44 



Varieties Properties, and Classification of Wheat. Vol. IIL 



down at once to $2.10 on each barn as the 

 writer in question has done. Then the in- 

 sured will pay $367.50 annually, or $7,350 

 for a security of $1000 during the 20 years. 

 Even from his own showing then the chances 

 are more than seven to one in favor of the in- 

 surer, and consequently more than seven to 

 one against the insured. This explains how 

 "a very large number of risks enables the 

 insurers to make good their losses and save 

 something besides." Farmers, beware — let 

 not the plausibilities of interested speculators 

 deceive you. 



Without some kind of assistance many of 

 those who are exposed to loss by tire woujd 

 be involved in inextricable difficulties if their 

 buildings should be lost. Even the more af- 

 fluent might often find it difficult to replnce 

 their loss without immediate aid of some sort. 

 This is so generally understood that the com- 

 munity as by common consent has adopted the 

 benevolent plan of assisting such as sustain 

 loss in this way by voluntary contribution, — 

 a plan far more economical and less objec- 

 tionable than that of insurances. Yet there 

 are many who do not feel themselves to be ob- 

 jects of charity, and whose tender minds are 

 scrupulous about receiving aid in this way.* 

 The tax is moreover very unequal, and the 

 relief uncertain. A man may receive much 

 more than he had lost, or fall short of the as- 

 sistance which he needs. It therefore remains 

 to be a desideratum to devise a plan which 

 will be equal in its operations without re- 

 quiring an unnecessary expenditure as afford- 

 ' ing a temptation to speculate on the misfor- 

 tunes and liabilities of others. Such a plan 

 I will venture to propose in brief outlines. 



1. Let property holders form neighborhood 

 associations for the purpose of mutual protec- 

 tion against loss by fire, each member paying 

 a small sum, say 25 cents, to form a contin- 

 gent fund to defray the expenses of the com- 

 pany. 



2. Let a fair valuation be assessed on the 

 buildings of the members — subject to an an- 

 nual adjustment — and when any unusual lia- 

 bility to fire exists, let the amount of the 

 risk be added to the assessment. 



8. When any building so valued and as- 

 sessed shall be consumed or injured by fire, 

 let the managers forthwith levy a pro rata tax 

 on the members of the company sufficient to 

 remunerate the loss. 



The plan proposed would answer all the 

 purposes of insurance with very little of either 

 trouble or expense beyond the actual loss sus- 

 tained. 



New Garden, 7lh mo., SIbI, 1838. 



•A worthy farmer in this neighborhood rrcently re- 

 turned the subscriptions whicli he had toriuerly re- 

 ceived to rpi)lace the loss of his ham, with sincere 

 tbanlis to the contributora for their assistance. 



On the Vat-letles, Properties^ and Claaslfi^ 

 tion of VV'Iiest. 



(Continued.) 

 ON THE CHOICE OF SEED, 



The usual mode, with the generality of 

 farmers is to procure any seed, that any 

 neighbor, enjoying the reputation of being a 

 good farmer, may have to sell. A more in- 

 telligent class take care to procure their «eed 

 from a distance, to require that it is fine, per- 

 haps even pure; they also have thoHght of 

 fhanofing or renewing their seed oGcasionally. 

 A still more intelligent number having pro- 

 cured the best seed they could obtain, of those 

 i-orts w hich observation, and experience, have 

 led them to know as being best suited to- their 

 soil and climate ; have further observed, that 

 mixtures in their crops prevented their ripen- 

 ing at the same moment, and have endeavored 

 to remedy this defect, by making selections 

 by hand, of those varieties which appeared 

 to them to be similar, and thns have greatly^ 

 and manifestly, improved their crop in pro- 

 duce and quality. 



A few farmers have proceeded a step fur- . 

 ther, and from having observed a stray ear of.r 

 apparently unusually prolific habits, have ja- 

 diciously set it apart, and have raised a stock 

 from it. Hence the Hedge Wheat, Hnnters, 

 Hicklings, and twenty more, that might be 

 named ; but it is contended that it is not suf- 

 ficient, merely to have grown them pure for- 

 a short time ; it is necessary to keep them 

 permanently so, if after a comparative exam- 

 ination, as to their relative produce in grain 

 and meal, they shall be proved to be the best; 

 or otherwise, to discard them for more valua- 

 ble varieties. 



This was the chief consideration which led,' 

 me to make compariitivc experiments, in order 

 to obtain the best seed. 



Hence, as a first .step towards improvement 

 Profes.«or La Gasca, having shown me four" 

 ears of those he considered the most produc- 

 tive, I sorted as many as I could collect, of 

 precisely the same varieties, judging by their 

 external appearance. 



Such was my anxiety to attempt to rai.se 

 a pure crop, that, in the month of November, 

 1832, I rubbed the grains from each ear, of 

 all the four sorts I had selected, throwing 

 aside the damaged or ill-looking, and reserv- 

 ing only the plump and healthy. 



The first selection was apparently one whol- 

 ly of a Dantzicsort — white and smooth eared. 

 In the process of rubbing, I was surprised to 

 find that, though most of the grains were white, 

 they differed greatly as to form, some being 

 round, some oval and peaked, some plump but 

 very small, some more elongated, some with 

 the skin or bran much thicker than others. 

 There were also many with liver-colored, 

 I yellow, and dark grains, among the white 



