No. 4. 



Cultivation of, Wheat. 



135 



lungs, but which is, however, in the next mo- 

 ment, forced out as poison again, and other 

 fresh air drawn in !" Now, if this isn't won- 

 derful, I don't know what is. Oh! he's too 

 book-learned by half for a farmer, and yet I 

 like to hear him talk too; but my talking 

 must have tired you by this, and so no more 

 at present from, 



One of the Old School. 



Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 2(i, 1840. 



Mr. Editor, — A few reflections arise on 

 reading the article on the cultivation of wheat, 

 by a correspondent who signs himself " Vir," 

 in the August number of the Cabinet, and 

 another article in the September number. 

 " Vir" divides the farmers into three classes; 

 "one class, he says, have found by experience 

 that the early sown wheat is the least liable 

 to be affected by the Hessian fly — another 

 class, by the same test, have discovered that 

 the late sown is the most likely to escape its 

 ravages — and a third party again advocate a 

 middle course, as the only mode by which its 

 ravages can be averted." Now, if I under- 

 stand his meaning, it is to prove them all 

 wrong — and the new course, which he recom- 

 mends, as the only certain mode of raising 

 this great staple of our country. He informs 

 the farming community how to raise large 

 crops of wheat, without fear of blight, rust, 

 mildew or fly — and this merely by adopting 

 the 7iew course of the grain-growing districts 

 of Europe. " Vir" seems to think that sow- 

 ing wheat after the first frost of autumn, is a 

 difficult matter, for he says, " who, among 

 farmers, would think of delaying his general 

 wheat-sowing until after the first frost of au- 

 tumn, even if he were sure he would then 

 have an opportunity, between the first and 

 second frosts, of so doing ;" he says, " the idea 

 is absurd." Why, if he cannot sow it be- 

 tween the first and second, he may sow it be- 

 tween the first and third, or fourth frost, &c. 

 Now I can assure him the difficulty is by no 

 means so great as he anticipates — he can do 

 so without being " a conjuror." We gene- 

 rally have frost before the last week in Sep- 

 tember ; and from the 20th of September to 

 the middle of October, nine-tenths of the 

 wheat is sown in the middle States. It is a 

 very common opinion among practical farm- 

 ers, that the wheat is more likely to escape 

 the fly, if sown after a frost than before it. 

 "Vir" believes, according to his reasoning, 

 that the wheat plant becomes diseased previ- 

 ous to the fly making its attack — or, that the 

 fly is the eff'ect of diseased wheat, and not the 

 cause, for he says, " on the same principle no 

 fly will deposit its eggs on a healthy sheep, 

 or if it should, they will never come into ex- 

 istence." Perhaps he would consider botts 



in horses, or worms in children an exception 

 to this principle ! — As well migiit vv'e argue, 

 that corn must be diseased or the cut-worm 

 could not injure it; the sap of the peach-tree 

 become obstructed in its circulation, stagnate 

 and become corrupt, and then it is a law of 

 nature for putricity to engender life, and the 

 borer attack the roots and destroy the tree ! 

 On that principle, we might explain all man- 

 ner of diseases incident both to the animal 

 and vegetable kingdoms. This, however, 

 would probably appear as ^^ absurd" to most 

 people, as the idea of sowing wheat after the 

 first frost of autumn does to " Vir." He says, 

 " according to the new course the dung is 

 spread on the young clover in the spring," 

 &c., (see his article) " and then two crops of 

 hay are taken previous to the lay being turned 

 over for wheat ;" now, in land of a good qua- 

 lity, this would produce a luxuriance of growth 

 in the clover, that would cause it to lodge and 

 rot, long ere it would come into flower, and 

 the hay would not be worth cutting for feed ; 

 and tlie second crop of clover made into hay, 

 will, in no case, more than keep cattle from 

 starving — good wheat or oat-straw is prefer- 

 red, by either cattle or horses, to second-crop 

 clover-hay. He supposes that to burn the 

 stubble would be impossible, on account of the 

 " wheat being sown with grass-seed ninety- 

 nine times in a hundred ;" — now the very re- 

 verse of this is the fact; in this section of 

 country, and as far as my peregrinations have 

 led me through the middle States generally, 

 the wheat stubbles are ninety-nine times in a 

 hundred turned over for a crop of rye, and 

 then seeded to grass; making ^/iree grain- 

 crops follow in succession ; oats, or barley, 

 wheat, and rye — instead of two, wliich this 

 writer considers sufficient, in many places, to 

 subject a tenant to a prosecution for damages. 

 Burning the stubble, however, is no preven- 

 tive against the fly, for they have all, or 

 nearly so, emerged from their habitation and 

 taken wing, long before harvest-time. 



According to the "jiew course," he recom- 

 mends to retard the growth of the wheat in 

 the fall, so as to enable it better to withstand 

 the effects of frost in the winter. — By the old 

 course, or such as we used to follow ten to 

 twenty years back, we were always anxious 

 to see our v>/heat-fields entirely covered with 

 a strong and luxuriant growth of wheat in 

 the fall, and then we had no fears of the fly, 

 rust, or any thing else; we anticipated a 

 yield of from 25 to 35 bushels of good sound 

 wheat to the acre, and were seldom disap- 

 pointed ; now, that the seasons have become 

 unpropitious, and the crops in consequence 

 not so productive as formerly, we are told to 

 adopt the " neio course," and retard the wheat 

 — keep the plant small, and, I may add, weak 

 or feeble, to harden it. I wonder if the same 



