THE GENESEE FAEMER. 



2S7 



EARLY VARIETIES OF WHEAT. 



The earlier varieties of wheat this year suffered 

 most from the great June frosts — many crops of 

 Mediterranean and other early kinds being materi- 

 ally injured. But this is an unusual occurence; 

 and it must still be regarded as one of the main 

 objects of the wheat grower to get early varieties. 

 It is the only means known at present of escaping 

 the attacks of the midge or weevil. 



Wheat at the south ripens earlier than with us ; 

 and when brought north, it still retains a tendency 

 to ripen earlier than the same variety grown here. 

 The reverse is true of corn, because corn ripens 

 earlier at the nortli than at the south, but the prin- 

 ciple is the same in both cases. English gardeners 

 get the seed for their earliest peas from France. It 

 is also well known that barley grown on sandy soil 

 in the warmest parts of England will ripen earlier 

 on the cold hills of Scotland than the same variety 

 grown from seed which has passed through several 

 successive generations in the colder climate. — 

 Knight states that the crops of wheat on some 

 very cold and high ground, which 

 he cultivated, ripened much ear- 

 lier when he obtained his seed 

 wheat from a very warm district 

 and gravelly soil wliich lies a few 

 miles distant, than when he em- 

 ployed the seed of his vicinity. 



Several formers in this vicinity 

 obtained wheat from the south 

 last year, and so far as we have 

 seen and heard, the result has 

 been satisfactory — the wheat is 

 certainly much earlier. 



BouGHTON Wheat. — This is a 

 very early wheat, raised in Vir- 

 ginia, where it is highly spoken 

 of on account of its early matu- 

 rity and hardiness. Mr. Charles 

 Wkay, of Gates, in this county, 

 obtained a bushel of seed of this 

 variety from Baltimore last year, 

 and the crop was harvested on 

 the 6th of July. The ears are 

 not large, but were well filled 

 with good, plump, thin-skinned 

 berries. It is a white bald wheat, 

 heavy but not large ; straw stiff 

 and of medium height, "We an- 

 nex a cut (lig. 1) of an averajje- 



FlO. 1. . rr. 



sized ear. The crop was not 

 affected by the midge, while some wheat of a later 

 Bciod grown in the same field was much injured. 



Dayton Wheat,— This is another early variety, 

 introduced into this section from Ohio. Elisha 

 Harmon, of Wheatland, N. Y., has 70 acres, which 

 ripened sufiiciently early to escape the midge, and 

 it is thought will average over 30 bushels per acre. 

 It is a bald white wheat with red chaff and short 

 stiff straw. The seed was obtained from Ohio, 

 and it is undoubtedly better to get wheat grown in 

 Ohio, or further south, than to sow that raised here. 



Fig. 2. 



Golden Drop. — This variety has been raised in 

 this vicinity for two or three years, and is highly 

 prized. An unknown friend sent us some good- 

 sized well-filled and perfectly ripened ears on the 

 11th of July. We annex a cut ffig. 2) of one of 

 tliem. 



Mat "Wheat. — H. L. Brown, of Boonville, Mis- 



