Agriculture is the most healthful, the most useful, and the most 
noble employment of Man.— Washington. 
VOL. II._ NEW YORK, AUGUST, 1843. _ NO. V. 
A. B. Allen, Editor. Saxton & Miles, Publishers, 205 Broadway. 
EARLY-SOWN WHEAT. 
In our excursions in different parts of the coun¬ 
try the present season, we have invariably found 
that, those fields which were latest sown to wheat 
last fall, have suffered the most from the fly and 
winter-kill. Now is this generally the case through¬ 
out different sections of the country ? If so, it be¬ 
comes an important matter to sow early, and in¬ 
stead of leaving it till the last of September, or the 
fore part of October, as is frequently done here at 
the north, it should invariably be got in as early as 
the first ten days of September. 
The only objection which we have heard to early 
sowing is, that it produces too rank a growth the 
following spring; but this is easily obviated by 
pasturing it for a week or two with sheep or young 
cattle, the last of April, or early in May. We 
have been informed that pasturing wheat in the 
spring on rich soils, not only renders it less likely 
to be struck with the rust, but it also thickens the 
crop, and operates as a preventive to the grain be¬ 
ing lodged. When stock is turned on to wheat 
fields, great care should be taken to see' t that the 
ground be sufficiently dry to prevent poaching, 
otherwise it might cause serious injury to the crop. 
The advantages of early sowing now, if our obser¬ 
vations prove correct as to the fly, would be very 
great; the disadvantages we are yet to learn. 
Wheat being the principal money crop in large 
sections of the northern and middle states, too 
much attention can not be paid to an improved 
cultuie of this great staple product. We shall be 
much indebted to any of our readers who will favor 
us with communications on this important subject. 
FINE-WOOL SHEEP. 
The article which appeared under this head in 
our No. of last month, was written with such haste 
for the press, that one important item in estimating 
the value that would accrue to the country from 
adopting a superior breed of fine-woolled sheep, 
was entirely forgotten. It was pencilled down in 
our notes, but was unfortunately overlooked in 
writing them out at length. It was this: On the 
same food, the quantity of wool would be increased 
at least one pound per head annually in adopting 
an improved breed of fine-woolled sheep, so that 
from the eleven millions of shorn sheep in the Uni¬ 
ted States, 11,000,000 lbs. extra of wool would be 
obtained, which, reckoned at thirty cents per pound 
only (it is actually worth nearer forty cents per 
pound even as low as wool now is in this market),* 
