PLOUGHS AND PLOUGHING. 79 



disadvantages in ploughing deep. More manure is 

 required for a single crop. The crops will be later 

 in arriving at maturity, which is a serious injury in 

 some instances, to Indian corn particularly, though 

 it is an advantage to many other crops, and especial- 

 ly to wheat, as it will be longer in growing, and, of 

 course, less likely to blast, while it affords a better 

 opportunity for harvesting, in connexion with the 

 farmers' other crops. In deep ploughing, greater 

 strength of team is required to plough the same land. 

 We are, on the whole, decidedly of the opinion that 

 good policy requires us to plough deeper than has 

 been the general custom of our farmers. 



CHAPTER VI. 



WHEAT. 



Natural History of the Plant. — Varieties. — Best Soil for Wheat. 

 — Manures. — Cultivation. — Harvesting. — Diseases. — Preven- 

 tion of Smut. — Insect Enemies. — Conversion of Winter into 

 Spring Wheat. — Italian Wheat. 



Writers on the natural history of plants have 

 enumerated seven species of this most important of 

 the cereal gramina ; and we present the figures rep- 

 resenting thfe dfferent kinds, as copied from Lou- 

 don's Encyclopedia. They are as follows : (see 

 next page.) 



Loudon remarks, " that the first, second, fourth, 

 and fifth sorts are by many botanists considered as 

 only varieties, and it is doubtful whether the third 

 and sixth may not be the same ; the seventh has 

 all the marks of a distinct species, but it is very 

 questionable whether, if much cultivated, it would 

 always continue" to produce one row of grains." 



