WHEAT A SEMI-TROPICAL PLANT. 



215 



ed by another, and the whole soil is tilled by an as- 

 cending moisture and gases, which are appropriated 

 by the niinierous rootlets as they have need. 



The wet seiison is also a blessing to the deep enl- 

 tivator. The more rain, the more heat, ammonia, 

 carbonic acid, and other organic elements are left in 

 the soil as it descends. As each drop tillers through, 

 it is succeeded by another, or by air, both essential 

 to vegetation; and to dissolve, act on, or combine 

 with, the inorganic elements of the soil. As the wa- 

 ter drains otf, air is sure to follow, and this is the 

 proper mode of its circulation. Kach is generally at 

 a higher temperature than the undrained land, and 

 the warmth of the under soil is therefore relatively 

 increased. The farmer often olijects to this waste of 

 water, and would retain it for a dry time. The 

 trenched and porous soil holds water like a sponge, 

 notwithstanding the drainage. It retains, or can 

 command enough for the wants of vegetation. But 

 let us see the operation on the undrained land. 



The farmer often speaks of his "cold wet land." 

 No variety of soil, in any location, is, of itself, colder 

 than another. The very water which trenching, 

 draining, &c., allow to pass off after imparting its 

 virtues to the soil, if retained on or near the surface 

 by hard impervious sub-soil, becomes itself, by its 

 changes, the source of the coldness complained of. 

 Instead of running off, it evaporates, and by this pro- 

 cess abstracts a great cjuantity of heat from the soil 

 and surrounding atmosphere. The evaporation of a 

 pound of water requires about 1000 degrees of heat; 

 some authors stating it less and others more — or it 

 reduces 100 pounds of air 45 ° . This is reversing 

 the experiment of Prof Johnson, in Espy's "Book 

 of Storms," where he says, " a pound of vapor " con- 

 densed to water " would heat 100 pounds of avc about 

 45 ° . The ground to a considerable depth is warm- 

 er, by many degrees where the rain is drained off, in- 

 stead of being allowed to accumulate and evaporate. 

 Hence this enormous loss of an invaluable stimulus 

 to vegetation. 



This chilling and deadly process of evaporation is 

 going on to excess from the time frost comes out of 

 the ground in the spring, till freezing again occurs. 

 At this period, the undrained land, having the most 

 water to freeze, becomes the warmest, say in Decem- 

 ber, when of no value to vegetation, but rather an in- 

 jury. For once, forsooth, the undrained land is 

 warmer than the drained ! But for this excess of heat 

 in winter, this kind of land must pay dearly in early 

 spring. How is all this? inquires the farmer. Sim- 

 ply because water, in congesiling to either ice or snow, 

 has its capacity for heat lessened about one-ninth, 

 and this excess is given off to surrounding bodies; or, 

 in other words, its latent heat is set free. On the 

 other hand, ice, or frost as it is called, in the ground, 

 in melting, demands back this same heat, at the rate 

 of from one-eighth to one-ninth of 1000 ° , for every 

 pound melted; and under the surface it does not ob- 

 tain all this directly from the sun, but through the 

 soil: therefore, the more water, the colder and longer 

 cold will be the land in spring. Now let the agricul- 

 rist go to work and make this " cold, wet, heavy land" 

 of his, the very best he has for any product, trees, 

 vegetables, grains, or grasses. — Magazine oj Horti- 

 culture. 



WHEAT A SEMI-TEOPICAL PLANT. 



A LATK number of the Mark Lane Exprets, speak- 

 ing of the injury done to growing wheat in England, 

 has the following remarks: 



" We are too apt, perhaps, to forget that although 

 the wheat plant is classed with the hardy corn crop, 

 yet that there are limits to even its power of sustain- 

 ing the rapid evaporation from its leaves by drying 

 easterly winds, and a long-continued low temperature. 

 We have made strange advances, indeed, in the cul- 

 tivation of this crop; but we seldom reflect upon the 

 fact that its cultivation in this conntry is extended to 

 the xery verge of that mean temperature in which it 

 refuses to ripen its seeds. From what country the 

 wheat originally came is a matter of much doubt ; 

 but yet no one "disputes the fact that it is indigenous 

 in countries far warmer than our own. It is found 

 wild in Persia, on the banks of the Euphrates, and 

 in the warm soils of Mesopotamia. It has been con- 

 tended that the valley of the Jordan, or the parts of 

 I'alestine which border upon Arabia, may reasonably 

 be assigned as the native country of the wheat plant. 

 At any rate, all are agreed that this cereal has follow- 

 ed the train of agriculture into gradually decreasing 

 mean temperature, from the banks of the Nile to the 

 valleys of Greece, and through the Italian peninsula 

 to far more northerly soils. A portion of the surface 

 of our globe has been sometimes divided by the nat- 

 ural philosopher into certain cereal zones. It was 

 when speaking of that adapted to the cultivation of 

 wheat, that Mr. Whitley, in his essay on the climate 

 of the British Islands in its effect upon cultivation, 

 indirectly paid a well deserved compliment to the 

 growers of British wheat, when he asked, ' In what 

 part of this cereal zone are our Islands situated ? 

 Certainly not in that best adapted for wheat, which 

 is grown in greater perfection on the plains of Egypt, 

 and in the dry hot summers of Spain. The summer 

 temperature of the cultivated lands of the British 

 Isles varies from 54 ° to 64 ° ; in the rich plains of 

 Lombardy it is 73° ; and in Sicily, the granary of 

 ancient Rome, 77 =■ .' There is, in fact, no portion of 

 Europe where the wheat crop is pressed into so low 

 a summer temperature as in our own islands, and that 

 with a considerable degree of success ; and we may 

 note that in our lands it is still advancing towards 

 the north. 



"In 1727, a field of whfeat near Edinburgh, drew 

 numerous admiring visitors to the phenomenon. Its 

 cultivation had made little progress there even in 

 1770 ; but now it is raised in abundance on the low- 

 lands, favorable hill districts are invaded, it has suc- 

 cessfully been established on the shores of the Mur- 

 ray Frith." 



To Preserve Flowers, Leaves, and Fruit from 

 Caterpillars. — These depredators are destroyed by 

 oils, which close the lateral pores by which they 

 breathe. For this purpose it is advised, that on the 

 approach of spring, a cloth dipped in train oil, be 

 laid on such parts of the tree in which there is the 

 least appearance of them. — jyew Hovsehold Receipt 

 Book. 



