No. 8 



ANDGARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



ll;3 



wheat is nbcut a foot in height, it is carefully weeded, 

 hence, we seldom find in English wheat cither cockle, 

 cheat, or the seeda of the various weeds with which 

 our fields are so often infested. The wheat is usually 

 gathered with the sickle. I saw no cradles, like those 

 of America, in use 



2nd. Qt'ASTiTY OF Sf.kd to the Acre. In this 

 particular I found a great difference of opinion be- 

 tween the British and American farmer. In this coun- 

 try a bushel of wheat is considered sufficient for an 

 acre; formerly many persons only used three pecks per 

 acre. I am inclined to think, that we have erred in 

 using too little seed. I remember visiting the fields of 

 a farmer in New York many years ago, and observed 

 ithat whilst the heads of wheat were very fine, the slalks 

 appeared to stand thinly on the ground. He had sown 

 three pecks to the acre, and the produce was nine 

 bushels. 1 suggested to him the propriety of using a 

 double quantity of seed. Three years afterwards he 

 sowed the same field again, using a bushel and a half 

 to the acre, — the season and tillage were similar to that 

 of the former sowing. He subsequently informed me 

 that his land this year produced fifteen bushels to the 

 acre, and that he was now an advocate for thick sow- 

 ing. 



I extract from my notes on English husbandry the 

 following quotation, which I either wrote down from 

 the dictation of some responsible agriculturist, or co- 

 pied I'rom some agricultural journal of England: I am 

 inclined to think the latter. I have reason to believe 

 it is the usual mode adopted in England and Scotland. 



"On rich lands in good condition, when the soil is 

 strong loam or clay, and well drained, two and a half 

 to two and three-quarter bushels per imperial acre may 

 be sufficient, of the ordinary varieties. As spring 

 S'Twn wheat does not tiller well, one half to three-quar- 

 ters of a bushel more maybe necessary; but strong 

 clays are not well adapted to spring sown wheat, al- 

 though it is quite possible that a suitable variety may 

 be obtained for that purpose. 



"On medium soils one half bushel more may be re- 

 quisite for such season of sowing, regulating the quan- 

 ii'lV to the quality and condition of the soil, and the 

 ])receding crops. When potatoes have been raised in 

 the fallow division, at least two or three pecks more 

 may be necessary than after a clean fallow. 



"On high and light lands, wheat after fallow should 

 be drilled in from two to three inches deep, to prevent 

 throwing out in spring. With this precaution, if the 

 Innd is in good condition, little more seed will be 

 wanted than on medium; but on such lauds wheat 

 holds beat after grass, and in that case requires two or 

 three pecks more seed than under any other circum- 

 stance." 



As I have never seen the stalks of wheat so thickly 

 crowded together in my own country as in Great Brit- 

 ain, and as theiraverage crop is decidedly greater than 

 curs, I have accounted for the difibrence, at least in 

 some measure to the greater quantity of seed used 

 by the Etiropean agriculturists, after making due al- 

 lowances for the difierences of climate and modes of 

 culture. I remarked that in Englond, in consequence 

 ot this thick sowing, there was but one stalk to each 

 gram, whilst in America, where the seeds were far- 

 ther separated, there aie usually side stalks, few of 

 which produce equally well with the one proceeding 

 fio;Ti the grain. The additional quantity of the seed 

 town is doubly compensated for, by the greater pro- 

 duct to the acre. These, however, should be matters 

 Lit experiment with us, in a climate where our sum- 

 lac-rs are much warmer, as I am lully aware lands 

 may be too thickly as well as too thinly sown. 



od. Varikties of Whkat in EtnopE. — Botanists 

 have been much perplexed in endeavoring to decide 

 un the true origin of our varieties of wheat. It is now 

 d.fiicult to ascertain what is the true Irkiaim sativum 

 or common wheat, and the latter triticum its/iriim or 

 summer wheat. I am, however, inclined to think, 

 that all the varieties may be included under one speeief, 

 as there are no distinctive marks by which they can 

 be separated. Under iritiawi hijbcrtuim, for instance, 

 are included some of the earliest and best varieties of 

 spring wheat, and under triticum aslirum are included 

 e:veral bearded wheats, equally hardy, and requiring 

 as long time to arrive ot maturity as our common win" 

 ter sorts. Indeed, the French Botanists have now re- 

 ferred oil the varieties to triticum saticum. But this 

 is not the place to settle nice botanical distinctions. 



Spring wheat is seldom cultivated in England as a 

 general crop. In every instance where I saw it grow- 

 ing, it appeared to me rother inferior. 



In my last number I alluded to some of the varieties 

 of wheat at present cultivated in England. The gol- 

 den drop, blood red, Uvbridge, Hunters, Mengos- 

 wells, V/hittington and IlickHngs. The three latter. 



like our okra cotton and rohan potatoe, have been so 

 recently introduced that they have not yet found their 

 way into general cultivation. The specimens which 

 I saw, however, were very superior, svdliciently so to 

 encourage the American farmer to import the seed, 

 which may be ordered from Lawson and Sons, Edin- 

 burg, or Loddige in London, or through any merchont 

 in Liverpool. An order sent in July will bo in suffi- 

 cient time to enable the farmer to plant the seed in au- 

 tumn. 



The wheat called Leghorn, or Tuscany wheat, was 

 introducetl into England for the purpose of procuring 

 straw for the manul'acture of bonnets, Ac.; but it was 

 found not to succeed as well as the common rye, which 

 is now exclusively cultivated in the Orkney islands 

 and the North of Scotland for that purpose. 



In the Northern parts of France, 1 sow cultivated 

 pretty extensively, very hardy variety of wheat called 

 Poulard bleu, and lie, Hue coiiique. It is partial to 

 rich clay soils; its grains are dnrk and very hard. — 

 An Egyptian wheat colled Ble itc Smyrna, was also 

 highly spoken of. There is a variety of wheat brought 

 originally from Moitocco that is successfully cultivo- 

 ted in Itoly, but does not succeed well in the northern 

 ports of Europe, that might be experimented on in our 

 southern States. Its spdtes are long, loose, nodding 

 to a side, and awned; grains about half alt inch in 

 length — reddish, transparent, and very hard. It usu- 

 ally goes under the name of Polish wheat, although it 

 is not much cultivated in Polond, — is said to have 

 come originally from Morocco, and is often called Mo- 

 gadore wheat. 



I find in my journal, descriptions of nearly one hun- 

 dred varieties of wheat in Europe, but doubt whether 

 the transferring them to your pages would be of any 

 moteriol benefit to the American farmer, who, I fear, 

 would scarcely import them even as an experiment. 

 Should the seeds which I brought with me and dis- 

 tributed through .several parts of our southern country, 

 be successfully cultivated, I will endeavor to notice 

 them on some future occasion. 



It would be of great advantage were onr ogricultu- 

 ral societies to imitate the examples of those of Eu- 

 rope, in attaching a museum to their institutions, 

 where not only the different grains cultivated might 

 be exhibited, but also the stalks and plants preserved 

 in a dried state, — the mode of culture and product 

 carefully noted for the benefit of agriculturists. I ob- 

 served at Washington, during the last summer, a suc- 

 cessful attempt of this kind by the intelligent superin- 

 teudanl of the potent office. 



The English former has more to opprehend from 

 the constant drizzling rains during harvest time, than 

 from insects, which are the bone of the American far- 

 mer. The so colled Hessian fly, bos never been in- 

 troduced, and the poor Hessian has sins enough to an- 

 swer for on another .score, without meriting the 

 charge of conveying this pest to Amerieo in his straw. 

 The insect is not known in Ilessin, and although two 

 specimens were shown to me as having been procured 

 in Sweden, they proved to be of a different and harm- 

 less species. I fear we will have to claim it along 

 with the oppossum and rattle-snoke, as exclusively 

 American. The wheot of onr country also suffers 

 materially from other insects, which prey upon it in 

 its ripened state; hence, in many ports it is necessary 

 thot the crops be not only thrashed out, but immedi- 

 ately corried to the flour-mill. In England, on the 

 contrary, I perceived stacks of wheat that hod remain- 

 ed unthrashed for three and four years, and in many 

 instances five or six, without any other molestation 

 ihan that of the Norsvay rot — that cosmopolite, grego- 

 rious, omnivorous pest of all countries. 



There ore two of the sciences, however, widely re- 

 moved from each other, and however eeldom thought 

 of by the American farmer, that have long appeared to 

 me as inviting greater ottention in an ogriculturol 

 point of view than has hitherto been devoted to it. I 

 mean chemist.-y and entomology. The former ena- 

 bling us to analyze our soils, and directing us to the 

 best modes for their improvement, and the latter point- 

 ing out to us the habits and character of those insects 

 that prey upon our fruits and grains, without which 

 we cannot find a remedy against their depredations. 



Growth of Potatoes. 



A correspondent of the Inverness Courier mentions 

 a mode of growing potatoes, which may be useful in 

 the soving of seed in seasons of scarcity, and also of 

 furnishing a supply a month eorlier than ihe usual pe- 

 riod. The experiment described consisted in planting 

 the shoots thrown out from potatoes kept in the cellar, 

 on the 26th of May, about a month later than the usu- 

 al period of sowing. They were planted in a garden 

 and raised on the 19ih of Sepiember. and the result 



was highly satisfactory. Atone stalk there were nine 

 pototocs the size of eggs; at another two large ones, 

 one of them weighing 1 lb. 2 oz. The cultivator is of 

 opinion, thot hod the shoots been planted a month ear- 

 lier, there would have been an excellent and early 

 crop. The shoots should be about ten or twelve in- 

 ches in length, and dibbled into prepared ground, and 

 all covered except the two small leaves at the top. — 

 None of the ])otatoe should be planted along with the 

 shoot; but they ore the better to have a good many fi- 

 bres thrown out from the root end of the shoot. — Eng- 

 lish jxiper. 



From CliiUa' fVurk mi Bed and Bed Sugar. 

 Culture of the Beet. 



SPECIF.S ASD VARIETIES OF TUF. BEET. 



The following are the principal ones cultivated in 

 France. 



1. Mangel Wirrttcl or Scarcitij Root. It has lorge, 

 thick, succulent leaves; tlie root is white wilhin and 

 without; grows much out of the ground, and attains a 

 size superior to all other species. Many cultivators 

 hove lemarked thot though it is good for fattening cot- 

 tie, it is not equolly favorable to the production of 

 milk. 



The variety ctdtivated in England has a reddith or 

 whitish red root. It is not much volued for domestic 

 UEC, olthough the leaves are good to boil as spinach, 

 and the leaf-stolks and midrib to stew and eat as ob- 

 poragus. Dr. Lcltsom slates thot on his land, which 

 wos propitious to its growih, it weighed, on on over- 

 age, full ten pounds, oud the leaves half as much, so 

 thot the whole produce was fifteen pounds of nutiitioua 

 aliment to every square of eighleen inches. 



2. Red or Blood Beit. It has a long red, eatable 

 root, and darkish red or purple leaves. Sown at suit- 

 able distances, much greater of course than ore ordi- 

 narily allowed it in our gardens, it becomes nearly as 

 productive os the sugor beet. The lorger the roola 

 grow, the tenderer they arc, and the deeper their col- 

 or, the more they are esteemed. 



The vorieticB of these species are the common red 

 beet, the early turnip-rooted beet, the green-leaved red 

 beet, ond the yellow-rooted red beet. 



3. Vclloic Beet. It has yellow, or greenish yellow 

 leaves and yellow roots, which ore frequently very 

 long and large. It has been cultivated for making su- 

 gar, but moat mannfocturers have discarded it, finding 

 thot its juice, though next in richress to thot of the 

 sugar beet, contained from one-eighth to one-quoiter 

 less saccharine matter, than the latter. It is prone to 

 degenerate. A field sown with genuine seed will 

 sometimes yield a fifth, sixth, or gieoter port, with a 

 coat of a rose color ond flesh white, or coat yellow and 

 flesh white. A single seed will occasionally produce 

 three yellow beets, and onerofc colored; though what 

 is commonly cilledone seed, dues in fact contain from 

 one to five seeds. 



4. While Silesian or Sugar Beet. It has pale 

 green leaves, the root pear-shaped, and shorter ihan 

 the other species. It grows entirely within ihe ground, 

 except it meet with some obstiuction, in which cose 

 the exposed port becomes green ond loses a portion of 

 its sugar. 



There is one variety of this species, the red-vein- 

 leaved, with rose-colored rings in the flesh. This is 

 considered a degeneracy. 



In Germany, besides the yellow and sugar beets, 

 they cultivate principally the following, which appear 

 to be varieties of ihe mangel wurtzel, or as it is some- 

 times colled, the great German beet. 



1. Red and White. It is usually red ond white 

 wilhin and without. This beet grows seventeen or 

 eighteen inches long, of which one foot is obove 

 ground; ond it sometimes weighs twenty-five pounds. 

 Its juice is very watery, ond in proportion to its size it 

 contains the least nutritive substonce. 



2. Yellow and White. It grows half out of tho 

 ground. It is rather small and lees woody and aque- 

 ous, keeps belter ond is more nutritive than the prece- 

 ding. It sometimes weighs twenty pounds. 



3. Pale red. It penetrates the corth more than the 

 oibers, ond weighs as much os sixteen pounds. 



There is no limit to the varieties of the beet. They 

 may increase like the crosses of sheep. This will 

 ahvays be the cose; if different sorts for seed are not set 

 at a good distance apai t. Soil and eliniate have some- 

 times the same effect. Some fields will produce only 

 tho red-vein leaved, allhough none but the seed of the 

 pure white Silesian was sown. 



It is supposed by some that the wild sea beet, so 

 called, is the parent of all our cultivated beets It is 

 a native of Holland and Great Britain, on the sen 

 coast and salt maishes. It is found about Notting- 

 ham, ill Ens'nnd. The first beet planted in France, 



