H4L4: Varieties of Seed Wheat and their Prices.—Annual Meeting of the NT. Y. State Ag. Society. 
fifteen hundred, at home. One-half the distance was 
made in the usual time, the large cattle evincing as 
good traveling qualities as the others ; and this, I doubt 
not, would have proved to have been the case through¬ 
out, if the roads had not become rough and frozen; 
while this was the case, the large stock had to lay by, 
and it was barely practicable for the others to keep in 
motion; there was consequently a difference of four¬ 
teen days in the times of arrival. The separation of 
the drove, which at first was only about half as large 
as we usually have them, and the long period of 90 to 
105 days they were on the road, occasioned an expen¬ 
diture of fifty per cent, more than our stock ordinarily 
costs in driving in the spring season. 
So far as I have been able to judge of the weights of 
the cattle here, I think the common stock lost about 12 
per cent, and the large ones about 15 per cent, of their 
weight. It is presumable that there would have been 
little or no difference in this respect, provided the state 
of the roads had permitted the stock to keep together, 
and perform the trip in the ordinary time of 65 or 70 
days. 
The foregoing facts, with the inferences deducible 
therefrom, touching the relative merits of the improved 
and unimproved breeds of cattle, are at your service. 
I am respectfully, 
Your ob’t serv’t, 
James Shelby. 
As several of our correspondents have 
written to us inquiring the price of seed 
wheat, we refer them to General Harmon’s 
letter below, for answer ; and for further par¬ 
ticulars of its cultivation, they will find them 
page 261 of our Dec. No. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Varieties of Seed Wheat and their Prices. 
Messrs. A. B. & R. L. Allen : 
The White May Virginia wheat that I have under 
cultivation, I received from Mr. Cocke, of Virginia, 
late in the fall of 1837. The first two years it yielded 
so well, that in 1840 I sowed fifteen acres. The fol¬ 
lowing spring was very unfavorable for winter wheat, 
owing to frequent freezings and thaws. My White 
May was more injured than the improved White Flint, 
and not as much as several other varieties. The two 
last seasons I have sown but one bushel each season 
of the White May, that quantity being sufficient to ex¬ 
periment upon. It is in its growth not as large straw 
as some varieties, and very much resembles the im¬ 
proved White Flint. Chaff white and bald; berry red, 
very flinty, and heavy, weighing from sixty-three to 
sixty-six pounds per bushel. It is one week earlier 
than the common varieties, and has not suffered any 
by rust, while other varieties sown on the same land, 
and at the same time, have suffered severely some 
seasons. 
I have tried it on oak opening land, of a sandy and 
gravelly loam, and clay soils, and on the beach and 
maple lands, soil as above, and on river bottoms. On 
the last, the straw was bright and berry plump, while 
the Flint was badly rusted and shrunk. The White 
Flint has been the soundest and most hardy variety that 
we have here, but it was there outdone by the White 
May. On the oak lands the White Flint has proved 
the most favorable of any of the varieties that I have 
tested. The two last seasons I have had frequent 
applications for the White May, but have not sold a 
single bushel for seed. I have sent several lots to the 
west and south, from one to two quarts in a place, at 
the request of those who were anxious to experiment 
on new varieties. 
The varieties that I have under cultivation as ex¬ 
periments, are sown in strips through the field, about 
one bushel each, all on the same soil and at the same 
time; and I select my seed for the next sowing from a 
strip through the middle of each variety, so as to keep 
it as pure as possible. The improved White Flint is 
my main crop. I have sold several hundred bushels a 
year for several years past for seed, which has gone to 
other States and Canada, and as yet I have not heard 
any complaint as to purity or quality. 
My price at the barn has been 25 cents per bushel 
over the miller’s price. From here to New-York it has 
cost from 31 to 38 cents per bushel in barrels. Barrels 
cost from 31 to 38 cents each, holding three and a-half 
bushels. I expect to be able to supply orders for my 
improved White Flint at former prices; and from my 
experimental field I would furnish small lots at fair 
prices. I will forward you a barrel of samples imme¬ 
diately after harvest. I do not suffer my experiment 
crop to be put in the barn with my main crop, but 
thresh my seed in my hay barn, on a canvass, with the 
flail; this precaution is necessary to keep them pure. 
I have under cultivation the Bellevue Talevera, En¬ 
glish White, White Province (French), White May 
Virginia, White Silver Beard, from Kentucky, better 
known in this State as Hutchinson Wheat, or Bearded 
Flint, or Canada Flint, and Wheatland Red. This is 
nearly as early as the Virginia May, from which it 
was obtained by sowing in the Spring, Common Flint, 
Improved Flint, and several other varieties in small 
plots. Several of the varieties that I have tested have 
been reputed as not being hardy, or producing a berry 
of inferior quality. I dislike all bearded varieties. 
Last fall I received a sample of the Mediterranean 
Wheat, from Mr. Ellsworth, of the Patent Office, which 
I have sown. It is said to be very hardy, and seldom 
injured by the fly or rust. Its long stiff beards, and 
dark and thick bran, producing flour of inferior quality, 
are strong objections to it on our fine wheat soils. 
Any communications on wheat or its culture, re¬ 
ceived through the American Agriculturist, or other¬ 
wise, post paid, will be duly noticed. 
Yours respectfully, R. Harmon, Jr. 
Wheatland, Monroe Co ., N. Y. Jan. 20, 1843. 
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE N. Y. STATE AG¬ 
RICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Being unable to attend, we had made ar¬ 
rangements for a report of the annual meet¬ 
ing of this society, but for some reason or 
other, unexplained to us, we have not yet re¬ 
ceived it. We are therefore greatly obliged 
to Messrs. E. P. Prentice and C. N. Bement, 
of Albany, for their several letters detailing 
the general proceedings, but as the editors 
of the Cultivator have been so obliging as to 
forward us a proof sheet of the whole, in an¬ 
ticipation of the issue of their paper, we shall 
copy from that all for which we have space. 
We beg leave to return our thanks to Messrs. 
Gaylord & Tucker for this favor, and shall 
be happy to reciprocate it any time in our 
power. 
The annual meeting of the New York State Agricul¬ 
tural Society was held in this city, on the 18th of Janu- 
