144 farmers' ajjd mechanics' journal. 



For the Farmers' and Mechanics' Journal. 



TRANSMUTATION OF WHEAT. 



Mr. Editor, — It is a well known fact, that if a farnner sows 

 wheat and rye together, the rye will gain on the wheat. The 

 cause, according to the opinion of most people, is this, viz : that 

 rye is a more fruitful grain than wheat. The writer has long been 

 of the opinion, that it is not simply this, and of late has been con- 

 vinced of the contrary by experiment. In the year of 1825, he 

 had some wheat, and not knowing whether it were winter or sum- 

 mer wheat, in order to make it certain he took a few kernels of it 

 and sowed it in his garden in the month of Jnly. It proved to be 

 winter wheat, and lived through the winter ; but one half of it was 

 rye. He then examined his wheat field, and fouud some of it that 

 appeared to approach the form of rye in a small degree, having 

 some appearance of very short barbs, though the wheat was bald. 

 He then rubbed out the grain of one ear which resembled perfect 

 wheat, and sowed it in his garden, which, strange to tell, was, next 

 harvest, every spear rye ! This was undoubtedly caused by the 

 fecundation of the wheat by the rye pollen. Rye, being earlier 

 and taller than wheat, has a greater opportunity of changing wheat 

 than wheat has of changing rye, it being later and shorter. 



However visionary this may seem to some, the results of the 

 above experiment are facts. It is hoped that this will induce some 

 of your scientific readers to put the thing beyond a doubt by a 

 series of experiments on the subject. Should this be done, and the 

 theory which I have advanced be established, farmers would find 

 it for their interest to set apart a sufficient quantity of their wheats 

 field, for seed, and be careful to pull out every spear of rye before 

 it blossomed that it might not scatter its pollen on the wheat, and 

 we should then be able to buy a bushel of wheat, without its be- 

 ing at the same time half rye. 



Yours, &;c* S. Chandler. 



Minot, June 6, 1828. 



XTOTICE. 



We have received a new Grammar of the English language, by 

 Wm. Pidgin, A.M. teacher of a Grammar School in Buckfield, Me. 

 " The parts of speech in the English language," says he, " are 

 three ; the Noun, the Verb, and the Conjunction." 



What change, this system, together with Xelandz Jiii Orthogra- 

 fe, may eflfect in Philology, we leave to those of a hundred years 

 hence to tell. 



