No. 5. 



Ciiltiire of Wheat. — Money. 



163 



Culture of Wheat. 



Colonel Le Couteur, of the Island of 

 Jersey, has recently made some important 

 discoveries in the propagation of wheat plants, 

 their adaptation to peculiar soils both natural 

 and artificial, and, in the whole process, of ob- 

 taining the greatest amount of the best flour 

 at the least expense of land and labour. 



He has succeeded in producing, by cross- 

 ing the different kinds of wheat formerly cul- 

 tivated, over 150 varieties and sub-varieties 

 of this grain. He commenced his experi- 

 ments some six years ago, by selecting a {qv^ 

 of the best heads of wheat from fourteen of 

 the most esteemed varieties cultivated in 

 England. The kernels in these heads were 

 all carefully counted and planted in separate 

 parcels, and treated alike in every respect as 

 to soil and culture. The result demonstrated 

 an astonishing difference both in the produc- 

 tiveness and quality of these several varieties 

 of v/heat. No kernels were counted except 

 such as grew, and the experiment was most 

 satisfactorily conducted in every respect. 

 Sixty-one grains of white Dantzic gave -3 lbs. 



3 oz. of wheat, and 3 lbs. 9 oz. of straw ; 

 whereas 59 grains of what had been regard- 

 ed as a choice variety of red wheat gave only 

 1 lb. 10 oz. of v/heat, and 2 lbs. 5 oz. of straw. 

 No. 8, a downy variety of white wheat, gave 



4 lbs. 4 oz. of wheat, and 3 lbs. 3 oz. of straw, 

 from 55 grains. The experienced wheat- 

 grower in this country would be rejoiced to 

 cultivate a variety of wheat whicli v/ould 

 yield him a good crop of straw bearing an 

 amount of grain one-third larger in weight 

 than the straw itself And yet this was ob- 

 tained at the first experiment, as stated above. 



The author selected five or six of the best 

 varieties of these 14 several parcels, and cul- 

 tivated some of them at great pains in their 

 pure state, while he commenced a judicious 

 system of crossing with others, for the pur- 

 pose of producing new varieties superior to 

 any of them. In this he was quite success- 

 ful. To prevent mistake and undesirable 

 mixing of different varieties of wheat when 

 in blossom, one pistil on a head was preserved, 

 while all the pollen was carefully removed. 

 This pistil was fructified by the selected pol- 

 len, and only one kernel was produced, which, 

 when planted, sometimes yielded 1,600 ker- 

 nels of the new variety. By pursuing this 

 course for a series of years, and cultivating 

 his seed wheat by itself, and propagating from 

 those kinds only which produced the most and 

 best flour with the least bran, Colonel Le 

 Couteur now obtains over Iwcnty-four hun- 

 dred pounds of superfine fiour to the acre, 

 and his wheat is so very thin-skinned that 53 

 bushels grown upon an acre give only 542 

 pounds of bran, middlings and shorts. A hun- 



dred pounds of the flour of his improved wheat 

 will make, as repeated and most careful ex- 

 periments have demonstrated, from 6 to 12 

 per cent, more good bread than the same 

 quantity of the best common flour in the 

 market. 



It is estimated that there are five millions 

 of acres sown to wheat annually in Great 

 Britain ; and it is considered quite practica- 

 ble to increase the product without any addi- 

 tional expense, eight bushels an acre, or forty 

 millions in the aggregate. This would more 

 than supply the home consumption, and ena- 

 ble the British nation to export many millions 

 of bushels of wheal. How important is it 

 then, that the producers of this great Ameri- 

 can staple should fully understand the best 

 method of its cultivation, to compete success- 

 fiilly with the science and skill of English 

 husbandry ! The struggle hereafter between 

 civilized nations in agriculture, manufactures, 

 and war even, will depend far less upon su- 

 periority in mere physical force, than the 

 combinations and deductions of practical sci- 

 ence. The steam-power of Great Britain 

 performs an amount of labour, which, if exe- 

 cuted by human hands, would employ all the 

 able-bodied men in the world. The vegeta- 

 ble, mineral, and aeriform ingredients which 

 combine in nature and can be brought into 

 contact by art, for the production of the most 

 valuable wheat, ought to be studied and tho- 

 roughly understood by every cultivator of the 

 soil. — Buff. Com. Adv. 



Money. 



"An infinite variety of commodities have 

 been used as money in different countries and 

 periods. But none can be advantageously 

 used as such, unless it possesses several very 

 peculiar qualities. The slightest reflection 

 on the purposes for which it is applied, must 

 indeed be sufficient to convince every one, 

 that it is indispensable, or at least exceeding- 

 ly desirable, that the commodity, selected to 

 serve as money, should (1) be divisible into 

 the smallest portions — (2) that it should admit 

 of being kept for an indefinite period without 

 deteriorating — (3) that it should, by possessing 

 great value in small bulk, be capable of being 

 easily transported from place to place — 

 (4) that one piece of money of a certain de- 

 nomination, should always be equal in mag- 

 nitude and quality to every other piece of 

 money of the same denomination — and, (.5) 

 that its value should be comparatively steady, 

 or as little subject to variation as possible. 

 Without the first of these qualities, or the 

 capacity of being divided into portions of 

 every different magnitude and value, money, 

 it is evident, would be of almost no use, and 

 could only be exchanged for the few com- 



