24 CULTURE OF FARM CROPS. 



appear to have come in contact with the lime, and then 

 left for a few hours, when it will be dry enough for drill- 

 ing. This method of dressing is generally done over-night, 

 and left in a neat conical heap (which the superstitious old 

 farmer used to cross with the ' besom,' the handle of which 

 was thrust into the cross) till the morning. This eccentric 

 method was adopted with the belief that it kept the witch 

 from executing her evil designs. When urine is resorted 

 to for pickling, it should be kept in a tub for a few days 

 prior to using it, as fresh urine voided from healthy sub- 

 jects possesses an acid reaction instead of an alkaline, which 

 it only acquires by keeping a short time. The urea, a 

 nitrogenous compound in urine, takes up four equivalents of 

 water, and becomes converted into two equivalents of car- 

 bonate of ammonia ' smelling salts ' of the chemist 

 giving the whole an alkaline reaction : a condition which is 

 necessary to insure the removal of the smut-balls. . . 



" Where urine is used, the wheat may be dipped into 

 it; or the former may be poured over the latter in sufficient 

 quantity to well moisten the whole. 



" Another agent which is commonly used in pickling 

 wheat is sulphate of copper (blue vitriol), in the following 

 manner : 4 Ib. of the vitriol should be dissolved in about 

 two gallons of boiling water, and when fully dissolved, 

 placed in a large tub an old hogshead cut through the 

 middle answers the purpose very well and add about 20 

 gallons of cold water. Procure a wicker basket of suitable 

 shape to go into the tub, large and strong enough to hold 

 a bushel and a half of wheat. Place the basket in the 

 liquid, and gently pour into it the wheat. By adopting 

 this precaution the light arid imperfect grains, chaff, or small 

 seed will float at the top, and may be skimmed off the sur- 

 face. Having proceeded thus far, lift the basket, and 

 allow it to drain over the tub; empty the same, and 

 proceed with the next lot. This method will be found 

 very convenient as well as effectual; but the most effec- 

 tual remedy consists in selecting a good, clean, and even 

 sample for seed, from a climate suitable for a change, when 



