58 



Wheat Sowing. 



Vol. VII. 



For the Farmers 1 Cabinet. 

 Wheat Sowing. 



Messrs. Editors, — The pleasant season 

 of wheat-sowing has again arrived ; and 

 again, for the third time, do I call the atten- 

 tion of my brother farmers, to that most-of- 

 all-important of their occupations. It is the 

 easiest thing in the world to " prophesy of 

 the past ;" and there are none amongst us 

 who cannot see, after the event has trans- 

 pired, how the evil might have been avoided, 

 had we but known the circumstances attend- 

 ing the failure. It is, therefore, the part of 

 true wisdom, to endeavour by reason and re- 

 flection, so to steer our course, as to be pre- 

 pared for whatever untoward circumstances 

 may be in store for us, and of which we are 

 at present totally ignorant, and await the 

 event with resignation. To this end then, 

 it still appears to me, that we ought to en- 

 deavour to raise our wheat-crops strong and 

 healthy, that they might be the better able 

 to withstand the vicissitudes of climate, to 

 which, for nearly a whole year they are sure 

 to be exposed; and I know of no mode so 

 likely to prove successful, as that pointed out, 

 in an article on this subject at page 19 of the 

 5th vol. of the Cabinet, and to which, with 

 the reflections appended, I beg to call the 

 attention of your readers. It is there said, 



" The most favourable soil and climate for 

 the growth of wheat, is that which is cool 

 and rather heavy. It requires careful cul- 

 ture and a strong and rich seed-bed ; but in 

 this climate especially, it ought never to be 

 sown on a pulverized fallow ; for although, 

 on some of the cold clays of parts of Eng- 

 land, immense crops are obtained by these 

 means, nothing would be more improper in 

 this country, where the object ought to be to 

 render the soil as firm and compact as possi- 

 ble, and to retard the growth of the crop in 

 the autumn, to give it time to tiller and gain 

 strength before the frosts of winter — all 

 which might be accomplished by adopting 

 the new course of the grain-growing dis- 

 tricts in Europe, which would be peculiarly 

 well suited to this country and climate; it is 

 as follows : The dung of the winter-feeding 

 establishment is occasionally removed during 

 that season, to a situation, generally to the 

 field where it will be required, where it can 

 be turned up and heaped, not more than three 

 or four feet in thickness, to facilitate its fer- 

 mentation, preparatory to its being spread as 

 a top-dressing, very early in the sprino-, on 

 the young clovers; which is soon grown over, 

 and produces a three-fold quantity of hay for 

 next winter's food. Two crops of hay are 

 taken,* and then the lay is turned down by a 



* Second-crop clover never causes " slabbering" in 

 horses or cattle in England. 



deep and narrow furrow, the land being 

 thrown into ridges or beds, in width propor- 

 tioned to the wet or dry state of the soil ; 

 and upon this one ploughing the wheat is 

 sown early, and harrowed in. In this mode 

 of operation, there is still a sufficient quan- 

 tity of manure contained in the soil to brine 

 the wheat-crop to full maturity; for the clo- 

 ver has not exhausted more than the grosser 

 particles of the dung, which would have been 

 detrimental to the wheat-crop, rendering it 

 too large, flashy and tender in its autumnal 

 growth, and fitting it for the reception of the 

 fly and other diseases incident to a state of 

 blight, to which it would be particularly lia- 

 ble, especially if attacked by frost before it 

 had been protected by a covering of snow ; 

 as also, inducing a redundant growth of straw 

 the next summer, which is equally obnoxious 

 to the yield of grain. 



" Wheat thus cultivated, will lie close to 

 the ground during autumn and winter ; and 

 will tiller and thicken, instead of exhausting 

 itself in useless and premature growth of, 

 perhaps, a foot in height. Its leaves of dark 

 green will curl on the ground, and be able to 

 resist the frosts, and not be liable to be in- 

 jured by a depth of snow, never so great in 

 thickness, or of so long continuance; coming 

 out from under it, small in appearance, but 

 not lifted at the roots ; ready and willing to 

 start with the first mild weather in the spring, 

 but not gross and tender, so as to feel the 

 effects of a degree of cold and change of 

 climate, which would be found sufficient to 

 prostrate thousands of acres of crops, hitherto 

 the admiration of the whole country. The 

 straw of such crops will have strength suf- 

 ficient to support the head, which will be 

 larger and longer than that raised from fal- 

 low, dung and lime; which always go to 

 produce large quantities of straw, rather than 

 grain. Wheat, when sown very early on 

 dunged fallows, makes too much progress 

 before winter — not so, however, when sown 

 early on lay-land that had been manured on 

 the spring clover, and turned over by a single 

 furrow : the sowing on such land may take 

 place very early, without fear of the crop 

 becoming, what is called, ivinter-proud, or 

 being affected by the root-rot in the spring ; 

 which disease is occasioned by being lifted 

 by the frosts and thaws. But how any one 

 should expect to raise good and clean crops 

 of wheat after oats, the land fallowed, dung- 

 ed and limed, is assuredly the most astonish- 

 ing thing in the world! That it is sometimes 

 done, speaks volumes in favour of a country 

 which, with such crying treatment, will still 

 work such wonders." 



Bordley, one of the most intelligent agri- 

 culturists the world ever saw, and an exten- 



