No. 6, Varieties, Properties, and Classijication of Wheat. 



175 



this having taken one hundred and forty-four 

 to ripen. Two sainj)les of seed wlicat from 

 ttic Cape of Good Hope, one of whicli I ob- 

 tained throujrh tlie attention of Mr. Collier, a 

 Member of Parliament, and the other from a 

 friend to whom it had been sent as a particu- 

 larly fine sample, for seed, which it really 

 was, led to some interet-ting observations. 1 

 was an.xious to succeed in raising wheat from 

 the Cape, as it had been questioned whether 

 wheat which had crossed the line would ve- 

 gfetatc — this being- stated in "Tiie Farmers' 

 Series, No. 74," of the Library of Useful 

 Knowledge, Article, British Husbandry, chap. 

 X, page 15G. " Some fine species have lately 

 been imported from the Cape of Good Hope, 

 and from Van Dieman's Land ; but it was 

 found, when sown on one of the finest farms 

 in Bedfordshire, that it would not grow; and 

 it is said, though we know not with what truth, 

 that ' scarcely any wheat is ever knovm to 

 vegetate in this country that had crossed 

 the Line, unless particular care be taken to 

 preserve it from the effects of the atmos- 

 phere.' " 



Hence it became an object of no small in- 

 terest to succeed in raising it — it was with 

 great satisfaction, therefore, that I perceived 

 both samples growing freely in November 

 last. 



In the Spring, their growth was quite differ- 

 ent from that of any other wheat near them, 

 whether from Dantzic, Poland, Carraccas, Es- 

 sex, or this Island. It was much more up- 

 right, bushy, and of a lighter green, and 

 trailed and tillered less. It put on also, a 

 rather .';ickly appearance as if suffering from 

 the cold. It came into ear on the 2fith of 

 May, SIX days earlier than the Carraccas wheat, 

 hut came into flower two days later, on the 

 r2th of June, and only ripened on the 28th 

 of July, five days later than the Victoria 

 wheat, which had been sown the same day. 



It is to be observed that, there was much 

 bearded or spring wheat among it, which ap- 

 pears, on first acquaintance, to have nearly 

 similar habits, as the winter wheats it came 

 among, but seems to be very fine. Its real 

 value will be ascertained by comparison 

 with other spring wheats next year. 



The sickly appearance alluded to above, 

 in the Cape wheat, was indicative doubtless 

 of a yellow description of smut, that ap- 

 peared in it in June, which I had never ob- 

 served previou~ly to infest my wheat ; it de- 

 stroyed many of the grains, some of them be- 

 ing reduced to a mere shell, or skin, con- 

 taining a small worm. 



A most singular circumstance, may be no- 

 ticed here; I had sown sixty-three drills of 

 this same seed from the Cape, on the 29th of 

 March, in a field having a considerable recli- 



situation. A great quantity of the seed per- 

 ished, but all that rose, had a healthy appear- 

 ance, of a dark green color, quite different 

 from that sown in the garden ; it came into 

 ear on the nineteenth of June, flowered on 

 the first of July, and ripened on the tenth of 

 August, not a single car was infected with 

 the yellovv smut I complained of in the ex- 

 periment made in the garden among my se- 

 lect varieties. Hence it is clear that, this 

 wheat from a hot climate, when sown in No- 

 vember on flat land suffered much from the cold 

 and wet, where the very same sample of seed 

 sown so late as the 29th of February, on a 

 warm slope exposed to the rays of the sun, 

 found agtmialand somewhatsimilar climate to 

 its own, and succeeded perfectly. It is not un- 

 likely, that the produce of this last, sown with 

 judgment, a little earlier, and in a warm expo- 

 sition may become a valuable importation, and 

 preserve early habits for more northern cli- 

 mates. Some which was given to nie as 

 " Kubanka," a thin liver colored wheat which 

 was exhibited before the Channel Islands Com- 

 mittee in 183.5, turned out to be a Spring or 

 bearded variety; it came into ear on the 1st 

 of Juno, flowered on the 18th, and ripened on 

 the 10th of August. It does not tiller much, 

 and appeared so like barley that I was doubt- 

 ful what it should be ; it was a perfectly pure 

 sample, though much of itdied. The Ducks- 

 bill, a very productive sort from Kiel, in the 

 Baltic, is said to produce meal fit only for pas- 

 try ; it is the finest ear that I have seen ; a 

 cross with a variety producing a light dry 

 meal would be highly advantageous — its ha- 

 bits are late, as it came into ear on the 12th 

 of June, and flowered as late as the 29th ; it, 

 however, ripened on the 6th of August. The 

 Golden Drop, a fine brown eared variety is 

 equally late. This is a very farinaceous sort, 

 probably one of the best of the red wheats, on 

 which as well as on sprirrg wheats I shall 

 treat apart, — my present- observations being 

 chiefly confined to white wheats, which are 

 tlie first in order as to vaTae. 



[To be continued.] 



We are never out of the view of a super- 

 intending Providence, by whom all our actions 

 are scanned. Keep this eternal truth always 

 in mind. Do right, and you cannot fail to be 

 as happy as our defective nature will permft 

 the sons of men to be. 



Mere freedom from defect does not consti- 

 tute excell°nce, which is in itself a positive 

 quality, yet great defects deform the greatest 

 excellence. 



Remember that labor is necessary to ex- 

 cellence. This is an eternal truth, although 

 vanity cannot be brought to believe, or indo- 

 nation to the southward — a warm yet exposed Jence to heed it. 



