



* 



1844.] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



53 T 



ance whether the grain is sown broadcast or in drills ; 



three courses of harrowing is sufficient to cover the 



seed, the water furrows being drawn immediately, and 



cuts opened to carry off the surface-water to the ditches 



at the end of the fields. The soil on which Wheat 



thrives best in our uncertain climate, is a strong rich 



clay. The quantity of seed which is generally sown, 



varies on most farms according to the quality of the 



seed and richness of the land. There are many 



conflicting opinions amongst farmers as regards the depth 



that the seed should be sown ; some are advocates 



for shallow, and some for deep : in our opinion three or 



four inches is amply sufficient. The farmers of warmer 



climates are obliged to irrigate their Wheat lands 



during the growth of the plant. In the greater part of 



the temperate regions of New Spain, the farmers are 



compelled to adopt artificial irrigation. This is done by 



small canals cut through the farm, and supplied with 



water from the rivers and reservoirs, which can be let 



loose over any part or all the farm at one time, in 



those districts where irrigation is regularly adopted. 



The produce of the Mexican farms is far beyond what 



the richest soils of Europe could produce, the Wheat 



harvest being commonly 35 and 40 seeds, and some of 



the larger farms jielding 50 and 60 measures for one of 



seed. When the land is not irrigated, the annual return 



does not exceed more than 15 or 20 seeds. 



The Wheat chiefly cultivated in Egypt and some parts 

 of Italy is the Triticum compositum, Egyptian or many- 

 spiked Wheat. This species is suppo.^ed to be indi- 

 genous to Africa, its stem are branched, and each bears 

 several spikelets or ears, which are bearded ; the grains 

 are thinner and less nutritive than our ordinary varieties. 

 This species endures, without injury, the extremes of 

 heat and moisture, so that it is well adapted to those 

 countries in which it is generally cultivated. Triticum 

 Spelta, or Spelt Wheat, is supposed to have been the 

 species cultivated by the Romans ; it is cultivated to a 

 considerable extent in the North of Africa and the Cape 

 of Good Hope ; in Spain, where it is given to horses 

 instead of Barley or Oats ; in Germany, Switzerland, the 

 South of France, and in some parts of Ireland. There 

 are two varieties of Spelt Wheat, one with awns and the 

 other without them ; it is generally sown as a spring 

 crop, and grows luxuriantly ; bread made from it is of a 

 dry quality and less nutritive than the ordinary kind. 

 In some parts of Switzerland the Triticum monococcum, 

 or one-seeded Wheat, is cultivated ; this species contains 

 less gluten than the common varieties, and is very dimi- 

 nutive, the spike containing only a single row of grains ; 

 it is mostly used in soups and gruels ; the straw, from 

 its hardness aud tenacity, is well adapted for thatching, 

 for which purpose it is generally used. 



We are of opinion that Wheat would flourish bet- 

 ter if it were buried deeper than it generally is by most 



farmers. Out" Gpiuiuii is founded upon Ihe following 



facts : — A grain of Wheat, when buried to the depth of 

 three inches, undergoes the following transformations : 

 —As soon as the farinaceous matter of the seed is 

 softened, a germ i3 pushed out, and at the bottom of 

 that germ small roots soon appear ; these roots gather 

 strength, whilst the germ, fed on the milky-fluid of the 

 softened seed, is springing upwards. W'hen this sub- 

 stance is exhausted the roots are in activity, and are 

 collecting food for the young plant from the soil ; when 

 the germ has fairly got above the surface of the ground, 

 and becomes a plant, a set of fresh roots are thrown out 

 close to the surface of the ground, which search for food 

 •with the same activity as the under ones search the 

 lower part?, and that part of the germ which separates 

 the two sets of roots, now becomes the channel through 

 which the lower roots supply the plant with the food 

 which they have collected. These two distinct sets of 

 roots serve to fix the plant firmly in the soil, and to col- 

 lect nourishment from every quarter. The upper roots 

 are situated so as to receive all nourishment which comes 

 naturally from the atmosphere, or artificially, as manure 

 to the surface, and serve the important purpose of being 

 the bases of new stems, which are tillered up, and greatly 

 increase the productiveness of the plant. 



Wheat that is sowed in autumn, a Clover lea excepted, 

 should, instead of harrowing, be covered with a shallow 

 furrow, and the surface left rough. It will be less in 

 danger of being killed by severe frost in winter, and less 

 injured by drying winds in the following spring. The 

 furrows should be left without harrowing, for the more 

 uneven the ground is, the more the soil will be pul- 

 verised and mellowed by the frost. But if the crop 

 which succeeds the Wheat crop should require a smooth 

 bottom, the land, after sowing, must be harrowed, and 

 should be rolled. Some farmers advise, when Wheat is 

 sown on a Clover lea, to plough in the Clover with a deep 

 furrow, then plough in the seed Wheat with a shallow 



furrow. 



In preparing seed Wheat, the first thing to be attended 

 to is to clear it perfectly from every injurious foreign 

 substance ; one error here may mar the whole system, 

 and render our skill productive of as much evil as good. 

 On poor and worn-out land, the evil of sowing seeds of 

 weeds with our grain would be great, but when the ground 

 is in high order, the crop is more injured, the noxious 

 plants take firmer hold, and are more difficult to eradi- 

 cate. Indeed, it would be better for a farmer to make a 

 riddle of his fingers than to sow Cockle, Darnel, Tares, 

 and other vegetable nuisances, which are as tenacious of 

 life as they are unworthy of it ; the first preparation, 

 therefore, should be to winnow and riddle the grain per- 

 fectly clean. When this is thoroughly accomplished, 

 washing and steeping, for the purpose of preventing smut, 

 should meet attention. 



Wheat is exposed to a disease called smut, the 

 real nature and cause of which have hitherto baffled the 

 researches of our most scientific inquirers, and the cure 



**----- of our best ani- 



mates than dry ; 

 d ; and Wheat 



Arthur Young 



seed, which was 



sown with this 



smutty kernels. 



has completely baffled all the attempts 

 culturists. It prevails more in wet cli 



white Wheat is more affected by it than re 

 sown in spring is not so liable to be diseased as that sown 

 in autumn. Sir J. Sinclair enumerates the following 

 modes by which smut may be prevented : — 1, the use of 

 pure cold water and lime ; 2, boiling water and 

 lime ; 3, water impregnated with salt ; 4, urine pickle ; 

 5, ley of wood-ashes; 6, a solution of arsenic; 7, 

 a solution of blue vitriol. Mr. 

 sowed 14 beds with the same Wheat 

 black with smut. The first bed was 

 Wheat without washing, and had 377 

 A bed sowed with seed washed in clean water produced 

 325 do. — washed in lime-water, 43 do. — washed in ley 

 of wood-ashes, 31 do. — steeped in lime-water four hours, 

 2 do.— steeped in ley four hours, 3 do. — steeped in arsenic 

 four hours, Ido. Ag'iin, that which wa3 steeped in ley, 

 as before mentioned, 12 hours, had none ; and that which 

 was steeped : n the same kind of ley 24 hours, had none ; 

 that also which was steeped 24 hours in lime-water, had 

 none ; that steeped in arsenic 24 hours, had 5. 



Wheat is subject to another disease, called rust or 

 mildew. Common Wheat is more subject to this disease 

 than bearded Wheat, especially if the land has been 

 newly manured with too great a quantity of fresh dung; 

 it generally commences in July, at the time of the n.lin; 

 of the kernel in the ear. The remedies against rust, 

 according to Sir J. Sinclair, are as follows:— 1, Culti- 

 vating hardy sorts of Wheat ; 2, early sowing ; 3, raisiug 

 early varieties ; 4, thick sowing; 5, changes of seed ; 6, 

 consolidating the soil ; 7, using saline manures ; 8, im- 

 proving the course of crops; 9, extirpating all plants 

 that are receptacles of rust ; 10, protecting the Wheat- 

 plants by Rye, Tares, and other crops. The above 

 remedies are eularged upon by Sir J. Sinclair in "The 

 Code of Agriculture," but his observations are too 

 voluminous to quote here. If a field be evidently affected 

 with rust, and the progress of vegetation stopped, the 

 only way to preserve the straw and the grain, if any has 

 been formed, from being entirely lost, is to cut it down 

 immediately, even though the crop should not be ripe. 

 The straw is thus preserved, either for food or litter, and 

 it is maintained that any nourishment in the stem will 

 pass into and feed the grain, and make a greater return 

 than could be expected. For a more elaborate account 

 of the diseases of Wheat, we refer our readers to the 

 '• Quarterly Journal of Agriculture H for June, 1837. 



One of the most destructive insects to which Wheat 

 is exposed is the Corn-weevil (Curculio granarius). 

 This insect is a beetle about the eighth of an inch 

 in leng'.h, of a blackish-brown colour. The female, 

 by means of her long proboscis, perforates a sm^li 

 hole in a grain of Wheat, and in this she deposits a 

 single egg. In about a week after being deposited the 

 eggs hatch, and the grubs continue to live inside for some 

 time, devouring meanwhile the farinaceous parts of the 

 grain. When they have fed, and grown to their full size, 

 they transform into a chrysalis inside the husk, which 

 they quit about a fortnight afterwards, when they have 

 transformed into their beetle state. Kirby and Spence 

 calculate that a single pair of weevils may produce in one 

 season C000 descendants. 



To rid a granary of these destructive insects, it has 

 been recommended to farmers to spread their Corn in 

 the sun, when they will creep out of their holes ; and by 

 often stirring the Corn whilst in this situation, it is sup- 

 posed that they may be completely expelled. It is also 

 said that they may be destroyed by strewing boughs of 

 Elder or branches of Henbane among the Corn. Some 



recommend the use of Tobacco, either green or in rolls, 

 as a preventive against weevils ; they will come to 

 the Tobacco from all parts, and, having eaten of it, cer- 

 tainly die. And the Rev. F. W. Hope says that it is a 

 common practice in some parts of Spain to expose the | 

 Corn to a heat of 150 degree-, or more, for the purpose 

 of destroying these insects. 



Ice-houses have been recommended to be used as 

 granaries, and there can be but little doubt that, if the 

 grain is surrounded with ice, it would escape the attacks 

 of all iusects. If there were any grubs or weevils in the 

 grain when put into these ice granaries, they would 

 die.— John M'Intoslu [This idea could, however, be 

 carried into practice in but few climates where Wheat is 

 grown.] 



ON THE APPLICATION OF MANURES. 



{Continued from page 511.) 



" We know," says Liebig, •* that the functions of the 

 leaves and other green parts of plants are to absorb car- 

 bonic acid, and with the aid of light and moisture to ap- 

 propriate its carbon." "The verdant plants of warm 

 climates are very often such as obtain from the soil only 

 a point of attachment, and are not dependent on it for 

 their growth." «• Large forests are often found growing 

 on soils absolutely destitute of carbonaceous matter ; and 

 the extensive prairies of the western Continent show that 

 the carbon necessary for the sustenance of a plant may 

 be entirely extracted from the atmosphere.' Indeed, 

 from the moment the leaves are formed he attributes to 

 them the power of supplying the plant with the .requi- 

 site nourishment from organic matters ; that is, the pro- 

 ducts of animal and vegetable decomposition, lie says, 

 " When a plant is quite maturW, and when the organs 

 (the leaves), by which it obtains food from the atmo- 

 sphere, are formed, the carbonic acid of the soil is no 

 further required." This, however, infers, that till then 



the carbonic acid of the soil is required ; and, indeed, he 

 says, " In spring, when these organs (the leaves) of plants 

 are absent which nature has appointed for the assumption 

 of nourishment from the atmosphere, the component 

 substance of the seeds is exclusively employed in the- 

 formation of the root:?. Each new radicle fibril which a 

 plant acquires may be regarded as constituting at the 

 same time a mouth, a lung, and a stomach. The roots 

 perform the functions of the leaves; from the first moment 

 of their formation they extract from the soil their proper 

 nutriment, namely, carbonic acid generated by the 

 humus.*' But I do not see that he produces any proof 

 of this ; it appears rather a concession to the long-standing 

 prejudice, that plants receive their alimentary juices from, 

 the soil alone, in every stage of their existence, giving to 

 the leaves merely an elaborating power governed by a 

 vital principle; this vital principle, however, is discarded 

 by Liebig. Nor can I admit, with Liebig, that even from 

 the first it is necessary that carbon should be extracted 

 from the soil by the roots, for grain will vegetate in dis- 

 tilled water ; and with some appearance of contradiction 

 Liebig himself says, " That the component substance of 

 the seeds is exclusively employed in the formation of the 

 roots;" and with moisture this component substance of 

 the seeds appears to me to be sufficient. In a report 

 made some few years ago by Drs. Thomson, Hope, and 

 Coventry, to the Excise Board of Scotland, we find it 

 stated, that in malting Barley (for the purpose of making 

 spirits or brewing), abouc a day after the sprouting of the 

 roots, the rudiments of the future stem may be seen to 

 lengthen. It rises from the same extremity with the 

 root, and advancing within the husk, at last issues from 

 the opposite end of the seed, and assumes (but this is- 

 prevented) the form of a blade of Grass. As the plumule 

 shoots along the grain, the appearance of the kernel, or 

 mealy part of the corn, undergoes a considerable change 

 and becomes sweet, (that is, the starch is transformed 

 into sugar). It is the common opinion of maltsters that 

 this change of the grain always keeps pace with, 

 the plumule — the young leaf, be it observed — each 

 seed being altered as far as the point of the plumule 

 extends, and no further. It does not appear that 

 a plant ever seeks a supply of nutriment from the 

 soil ; it rather appears to avoid the locality where it is to 

 be met with, and to push its roots beyond its influence. 

 If with a very little care we take the earth from a 

 Turnip-plant jus-t attaining its rough leaf, and where 

 manure of the most volatile nature is used, the least likely 

 to descend into the ground — say guano — we shall find 

 the stronger and coarser fibres of the roots have pushed 

 down 6 or 6 inches ; the finer fibres might be traced, 

 with greater care, much deeper. It cannot be for a mo- 

 ment supposed that the guano could have penetrated 

 so soon to such a depth; the roots have not then 

 gone in quest of the alimentary juices, which manure; 

 couid afford. The lateral branches of the roots of a tree 

 or plant may stretch for some distance near the surface,, 

 and in the parts where the richer vegetable mould exists, 

 induced probably by the moisture generated by decom- 

 posing matters ; but their ends, the recipient parts of the 

 roots, tend downwards, as do all the fibrils of these 

 root-branches. This has by some been attributed to 

 gravity ; but as the stem above the ground exceeds in 

 gravity the root below it, the same rule should hold good 

 with more force to bring it under the soil. If to mere 

 gravitation we are to attribute the descent of some roots, 

 why do not roots subject to the action of running water 

 submit to the same rule, but that they find that which 

 they seek nearer at hand ? For the formation of the root,, 

 carbon does not appear to have been acquired from any 

 other source than the seed in the malting process of Dr. 

 Thomson, &c. Liebig says the roots perform the func- 

 tions of the leaves, but they are supplied with their nou- 

 rishment in the first stages of their existence by the 

 seed ; and this I would rather say performs the func- 

 tions of the leaves to them till the leaves are formed ; 

 it is the seminal leaf which feeds the root. From 

 the moment the plumule shoots, it provides for itself 

 by the absorption of carbonic acid from the air in 

 the artificial growth (the formation of malt), and from the 

 soil in the natural growth ; its power of so doing and its 

 production are simultaneous. We can fix no other pe- 

 riod for its acquiring this power; from the moment it 

 shoots it begins to exert this power; and if the root is 



broken off, by it a new formation is commenced. Drs. 

 Thomson, Vc say, "Many of them (the roots) are- 

 broken off during the turning of the malt ; and, in that 

 case, new roots generally succeed them. That all sub- 

 stances in solution in a soil are absorbed by the roots with 

 the water in which they are in solution cannot be denied J 

 but I think the presumption is against organic matters 

 thus presenting themselves. The leaves of plants are 

 equally, in all probability, without the power of refusing 

 that which presents itself to them in solution in the gases 

 they take in. The leaves and roots of plants may perhaps 

 occasionally perform the functions of each other, as the 

 pores of the skin in an animal may be made inlets of food 

 when it cannot be received by the gullet ; but I believe 

 the office of the root is solely to supply the plant with 

 moisture, that of the leaf with those gases which, toge- 

 ther with moisture necessary to all chemical action _&e- 

 come the food of plants.— £*"'• J - M ' Good '* e > 

 Revenue Police, Granard, Ireland, 



SKETCHES OF-iACTloruT HUSBANDRY. 



Thk ploughing of -he ^^tfe.y after, he labour, 

 thefollo^ingyear commenees.^meu y 8ummer fal- 



ft^mSSSKX^ - concluded. It* 



