1878.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
295 
“Yes,” said the Doctor, “and it is almost im¬ 
possible, here in the country, to get a good beef¬ 
steak. I have to pay 15 cents a pound for the 
wretchedest kind of beef. Why we do not get 
Shorthorn bulls and raise better cattle, and feed 
more corn, is one of the mysteries of human nature. ’ ’ 
“Hitherto, Doctor,” said I, “we have had no 
steady market for beef and mutton. Now that this 
is secured, we shall raise better cattle and sheep, 
and shall feed higher. But we are wandering.” 
“‘This piece of land,’ continues Mr. Cobb, ‘is 
in fine condition and rich, and will continue to pro¬ 
duce a good crop of corn for the next forty years 
without manure. It ought to produce 30 to 40 
bushels of wheat per acre, if I had some good va¬ 
riety. What kind of wheat would be suitable to 
such a piece of land in Southern Kansas, that has 
a stiff stem, and not inclined to run to straw ? 
The Squire, the Deacon, Charley, and the Doctor, 
all said the “ Clawson.” 
“But, nevertheless,” said I, “it may not be the 
wheat that Mr. Cobb wants. The fact that it does 
well here and in Michigan does not prove that it 
will do well in Southern Kansas. It has stiff straw, 
and stands up well, but it is such a vigorous grower, 
that on rich bottom-land and in a southern climate 
it may run too much to straw. Still, I know of no 
variety of white wheat that I would sooner risk on 
such land than the Clawson. I am never very en¬ 
thusiastic over new varieties of anything. We are 
inclined to think more of what variety of wheat to 
sow than about preparation of the soil.” 
“ You should attend to both,” said the Doctor, 
“Make the land in good condition, and then select 
the variety best suited to your soil and climate.” 
“ That is it, exactly,” said I, “ but some farmers 
seem to think they can And a variety that will do 
well ou poor, wet, weedy, half-worked land. Mr. 
Cobb has the right idea ; he has rich land in fine con¬ 
dition, and is wise in looking for the best variety. 
But I have known a farmer send hundreds of miles 
for a choice variety of wheat that was advertised 
in the papers, and sow it on land that was too poor, 
and wet, and weedy, to grow a crop of rye. We 
need better varieties of wheat and barley, oats and 
corn, potatoes and root-crops; but we need still 
more better cultivation, better manuring, and more 
prompt and energetic preparation of the land.” 
“ That is all true,” said the Doctor, “ but farm¬ 
ers are improving their land more rapidly than ever 
before. Artificial manures are having a decidedly 
beneficial effect. They put new life into the land ; 
and, better still, new thoughts and new hopes into 
the farmers and farmers’ boys. It is giving tone 
to our agriculture.” 
“ Perhaps so,” said the Deacon, “ but what we 
want is better prices for our produce. It is no use 
raising crops if we cannot sell them.” 
“ Our crops,” said I, “ always have sold, and al¬ 
ways will sell. Go where you may, you will see the 
familiar sign, ‘Cash for Wheat.’ True, the price 
may not suit us. But those who have wheat to sell 
are as well off as their brethren who have flour to 
buy for themselves and their children. Let us be 
thankful that our crops are as good as they are.” 
“ Would you put in much wheat this fall ?” asked 
Charley. “ Probably wheat will be very low.” 
“I should put in just as much wheat,” said the 
Doctor, “ as I could put in well—and no more. We 
had a great crop of wheat in this section last year, 
and the wheat now (June 25) on the ground is de¬ 
cidedly better than the average.” 
“Yes,” said the Deacon, “and there was much 
more land sown to wheat last fall than for many 
years. It is a rare occurrence to have two such 
crops of wheat in succession. I think farmers will 
sow all the wheat they can this fall.” 
“ But,” said I, “ as they made a very great effort 
to put in all the wheat they could last year—sowing 
every acre that could be got ready—I doubt very 
much whether they will have as much land as usual 
this fall to sow to wheat. At least three-fourths 
of all the fall wheat raised in this section is grown 
after barley and oats. Far less land was sown to 
barley and oats this spring than usual. Then, 
again, clover-seed was very cheap, and our wheat 
is seeded down with clover. It is an unusually 
good catch. And farmers will not be likely to sow 
wheat after wheat, as they are sometimes tempted 
to do when the clover fails.” 
“All of which goes to show,” said the Doctor, 
“ that the farmers have far less land ready to sow 
to wheat this fall than was sown last year.” 
“ I should say, with the Doctor, if you have any 
land that will bring good wheat, do not hesitate to 
sow it. I have 33 acres in wheat this year, and 30 
in barley. As soon as the barley is harvested we 
shall plow the land and get ready for winter wheat. ” 
“ Don’t plow it but once,” said the Deacon. 
“That depends on the land,” said I, “and to 
some extent on the weather. On sandy land, and 
especially if it is covered with a good crop of weeds, 
probably you are right. I would plow it once with 
a jointer plow, and depend on the harrows and 
cultivators,or gang-plows,to keep down the weeds.” 
“ Would it not be a better plan,” asked Charley, 
“to harrow the stubble with a heavy three-horse 
harrow ? This would start the weed-seeds, and the 
scattered barley or oats. We did so one year, and 
I stood on a plank laid across the harrows to drive. 
I had to get off occasionally to clear the harrows 
of the stubble and weeds, but it did good in start¬ 
ing the weeds and scattered grain.” 
“That is so,” said 1, “and if the new Peruvian 
Government Agency will sell us nitrate of soda at 
such prices as we can afford to pay, I should like 
to dress all my wheat land this fall with 200 lbs. of 
mineral superphosphate and 150 lbs. of nitrate of 
soda, per acre ; with another 100 lbs. of nitrate of 
6oda sown as a top-dressing in spring, 1 should ex¬ 
pect great wheat. On rich, strong, loamy soils, 
artificial manures are not so necessary ; but it will 
cost more to get the land ready for the wheat. 
But I think it is probable that we shall have 
good wheat on these clay-spots, and good clover 
afterwards. And so, while it is considerable 
trouble to get such land into a thoroughly mellow 
condition, it pays wonderfully well to do it—especi¬ 
ally as the land is there and will have to be sown 
whether we will or no. You want a three-horse 
plow with a good point. And as soon as the land is 
plowed, rod it. If the roller does not break or 
press down all the clods, harrow, and roll again. 
Do not leave a clod bigger than a hen’s egg on the 
surface. Harrow and roll until the surface is 
smooth. This will check evaporation, and the clods 
that are pressed into the loose, mellow earth will 
absorb moisture, and become so soft that the culti¬ 
vator or harrow will make some impression on 
them. But I would not depend on this alone. Be¬ 
fore sowing the wheat I would plow again. If 
the first plowing was well done, and if the roller 
and harrows have been used sufficiently, this will 
turn under four or five inches of moist, mellow soil.” 
“That is what I object to,” said the Deacon. 
“ Why not keep it on top ? ” 
“ The plow,” said I, “will turn under this mellow 
soil, and bring up two or three inches of hard, 
cloddy soil. Roll and harrow, and drill in the 
wheat deep enough for the seed to reach the moist 
earth underneath. The drill will pull up some of 
the clods aud leave the surface rough—but this is 
no objection. I would rather have the clods on 
top and the mellow soil beneath, rather than the 
clods underneath and the mellow soil on top. But 
I am aware that there are two sides to this question. 
The Deacon and I have a standing quarrel on the 
point. A good deal depends on circumstances.” 
The Use of a Roller.— The proper office of 
the roller is to reduce a cloddy soil to a fine con¬ 
dition, and not to produce a smooth level surface. 
Rolling may smooth the surface, but it can not 
make it any more level than it was previously, ex¬ 
cept to get rid of the small furrows left by the har¬ 
row or the drill, which are of service, and should 
not be obliterated. Rolling is useful when the soil 
is full of clods, which prevent the proper covering 
of the seed and the even sprouting of the grain. It 
is injurious when it compacts the surface and 
causes it to bake and crust over, by which the soil 
dries rapidly and receives moisture slowly, or not 
at all. Then the dew is not absorbed, the atmos¬ 
phere can not enter to carry moisture into the 
ground ; rains run off from the surface, washing it 
and carrying off fertilizers or grass-seed, either al¬ 
together or into bunches, by which the plants are 
caused to come up unevenly. A good use of the 
roller is upon meadows in spring to smooth the 
surface for the mower, but at the present season, 
when fields are about to be prepared for fail grain, 
farmers may well consider how the roller may be 
used and misused. 
Grades as Milkers. 
BY PROF. LEVI STOCKBBinGE. 
A recent writer suggests two very important 
questions, the facts in relation to which, and the 
principles controlling the case, should be well 
understood by all dairymen and breeders of dairy 
stock. His query is, Do heifers, from native or 
scrub mothers by bulls of thoroughbred milking 
stock, make better milkers than their dams; and if 
so, why ? Why take the qualities of the stock from 
the sire, rather than the dam ? It is an indisputable 
fact that many native cows are superior milkers 
and butter-makers, and this quality is transmitted 
to their daughters in some cases, until a family ex¬ 
ists of local celebrity. This characteristic, how¬ 
ever, has generally been lost in the course of three 
or four generations, for want of care in keeping up 
the regular line, or by the yearly infusion of blood of 
base or unknown quality. It is quite possible that 
remarkable milking qualities in an individual native 
cow might be perpetuated to remote descendants, 
and even increased, by careful selection of the sire, 
and in-and-in breeding. But that is the method by 
which thoroughbreds are produced, and requires 
skill and intelligence of a high order, and years of 
observation and labor. With a good native cow as 
the basis or stock, much anxiety and time may be 
saved, by an immediate infusion of the fixed blood 
of a thoroughbred of the desired type, and the re¬ 
sult will always answer the first query in the affirm¬ 
ative. The calf will be better than its dam, in some 
respects, and worse in none. As an accident or 
sport, it is possible the dam might be a better 
milker than the dam or breed of the sire, and the 
calf taking the type of the sire be inferior to her, 
but the rule taught by experience is the other way. 
In this case the characteristics of the offspring are 
determined by the long-known law, that the longer 
a class of animals is developed in a single line, the 
greater is their transmitting power, with the more 
certainty do they impress their qualities on off¬ 
spring. The blood of the dam having no line of 
descent, and no accumulated force, is overborne by 
the thoroughbred sire. Theoretically the progeny 
of such a connection is more than half-thorough¬ 
bred, and should develop more than half of the 
sire’s 6tock qualities in milk and form. There is 
but little danger of reversion to original form 
if this method of breeding be adhered to ; but even 
if there were, it is undoubtedly the cheapest, quick¬ 
est, and surest way to develop fixed milking quali¬ 
ties from native cows. 
[Upon a great majority of the old farms of New 
England, and the Middle States, cows have been 
used for milk, and neglecting almost every other 
quality, bred for milk for many generations. They 
are well-bred in no other particular, but not a few 
of them are in this. When such cows are crossed 
with a bull of any of the established breeds, is it 
surprising that even a grade Hereford proves a 
grand milker? That Shorthorn grades, even by 
sires of families bred rather for beef than for milk, 
should prove great milkers would be looked for 
from the fame of their dams and from their own 
superior form and higher grade as animals. That 
Ayrshire grades from such a cross should give much 
milk, and Jersey grades rich milk, we look for as a 
matter of course.— Ed.] 
Weeds.—The worst thing about weeds, is, that 
the farm of the good cultivator is often stocked 
with them from the highways and the fence rows 
or farms of his neighbors. The law in most places 
provides a remedy and enforces a penalty upon 
careless or neglectful farmers ; but the good farmer 
is generally a good neighbor, and is greatly disin- 
