270 



THE GENl^^SEE EARMEK. 



SoTJTnERN Indiana.—" A farmer cand miller, who 

 resided in the southern part of Indiana, informed 

 me that the wheat crop this year would not yield 

 more than eight or ten bushels to the acre._ The 

 avera"-e produce of the best wheat soil in this part 

 of the^country was not more in ordinary years than 

 eighteen bushels an acre, as it produces too much 

 straw, though not one farmer in fifty applies any 

 manure to his fields. However, Indian corn aver- 

 ages seveniy-five bushels to the acre. Four years 

 ago, the price of this grain was only ten cents a 

 bushel in Southern Indiana, and the ordinary price 

 was only about fifteen cents before the railway was 

 opened. Barley is more productive than wheat, 

 often giving fifty-five bushels an acre, when the 

 erop is winter sown." 



Virginia. — "I walked over a large farm in the 



There 



more superficial and confined area around the 

 crown of the plant than Avheat, the roots of 

 which penetrate to a great depth. This is well 

 shown, incidentally, by some experiments of Mr. 

 Lawes, in which barley and wheat were re- 

 spectively grown in pots, and both during the 

 summer months. In the case of barley, only 

 one single fibrile found its way through the 

 bottom of the pot, while the wheat threw out 

 such a mass of ramifications that the whole of 

 the surface of the dish in which the pot rested 

 was covered with a thick network of roots, as 

 also was the bottom, and to a great extent the 

 sides, of the inside of the pot itself The follow- 

 ing sketch, taken on the spot when the plants 

 were removed from the pots, will convey a better 



alluvial land, lying south of the James river, 

 were sixty negroes old and young on this farm, 

 which was one of the largest in the neighborhood. I idea than any verbal description : 

 Out of this number, not 

 more than twenty-five 

 hands were available for 

 w^ork at this season. — 

 Twenty-two mules and 

 eight oxen were required 

 for cultivating 250 acres 

 wlieat, 140 Indian corn, 

 100 acres of oats. The 

 produce of wheat is about 

 IG bushels to the acre, 

 and of Indian corn, 40 

 bushels. The rotation of 

 crops usually followed is 

 — 1st, Indian corn; 2d, 

 wheat; 3d, clover; 4th, 

 wheat; 5th, oats or pas- 

 ture. 



"The whole force of 

 the plantation was con- 

 centrated on one field of 

 -wheat stubble. The crop 

 'had been threshed out in 



the field, and the negro women were carting the 

 straAv from large heaps and spreading it over the 

 land for manure. The soil being somewhat stifi", 

 the plows were drawn by four large mules — two 

 negroes to each plow, one to hold the plow and 

 the other to drive the animals. The operations 

 were done in the most slovenly manner." 



SSsS^Sig ^egg^i*^ I 



CULTIVATION OF WINTEE BAKLEY. 



The cultivation of winter barley is rapidly ex- 

 tending in Western New York. We hear it highly 

 spoken of by all who have tried it. It ripens early, 

 and thus escapes the midge, while spring barley, 

 the present season, has been considerably injured 

 by this insect. 



"Winter barley needs as thorough cultivation as 

 winter wheat; — in fact, it is reasonable to suppose 

 that it requires better tillage than wheat. It is 

 easy to get land too light and loose for wheat, but 

 every one knows that land can not be made too 

 fine and loose for barley. One reason for tliis may 

 bo found in the fact that the roots of barley have a 



The roots of barley are very near the surface, 

 and it is desirable to encom'age this natural super- 

 ficial growth by providing them a loose surface 

 soil to grow in. This is quite in accordance with 

 the practice of the best barley growers. On the 

 other hand, the roots of wheat naturally penetrate 

 to a greater depth, and it is well to encourage this 

 natural habit by compressing the surface soil, and 

 thus prevent the plants from throwing out fibrous 

 roots near the surface, where they would be more 

 liable to be thrown out in the winter by freezing 

 and thawing. One of the heaviest crops of wheat 

 we ever saw, was obtained from very highly ma- 

 nured land, sown unusually early, and eaten down 

 close with sheep during the winter and spring. 

 The sheep were also folded and fed on the land, for 

 the purpose of consolidating the surface as much as 

 possible, and thus encourage the development of 

 roots deep in the soU. 



Barley, as we have said, delights in a loose, fria- 

 ble surface soil. The roots are very circumscribed 



