324 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



APRIL 19 18 ». 



(Fur the New England Farmer.) 

 SMCT IN WHEAT. 



H5a KniTOR : — Tljere has boen iiiiiph said ahoiit 

 smut in wlioat, in yuai-s |)ast_; many theories and 

 r.nnjecnirps ]m\e been advanred, !iut nothiufr prov- 

 ed, nor any thing very satisfactorily asserted. 



Many have lieen of the opinion that smut will 

 produce smut a-rain, whether sown with wheat, 

 or mixed with the manure, spread on the wheat 

 ground. But should they tell me the sowing of 

 charennl would produce trees of charcoal, or can.«e 

 acorns to produce such trees, ! should be no more 

 surprised. 



For the smut in wheat appears to -he an inert 

 njatlcr, resemblinij; carbon, -with the ajipcnrance 

 of lamp-black. I think we have no proof of its 

 producing smut, biit to the contrary. A neigh- 

 bor of mine of veracity, informed me that he one 

 year had very Sinutty wheat, and that the spring 

 following, ho took his seed wheat and washed it 

 clean ; but it fell short of sowing the whole of his 

 ground ; having no other seed, he took the smut 

 and stnall wheat which was sej-arated by w.a'sh- 

 ifig, and that produced wheat as free from snmt 

 as iiis clean seed. Now I would ask if smut in 

 wlieat may not be aci-ounted for on the prilici|:le 

 of fermeiilation, or lather efTervesceuce ? Raising 

 such an external motion and heat, as to entirely 

 change the substance of the kernel fronj white to 

 black, resembling lam|)-black, as before stated ; 

 which is caused from too great a degree of acid 

 in the younggrowing flour. In orderto substan- 

 tiate this, we have the testimony of many farmers ; 

 which is this, — that when they soaked or scahled 

 their seed wheat in ley, A never became sjnntty ; 

 and some times liming will do it, but not always. 

 In the spring of the year 183G, the writer sow- 

 ed some wheal, and his neighbor sowed some of 

 the same kind, the same day, and the same fiour 

 of the day, and apparently on the same soil divi- 

 ded by a fence only ; his was free from smut, and 

 his neighbor's was so snmltyas to ii jure his (lour 

 materially. 



Now what could make this dilTerence r We 

 know of nothing except tlie field which |)roduced 

 clean vvlicat, had wood ashes sown on about the 

 tirrie the wheat was coming up ; and that which 

 produced smut had not. I'crhaps the alkali pre- 

 vented the grain froitj receiving so much acid ns 

 to produce a feinientation. 



•Should these hints move chemists ani^'aiiii'oso- 

 phers to examine the subject, and ascert?tin the 

 true cause of smut in wheat, the writer would 

 be more than paid, and the pubij€ much bene- 

 fited. C. 

 Minot, [Me.] April 5, 1837. 



By the EniTOR, — There has been njuch differ- 

 ence in opinion relative to the causes of smut in 

 wheat, The conjecture of our correspondent, that 

 it is produced l>y acid ferMientatioiij seems as plau- 

 sible as any, and is strengthened by the fact that 

 alkalies are, generally, u.sed as preventives of smut. 

 It is also a well ascertained truth, that smut in 

 wheat is contagious, or may be conuniinicaled 

 from one parcel to another. A iV5r Ecroyd of 

 Philadelphia County, according to the Farmer's 

 Assistant, says that in England, he saw this ex- 

 perinient fairly tried j grains of smut were pul- 

 verized and applied to wheat which was perfect- 

 ly clean and clear of smut, and which was then 

 gown and it produced sinutty wheat. At the 

 game time, dirty sniutty wheat was effecliudly 



washed in char spring water and sown, and was 

 entirely free from smut. 



In order that the wheat be effectually washed, 

 it should be put into two or three changes of su(h 

 watiu-, and well rublied and stirred about so as to 

 cleanse the grain eniirclij from the smut. Mr 

 Rcroyd says the man who made these trials, had 

 a premium given him by a nnmbi^r of farmers, 

 for the discovery ; and that in the way just men- 

 tioned, he wonlil produce smutty wheat from seed 

 oiiginally clean, and clean wheat from seed orig- 

 inally smutty, in drills in the same field. 



We have often, since the commencement of our 

 labors, given recipes, ami pointed out methods to 

 prevent trmut in wheat. The directions in page 

 310, current volume, arc, perha|)s, as efficient as 

 any. Steeps for seed wheat strengthen and bring 

 forward the young plants, and are thought to be 

 useful for manure as well as for preventing smut. 

 .Sowing wood ashes on the wl.eat-field just as the 

 plants are coming up, inay be an entire and infal- 

 lable remedy fur smut, and doul)tIess is useful for 

 manure ; but we would not rely on the ash(!s 

 alone, without the washing, steeping, &c., until 

 further experiments shall prove that the washing 

 and steeping are rendered unnecessary by a sea- 

 sonable top-di'essing of ashes. 



CFrom the Norttianiiilon Hepnblicail.) 

 RECLAIMED L.AKD. 



In a conununicafion to the (\innnittee of th 

 Hamjishire, Franklin and Hampilen Agticnltural 

 Society, the Rev. Dan. Hunting<lon of Hadley, 

 gives the following facts. 'J he lot reclaimed by 

 him is 116 rods long, and from ]2 to IG broad — 

 about 12 acres, 



A fi!W years since, this lot was a swajup, cov- 

 ered with bogs and brakes and bushes — the haunt 

 of snakes and frogs and mud-turtles — an entire 

 waste. It was not only useless, but being in the 

 imnuuliate vicinity of his homestead, was a con- 

 stant eye-s(M-e, ami probably irnbeahby. 



In subduing it, the bushes were first cut and 

 burnt. A ditch three feet wide and two and a 

 half feet deep, was extended the whole length. 

 The bogs and brake-heads were then cut with 

 stout and sharp bog-hoes — taking off the surface 

 entirely «here it was necessary. Tliese were 

 ri.'moved to an adjoining lot of a light, sandy soil, 

 where, by becoming incorfmraled with the soil, 

 they have evidently so improved it, as more than 

 to pay for the labor. The greater part of this 

 spot of ground thus subdued, has had crops upon 

 it, some parts repi^atedly. It is all this time, fit 

 (or the plough. What the expense of clearing 

 has been", it is impossible to state — the labor hav- 

 ing been done at different times, and by od.d spells, 

 at leisure. The expen.se, however, lie is sure, 

 bears no proportion to the e ihanced value of the 

 bind, together v.ith the beautiful |,i-ospect it pre- 

 sents to the discerning eye, and the pleasure it 

 aflbrds to a rclined taste. As to intrinsic value, 

 lands thus redeemed, are to be ranked with the 

 very best. For some crops, broom-corn and beans 

 for instance, other soils are preferable. But tor 

 the standard substantial crops of Indian corn, po- 

 tatoes, oats, and the different kinds of grasses 

 raised in our valley, exfierience will show abimd- 

 antly,that we have no belter lands than those thus 

 reclaimed. Having nothing in view but to sub- 

 due and imjuovc them as well as possible, he has 

 never been particular to ascertain precisely the 

 quantity of crops raised. Compared with those 



raised on the alluvial lands arljoiniug, liowi;ver 

 they will in the proper season of crops, speak i< r 

 themselves and the soil that produces them. In 

 some respects the soil of reclnimed lands has man- 

 ifestly the advantage. It is naturally richer. — 

 Having for its basis, clay or hard pan, it retains 

 the manure luit upon it much longer. It is as easily 

 cultivated, and excepting those portions of ihe al- 

 luvial which are beni'filed by lie.shels, it is, to say 

 the least, as easily kept in good iieait. 



In ditching, his practice has been to begin where 



a ditch .seemed to promise to do the most good 



and where it did not entirely accomplish the ob- 

 ject, to try another, and another, boih iiarallel and 

 transverse, till the land was thoroughly drained. 

 The sloping ditch is to be iirefcrred, where it is 

 practicable. .Ml the muck that can in this way 

 be obtained is needed for n auure on the other 

 parts of the farm. Besides, a dilch thus finished, 

 seldom wants repaiiing. Not being liable to be 

 trodden in at the sides, it rarely needs any thing 

 more than the furrow of a ijlough to clear it. — 

 Other advantages are, that a team will be able to 

 pass it, in most places without a bridge ; and the 

 land may be cultivated to the rtatci's edge ; and 

 even in the water, where it is not too deep, will, 

 in a little time, be awarded. 



I have in several iiistaiices tried the covered 

 ditch with success, it aluays does well, when 

 well made, and when the; water moves ipiick so 

 that the stream will clear itself The method is 

 leaving space enough for the water, at all times 

 to flow freely, to place across Ihe ditch, in almost 

 any direction, sticks of sufiicient size and strength 

 to hold firmly the covering that is put on it, — 

 Then lay on brush — something like alders or bir- 

 ches ; the straigliter ihe belter ; then a covering 

 of straw, swingle-tow, shavings or leaves ; then a 

 covering of soil, and the ditcdi is dine. 



Where cold springs issue from the sides of 

 hills, overspreading rods of ground with cold wa- 

 ter, occasioning coarse kinds of sour grass and 

 moss, it is excellent husbandry to sink a well two 

 or three or four feet Jeep, <lirectly in the spring, 

 and then to cover it in ihe way above described, 

 and if it continue to overflow whcje the ground is 

 favorable, connect with it a covered ditch that 

 shall drain it. I have a spot of this kind where 

 tiie water has become so completely slanched,that 

 the season past I raised corn upon it as good as 

 any in the lot,and the land is thus redeemed from 

 waste. 



All the muck that is thrown out of these ditch- 

 es should be removed to the barn yard or the sly, 

 or to some other place convenient for it to pul- 

 verize — mixing it oci asiomdly as it is turned with 

 the shovel, a quantity of stable manure, and if 

 you have it, a plenty of quick lime, or that which 

 is air-slacked. This makes an excellent dressing 

 for crops of every description, 'i his had been 

 bis practice for several years, he has so fiir had 

 success that be can with conlldcncu rccoinmend 

 it to his brother farmers. 



Infldenza in England The Influenza is 



saiil to be raging to an alarming degree in Eng- 

 land. The latest accounts state that almost every 

 family in London was aflJicleil. It attacks more 

 particularly the aged. One hundred and tliiny 

 clerks of the bank of England were sick with it 

 at onetime. At Woolwich hospital the deaihs 

 average from five to ten per day, 



London paper. 



