126 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



"II! ■ 



THE CULTURE OF SPRING WHEAT. 

 A New Hampshire farmer said to us the other 

 day that, for the first time for tM;enty years, he 

 had just purchased a barrel of flour ! That he 

 had always cultivated spring wheat, sometimes to 

 the amount of two hundred bushels in a season, 

 that his family had been abundantly supplied with 

 flour of their home production, and that it had 

 been as sweet and nice as any that the market af- 

 forded. At the table of this gentleman we cer- 

 tainly have eaten bread as good as ever came 



from wheat. 



We have often urged the importance to the 

 farmer of raising, as far as possible, all that his 

 family requires upon the farm itself. Not,to re- 

 ject a crop, entirely, because only a little of it is 

 needed in the family, or because his soil is not 

 perfectly adapted to its culture, but to select the 

 most favorable soil he has, and produce what he 

 requires of any particular thing, rather than de- 

 pend upon one large main crop. In the latter case, 

 he runs the risk of failure in the large crop, and 

 if he secures it he must go through all the forms 

 of marketing or exchange, for the other smaller 

 article which it needs. 



As an illustration :— Every farmer wants two 

 bushels of beans, annually, to supply the family 

 table. Now which of two things shall he do ? 

 Plant no beans, and extend his corn or hay crop, 

 go though all the forms of selling the corn in 

 market, and then purchase beans, such as he can 

 get, and pay the profit, beyond their cost, which 

 every seller must have, or raise them himself? 

 There are not many farmers who would entertain 

 the first proposition for a moment. 



As a general rule, it is the interest of the farm- 

 er to produce all the perishable articles of the 

 farm, which-are needed by the family, within him. 

 self. His corn, wheat, rye, beans, oats, potatoes, 

 hay, turnips, cabbages, salads, tomatoes, peas, cu- 

 cumbers, apples, cranberries, eggs, &c., &c. With 

 aKttlecarein the selection and judicious man- 

 agement of soils, and proper attention to each 

 crop, he may feel pretty sure of securing them all 

 every season. But if he depends upon the sale of 

 any one large crop to get the means of purchasing 

 these lesser, but equally indispensable articles, 

 and that one crop is cut off by drought, frost, in- 

 sects, or any other calamity, he will certainly find 

 himself in a poor way to furnish his table in a 

 t generous and inviting manner. 



Spring wheat requires a tolerably rich soil. Not 

 one mostly made up of vegetable matter and 

 filled with rich manures,— as such a soil would 

 excite the plant to a great growth of stem and 

 leaf, with but little seed. But a sandy loam, deep, 

 finely pulverized, and abounding in silex and oth- 

 er minerals. Tlie crop usually follows Indian 

 corn in the New England States, without manure 



at the time of sowing, and sutb land, if the corn ><1 

 crop was well manured and tended, will usually '^ 

 carry out the wheat. In some cases, however, a 

 pasture or clover sward is selected. The wheat 

 plant loves such a new soil, where the mineral 

 substances have not been exhausted. An old pas- 

 ture, not too rocky to prevent plowing it three or 

 four inches deep, turns up light, the sward is ten- 

 der, its vegetable portions decay just about fast 

 enough to feed the growing plants, and they us- 

 ually produce a fair crop without much manure 

 beyond a coat of lime or plaster. In such a loose 

 soil the seeds "tiller" freely, frequently throwing 

 out ten to thirty new stems, and growing vigor- 

 ously through the season. 



The grains of spring wheat are usually some- 

 what smaller than those of winter wheat, and the 

 straw is less when cultivated under the same cir- 

 cumstances. The advantage which it possesses is 

 that of ripening early. It succeeds best in this 

 region when sowed just as early as the soil is suf- 

 ficiently dry to be crumbly when it is plowed. If 

 the season is favorable it will ripen in about nine- 

 ty days. In sowing, the seed should be distribut- 

 ed and covered evenly, which will cause the ripen- 

 ing of the whole crop at the same time. In re- 

 gard to this point, much will depend upon the 

 manner in which the ground is prepared. It 

 should be harrowed quite evenly after being 

 plowed, and again after the seed is sowed. 



Three or four pecks per acre are required for 

 seeding, varying a little according to the nature 

 of the soil— rich land requiring less than a poor 

 soil. It is well to soak the seed in a strong brine 

 twenty-four hours, stirring it rapidly occasional- 

 ly, so as to bring oats and other lighter seeds to 

 the surface, so that they may be skimmed ofi". 



When a crop is well grown, much care should 

 be exercised in harvesting it. A few days too 

 early, or a few days too late, will make an essen- 

 tial difference in the quantity obtained and the 

 qiialittj of the bra'i, flour and gluten. The best 

 indications of the proper time, are the pasty con- 

 dition of the seed— that is, when it is neither 

 milky nor hard, but at the moment when it has 

 passed the milky slate. If cut at this time, the 

 seed draws the juices from the stem, or in some 

 manner becomes plump, hard and perfect, and 

 yields its richest products. 



Another indication of the true time of cutting 

 is given by the changed color of the straw immed- 

 iately below the head. When this changes from 

 green to yellow, which it does before the body of 

 the straw changes, the circulation of the plant is 

 arrested, and the head can receive no more nour- 

 ishment from the roots. In this condition it prob- 

 ablv can derive nothing from the air, and must, 

 therefore, contain within itself all that is necessa- 

 rv for its perfection. 



