THE N E W GENESEE F A R M E R , 



V 



OL, 



1 



immcase number of distinct epeciea and Toric'.iea of 

 wheat, some of which were very beauiiftiT. The ca- 

 talogue of the former C3tnblichment enumerates more 

 ihnn eighty distinct kinds of this grain. 



Owing to the difference of climate, many kinda of 

 wheat which arc found highly valuable in England arc 

 not suitable for this coimtry; still, we arc convinced that 

 much may be done by way of introducing more valu- 

 able kinds than those in general UfC, and by inijjroving 

 those kinds already in cultivation in this country. We 

 intend to import all the most niiprovcd kinda from Eu- 

 rope, with a view of testing their ada{>tedne93 to this 

 climate ourselves, and comparing them with our 

 common varieties. Wo earnestly request all of our 

 friends who can c mveniontly do so, to make experi- 

 ments and observations on the culture of wheat, and 

 Bend ua the rcoulta fir publication. We are con- 

 fident that there is much Blill to be learned on this 

 B«bje;:t, and that this all-important crop, the siaff ol' 

 life, and of our agriculture, may be greatly increased. 



W'j intend often to recur to this subject, but shall 

 03nclude for the present with the fjlliwing essay 

 which is not only vohiable for the informalion which 

 it contains but for the instruction it gives respecting 

 the manner of conducting such ctpcriraentj. * 



From tlie Joumnl of the EnirUsh Agrieultural Socifty. 

 Ou jmre and inipiovccl Varletirs ol' Wheat late- 

 ly iiit^udiicc'd iuto Uii^laud. 



An Essay, to whit Ii lIk; I'rizf ol" Turiity .Sovereigns was a- 



WiirdcJ ill Jtilv, l-:;i). — ily C'oluiicl La Cootecr. 



WHITE DOW.NY. 



1st. T/i« muilc nf procuring tli: sorts of wheat dc- 

 scrihciL — One of the best vunetics of wheat in gene- 

 ral cultivation, from which I have raided large crops, 

 is the " White Downy," or hoory — .he " Vciou'.e" of 

 the French. 



Thiec.xccUcnt variety is believed to be the same that 

 is 80 well described by B.iys, in his 'Gcnc^ial View of 

 the Agriculture of Ke.it,' as the " Iloajy 'Willie," or 

 "Velvet-eared;" said by him to have been much pri- 

 Eed by the millers, but then entirely lost. 



2nd.^"s ciillurc, — riz., prcpuruliun and (pianihij nf 

 the seedtime and iiicl/iuti (J' sowing; rdaUon bulk us 

 to prcccdlvg und fol'.uw'.ii^ crops, und as to rurictiis 

 of soil. — Thesccjwa? cai;,fui;y\v.u.bc-(l in teveial v.a- 

 ters, till the water appeared clear on Ftining the wheat 

 with it: this is intended to draw oil' any smut, i-usi, 

 or no.xioua iuvi-ble ccei of the fungus tribe, which 

 might be adhering to !t, previonn to steeping it in brine, 



made sufliciontly otrong to float a potalne or an c". 



IrWhisit was KtCL-ped a night, or about twelve hours; 

 then w^ll mi.vcd ■.vith powdered lime. This process,' 

 it is though', ir,i-;ivi uic dcstruciion of the eggs or 

 larvae of any iiiv.5.. ..r in-^''; adhering to the reed. 



Time and uuthud ,>/ :i,..-:::rr. — The pccd thurj pre- 

 pared waseown in dn|i . ..•'. . ■-■:ilhof Jan;;ary, ISI'G. 

 7 inches apart, with an i.,di;iiry wheat driiling-ma- 

 chine, at the rate of a bushels, or a little more, to 

 tho acre. The wheat was cartfuily hand-hoed in the 

 month of .May, which caused it to lilli-r liecly. 



liflation botli as to preceding and Julluwing crops. 

 — Tiio land in which the alxivo wheat was sown had 

 been well dressad with 1) loads of dung to the acre, the 

 previous year, f ir iio-.atocs, which were twice borte-ho- 

 ed and once ha.id-houd, to rcniov,3 any weeds that tlic 

 hor«e-h >e misht have left. The land remained very 

 clean; and after th3po:;itoc5 were dug. (jnd well clear- 

 ed from the sod by tw.> ploughings, ;!0 ejuartcrsof sco- 

 weed (or kelp) nslies were siirend on th'-- field, or 9 quar- 

 ters to the acre, at a cost of 21. 5s. \:er acre, and. a 

 month afterwards, ploughed in, about .5 inches 'in 

 dcpih, with a view to nourish and warm the young 

 ehoot-j of the wheat, sown ."i inches deep. 'J'be a.'ihi,^ 

 have a pcciiliur tendcn'-y to cnu?e tho w'lcar to grain 

 and rend.Tit plump, whUe, thin-sUinnsd, and iaiTnacc- 

 0U8. They have the additional quality of greatly aii"- 

 menling tho produce of the succeeding crop of elovcT. 

 The soil on which the trial was made, being derived 

 from argillaceous schistus, is light and rich, iudicalin", 

 however, the presence of iron: to counieract the eficl-t 

 ot which lime has been ap:iliod. 



3rd. IlardUmod and poic.:r to tciihstand scrcre icin- 

 tcrs. —Thif wheat will withstand the most severe 

 weather. The season l,-^:!? to 1S3H wa.'. a very try- 

 ing one, both na to wetness and severity of coM the 

 thermometer having fallen to 18= below freezin"; but 

 the crops of lliis wheat raised by mv iicighlic)ure''were 

 perlectly insensible to it, ami of great produce. 



4th. Earlij matiiriti/ and time of scEerance of crop. 



— This wheat is no; remarkable f^r its early maturity, 

 tiioiigh it cinnot be railed a tordy variety. On this oc- 

 casion it was reaped about the lOih of Augusu 



5lh. T^nUmnj to d.'gjicraie, and lialiililics to dis- 

 ease. — From my own experience, and from that of the 

 oldest peisins 1 havs conaulted oh the subject, ihisci- 

 cclltnt wheat is not subject to dcgtneiate; and, by 

 bestowing on the portion of it intended for seed the 

 attention iccommended in my work, and onnuully, or 

 even ocenBio'nally, varying the manure intended for it, 

 it is possilde that it may never degenerate. 



The only objection to it is in the huskiners, or vcl- 

 vjtty ear, which in damp weather is retentive of mois- 

 ture; and in snatchy seasons the grain is more' apt to 

 aprujt than the eiiiao'.h-ch..ril-d varieties. It is not 

 much alicetcd with du^t-biand; und, when pickled 

 and limed us described above, has never been fuur.d 

 with smut-balls. It is little liable to shed, even when 

 ovor-ripe, and will rcs'st very heavy gales without 

 being hiid or broken. la th;? wet and stormy season, 

 wiiich prevailed in the Is'.e of Jlrn bcfjre last harvest, 

 this was the sort which rcs'sted it beet. Its height is 

 tfom 4 to 5 feet, according to the soil. 



Gt'j. Amount of produce in grain, cluiff, and straw: 

 and tiic rcUiticc ipiuntiins of jlonr and ojf'al. — This 

 crop p.-oj.iccd i*i imperial bushels to the acie, of a very 

 li;ie sample. It weighed t)'<J Us. the imperial bushel. 

 The straw was linn and white; the weight of it pro- 

 duced wjs 4557 lbs., and that of the chafl" 315 lbs. to the 

 acre. 



Quantity of Jlonr and offal. — ^The qnanlity ?>f flour 

 obtained Irom an acre wa»a4u2 lbs. of the finest, l:M 

 lbs. of pollard, and 410 lbs. of bian. 



The blend is of a very fine quality, white, and ra- 

 thsr of a moitt nature; 18 lbs. of this flour making 25 

 lbs. of bread. With a view to further the dcs gn of thft 

 Agricultural Committee, the mode of making this bnad 

 .s stat'jd, which may enable other persons to malio 

 cimpaialivo experiments with similar quantities of flour 

 from their ffwn wheats. The flour was placed to rise, 

 or to snonge, overnight, with J a pint of yeast and 2 

 quarts of w:itcr. At 9 o'clock" the next morning, 4 

 ounces of line salt were addtj, and it imbibed 3 quarts 

 of water, milk-warm, which was w^ll worked up, 

 drawn up (nsit were) into strings to expose it to the 

 air 08 tiiueh cs jiossible, in order to rcnelerr it light: 

 which is preferable to picss-ng it down with the clcaed 

 list, which more or less excludes the air, oud tends to 

 render the bread heavy. The djugh is then left in tin 

 [;ansto rise for SJO minutes or J an hour, nud is usu- 

 ally baked in 2" hours, more or less, according to the 

 size of the loaf. It is weighed when cold the ne.xt 

 morning. ■-;■■..,-,: ^ -. ■ ,, . ■ . > , . 



It is to be ol served that some flour has only^ imbib- 

 ed, on li)c following morning, after being placcd'to risa 

 over night, 2 quarts and 1 pir.t of water; whereas other 

 sorts have imbibed as much m'^i quarts and 1 pint, or 

 a quart more. 



Crop. 



£ s. d. £, s. d. 



45 bus'ie'B,-at Ss. per bushel 18 



3 ditto Tailings, at 5s 15 



Straw, 40^ cwt., at 1*. per cwt . . 2 9 



20 15 9 



Charges. 



Rent .if land per acre 5 12 6 



9 quarters of rshrs 2 5 



Tithe , 8 G 



' One ploughing for crop 80 



Half-tillage and dressing on pota- 

 toes 2 



Seed, 8s. per bueuel !(> 



Sowing 2 



Besivharrowing and rolling 10 



O.iehoeing 50 



Reaping 8 



Caring-j, stacking, and threshing, 15 

 Interest on capital 10 



Piolit. 



« 1 lollt 



>l^, JERSEY DAiNTZlC. 



- 13 U 



.£7 4 9 



1^. The mode of promring tite sorts of ichcal ds 

 sciKcd. — Tlie seed is deBcnbud as having' boon ra s ;d 

 irom a single car, originating IViiin seed procured ftoiii 

 Dantzic SL-I(;eted from the (inest "High Mi-xcd." It 

 is, however, susjiected to be identical with some cx- 

 c.-lU-nt sorts, ca'led in Sussex, Kent, and some parts 

 ol Surrey, the " Chittiims," in other pans " Poggle- 

 sham;" in Berkshire, '-Trum:" in Esurx, "ilnrdcas- 

 tie;" in some counties, " Old Suffolk;" in Scotlaiul. 

 ■'Hunter's White;'.' and assuming several other 

 names. * . 



2nd. Culture: viz., preparation and quantity nf tlic 

 seed; time and method of soicing, liutii as to preirding 

 and folUnring crop.i. and as tolurieUes qf soil. — The 



s-ed was preporcd precisely in the same manner as tho 

 last deecribtel : it was sown on the siiue day on a con- 

 tiguous piece of land of the same nature as the last de- 

 scribed f.jr theyurpose of comparison, therefore prepa- 

 red and manured in like manner. 



3rd. Harddiood and power to withstand sctere irirt- 

 tcrs. — This wheat is not quite so hardy as the " Hoa- 

 ry;" it is nevertheless considered sutKciently so to suc- 

 ceed throughout the kingdom, excepting the north 

 parts of Scotland. In rich foils it tillers amazingly, 

 und produces a longer straw than the Hoary, nor is it 

 6} liable to sprout in a moist climate from being smooth 

 chaff d: in very severe, moist, and stormy weather, it 

 will be laid sooner than the Hoory. 



4th. Early maturity and tim: if screrancc of crops. 

 — It ripens a week earlier at least than the Hoory, 

 and should be reaped while the grain can br? marked 

 by pressure from the thumb-nail, as it is rather liable to 

 shed if over-ripe, — a disadvantage which the Hoary 

 .8 peculiarly free from, as it is tenacious to the ear. 



This wao reaped about the 12th ot August. 



5lh. Tvndcnnj to degenerate and liahilitirs to diS' 

 cast. — Theexperienceof live years hcs not fiund thie 

 wheat to degenerate. A sample raised th's year from 

 that procured as above stated, was quite pure and un- 

 mixed, it may be said, as only 93 eais of foreign 

 growth were picked from one hundred sheoves which 

 were carefully examined in order to free the sort liom 

 any of stray kinds which might nccielentally hove got 

 intermixed with it. This is a practice which I now 

 constantly follow with the wheat so; apart for S2cd for 

 the enen ng year. 



In a dry season this wheat will afford a becutiful, 

 clean, white straw, fit tor bonnet-making, or any pur- 

 pose of thatching: it is firm and tenocions. In wet 

 seasons it is ratiier subject to rust, which under such 

 circums'.ances almost all wheat suff-rstrom. 



It is a fact worthy of notice that, in Ic-ij", a field o{ 

 this wheat, which had been sown with seed carefully 

 washed and stec,)ed in a solutiim of arsenic* had not 

 r\ s'nglc omutted ear; but on one headland, for which 

 there was not suificient seed, a small portion was fetch- 

 ed from the barn, and sown dry; though appc.nring 

 a beautiful s.-mple, it was infested with smut through- 

 out; th's wr.8 of course carefully picked out by band 

 before it ripened fully, and burned. , 



Cth. Anwunt ef produce in grain, chaff, and strato, 

 and the relative quan'.itics of Jiour and offal. — The 

 crop produced 43i imperial busHels of 63 lbs ; of chaff 

 430 lbs.: and of s'.iaw, as described, 4681 lbs. to the 

 acre. The (luantiiy of flour obtained from on scie was 

 •iltil lbs,, of bran 510 lbs., and of pollards 96 lbs. 



"The bread from th"3 flour is of a dry light nature, 

 very white and good, but cbjected toby some from i s 

 being quite what is termed dry bread at the end of <8 

 Uouis. It is, however, of excellent yield, and accord- 

 ing to the millers, exceedingly" fine and smooth 'n 

 the working. It is a valuable wheat: 18 lbs. of tho 

 Hour, treated as the former variety, imbibed the fol- 

 lowing morning 3 quarts and 1 pint of warm water, 

 und produced 25J lbs. of bread, weighed whin quite 

 cold. 

 • Chop. 



£, s. d. 



i(il bushels at Ss. per bushel IG 4 



3 ditto Tailings, at !is 15 



Strew, 415 cwt., at Is. per cwt... 2 19 



Charge? as in the last. 



Profit.. £5 9 9 



WHITIXGTON WHEAT. 



1st. The mode of procuring it. — riom IMr. Whi- 

 tington biiiiself, a very fine pure sample. The grain is 

 largo, full, and plump, rather of a whitish-red cost, 

 and a little thick-skinned. 



2nd. Culture; viz., preparation and quantity of 

 seed; time and wetjiod of soiring; rchitinn both as to 

 prccfdiit^'an'J folloicing crops, and as to rarictics nf 

 soil. — The seed wos washed, pickled, drained, anil li- 

 mi'd, as is usual on this farm; then sown in drills 7 

 inches apart, about 3 bushels to the acre, ou the Plh 

 of .lanuary, 1838. AVlien the seed is large, it is con- 

 sidered prudent to add half a bushel or more to tho 

 acre. 



The field had borne potatoes the preceding year, and 

 lifter two jiloiiLdiings to free it from any potatoes which 

 miL'ht hnvo been left, it was dressed with 2 hogs- 

 heads of lime, 6 quarters of lime ashes, ond 5 quarters 

 of kelp ashes, at a cost of 2^ us. 6</. per acre. This 



* The steeping of sccii in a solution of arsenic is a (innecr- 

 0119 practiue. a«, frnm ilie poisonous nature of tlie driip, 

 there is a yrent hn/ard of rvce'iiicnls oce-urriiis. The steepinij 

 ill brine, as le'iove descriheil by Colonel I.c Couteiir, is an cf- 

 fcctiinl prevention of smut, and not accompaniei with any 



dongW.— SlTNCER. 



