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WHEAT GROWING. 



In the December number of The Garden 

 I stated that my method of growing Wheat 

 "begins with the seed and ends with the 

 seed." 



Experience and experiments prove conclu- 

 sively that the seed is by far the most im- 

 portant factor in field, garden, and lawn. 

 I am asked " how I make so small a quantity 

 go over an acre ? " 



The results of one or two experiments will 

 show the value of good seed, and the reason 

 why sound and genuine seed goes so far. 



In 1875 I planted 7 l A pounds of nice hand- 

 picked Wheat, on an exact square acre, in 

 rows 18 inches apart. I cultivated it three 

 times, and at harvest threshed out 67 

 bushels, 17 pounds,— 538 fold. In 1880 I 

 planted, on 40 square rods, 32 ounces of 

 very fine selected Wheat, cultivated and 

 irrigated it twice. The product was 18 

 bushels, 6 pounds, — 543 fold, or nearly 72^ 

 bushels per acre. 



The same year, on 7 6 square feet, I 

 planted 76 kernels of extra fine seed, weigh- 

 ing 45 grains, Troy. This was cultivated 

 and fertilized very carefully. The product 

 realized exactly 10^ pounds, — almost 1600 

 fold, and nearly at the rate of 100 bushels 

 per acre. 



These experiments, I repeat, as well as 

 many more on record, show conclusively the 

 value of good seed, and the importance of 

 keeping it pure and improved by crossing 

 and careful selection. One of the most natural 

 habits of Wheat, Oats, Eye, etc., is the pro- 

 cess of tillering — not suekering. It consists 

 of a growth of new stems from the first or 

 parent stalk. In the first stages of its growth 

 the parent stem has a ring around it just 

 below the surface of the soil. From this 

 ring new stems or tillers rise, surrounding 

 the parent stalk as the braces of an umbrella 

 do the handle. 



Every new tiller has its ring also and 

 stems. I have known as many as 181 tillers 

 come from a single kernel of wheat, all of 

 which bore good heads, averaging 42 grains, 

 or 7602 from one planted. 



Thin sowing and cultivation of Wheat very 

 much encourage this habit. Winter Wheat, 

 in particular, when the conditions of the 

 soil are favorable, thrives much better and 

 yields much more abundantly when sown 

 thin. 



Thin seeding will always and invariably 

 produce a greater yield and of better quality 

 when the seed is pure and the conditions of 

 the soil are favorable. 



It is within the reach and power of every 

 farmer to make his seed^we and the condi- 

 tions favorable. Herein lies the secret of 

 making large crops from thin seeding. 



The encouragement of the tillering process 

 and of cultivation necessarily give new vigor 

 to the plant ; consequently, the maturity of 

 the grain is retarded, and at the same time, 

 T think, it is made better. 



There is danger, however, of rust when a 

 crop of Wheat is forced or permitted to grow 

 beyond the time it should mature. 



When thickly sown it makes but few if any 

 tillers, and its tendency is to ripen earlier, 

 with shorter straw, shorter heads, and fewer 

 kernels. 



*" The greatest enemy to Wheat is Wheat." 

 Wheat cannot bear to be crowded. It fails 

 to carry out its natural habits ; as well does it 

 fail to develop fully in straw and grain. 



In making the conditions of the soil favor- 

 able, the farmer must thoroughly understand 

 the nature of his soil, and what his Wheat 

 wants and what it doesn't want, — its likes 

 and dislikes, to put it in plain language. For 

 instance : It likes a high, dry, clay soil, not too 

 finely pulverized, — one that will pack well, 

 and with but a little alluvial matter in it. It 

 dislikes shade, damp low lands, and too much 

 manure. The selection of the seed has much 

 to do with the yield. Poor seed makes poor 

 yields and poor crops generally. The grain 

 taken from the parent stalk above-men- 

 tioned will be found to be the best in all 

 respects. The top ear on a stalk of Corn is 

 the best for seed. The center stalk of a 

 Cabbage, Beet, and Radish panicle bears 

 the best seed. 



Professor A. E. Blount, 



Colorado Agricultural College. 



NEW-YORK AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT 

 STATION, 



Experiments made during last summer 

 showed such a manifest superiority of yield 

 in favor of tip kernels of Flint Corn planted 

 as, if true upon trial, to afford an easy and 

 ready means of increasing our Corn yield. 

 In view of the importance of the subject the 

 director, Dr. E. L. Sturtevant, requests that 

 numerous trials be made by farmers gener- 

 ally, and the results reported in accordance 

 with the following directions : 



Select a number of perfect-tipped ears of 

 a Flint variety of Corn ; from these ears 

 shell by hand the five butt kernels, the five 

 central kernels, and the five tip kernels, kept 

 carefully separated, for use as seed. 



Using these three kinds of seed, plant one 

 hundred hills of each, six kernels in a hill, 

 and after the plants have appeared, reduce 

 the number to four to a hill ; these four to 

 be allowed to grow for the purpose of crop. 

 While thinning keep carefiil record of the 

 plants removed from each lot, and count the 

 number that vegetated from the six hundred 

 planted. 



Cultivate each series alike, and harvest at 

 the same time. At husking, carefully note 

 on the spot : 



1st. The number of ears of merchantable 

 and. unmerchantable corn borne by each 

 series. 



2d. The weight of ear corn, merchantable 

 and unmerchantable, harvested from each 

 series. 



3d. It would be useful and desirable to 

 measure the length of ears grown from each 

 kind of seed, in order to see what influence 

 the several kinds of seed have upon the 

 length of ear produced. 



4th. It is also desirable that notes should 

 be taken of the date of planting, the date at 

 which the plants appear above the ground, 

 the date of blooming, and also the date of 

 ripening. 



5th. Please transmit a copy of the results 

 obtained, whether favorable or unfavorable 

 to the tips, to the director of the station. 



Care must be taken, however, to secure 

 good seed from the tips in order that the 

 comparisons may become just. It can hardly 

 be expected that poor seed of one selection 

 should produce equivalent results to good 

 seed of another selection. It is recom- 



mended also that all parties who should give 

 aid by making this experiment should plant at 

 the same depth, say one inch ; should plant 

 at the same intervals, say the hills three and 

 one-half feet apart ; and should give the or- 

 dinary cultivation and manuring of their 

 locality. For further information, address 

 Dr. E. Lewis Sturtevant, Geneva, N. Y. 



NEW-YORK HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The Society held its opening monthly 

 exhibition in its new hall on 28th street, 

 near Broadway, on Tuesday, February 6th, 

 and made a very creditable exhibit consider- 

 ing the inclement season of the year, which 

 naturally prevented would-be exhibitors who 

 live at considerable distances from the city 

 from sending specimen plants. 



Notwithstanding the cold weather, the 

 successors of the late Mr. Haggerty, of 

 Poughkeepsie, sent safely two fine specimens 

 of Bougainvillea splendens in full bloom. 

 These plants were trained up by judicious 

 pruning to single stems about three feet 

 high, with fine spreading heads, which were a 

 mass of bloom. An exhibit of forced Persian 

 Lilacs, grafted on Privet stocks, grown by 

 Mr. John Henderson, of Flushing, N. Y., 

 elicited general admiration for their abund- 

 ance of bloom and exceedingly dwarf habit 

 for such free-growing shrubs. An exhibit 

 of forced Rhododendrons was also much 

 admired for the fine heads of flowers and 

 generally healthy appearance of the plants. 

 They wanted another week or so to fully 

 develop their trusses, beautiful as they were. 

 A collection of remarkably well-grown Chi- 

 nese Primroses attracted considerable atten- 

 tion. The show of Orchids was rather 

 limited, — the most conspicuous being a 

 fine healthy plant of the remarkable Ang- 

 rsecum sesquipedale, having six perfect 

 flowers of large size on it. Among others 

 were Dendrobium Wardianum, Laelia anceps, 

 Phalcenopsis amabilis, P. Schilleriana, and 

 various Cypripediums. In front of the dais 

 at the upper end of the hall were some noble 

 specimens of Cypripedium insigne, together 

 with some nicely grown Crotons, Dracaenas, 

 and other plants. 



Among cut flowers there was a fair show 

 of Roses and a beautiful collection of Car- 

 nations, exhibited by Halloek & Thorpe, 

 Queens, L. I. The quantity on the tables was 

 not large, but those shown were fine speci- 

 mens of popular varieties. Noticeable were 

 a few spikes of Hyacinth "Iris," a single 

 dark blue, with a conspicuous white eye. The 

 spikes were large and fine, and mark this 

 variety as one well fitted fdr forcing. 



The numerous attendance was very grati- 

 fying to the officers and members of the 

 Society, and encouraging to exhibitors to 

 renew their efforts to make their future 

 monthly meetings equally successful. 



AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



President Marshall P. Wilder announces 

 that the next biennial session of the Society 

 will be held at Philadelphia, September 12, 

 13 and 14. A grand meeting is expected, 

 and it behooves every one interested in fruit 

 culture to do all in his power to make it an 

 eminent success. 



