266 



THE GENESEE FARMEK. 



or three intelligent practical farmers, to visit such 

 tlioroughly underdrnined farms as those of John 

 Johnston and Robert J. Swan, near Geneva, N. 

 Y. and have them report at a subsequent meeting. 

 Such is the force of example in agriculture, that we 

 believe such a visit would lead to much good. We 

 make the suggestion entirely on our own responsi- 

 bility, feeling confident that Messrs. Johnston and 

 Swan would cheerfully allow such persons to ex- 

 amine the results of their system of cultivation. 



It is quite evident that since the prevalence of 

 the midge in this section, a better system of culti- 

 vation, in many instances, has been introduced. 

 Less land is sown to w-heat, and more labor is be- 

 stowed in its preparation. Farmers are inquiring 

 for the earliest varieties of wheat, and many are 

 sending south for their seed. Mr. Cox, of Scotts- 

 ville, informs us that he obtained Blue Stem wheat 

 from Kentucky, last year, and it ripened this sea- 

 son as early as the Mediterranean^ and was conse- 

 quently little affected by the midge. These indica- 

 tions of the general interest felt in the subject of 

 wheat growing lead us to believe that we are on the 

 eve of great improvements in our system of farming. 

 One of the most notable facts in regard to the 

 growth of wheat in the United States, is the im- 

 mense quantity of land that is sown to produce a 

 comparatively small quantity of grain. We believe 

 the wheat crop of the United States does not aver- 

 age ten bushels per acre. Where land is cheap and 

 labor high, what has been denominated "high 

 larming" will seldom pay; still, with our unri- 

 valed facilities for the transmission of produce to 

 the great markets of the world, the time has come 

 v/hen a more thorough system of cultivation will 

 be profitable. More labor and less land must now 

 be the rule among farmers, with perhaps here and 

 there an exception. Few of us can manure our 

 laud as highly as we could wish, but nearly all can 

 develop the latent fertility of the soil by better til- 

 lage, thorough cultivation, and a judicious system 

 of rotation. By so doing, we can gradually in- 

 crease the quantity and greatly augment the quality 

 of the manure made on the farm. There is, too, on 

 most farms, more or less low land of great natural 

 fertility, which, by draining and good culture, may 

 be made to produce immense quantities of grass 

 and the coarser grains. These will enable the farm- 

 er to keep more stock, and thus to enrich the poor- 

 er, wheat-growing, upland portions of the farm. 



Agriculture is a complex art. The wisest, the 

 most persevering, the most skillful, and the most 

 experienced, will find ample scope for all his ener- 

 gies. This is peculiarly true of the American 

 farmer. A fairer field, a more encouraging pros- 

 pect, was never ofl:ered to the farmei-s of any age 

 or country. Let us prove ourselves worthy of it. 



A SCOTCHMAN'S VIEWS ON WHEAT CULTUEE IN 

 AMERICA. 



RoBEKT Russell, an intelligent Scotch farmer 

 who visited this country in 1853-4, has Avritten an 

 interesting book of 400 pages, on "-North America, 

 its Agriculture and Climate^'''' and we think a few 

 extracts from his remarks in regard to the culture 

 of wheat in several of the States he visited and in 

 the Canadas, will not be uninteresting. 



In the last volume of the Farmer, we published 

 some of Mr. Russell's remarks in regard to the 

 cultivation of wheat in Western New York. What 

 follows, is taken from various places in Mr. Rus- 

 sell's interesting and instructive book. 



Wheat Cdltuee in Upper Canada. — Mr. R. 

 speaks of the "plains of Dumfries" as the "best 

 district for wheat he saw in Canada West." 



" The mode of culture," in this district, " is very 

 similar to what is followed in the Genesee country, 

 but the wheat crops are not in general taken so fre- 

 quently. Rut here, also, alternate crops of wheat 

 and clover are often taken. The land, as in Gene- 

 see, is deeply plowed in June and July,_ and the 

 Aveeds are destroyed by scarifying the surface, thus 

 avoiding the old and less economical system of fal- 

 lowing out and out for a whole season. The crops 

 on one farm of 140 acres arable land were 50 acres 

 wheat, 16 in peas, potatoes, turnips, and Indian 

 corn. Two men and four horses cultivate this ex- 

 tent of land, with a little additional labor at har- 

 vesting. I saw some excellent crops of Indian corn 

 in this district; but here again the complaint was, 

 that it took too much labor, and therefore it was 

 only a small extent that farmers found convenient 

 to cultivate. 



"It is the more general practice, however, to 

 allow the land to remain for two years in pasture 

 (artificial grasses and clover), to break up in June, 

 and sow in autumn. Below Paris, I inspected an 

 excellent farm, consisting of 250 acres of clay loam, 

 on which a good deal of stock was kept, and there 

 were only from 30 to 40 acres usually in wheat. 

 The land is pastured for three years, and produces 

 fine grasses that become thick and strongly rooted. 

 It is then prepared for wheat by plowing in autumn, 

 sowing with rape in May, and alter this last crop is 

 eaten by sheep, it is fallowed, and sown in autumn. 

 IIow far this system is preferable to the more fre- 

 quent cropping with wheat, I do not pretend to 

 decide. An excellent flock of South-Down sheep 

 was kept, and this year the one-year-old wedders, 

 weighing 22 lbs. per quarter, brought two guineas 

 ($10) on the farm, but realized £2 : 8s. ($11.50) in 

 the New York market — another striking instance 

 of the advantage that Canada has derived from the 

 opening of railway communication. 



" Rust and mildew are the great enemies which 

 the Canadian farmer encounters in raising wheat, 

 and these diseases are far more common on new 

 than old cultivated land. In Canada, as well as 

 throughout the United States, land becomes better 

 suited for raising w^heat after the richness is partly 

 worn oft'. The best preventive of rust and mildew 

 is to sow early ; for if the crop is late, the heats of 

 July are apt to ripen it prematurely at whatever 



