142 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[September, 



proposes to continue his experiments with green 

 manuring and is very much encouraged in his past 

 success. Other parties in Vassalboro' are moving in 

 the same direction, and are making anxious in- 

 quiries for the best methods of fertilization by green 

 manuring. 



Wheat Raising. 



A great stride towards successful wheat-raising 

 was made when the drill was brought into use, and 

 a much greater stride could be made if the drill- 

 hoes were twice as far apart and were made to sow 

 not more than thirty to forty pounds to the acre. 



In order to make the greatest possible quantity on 

 a given area, the wheat plant (or any other plant) 

 must have room to carry out its habit and develop 

 according to its nature. One grain of wheat cannot 

 do this on less than sixteen square inches. One ker- 

 nel should make on an average all over a field at 

 least twenty good heads, and every head should pro- 

 duce at least forty grains, every pound should be 

 made to produce its bushel all over the world. One 

 pound has been made to produce from sixty to one 

 thousand fold. These facts are from thin-sowing. 

 No instance i» on record where ^thick-sowing ever 

 produced more than seventy bushels per acre. 



Sowing much wheat "to get a good stand" is the 

 worst kind of economy. The farmer loses his seed, 

 and never, In any instance, can make as large a yield 

 as by thin sowing. 



The greatest enemy wheat has to contend with is 

 wheat. Instead of giving each kernel about an inch 

 square, as mo3t farmers do, they should in every 

 case reduce the quantity per acre and sow thin 

 enough to give it /ixteen. Thousands of instances 

 are on record where one grain has produced from 

 ten to one hundred and eighty good stalks and as 

 many heads without dividing. Last year from 

 seventy six kernels ten and one fourth pounds of 

 good, plump grain was raised. On fifty-one square 

 rods this year I sowed just twenty-eight ounces of 

 picked seed in rows one and two feet apart, and 

 what I have now to show as the product is 19 1-2 

 bushels of as nice grain as the sample enclosed. 



To thick-sowing in every State and locality I can 

 oifer many objections, but to thin sowing and culti 

 vation there is not one that can be made tenable. — 

 Ae E. Blount in Qermantown Telegraph. 



What of the Future as Regards Grain. 



As the decline in wheat has attracted so much at- 

 tention, and farmers are reported to be holding 

 back for better prices, it may be well to examine a 

 few statistics upon the matter. To us the decline 

 seeme only natural, though from its suddenness there 

 may possibly be a temporary reaction. We have a 

 yield of wheat of not less than 500,000,000 bushels 

 and the very superior quality of it will increase its 

 bre»d making properties to much above the average. 

 For a population of ■54,000,000 we need at the outside 

 for broad 24.3,000,000 bushels and for seed not over 

 57,000,000 bushels, or a total for all of our home 

 wants of 300,000,000 bushels, leaving a surplus of 

 200,000,000, all of which is available for export, as 

 the stock of old wheat and Hour in the country is 

 fully 40,000,000 bushels— and this is ample for re- 

 serves. 



Now, with 300,000,000 bushels surplus, what are 

 we to do with it? The highest amount of wheat ever 

 exported was 180,000,000 bushels (flour included) 

 for the year ended June. W, 18,S1, and the average 

 export value for the whole year was $1.11 a bushel 

 while for the year ended June 30, 1879, the average 

 value was $1.00 a bushel. During the year ending 

 June 30, 1881, we had almost the world for our 

 customers. Nearly every European country needed 

 large imports, both France and England bavin" 

 smaller crops than they ore promised this year. 

 The requirements of Europe were greater than they 

 win probably be for the next twelve months, and 

 then we had but little competition. Russia had 

 short crops and conrequcntly a very small surplus, 

 while India had not begun to ship wheat to any cou- 

 Blderable extent. Thus, we have the prospect for a 



smaller demand than in 1S80-'81, and more competi- 

 tion from other countries than in that year, 

 while in the face of all this our surplus is 

 14,000,000 bushels greater than the amount we then 

 exported. In view of these facts the part of wisdom 

 would seem to be to ship our wheat out as freely as 

 possible. — Baltimore Journal of Commerce. 



What Manure Loses by Heating. 



It is not always true that a pile of manure steam- 

 ing with heat and smelling strongly is losing am- 

 monia. Ammonia is a very volatile and pungent 

 gas and might be known by its peculiar scent, which 

 is freely given off by close, ill-ventilated horse 

 stables, or by the coat of ill-cleaned horses. But it 

 is not often that this peculiar scent escapes from ma- 

 nure heaps; on the contrary it is a more disagreeable 

 odor, similar to that of rotten eggs. This is sulphu- 

 r'^ted hydrygen, and not ammonia, and oocasions no 

 loss to manure except the sulphur. If, in making a 

 manure pile, some plaster is mixed in the heap, all 

 the ammonia will be caught and held by it, and all 

 water contained in the manure will also contain a 

 large quantity (700 times its bulk) of it, and will not 

 give it off at a heat that can be raised in a manure 

 pile. If the manure is left to heat and get dry and 

 "fire fang" or slowly burn to a white, dry, light stuff, 

 then the ammonia is lost and the manure seriously 

 injured. 



Good Crops in Alabama. 



Never in the country were better crops made than 

 this season, and we may reasonably calculate a brisk 

 business with the business men. All kinds of crops 

 are a certainty, except cotton, and the cotton is form 

 ing, growing, and all the bolls found up to the 20th 

 of September will make good cotton before frost ; 

 with an average season for the next 50 days, and 

 notwithstanding the small acreage, the yield will be 

 larger at Selma by 20,000 bales than it was this 

 year. Farmers have very generally produced their 

 own substances, and by next Christmas we predict 

 the farmers of south Alabama will be in a condition 

 they have not been since the war — out of debt and 

 their cribs and smoke-houses full, and of substances 

 the result of their own abor and economy. — Habile, 

 Ala., Gazette. 



Magnesia foj Wheat. 

 The author ranks magnesia along with nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid, lime, and potash. The proportion 

 of nitrogen and of phosphoric acid increases in wheat 

 from time of blossoming to maturity. Lime, on the 

 contrary, decreases, andjdoes not seem to play a very 

 important part in the production of the grain, but 

 along with potash serves chiefly in the development 

 of the straw. Magnesia is more important than 

 lime in the formation of grain The mean require- 

 ments of wheat in order to produce 40 hectoliters 

 per hectare are : Nitrogen, 92.6 kilos; phosphoric 

 acid, 37; lime, 25.2; magnesia, 12.3, and potash, 

 116.2. The laying of wheat and other corn is not 

 due to deficiency of silica in the stalks, but to a 

 diseased condition, consequent on excessive moisture 

 and deficient sunlight. — £C. Joulie. 



HORTICL TURK. 



Keeping Grapes Fresh. 



Particularly at this season, when grapes are ripen- 

 ing, the discussion is generally started as to the 

 best method of preserving them through the winter. 

 Some of these methods involve a great deal of labor 

 and after all are seldom successful and rarely worth 

 the labor and expense. Besides, who cares about 

 keeping grapes all winter ? Every fruit has its sea- 

 son, and when that comes to an end the desire for It 

 passes. Apples can be kept until July in a very good 

 condition and with very little labor; but who caies 

 for them after April ? It is so with pears— the 

 relish for them disappears at the end of January, 

 about as long as they can be easily kept. Peaches, 

 the season of which is very brief, are canned, and 



when well done they are liked by a great many peo- 

 ple, though we do not think they are growing in 

 popularity with those of a rather fastidious taste — 

 many families never using them at all. 



Ae to grapes, they can very easily be kept in good 

 condition until Christmas, and beyond this are very 

 little cared for. And the best method to put them 

 up is that pursued by the grape-growers of New 

 York and Michigan — the clean, dry pine box, pack- 

 ing them, after removing all the decayed or over- 

 ripe berries, firmly, without the addition of any sub- 

 stance as a protection— putting in the boxes, holding 

 from two to four pounds, only the pure bunches of 

 grapes. 



We know of no better way; there may be: and if 

 any of our readers possess it, we shall be glad to 

 make room for telling us what it is. — Oermantoien 

 Telegraph. 



Beneficial Effect of Mulching on Berries. 

 Among the more intelligent horticulturists of this 

 country the plan of mulching the surface for a part 

 of the summer months with some cheap material 

 has long ago been accepted as a wise and economical 

 method for fruit growers to adopt. That such a sys- 

 tem will keep the surface soil moist in time of 

 drought, and the soil loose and open during a wet 

 season, there can be no doubt, as any fruit grower 

 who has tried the experiment can testify. While 

 talking to a successful small fruit grower about 

 mulching a short time ago, he said : " If I could 

 find no material to mulch my berries with, I would 

 abandon the business." Another person remarked : 

 " I covered my acre of Kittaninny blackberries last 

 year with a heavy coating of salt hay, and the effect 

 was magnificent — large berries and plenty of them — 

 while some of my neighbors who did not mulch 

 suffered severely from the drought." This kind of 

 testimony could be given without limit, as the expe- 

 rience of practical men who have given the subject 

 careful thought and practically tested the value of 

 mulching. Until quite recently strawberries seemed 

 to be the only fruit that was benefitted by mulching, 

 and that more on account of the mulch keeping the 

 berries clean and free from dirt or gravel than 

 anything else. But the usefulness of a mulch is by 

 no means confined to the strawberry ; but where 

 material can be had cheap, there is no question but 

 it would pay well to mulch raspberries, blackberries, 

 currants, gooseberries and pears. Nor is there any 

 question but what the size of fruit would be in- 

 creased, and growth more uniform. Where the sur- 

 face is covered before hot weather sets in, the mulch 

 will serve a threefold purpose when put on heavy 

 enough. As stated, it keeps the surface soil moist 

 and of uniform temperature during the growing 

 months, the crop of fruit is not checked, nor the 

 growth of wood retarded by an excessive drouth. 

 Again, under a mulch, the surface never becomes 

 compact, no matter how much rain strikes the hay or 

 straw, and then filters through gradually giving the 

 best condition for plant growth. Even on clay 

 ground, where the surface has been mulched for 

 three or four consecutive years, it is diflicult to com- 

 pact the surface. 



Taking in Fall Flowers. 



The time is approaching when we must do what 

 we canto secure the floral beauties that have been 

 with us the latter part of summer and the flrst part 

 of autumn. But how many of them will we have to 

 give up to die ? We really needed them only for the 

 summer decoration of the grounds; and we have no 

 place to keep them over winter, and besides this it is 

 certain that in the case of many young plants it will 

 be better in every way than those thines which we 

 covered, even if all things suited to that end. Still 

 there are some which we will save "anyhow," and 

 it may be as well to say a few words as to the proper 

 way to go about it. 



Of course the leading diflSculty is that the plants 

 arc so likely to wither up and' die away after taking 

 up and potting, and we have therefore to direct our 

 energies to prevent this very thing. The kind of 



