AND RURAL ECONOMIST. 117 



sects, and the weather, but the two sets of roots are neces- 

 sarily crowded together, so as almost to become indistinct ; 

 the plant is less firm, and has fewer purveyors collecting 

 food for it."^ 



Dr. Deane observed, that ' wheat that is sowed in autumn, 

 a clover ley excepted, should, instead of harrowing, be co- 

 vered with a shallow furrow, and the surface left rough. It 

 will be less in danger of being killed by the frost in winter, 

 and less injured by drying winds in the following spring. 

 The furrows should be left without harrowing ; for the more 

 uneven the ground is the more the soil will be pulverized 

 and mellowed by the frost.' But if the crop which succeeds 

 the wheat crop should require a smooth bottom, the land, after 

 sowing, must be harrowed, and should be rolled. Some 

 husbandmen advise, when wheat is sown on a clover ley, to 

 plough in the clover with a deep furrow, then plough in the 

 seed wheat with a shallow furrow ; and if the next crop in the 

 rotation requires a level bottom, it will be necessary to har- 

 row and roll the field as smooth as possible, after having 

 ploughed in the seed. 



The greatest care should be exercised with regard to the 

 kind, quality, and preparation of seed wheat. There are many 

 varieties of wheat, but winter wheat, in the United States, 

 is generally distinguished by only two appellations, red wheat 

 and white wheat, of which the latter is held in highest esti- 

 mation. 



In preparing your seed wheat, the first thing to be attend- 

 ed to is to clear it perfectly from every injurious foreign 

 substance. ' One error here may mar our whole system, and 

 render our skill productive of as much evil as good. On 

 poor and worn out land the evil of sowing a mixture of im- 

 pure seed with grain or grass seed would be great; but 

 where the ground is in high order the crop is more injured; 

 the noxious plants take firmer hold, and are more difficult to 

 be eradicated.'! Indeed, it would be better for a farmer to 

 pick over his seed wheat by single handfuls, and make a rid- 

 dle of his fingers, than to sow cockle, darnel, tares, wild tur- 

 nip seeds, and other vegetable nuisances, which are as intru- 

 sive as unwelcome, as tenacious of life as they are unworthy 



* Mr. Featherstonhaugh's Essay on the Principles and Practice of Ru- 

 ral Economy. 



fSee a communication by 0. Fiske, Esq., New England Farmer, vol. 

 i. p. 222. 



