THE GENESEE FARMER. 



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Bompar&tively little value if this fundamental ope- 

 ration of underdraining is neglected. 



2. Sow only- as much land to wheat as can he 

 made rich enough to insure a vigorous growth. If 

 the midge destroys five bushels of wheat per acre, 

 and your laud is only rich enough to produce ten 

 bushels, the midge will leave you only five bushels 

 per acre ; but if your land is rich enough to pro- 

 duce thirty bushels, and the midge eats live bushels 

 as before, you have still twenty-five bushels per 

 acre left. The midge destroys as much in both 

 cases, but in oue half the crop is consumed and 

 only one-sixth in the other. 



3. Sow as early as possible without increasing 

 the liability of injury from the Hessian fly. The 

 Hessian fly deposits its eggs in the young, plants in 

 autumn, and proves more injurious to early sown 

 than to late sown wheat. The midge, on the other 

 hand, deposits its eggs in the ear of wheat when it 

 is in flower, and the earlier the wheat is the 

 more likely is it to escape. As to the time of 

 sowing, therefore, we. have to avoid the Hessian 

 fly on the one hand and the midge on the other. 

 Hi this section, if we sowed as early as the 20th of 

 August, the Hessian fly would most likely prove 

 injurious; and if as late as the 20th of September, 

 the midge would almost certainly make havoc in 

 the crop. The first week in September is now 

 considered the best time to sow in this vicinity. 



4. Select the earliest varieties, fur the reasons 

 above named. The Mediterranean generally es- 

 capes on account of its earliness. Its drawbacks 

 are its dark color, (though it has greatly improved 

 in this respect,) and its liability to lodge when 

 sown on rich land. The Soules' is the most popu- 

 lar white wheat we have at present. Under favorable 

 conditions we may reasonably expect a good yield. 



These are the four principal points to insure 

 success in wheat growing. They are precisely 

 those which we advocated when the midge first 

 made its appearance, and the experience of our 

 best farmers has determined their correctness. 



IRRIGATING GRASS LAND. 



Salt, Sulphur and Baoon for Sheep. — A sheep- 

 keeper in Indiana says he promotes the health of 

 his flock by a free use of salt, and an occasional 

 use of sulphur mixed with the salt or with feed, 

 and two or three times a year he gives the sheep' 

 some old bacon, which is cut up and mixed with 

 the salt. Another sheep-keeper thinks tar better 

 than the fat bacon, though it is more work to ad- 

 minis! er it, for each sheep has to be caught and its 

 mouth opened and the tar put in with a paddle. 

 Another one thinks . resin, in powder, mixed with 

 salt, or meal, or grain, fed to sheep, just as good as 

 tar, and a great saving of labor. 



"We hail with the greatest pleasure every suc- 

 cessful attempt to introduce the practice of irriga- 

 tion into this country. We have witnessed its 

 beneficial effects so frequently abroad, and are so 

 well satisfied that it would add greatly to the pro- 

 duction and profit of thousands of American farms, 

 that we feel justified in frequently calling the at- 

 tention of the intelligent readers of the Genesee 

 Farmer to the subject. Sanford Howard, of the 

 Boston Cultivator, who, both from his experience 

 as a practical farmer and from his visits to Europe, 

 is eminently qualified to speak in the matter, has 

 recently visited the farm of Mr. Clark Rioe, of 

 Brattleboro', Vt., where some seventy acres of 

 grass land is irrigated in the best manner. The 

 water is applied only to the grass Crop, and when 

 the land is under cultivation, as a portion of it is 

 every year, the water is shut off. Other portions 

 are permanently in grass, and these are irrigated 

 every year. 



The farm is situated on quite a high hill, near 

 the summit of which is a basin comprising several 

 acres, which was formerly a boggy swamp, and the 

 sour-ceof a small stream which meandered through 

 a portion of the farm. By throwing a dam a tew 

 feet in bight along the lower edge of the swamp, 

 a reservoir was formed which holds a large quantity 

 of water. The water,' soon after it leaves the 

 reservoir, is divided into several main channels by 

 which it is carried to different fields, where it is 

 made to flow in thin sheets over the grass. It is 

 the common practice to let the water on in spring 

 before the snow is gone ; sometimes the snow is _ 

 several feet in depth over the whole surface when 

 the water is turned on. The effect of the water is 

 to melt the snow next the ground, slowly, so^that 

 after a while there is a space between the snow 

 and the grass. The water also thaws the ground — 

 which sometimes, when the snow falls early, is but 

 little frozen— and the grass soon starts, so that by 

 the time the fields are hare they become beautifully 

 green. The water is kept running on the grass 

 until about two weeks before haying is commenced. 

 As soon as the first crop of grass has been cut, the 

 water is flushed over the ground, and the gray 

 stubble is soon hidden by a luxuriant second 

 growth. Most of the irrigated land produces from 

 a ton and a half to two tons per acre at the first 

 cutting, and an after-growth equal to half a ton 

 per acre, which is sometimes mowed and some- 

 times fed off. 

 , "Mr. Rice has irrigated more or less for twenty- 



