THE FARMERS' CABINET, 



DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY. 



Vol. III.— Aio* l.J 



August 15, 1838. 



LWhole No. 43. 



PUBLISHED DY JOHN LIBBY, 

 BT*. 43 North Sixtli Street, Philadelplifa, 



AT ONE DOLLAK PVAi VKAU. 



PETER B. PORTER, 97 MARKET ST., 



Wilmington, I>el« 



A Treatise ou IVlaeat. 



To the E&toi of the FarmcTs' Cabinet. 



Philadclpkia, June 2, 1P3S. 



Dear Sir — Last fall I obtained from Ixin- 

 don, Le Couteur's treatise on wheat, wliicli, 

 having read, I am convinced it ought to be 

 laid before the Aoriculturists of the United 

 States. 



At first, I intended to reprint the book en- 

 tire and offer it for sale; but finding' myself 

 tcx) mach engaged to attend to the republica- 

 tion, I eend it herewith to you tliat it may 

 find its way to the wheat growers through 

 the columns of the " Cabinet," provided yon 

 deem it an eligible subject for your useful pa- 

 per- 

 Deeming, as I always have, the improve- 

 ment of the soil and of the mind the most 

 important of the interests of my coimtry, I 

 take great pleasure in thus contributing my 

 mite to the former of these grand objects, 

 whilst, as you know, I daily devote my time 

 and humble powers to the advancement of 

 the latter in the preparation of a portion of 

 her young citizens for fiiture usefulness. 

 Your friend, respectfully, 



\. I. Hitchcock. 

 We take great pleasure in availing our- 

 selves of the opportunity offered us, by the 

 politeness of Mr. Hitchcock, of laying be- 

 fore our readers the valuable treatise on 

 wheat, referred to in the above letter. The 

 work, since it has been placed in our hands, 

 has been examined by several judicious and 

 intelligent individuals, amontr whom were two 

 Cab.— Vol. III.— No. 1. ° 9 



eminent wheat growers ; they all agreed ae to 

 its great merit, and united in recommending- 

 its republication. This we could not do con- 

 veniently in a separate form — and as it was 

 deemed advisable to give it as extensive a 

 circulation as possible, and as the subject is 

 one in which all our readers are interested, 

 we resolved to republish it in the present vol- 

 ume of the Farmers' Cabinet 



We learn from the dedication of this vol- 

 ume that Mr. Le Couteur's collection consist- 

 ed of one hundred and fifty varieties, or sorts. 

 Of course, some would thrive better than 

 others in the particular soils and situations 

 adapted to each. One ear of a superior vari- 

 ety, which he sowed, grain by grain, and suf- 

 fered to tiller apart, produced four pounds four 

 ounces of wheat; whereas another ear, of an 

 inferior sort, treated in the same manner, pro- 

 duced only one pound ten ounces, is a proof 

 that it is of paramount importance to select 

 the most productive and farinaceous sorts for 

 seed.- It is therefore obvious, that a farmer 

 who would have sown his entire crop with 

 the last nnmed variety, would have lost much, 

 whereas the superior variety would have ob- 

 tained him a large profit. Wheat growers 

 will, we trust, bear this always in mind. 



The facts given in the little work, we are 

 now about to transplant to the pages of the 

 Cabinet, are the result of five successive 

 years' researches and close application. The 

 writer recommends that if experiments are 

 to be made on his suggestions that they should 

 first be on a small scale, and consequently they 

 are attended with no hazard. In agriculture 

 the results of experinie:nts are necessarily te- 

 dious. 



The ^eat first principle which our author 

 ende.p^vors to advocate, is the proper adapta*- 

 ^'O-A Qf varieties of wheat, to the Tarioiof 



