ISo 



XEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



403 



INJURY TO THE WHEAT CROP. 



The heavy rains of the jiast fortnight are re- 

 ported to have done great injury to the wheat 

 crop in New York and Michigan. In many fields 

 the grain is said to be sprouting in the fieid, and 

 in some instances to have grown so badly as to be 

 spoiled. The damage, however, is probably over- 

 estimated. The following j)aragraphs from the 

 jYetv York Tribune, give some facts in the case 

 which are of interest, and which show that there is 

 but little real cause for alarm : — 



"Let us look at the prospect fairly. There is no 

 disputing the fact that in all the wheat region north 

 ot lat. 41 degrees the wheat, either cut or uncut, is 

 badly sprouted. How great the damage is it is dif- [ 

 ficult to determine, as farmers have no precedent to 

 judge by, not having had such a season for several 

 years. Indeed, we remeraljcr only one — it was in 

 the year 18;}i;, though the worst of wet weather 

 came somewhat later. 



"That year the wheat was mostly cut, and in 

 shocks in the field or in stacks. In the great wheat 

 regions of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, the farmers 

 quite generally declared the crop to be totally ru- 

 ined. In some fields it did look so, for when it was 

 uncut the yellow heads assumed a green shade, and 

 the shocks and stalks became as green on the sur- 

 face as the adjoining pastures. In due time, how- 

 ever, the raining period was over, the sprouts died, 

 the standing grain was cut, the shocks stacked or 

 threshed; the stacks lost theii- bright yellow hue 

 and stood a rusty- looking mass of cb-y, weather- 

 beaten straw; and yet — mark the "result— the 

 wheat inside was as bright and sound as ever. , So 

 slight was the injury that it was hardly perceptible 

 in the final result. The shocks and standing grain 

 were more injured, but not ten per cent, of the grain 

 was destroyed. 



"When wheat is sprouted, a good winnowing 

 machine will remove most of the injured kernels, 

 which make excellent feed for animals. If there be 

 a predominance of sprouted grains in the grist that 

 goes to mill, it is not spoiled for food ; it is only 

 spoiled for light bread. The dough, instead of ris- 

 ing by the ordinary process, has a tendency to li- 

 quify and spread out and form a sticking mass, that 

 will not be kneaded into loaves. It makes good 

 unleavened bread, and is quite nutritious, with a 

 sweetish taste. Ey many persons, bread made of 

 sprouted wheat is preferred, but in market the 

 least appearance of grown kernels will injure the 

 sale. Some millers even contend that one per 

 cent, of such kernels will injure the quality of the 

 whole. It is therefore important to the farmer that 

 he should be very careful to keep the sprouted 

 sheaves separate from the sound, and should also 

 separate the sound from the unsound grain in win- 

 nowing, as far as possible. 



The injury of rain upon wheat is quite over-rated 

 in this country, because we are not well used to it 

 — our harvest weather being usually so fine that 

 the straw retains its golden brightness till it has 

 been threshed. Not so in England. There the 

 rams arc often so incessant that si)routcd wheat is 

 very common, and the business of shockin 



through a long rain, and if a warm one, some of 

 the outside grahis are sjirouted, but the inside of 

 the pile is uninjured. 



"The Danubian wheat boats are without roofs; 

 the giain is piled up in a heap rounded on top, and 

 exposed to all the rains that fall during a long 

 voyage. If the weather be warm, the outside grows 

 and mats toijether some inches deep, and that pro- 

 tects the remainder. The worst of the sprouted 

 part is only lit for beasts, while that but slightly 

 sprouted sells as food for man, and that below the 

 wetted crust is fit for shipment to France or Eng- 

 land. 



We have no dovdit that the grain is injured by 

 the present wet spell, but it is not 'utterly niinous.' 

 We may doubt whether farmers do not "gain more 

 in other crops than they will lose in wheat by the 

 rains. Meantime let us console ourselves that we 

 are not likely to be destitute of wheat. A trust- 

 worthy writer makes an estimate 'that Ohio will 

 yield the present season twenty-two millions of 

 bushels ; Illinois, eighteen millions ; Wisconsin, 

 ten millions ; and Pennsylvania twenty millions.* 

 There is no prospect of a famine." 



ONE BY ONE. 



One by one the sands are flowing, 

 One by one the moments fall ; 



Some are comin<r, some are going, 

 Do not strive to grasp them all. 



One by one thy duties wait thee, 

 Let thy whole strength go to each ; 



Let no future dreams elate thee, 

 Learn thou first what these can teach. 



One by one (bright gifts from Heaven) 

 Joys are sent thee here below ; 



Take them readily when given, 

 Ready too to let them go. 



One by one thy griefs shall meet thee, 



Do not fear an armed band ; 

 One will fade as others greet thee, 



Shadows passing through the land. 

 Do not look at life's long sorrow ; 



See how small each moment's pain ; 

 God will help thee for to-morrow, 



Every day begin again. 



Every hour that fleets so slowly, 



lias its task to do or bear ; 

 Luminous the crown, and holy. 



If thou set each gem with care. 



Do not linger with regretting, 

 Or for passing hours despond ! 



Nor, thy daily toil forgetting, 

 Look too eagerly beyond. 



Hours are golden links, God's token, 

 Reaching Heaven ; but one by one 



Take them, lest the chain be broken 

 Ere the pilgrimage be done. 



Household If'ordt. 



Stacking the sheaves is an art that commands hijjh- 

 er wages than reaping. There the stacks are al- 

 ways thatched to preserve them from sprouting on 

 the outside, and often built hollow to dry them on 

 the inside. In this country wc are m'uch more 

 careless. Our wheat is often exposed to complete 

 soakinjrs. Much of that jjrown in the West is 



Recipe for Floatixo. — .Vny himian being who 



will have the ])resencc of mind to cLisj) the hands 



behind the l)ack, and liirn l/ieface toward the zenith, 



'■ j may float in tolenibly still water — ay, and sleep there, 



no matter how long. If not knowhig how to swim, 

 you would escajio drowning when you find yourself 

 in deej) water, you have only to consider yourself an 

 em])ty jiitcher — let your mouth and nose, not the 

 top of your heavy head l)e the highest part of you, 

 and you are safe. But thrust up one of your bony 



" "..rt-j. i.ii.n.n i/i 1.11UI, f;i(jwn in ine west is ••.-■^. ^.... .....uo., ^j ui.v w» jy,ui uunjr 



threshed on the ground, and often lies in a pile I Iwnds and down you go; turning up the handle tijM 



