Management of Wheat, 



69 



These are the principal manures that have been proved to be 

 useful for wheat. There are many others ; but even a bare enu- 

 meration would occupy too much space. 



3. The time of Soioing. 



The time of sov/insr wheat varies with the nature of the soil. 

 Upon very strong clays or cold soils the plant has been known to 

 flourish best vvhen sown as early as the middle of September. It 

 takes a firmer and deeper hold of the soil before the frost com- 

 mences, and there is no danger here of its becoming " winter- 

 proud.'' Sowing early on this class of soils not only insures a 

 better crop, but brings it much earlier to harvest. Wheat seed- 

 time upon these soils begins about the 'iOth of September, and 

 lasts till towards the end of October. Wheat sown at the former 

 period has been known to be nearly a fortnight earlier to harvest 

 than that v/hich was sown a month later. 



Upon warmer soils, as before observed, the best period of sow- 

 inor is from the last week in October to the last week in November. 

 If sown earlier, the plants get too forward, and do not mat on the 

 ground; the plants become weak, and spindle into a long slender 

 stalk, and frequently lose their healthy appearance in the spring. 

 Varieties of spring-wheat are sown in February and March, and 

 succeed on good land, though a productive crop is rarely seen on 

 inferior sands and gravels. 



Observations having been made on the time of sowing in treat- 

 ing of the preparation of the land, any further remarks are un- 

 called for. 



4. The Quantity of Seed. 



The necessary quantity of seed varies from 4 to 10 pecks per 

 acre. It depends entirely upon circumstances, as the time of 

 sowing ; the m.anner of sowing, whether broadcast^ drilled, or 

 dibbled ; when sown early, it requires less seed than when sown 

 late; the nature and condition of the soil, the variety of wheat, 

 and the quantity of vermin that consume the grain before or after 

 it vegetates, — all have some effect on the quantity of seed required. 

 The poorer the land, the more plentiful must be the seed. On a 

 poor gravelly soil, where an abundance of manure is not attainable, 

 10 pecks are requisite, drilled at from 6 to 8 inches; and we 

 find, from observation of both wet and dry seasons, that when this 

 quantity is at all sensibly decreased, or the intervals between the 

 drills increased to a material extent, the crops suffer a diminution 

 both in quantity and quality. 



When the land is good, very little seed is required, for it 

 always branches out in the spring ; but on poor land, when sown 

 late, many of the plants die, at the same time that others on good 



