66 On the Rust or Mildew. 



that in the county of Somerset, the crops were formerly reaped much 

 earlier than at present, the wheat harvest being generally over in the 

 month of July), and that the rust or mildeiv was then unknown *. A 

 farmer in Essex, who was accustomed to so\v his wheat after beans, 

 had his crops constantly rusted, but was no longer troubled with that 

 disease, when he sowed early either on clover leys or after a fallow. 

 In Bedfordshire, it is remarked, that wheat which mays, or turns yel- 

 low in that month, (which is, in general, the consequence of being 

 sown early), never mildews-]-. It is no advantage, however, to have 

 the wheat too forward in spring, and the sowing should not, on that 

 account, be commenced earlier, than the beginning of September, even 

 on fallows. A distinction ought likewise to be made, between cold, 

 wet and heavy soils, and the light, dry and porous ones. It is well 

 known that the latter, though even a month posterior, will be as soon, 

 if not earlier, ready for the sickle. 



3. As sowing early is attended with some disadvantages, (the nou- 

 rishment in the soil being exhausted by the stalk, before the formation 

 of the seed commences, the plants becoming winter proud, as it is call- 

 ed, or too forward for the season, and the crop being more apt to be 

 injured by spring frosts), it would be very beneficial, to procure a 

 sort of wheat, either from some foreign country, or raised by selection 

 at home, that would ripen early, without being sown much sooner than 

 at present. Nature produces numerous varieties of the same species, 

 belonging to the same genus ; and it is incumbent on the attentive 

 and industrious farmer, to avail himself of the circumstance, from which 

 so much advantage might be derived \. 



4. It is a maxim with many farmers, " That thick crops are some- 

 times mildewed, but that thin ones generally are so, in a greater or 

 less degree ." This arises from the following circumstances : When 

 the seed is sown thick, the roots, instead of becoming long and strag- 

 gling, are short and numerous. They are retained in the soil, more 

 especially when the crop is drilled, that has been prepared for their re- 

 ception, instead of wandering into strata, either poor or noxious. From 

 the number of these roots and stems, the richness, which would be in- 

 jurious to a few plants, only does justice to a number; for the same 

 quantity of dung that might give twenty stems a disposition to dis- 



plant in a succulent or plethoric state, and consequently render it liable to infec- 

 tion. In dry weather, the straw is of a firmer texture, and affords no admission to 

 the seeds of the fungus, that may be slightly attached to them, if the disease be 

 thus propagated. Bedfordshire Report, p. 583. That, however, is much doubt- 

 ed. 



* Communications to the Board of Agriculture, vol. v. p. 202. 



f Bedfordshire Report, p. 377. 



f In Cornwall, they frequently sow a mixture of red and white, ( provincially, 

 dredge-corn), and the crops are more abundant when sown mixed, than when 

 sown separately. When separate, the produce may not exceed 18 bushels per 

 acre ; whereas when the two sorts are mixed, the produce will amount to 24 

 bushels. 



It may be asked, what is thick and what is thin sowing ? That must evi- 

 dently depend upon the fertility of the soil, and the period of the year when the 

 seed is sown. 



