106 



Varietiea, Properhea, and Classijicution of Wheat. Vol. III. 



of any other of the same size — if I live till 

 next harvest I will let you know the result. 



I tliink there is an average crop of corn in 

 the valley of the Susquehanna, from this to 

 Wilksbarre, say 45 miles. The crop of hay 

 never was exceeded; wheat excellent; rye 

 and oats rather light, buckwheat very light, 

 having been destroyed in most instances by 

 the frost in the early part of September. 

 Respectfully, your friend, 



Joseph Paxton. 



On the Varieties, Properties, and Classifl" 

 cation of Wheat. 



[Continued.] 



ON THE NECESSITY OF PRESERVING CROPS 



PURE. 



Some corn factors have declared that it will 

 be impossible to grow wheat in this country, 

 of such fineness, whiteness, and beauty, as is 

 raised in the Polish Provinces of Volhynia, and 

 Sandomir; unquestionably, if success should at- 

 tend the hufcbandmen in di.-^covering a variety, 

 as plump, white and thin skinned, as the cel- 

 ebrated white sort, a small portion of which 

 forms the precious part of that which is im- 

 ported under the name of " high mixed," it 

 might prove an interference with their line 

 of business; as the English baker would then 

 look to the English farmer, for the most val- 

 uable meal he requires. 



In almost every branch of Horticulture, or 

 Floriculture, science, to meet the calls of 

 luxury, has succeeded in triumphing over the 

 impediments opposed to it by climate and dis- 

 tance. The pine, the peach, the melon, are 

 grown in equal, nay, some assert, in greater 

 perfection in England, than the indigenous 

 fruit; and the dahlia, geranium, and lily tribes, 

 are more varied than in their native soils, and 

 by seedlings are naturalized to ours. 



These fruits and flowers are all classed and 

 named ; so are apples, pears, gooseberries, and 

 a multitude of other fruits. The " Coccngee," 

 or " Siberian bitter sweet," may be recom- 

 mended as the best for cider, and no good ci- 

 derist would think of mixing every apple of 

 every color, ripe and unripe, for his mill, but 

 makes his selections from pure sorts, whose 

 properties and qualities are known. Strange 

 that the sarnc attention to selection and purity, 

 has been overlooked in that prndnct which is 

 the chief subtenancc and comfort of the hu- 

 man race. 



It only remains to discover those wheats 

 which will grow in this climate, without be- 

 cominir flinty, or thick-skinned, ; and if they 

 cannot be obtained of varieties frf)m abroad, 

 tliey may be got from seedlings at home. 



The Crncions Author of all things, mny 

 have bounteously spread and niultiplird this 

 precious plant, for the very purpose of lead- 

 ins men to seek out, and discover those eort£, 



which are adapted for their respective cli- 

 mates ; and patient research only, may be re- 

 quired tf> ensure success May not some in- 

 telligent husbandman in Volhynia, perhapef 

 only a shrewd practical farmer, have discov- 

 ered one sort, which exactly suits its climate, 

 as also the market it is intended for ; and with- 

 out havmg written a treatise on the subject, 

 may he not have distributed it as a precious 

 boon to his countrymen? Is any corn factor 

 prepared to say, that all the wheat grown in 

 Volhynia, and Sandomir, is -plump and per- 

 fect 1 That no varieties are grown there, 

 which may appear coarse, lean, or shrivelled ? 

 Not having been there, I am unable to speak 

 from personal experience; but evidence, as 

 far as examination goes, and hearsay, lead one 

 to believe that there, as well as elsewhere, 

 seasons affect wheat, and deteriorate it, both 

 in its appearance and intrinsic value. 



Hence, it is confidently assumed, that it only 

 remains to be ascertained which are the best 

 British wheats, in order to secure them of 

 British growth from the climates of England, 

 Ireland, and Scotland, as pure, plump, and 

 thin-skinned, as the choicest "high mixed." : 



I have shown the great productiveness of 

 some sorts. I have often found, among some 

 of the Dantzic white wheat, a coarse red thick- 

 skinned sort, which in the ear was precisely 

 similar in appearance to the proper one to be 

 cultivated ; even so similar, as to be undistin- 

 guishable from it, when viewed by Professor 

 La Gasca and myself, through a magnifying 

 glass ; it was only on examining the grain, 

 that the inferiority of one of the two was 

 perceivable : therefore, where seed is not ori- 

 ginally procured pure, it should be selected, 

 and all the grains of a different shade from 

 the approved sort, removed ; or the mixture 

 and deterioration of a crop might be such, as to 

 lead a farmer to wonder, how it could thus 

 have degenerated, as it is termed, in the short 

 space of a season or two, in defiance of the ex- 

 pense he may have uicurred, or of his care 

 and diligence. 



Two years ago, a farmer requested me to 

 view a very pure crop ; there was no mixture 

 in it! In merely walking round the crop, 

 which, in fact, v.as both pure and fine, in com- 

 n)on parlance, I selected from it ten varieties ; 

 had I gone into it, ten more would probably 

 liave been found. A crop of this variety, the 

 Duck's Bill, then originally procured from 

 Kiel, in the Baltic, which I saw this year as 

 a second year's produce, is so intermixed, as 

 almost to make it difficult to pronounce what 

 variety it is intended for, 



'I'he Duck's Bill, to which I allude, is very 

 subject to shake out from the ear, if at all 

 over ripe ; and has proved to be only fit for 

 making pastry, as it is too tenacious for tlie 

 purpose of making household broad : hence 



