14 



so good a nidus to the parasitic fungus, which my friend 

 Sir Joseph Banks has discovered to be the cause of 

 hlighty or to the animal or vegetable that produces the 

 smut in our wheats, cultivated in the common way. 



Among my earUest recollections, I remember the 

 Christmas dark of the moon to be pronounced the best 

 time for sowing wheat: I suspect my northern friends 

 could not have justified their practice by sufficient reasons; 

 but the experimentalist has nothing to do with reasons a 

 pi'iori ; he has only to diversify his trials, and to report 

 results. 



I should be happy to see an intelligent agriculturist, 

 when preparing a field of wheat, regulating the great mass 

 of his practice by the common and safe rules, but dedicating 

 one ridge to a variety of experiments suggested by his own 

 good sense : — the expence would be nothing ; the requisite 

 attention from himself in many cases an acquisition ; the 

 scanty produce of his diversified ridge might be used in 

 domestic consumption, so as not to create any mixture in 

 the main body of his crop, whether intended for sale 

 or seed. 



Of all the grains we cultivate, wheat is the slowest in 

 growth ; whence, in order to bring its crop to maturity in 

 an early season, in our languid climate, we are obliged to 

 borrow from the preceding year, and sow late in autumn, 

 and have thus a considerable period in which we may try 

 experiments. 



Oats, too, may be sown in the preceding year, and the 

 speculation is plausible : — I have tried it more than once; 

 the appearance was promising, but the birds, very nume- 

 rous in this country, devoured my crop as soon as it co- 

 loured. Whoever wishes to try this experiment, should 

 select the slowest growing variety of oats ; and 1 recom^ 



