AND RURAL ECONOMIST. 



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enabled to make. Rule. — Wash a little of the soil in a 

 tumbler of water, and observe the time required for it to be- 

 come clear. If the time required exceeds three hours, it 

 may be considered as liable to be injured by frost.' AV. Van 

 Dusen, a farmer of Rensellaer county. New York, says ' that 

 if wheat be sowed the last week in August, on clay soil, it 

 will generally resist the effect of frost in the winter, and of 

 insects in the spring.' ' A clay soil,' according to the same 

 work, ' having absorbed a large proportion of water, becomes 

 cellular as the water freezes, or rises up in various protube- 

 rances, so that the roots of the wheat plant become disengag- 

 ed from their hold in the soil. It is very manifest that if 

 wheat be sowed so early that each plant may have time to 

 extend its roots into the soil, its chance for retaining its 

 hold will be better.' We believe that not only clay, but lime, 

 chalk, marl, or other calcareous substance, is necessary to 

 bring wheat to perfection, and the grounds of our belief we 

 shall exhibit hereafter. 



The Complete Farmer says, that ' the best time for sow- 

 ing wheat is about the beginning of September. But if the 

 earth be very dry, it had better be deferred till some show- 

 ers have moistened the soil.' Mr. Mortimer says he has 

 known Avheat to be so musted and spoiled by laying long in 

 the ground before rain came, that it never came up at all ; 

 to which he adds, ' that he has seen very good crops of 

 wheat from seeds sown in July.' We should apprehend, 

 however, that it would be necessary to feed wheat sown so 

 early, in order to prevent its going to seed the first year, or 

 getting too far advanced in its growth to resist the frosts of 

 the succeeding winter. Sowing in dry ground is generally 

 recommended for seeds ; but wheat, being liable to be smutty, 

 is commonly prepared by steeping in brine or lime, and in 

 consequence of the steep vegetation commences ; and if the 

 seed in this state is placed in earth which is and continues 

 for any time dry, vegetation is checked by the drought, 

 which kills or greatly injures the seed. 



Early sowing requires less seed than late, because the 

 plants have more time, and are more apt to spread, and throw 

 out a good number of stalks. More seed is required for poor 

 than for rich lands, and rich land early sowed requires the 

 least of any. Bordley's Husbandry says, ' The climate and 

 soil of America may be believed to differ greatly from those 

 of England respecting the growth of some particular plants. 

 Wheat sown there two to three bushels on an acre yields 

 10# 



