32 ESSEX SOCIETY. 



The common plough with one horse is to pass along the open 

 furrow and then along the open furrows of the head lands, and 

 to draw open furrows into such hollows of the field as water 

 mi»ht stagnate in. A person is then to follow with a spade, 

 to-clear out the open furrows of the head lands, to make chan- 

 nels through the head lands to the ditch, where necessary — to 

 clear out the cross furrows to the hollows, so as to allow the 

 water to run — and to open up the intersections of the open 

 furrows and those of the head lands." 



" The quantity of seed usually sown is from two to three 

 bushels to the acre. In case of summer fallow, the quantity 

 need not exceed two bushels (and so likewise in well manured 

 land from which a summer crop has been taken.) In the spring 

 about three bushels are sown. The seeds, previous to being 

 sown, undergo an operation peculiar to wheat — termed pick- 

 ling or steeping — to prevent a disease, termed smut. The best 

 substance that can be employed for this purpose is stale urine. 

 A very strong pickle of salt dissolved in water, may be used, 

 but salt brine is not quite so secure a means of destroying the 

 infection, as urine. The process of steeping may be thus per- 

 formed. Let a tub be provided, and partly filled with urine, 

 and let a quantity of wheat, as a bushel, be put in at a time. 

 Let the wheat be well stirred, and all the lighter grains, &c., 

 skimmed carefully off, and thrown aside as useless. The 

 wheat should remain from five to ten minutes, but never more 

 than ten minutes, in the pickle. The successive portions of 

 wheat thus pickled are to be allowed to drain a little, and then 

 to be laid on the barn floor in layers, hot lime (lime slacked at 

 the time,) being at the time sifted upon each layer. The pur- 

 pose of the lime is to dry the grain, which should be carried 

 immediately to the field and sown. When from any cause it 

 is not practicable to sow the wheat for a day or two, it should 

 be spread thinly on the floor, but never kept in sacks, lest it 

 ferment and its vegetative powers become injured." 



[Grain perfectly clear and free from smut, may do well with- 

 out undergoing this process. But the fertilizing effect of this 

 steeping may more than compensate for the expense, and render 

 assurance doubly sure against the disease in question.] 



