298 



THE GENTISEE FAR^rER. 



inyself among the number, thought that there was 

 no necessity to give up wheat. Our climate had 

 not clianged ; our sciil was uot exhausted, and the 

 idea that a little insect — which was not, as most 

 people thought, a new enemy — should force us to 

 give up our most profitable crop on the best lands 

 in the State was not to be entertained. Bear with 

 me a moment while I read an extract from an ar- 

 ticle I wrote on this subject in 1857. 



" Is it true that wheat culture must he abandon- 

 ' «d in "Western New York? We thinJc not. We 

 are well aware that the midge has done serious 

 damage to the wheat crop in this vicinity for the 

 past few years; still we believe the extent of the 

 injury has been over-estimated. In 1855 we sliould 

 have had a full average crop of excellent wheat 

 had it not been for t!ie rainy weather which set in 

 just as the crop was ready to cut, and wliich con- 

 tinued for nearly a fortnight, causing the grain to 

 sprout to an extent never before known in this 

 country. This grown wheat was used for seed to a 

 great extent, in the fall of 1855, and the crop of 

 1856 suffered materially in consequence. The 

 failure of the wheat crop in 1855-6, therefore, can 

 not be ascribed to the depredations of the midge 

 alone, but, in some degree at least, to causes which 

 are of unusual occurrence. 



" While this is true, we can not close our eyes to 

 the fact that the midge has made serious havoc 

 with the wheat crop in some sections. On one 

 field in this vicinity, which came under our own 

 observation, last year, at lenst one-half of the crop 

 WHS destroyed; but tliis took place on land which 

 was too low and too wet to grow a good crop of 

 wheat, even under the most favorable circura- 

 Btances. On another field on the same farm, where 

 wheat was sown on good, dry, well-prepared soil, ; 

 a little over twenty bushels of good wheat was 

 obtained per acre. So fur as we could judge., the 

 midge injured one nearly as much as the other. 

 Had not the midge injured either of the fields of 

 wheat, the one would have produced a crop of ten 

 bushels, and the other a crop of twenty-five 

 bushels per acre. The midge destroyed five bushels 

 per acre on both fields, and left, on the low, wet 

 land, five bushels, and on the goo^ land twenty 

 bushels per acre. The midge destroyed as much 

 wheat in both cases, though it took lialf the crop 

 on one field, and only one fifth on the otlier! 



"It seems to us, therefore, that instead of look- 

 mg for substitutes for the wheat crop, we should 

 endeavor to ascertain the most economical means 

 of increasing the fertility of our farms, and of con- 

 oentratinur more labor and manure on those por- 

 tions of the farm best adapted to wheat culture. 



"Ou the farm of Mr. E. S. IIaywakd, of Brigh- 

 ton, in this county, results were obtained, in 1856, 

 even more favorable to 'liigh farming' than in the 

 instnnce already mentioned. He obtained his seed 

 from Canada (where the liarvest weather of 1855 

 was pro]>itiou3, and the w^heat was not injured as 

 in this neighborhood,) and sowed two bushels per 

 acre, on naturally good, dry wheat soil prepared in 

 the best manner. From tlie quantity of shrunken 

 grains, it was estimated tliat the midge destroyed 

 about five bushels per acre, and yet the crop yield- 



ed over thirty-five bushel-* of rery superior whei 

 per acre. Tiie midge in this instance destroyed i 

 much wheat per acre as in tlie first case mentione' 

 where it eat lialf the crop, and yet here only on 

 eighth of the crop was lost. 



"It is well l^nown that early wheat is less liab 

 to injury from the Tuidge than that which matun 

 later. On tliis account early sowing is general 

 recommended; but early sown wheat is more liat) 

 to injury from the Hessian fly than late sown. Tl 

 object of the wheat-grower, it would seem, shou 

 be to increase tlie early maturity of the berr 

 Anything wliich increases the healthy growtii < 

 thewheat is favorable to this result, Underdrali 

 ing is one of the great prerequisites on all lar 

 that is not naturally drained. The next thing 

 to supply the plants with approjjriate food. 



"In saying this I would guard against 

 popular error. The food of wheat is compost 

 of the same elements as that of other plants, an 

 in one sense, tiierefore, the food of wheat is tl 

 same as the food of otlier plants. So of the fo( 

 of animals, however diverse in form and chara 

 teristics it may be, it is all composed of t' 

 same elements. The food of the gentle lamb ai 

 the food of the fierce tiger are composed « 

 the same elements, but still there is a vast diffe 

 ence between grass and flesh. So the food ( 

 plants is composed of the same elements, thou< 

 there is unquestionably a great diflference betwe< 

 the appropriate food of wheat and of many oth 

 agricultural plants. A carniverous animal won 

 not remain long in health if fed on vegetabh 

 neither can we expect wheat to attain its maxiinu 

 healthy growth unless fed on its most appropria 

 food. What that food is, thanks to the expei 

 ments of Lawes and Boxjssingault, is now pret 

 definitely understood. 



"The appropriate food of wheat abounds in ai 

 monia, and is comparatively deficient in carbo 

 aceous matter. It also contains less available pc 

 ash and phosphates than is required in the appr 

 priate food of clover and turnips. It slunild 

 the aim of tlie wheat-grower, therefore, to incres' 

 the amount of ammonia in the soil without incref 

 ing the quantity of carbonaceous matter. We ha 

 frequently stated how this can be most econon 

 cally attained. Grow clover, peas, beans, turni| 

 ruta-bagas, mangel wurzel, beets, carrots, jjarsnef: 

 artichokes, lupins, and such other crops as obta 

 a large amount of ammonia from the atmospher 

 feed these crops out on the farm to animals, and 

 grain is fed to them in addition, let it be such > 

 other things being etpial, contain tlie largest quanti 

 of nitrogen; husband the manure so as to reta 

 all the ammonia, and this will furnish the whe^ 

 with appropriate food. 



"Manure furnished by decayed clover is n 

 as approjiriate food for wheat as the excrement- 

 animals living on clover. It contains too nn; 

 carbonaceous matter, and Avhile the nitrogen of t 

 clover furnishes, by decay, the required ammonia 

 and this ammonia not only increases the crop, b 

 accelerates early maturity— the carbonaceous mj 

 ter (forming over four-fifths of the clover) is 

 little manurial value, .and at the same time hat 

 tendt-ncy to retard the ripening processes. 



"In order to enrich the land, therefore, and 

 the same time accelerate rather than retard the eai 



