164 



THE WHEAT CULTUEIST. 



that by applying silicated fertilizers, the leaves will be 

 developed more in proportion than the stalks ; and as 

 large leaves will shade the lower j)arts of the stalks, 

 instead of strengthening or stiffening the straw, a di'ess- 

 ing of silica T^dll exert an enervating influence ; and the 

 growing plants will maintain an erect position longer 

 and better when no snch silicated manure is applied. 

 It has also been assumed that those grain stalks which 

 bear the largest leaves are more liable to lodge than 

 stalks having short and small leaves. This observation 

 is a correct one ; but the extraordinary size of the leaves 

 of wheat is not attributable to an excess of silica in the 

 soil, as silica, even when present in large quantities in 

 the soil, does not produce unusually large leaves with- 

 out rendering them correspondingly rough and stifi". It 

 will be found, when grain lodges badly, that the leaves 

 are large and much softer than the leaves of standing 

 grain. Every practical farmer is familiar with this fact ; 

 and it shows conclusively that there is a deficiency 

 of silica in the soil in proportion to the amount of 

 other manurial material. If, for examj)le, wheat be 

 sowed on a light mucky soil where there is little or 

 no sand or clay, the growing grain will be liable to 

 fall do^\Ti before the kernels are matured. There 

 will be also an abundance of material to form large 

 leaves and stalks; but as there is a deficiency of sil- 

 ica to impart stiffness to the straw, a di-i^dng storm 

 of rain prostrates the growing plants so that they can 

 never gain an erect position. The question then re- 

 curs : What may be done by way of cultivation or ap- 

 plying fertilizing material to stiffen the growing straw 

 so as to keep it erect until the grain is fit to harvest? 

 Throwing all chemical knowledge aside, and relying on 



