THE GENESEE FARMER. 



235 



irated with the soil. Or perhaps we shall better 



nvey our meaning by saying that it should be so 



plied that the soil will have time to digest it, to 



nder it part and parcel of the soil itself. It may 



us not only furnish proper food for the plants, 



it also aid in developing the elements lying latent 



the soil. Summer-fallows and lime have proba- 



Y this effect to a considerable extent. 



In this section, since the advent of the midge, 



e principal aim of the wheat grower is to get an 



rly crop. It is now generally admitted that if 



3 could get our wheat from five to ten days ear- 



r, we should pretty much escape the injurious 



acks of the midge and mildew. To do this, we 



ist make the soil rich in appropriate food, sow 



•iy and of early varieties, and avoid all low, late 



d, and such as is not naturally or artificially 



lerdrained. Sow a less breadth of land, and 



)end more care and labor in its preparation. 



3 midge has compelled the farmers of "Western 



w York to the adoption of this course of late 



,rs, and the result is manifest in the improved 



p the present harvest. "We fear that the success 



those who have grown wheat on good land will 



in induce farmers to sow more extensively this 



and without adequate preparation. "We have 



along strenuously contended that there is no 



essity of abandoning wheat culture in "Western 



w York — that if we would farm better, good 



enesee wheat" could still be raised. The 



ger was, three or four years ago, that farmers 



lid despair of again raising wheat and give up 



attempts to resist the ravages of the midge. 



iV that those who have raised wheat on their 



i land, cultivated in an improved manner, have 



year met with much encouragement, the 



ger is that farmers will again sow too much 



1 to wheat, and be less careful in regard to its 



ivation. 



a England, wheat is generally sown on clover 

 plowed up just previous to sowing. Here the 

 itice does not answer. "Wheat is sown much 

 ier here than in England, and pasture land 

 led up and sown immediately is generally so 

 that the seed fails to germinate. It is found, 

 that in this way the wheat is smothered with 

 iS and weeds the next summer. "We must pre- 

 ) a good seed-bed, or what old Jethro Tull 

 ntly termed a good pasture for the plants to 

 in. The soil must be made mellow and moist 

 the free use of the plow or cultivator. On 

 Tj soils, there is no better preparation for wheat 

 I a good summer-fallow. (See an article on this 

 ■ect in the June number.) 



"Wheat likes a firm, compact soil; and if left 

 somewhat rough and cloddy, it is none the worse. 

 It is easy to make the surface too fine and smooth 

 for wheat. The best English wheat growers sel- 

 dom plow deep for wheat. This may arise from 

 the fact that they usually manure their wheat, or 

 else feed off the previous crop of clover with fat- 

 tening sheep, which not unfrequently have a pound 

 of oil-cake per head each day. It is not considered 

 desirable to bury this manure too deep. "We have 

 seen a crop of wheat that would average forty-five 

 bushels per acre obtained from a clover sod so 

 treated that was not plowed more than three 

 inches deep. The method adopted is to plow deep, 

 in the autumn, for turnips, once in four years; but 

 not to plow deep either for wheat or barley. There 

 may be exceptions to this, but such is the rule. 



"We can not too frequently repeat the incontro- 

 vertible fact that freedom from stagnant water is 

 an indispensable condition of a good wheat soil. 

 If the land is wet, cold, and sour, a good crop of 

 wheat, however well it may have been put in, need 

 not be expected. If you must sow such land, plow 

 it into high narrow ridges — say twelve feet wide 

 — with a gentle slope from the crown to the dead 

 furrow on each side, so that the surface water can 

 readily pass off. Harrow lengthwise, and form 

 open drains through the lowest parts, to carry off 

 the water. On more porous or gravelly soils, the 

 ridges may be wider and flatter; but it is always 

 advisable to clean out the furrows with a plow 

 after sowing, so that the water can pass off more 

 readily. How seldom do we see a wheat field on 

 which the water does not lie on some portions, 

 presenting a sheet of ice during the winter and 

 early spring, and bare spots or light and late crops 

 in summer, but which might easily be removed by 

 a few surface drains. If you can not afford to 

 underdrain, do not neglect at least surface drainage. 

 True, it is very inadequate ; but it is better tlian 

 nothing. 



In regard to the time of sowing, there is much 

 difference of opinion. If we sow too early, there 

 is increased danger from the attacks of the Hessian 

 fly, which deposits its eggs on the young plants in 

 the fall ; and if we sow late, the probability is that 

 the midge (which deposits its eggs in the grain 

 when in flower) will destroy it. Five years ago, 

 in this section, many farmers sowed their wheat 

 the last week in August, and it was much injured 

 by the Hessian fly. From the 1st to the 10th of 

 September is now considered the safest time. As 

 we go south, the wheat is sown later. A recent 

 writer in the Valley Farmer recommends sowing 



