EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT. 189 



gard to the quality of the flour as influenced by the use of different 

 fertilizers." 



"They did that very thing," said I, "and not only that, but 

 they made the wheat grown on different plots, into flour, and as- 

 certained the yield of flour from a given weight of wheat, and the 

 amount of bran, middlings, etc., etc. They obtained some very 

 interesting and important results. I was there at the time. But 

 this is not the placs to discuss the question. I am often amused, 

 however, at the remarks we often hear in regard to the inferior 

 quality of our wheat as compared to what it was when the country 

 was new. Many seem to think that ' there is something lacking in 

 the soil ' some say potash, and some phosphates, and some this, 

 and some that. I believe nothing of the kind. Depend upon it, 

 the variety of the wheat and the soil and season have much more 

 to do with the quality or strength of the flour, than the chemical 

 composition of the manures applied to the land." 



" At any rate," said the Doctor, " we may be satisfied that any- 

 thing that will produce a vigorous, healthy growth of wheat is 

 favorable to quality. We may use manures in excess, and thus 

 produce over-luxuriance and an unhealthy growth, and have poor, 

 shrunken grain. In this case, it is not the use, but the abuse of 

 the manure that does the mischief. We must not manure higher 

 than the season will bear. As yet, this question rarely troubles us. 

 Hitherto, as a rule, our seasons are better than our farming. It 

 may not always be so. We may find the liberal use of manure so 

 profitable that we shall occasionally use it in excess. At present, 

 however, the tendency is all the other way. We have more grain 

 of inferior quality from lack of fertility than from an excess of 

 plant-food." 



" That may be true," said I, " but we have more poor, inferior 

 wheat from lack of draining and good culture, than from lack of 

 plant-food. Red-root, thistles, cockle, and chess, have done more 

 to injure the reputation of * Genesec Flour,' than any other one 

 thing, and I should like to hear more said about thorough cultiva- 

 tion, and the destruction of weeds, and less about soil exhaustion." 



The following table shows the results of the experiments the 

 sixth year, 1848-9. 



