THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
produce anything but small straw and 
consequently wheat of an inferior quali- 
ty, the whole Avill stand a fair chance to 
cmne to maturity, divested of many evils 
which attend the sowing of grain \yhere 
sifting is neglected. 
But, says the reader, this important dis- 
covery of which you speak, don’t amount 
to any thing after all. It has been knovvn 
for years, that to- sift out the small grains 
from seed-wheat is a good idea^ and is now 
generally practised among our best far- 
mers. I will respectfully ask such, have 
you ever known sifting carried to the ex- 
tent I propose? If you have not, you 
know hut little of the real benefits that 
will result fronr this discovery and a prac- 
{ice in accordance with its reasonable 
theory. 
I am informed that Isaac Bowles, Esq., 
of this town, tried the experiment the past 
season, and the result was what we had 
good reason to expect, the most perfect 
growth of wheat he has ever raised. I 
believe if this practice should be adopted 
generally by the farmers of this State, the 
quality and quantity of the wheat crop 
would in a very few years be increased 
one-quarter by the simple process of sift- 
ing seed in the proportion I have named, 
and no farmer need be afraid of injuring 
his seed by carrying the principle to too 
great an extreme. The improvement is 
within tire reach of every farmer, and he 
can satisfy himself on this point. 
\_Mjinc Furmer. 
Gapes in Chickens.— Take as much 
soft soap as will cover the thumb-nail, and 
mix it with meal dough. Give it the 
chickens at any stage of the disease. If 
this fails on the first application it rarely 
does on the second. {4-nKricun Fai’mer. 
RENOVATION OF SOILS. 
It is not my purpose to discuss the 
question of renovating soils, but to state 
the result of an experiment in wheat cuh 
ture. The soil was rather a stiff clay, 
and having been some thirty-five years in 
arable condition, and for much of the for- 
mer part of this time very productive of 
wheat, it had been, for want of a know- 
ledge of the benefits of the “rotation sys- 
tem,” sadly abused. In 1838, it was sum- 
mer fallowed, having laid the four years 
previous to sheep pasture, but the crop of 
Avheat which followed was very ordinary, 
not yielding ten bushels to the acre; which 
in part arose from the adhesive and clam- 
my nature of the soil, causing the frost to 
heave a very considerable proportion of 
the plants on the surface to perish. This 
is well known to be a very common oc- 
currence, in our climate, with heavy clay 
lands, if soiyed late;. but this was not the 
fact in the last particular, mnd the grotyth 
in the fall was beyond an average. Af- 
ter the crop was harvested, I obseryed on 
all parts of the field, numerous cracks on 
the surface, to a much greater extent than 
is usual with similar soils. I contempla- 
ted giving the field a heavy manuring the 
following season, and plant with corn; but 
subsequently changed my plan, having 
resolved to adopt the course recommended 
as above, by Chaptal. I consequently 
applied aiiout twenty-five large cart loads 
of coarse, unfermented manure, drawn 
from my sheep barns, to the acre, which 
was spread no faster than the ploughs 
would cover. The plants, in the fall, as- 
sumed so dark a green, that I was a little 
apprehensive of the usual rank growth 
before harvest, which almost invariably 
follows the direct application of manure 
to the wheat crop, as well as large dis- 
proportion of straw to the berry. But 
doubtless owing to the great poverty of 
the soil, these results did not follow. The 
field averaged over twenty bushels to the 
acre, which is about the average produc- 
tion of well tilled fallow land, sown time- 
ly, and in favorable seasons, in this im- 
mediate quarter. The coarse manure 
had evidently effected a material modifi- 
cation of the soil, as few cracks were dis- 
tinguishable on the surface, after harvest, 
showing most clearly, that it was more 
friable. It is a year ago last spring, 
since the grass-seed was sown upon it, 
and a miore luxuriant covering of clover, 
I have rarely seen, than the field now 
presents; which is another proof of some 
renovation of the soil, otherwise very 
much of the clover Avould liave been 
thrown out by the frost of last spring. It 
is my present impre ssion, that if this field 
is permitted to rest for two or three years 
longer, and then sowed with buckwheat 
and ploughed under when in blow, pre- 
paratory to wheat, in consideration of 
what has already been done, its original 
fertility will be nearly restored, and in 
some measure the adhesive and clammy 
texture of the soil destroyed. 
But while on this subject, I beg leave 
to enter a protest against applying ma- 
nure, except compost, directly to the wheat 
crop, unless as in the above case, when 
the soil is rendered cjuite unproductive, 
by long and “skinning” management, be- 
fore agricultural periodicals taught us 
better. You will permit me to quote 
your remarks, gentlemen, on this point; 
for I am quite sure they cannot be kept 
too much “before the people,” from the 
7.th volume of the Cultivator, taken from 
a sterling article on “Wheat Culture.”-— 
“One of the greatest evils of direct ma- 
nuring for the wheat crop, arises from the 
liability of the grain so manured, to 
lodge. The rapid growth of the stem, 
renders it unable to support its own weight. 
It is soft and flexible, contains much less 
silex than those grown in a poorer soil; 
the wheat does not usually perfect its ber- 
ry, and at ail times, from the thinness of 
the skin or cuticle, it is more liable to 
mildew and rust. These things render 
it certainly unadvisable, unless the land is 
very^ poor and reduced, to apply unfer- 
mented manure to wheat,” My otyn ex- 
perience, as well as thousands of others, 
in times past, will attest the truth of these 
remarks. As nearly as possible my prac- 
tice conforms to the “rotation syetem;” 
and I apply my manure in an unfermented 
state, to my corn and potato crops, and 
top-dressing' of meadows. 
L. A. Morrell. 
PRESERVATION OF PEACH TREES. 
Having to a certain extent succeeded in 
the cultivation of the peach in limestone 
soil, generally considered uncongenial to 
its grorvth, I forward by your request a 
short accormt of the method of cultivation 
and mode of nursing adopted. 
The orchard, consisting of about fifty 
trees, was planted in the spring of 1836. 
At the time of planting, the ground was 
in grass, but was then subjected to the 
action of the plough, and has since been 
thoroughly tilled every year, yielding al- 
ternatel}’’ heavy crops of sugar beets, po- 
tatoes and ruta baga, The trees have 
also been examined once, and sometimes 
twice a year, for worms, but have not 
generally been much infested b}'' them. 
This comparative exemption is no doubt 
in consequence of the various alkaline 
substances tvhich have been successfully 
used. The most remarkable and imme- 
diate efiect has followed the use of what 
is termed “fallen lime,” fresh from the 
kiln; which, when applied in the propor- 
tion of about half a peck to the roots of 
unhealthy trees, and covered with earth, 
has restored a healthy color to the leaves; 
and trees which did not look worth a 
week’s purchase have produced fair crops 
of good fruit in after years. Ashes from 
anthracite coal have also been applied 
Avith very good effect. These applica- 
tions have usually been made in_^ the 
spring, but occasionally later in the sea- 
son. This year wood ashes Avere used 
in June AAuth a marked benefit. Soap- 
suds hav'e also been applied to advantage. 
In fact, any substance, Avhich by its caus- 
tic quality is destructive of insect life, 
must be beneficial, proAuded it be not ap- 
plied in quantities sufficient to injure A-e- 
getation. It is an interesting and encour- 
aging circumstance, that several substan- 
ces combine the properties of destructive- 
ness to insectivorous life, AAuth a direct and 
positive stimulating effect upon vegeta- 
tion. In illustration of this fact, my 
friend Dr. Noble has applied oil soap to 
a portion of his extenswe peach orchard, 
in the State of DelaAA'are, to manifest ad- 
vantage. 
The mild weather of January and Feb- 
ruary AAdll sometimes bring forAA'ard ve- 
getation, so that the peach trees are liable 
to blossom prematurely. An attempt has 
been made to obviate this difficulty, by 
covering the roots about the body of the 
trees with Avheat straAv, Avhen the ground 
is deeply frozen in AAdnter. This process, 
by retarding vegetation, has secured them 
from the danger of the late frosts. 
Morris Longstretii. 
