -winter -wheat, believing, as I now do, that 

 it may be gro-wn to better advantage than spring 

 -wheat ever has been. I ground my opinion on the 

 fact, that -when a proper method of cultivation has 

 been pursued, the average crop for six years past 

 has been about twenty bushels to the bushel of seed 

 sown, and in no instance a failure, or less than fifteen 

 bushels per acre. But once has the rust injured it 

 at all, and then but slightly ; smut, none ; and wee- 

 vils, never, unless very late sown, (late in 10th mo.) 



The variety I sow was imported from Poland, lat- 

 itiide north of us ; and whether it is hardier than 

 other sorts sown hereabouts, I know not, never hav- 

 ing sown any other ; but this has stood hard freezing, 

 as well as English grass along side of it, as I had a 

 fair experiment in the Avinter of 1848-9. My wheat 

 ■was on a ridge of land exposed to the winds from all 

 quarters. Nearly all winter a portion of the ground 

 was bare of snow. In the spring, the plants above 

 ground were as dead and dry as old stubble; but a 

 few warm days brought up green blades that pro- 

 duced fine wheat. I have raised this wheat on all 

 the varieties of dry soil commonly cultivated in this 

 state — upon old ploughed ground, green sward, and 

 clover sod, turned over after a hay crop was taken 

 off, and with light top-dressings of compost, leached 

 ashes, lime, and rotten, strawy manure from the 

 stable. The compost gave the best crop. 



Our present crop is ready for the sickle, and it is 

 judged that it will produce twenty-five bushels to 

 the acre. It is growing on clover sod, ploughed soon 

 after the hay was taken off last summer. One half 

 the lot had twenty single horse-cart loads of com- 

 post to the acre, the other half had none. The seed 

 was sown the 25th of 8th mo., one bushel per acre, 

 and covered about two or three inches with a light, 

 single-horse plough, (the plough being gauged to 

 keep it from going deeper,) and rolled with a large 

 single-horse roller. This land has been manured but 

 moderately for many years ; consequently the growth 

 of wheat is not so large as some I have seen the 

 present season. Had the clover been ploughed under 

 in the 6th month, no doubt the crop would have 

 been increased many bushels. 



The time of sowing depends much on the state of 

 the land. If green sward, or land lightly manured, 

 from the 10th to the 2.5th of the 8th month is the 

 desirable time, though I would not discourage sow- 

 ing it later, if it cannot otherwise be done. On land 

 in high cultivation, it may safely be sown till the 

 2rith of the 9th month. I have known thirtj-^ bush- 

 els to be raised to the acre on land where corn had 

 been raised the same year the wheat was sown, and 

 taken of!' about the 18th. 



The object of early sowing is, that the grain may 

 get deep root, ripen early, and thereby escape the 

 weevil ; and also that the surface of the ground may 

 be well covered in autumn, to protect it against hard 

 freezing. If a large growth is obtained in autumn, 

 turn on calves and sheep to feed it ; otherwise there 

 is danger of its falling so thick as to mould, and 

 nearly stifle the plants. A friend of mine lost half 

 his crop in this way last year. 



On mellow, rich soil, one bushel of seed is qviite 

 sufficient for an acre ; on weaker land, two to four 

 quarts more are required. 



If any portion of these hastily written, desultory 

 remarks are worth sjireading before the readers of 

 the Farmer, thou art at liberty so to do ; and if a few 

 farmers thereby may be induced to give their atten- 

 tion to the growing of winter wheat, we shall be 

 fully remunerated. I would adopt the sentiment of 

 a good citizen farmer, who came to buy buckwheat 



for sowing : " Although I shall not from this seed 

 grow grain that will make superfine wheat flour, I 

 hope to get a tolerable substitute, saving a few dol- 

 lars that would otherwise go to purchase western 

 flour, and thereby do the state some service." 

 I am truly thy friend, 



M. TABER. 

 Vassalhoko', 8fh mo., 2d, 1850. 

 — Maine Fanner, 



PROPOSED REMEDY FOR STEALING 

 FRUIT. 



Many farmers in this vicinity are deterred from 

 cultivating fruits, from the fact of its liability to be 

 stolen by unruly boys, not to say men, or animals in 

 the shape of men. Now, if we lived among Arabs, 

 we should probably expect this ; but in a civilized 

 community, governed, as we claim to be, by laws, 

 and where a very large proportion of the inhabitants 

 are themselves cultivators of the soil, this state of 

 things is really too bad. Having seen various rem- 

 edies suggested, such as bull- dogs, tartar emetic, 

 hedge fences, &c., I have thought of proposing a 

 plan, which, if thoroughly carried out, I have no 

 doubt would be more effectual than all others com- 

 bined. Let every person, who occupies a single rod 

 of ground, plant a gi-ape-vine, a peach-tree, a pear- 

 tree, an apple-tree, and if natural fruit, graft or bud 

 them with some of the best varieties in the neigh- 

 borhood. Plant also a few cherry-stones, if you can 

 find no tree that you are able to buy ; set out a cur- 

 rant bush, or raspberry plant, by the side of the 

 fence, — and almost any person can have these given 

 to him if he will only take the trouble to set them 

 in the ground ; or, if not given him, the expense is 

 a mere trifle, a few shillings at most, and my word 

 for it, no man who knows the pleasure, yes, the 

 pleasure of cultivating, and the vexation of having 

 them stolen, will ever be guilty, nor suffer his chil- 

 dren to be guiltj', of such meanness afterwards. 



But it may be said, " I have no land to spare for 

 such things as these ; I must raise what wiU turn to 

 the most profit." Now, I ask, what will pay better 

 than fruit of almost every kind, at the present day ? 

 Besides, would you not prefef being at a little 

 trouble, or even a trifling expense, to raise these 

 things, rather than have j'our children pilfer, or even 

 beg them of your neighbors ? But it will be said, 

 "I shall not live long enough to enjoy them, if I do 

 take all this trouble." Are you sure of that? You 

 can probably get a fair crop of grapes in two or three 

 years, if you will simply train a vine to your house, 

 or plant it in your garden or j'ard, and set a pole by 

 the side of it to run upon ; and so with almost every 

 kind of fruit-tree. They -will bear in much less 

 time than is generally supposed, if they are only 

 taken care of. But supposing you do not live to 

 enjoy it yourself, do yoii wish to do nothing for your 

 children ? or do you wish the world to be no better 

 for your having lived therein ? If so, go on in the 

 " even tenor of your ways," and encourage your 

 children to "follow in your footsteps," and your 

 wish will probably be gratified. S. E. 



— Am. Agriculturist. 



A Curious Fact. — The blubber on a fat whale is 

 sometimes, in its thickest parts, from fifteen to twenty 

 inches thick, though seldom more than a foot; it is 

 of a coarser texture and much harder than fat pork. 

 So very full of oil is it that a cask closely packed 

 with the clean raw fat of the whale will not contain 

 the oil boiled from it, and the scraps arc left beside : 

 this h.«i3 been frequently proved by experiment. 



