358 
TOUR IN ENGLAND.—NO. XVI. 
was making money from it. Success we say to 
such laudable ambition, and may this example 
be followed by others. 
®our fit Enjjlairtr. No. 16. 
Culture of Wheat. —One of the most pleasing 
sights which presented itself to our view in trav¬ 
ersing England, was the large fields of wheat 
which we encountered in almost every direction, 
and the great average product per acre, from land 
that in our own country would be considered quite 
inferior. In case of a partial failure of this crop, 
the farmers of Great Britain have not, like those 
of America, that excellent grain, the Indian corn, 
to fall back upon for bread-stuffs; they have con¬ 
sequently a more powerful motive than we, in ad¬ 
dition to their higher prices and greater density of 
population, to stimulate them to raise as large 
a quantity of wheat as possible. To this end, 
therefore, the rotation of all their crops tend— 
wheat as often and as much of it per acre as can 
be produced, consistent with keeping up, or rather 
at the same time improving the fertility of the 
land. 
In our intercourse with some of the English 
farmers, we found them sufficiently sanguine in 
believing, that land might be so managed as not 
only to double the present average yield through¬ 
out the kingdom, but also to make it produce 
wheat for years in succession, without deteriorating 
the quantity or quality of the grain. It is impos¬ 
sible to say what science may yet do for agricul¬ 
ture; for certain it is, that by use of a compound 
of those manures which are known to be the best 
food for the plant, five consecutive crops of wheat 
have been taken from the same field, the amount 
annually increasing from 20 bushels the first year, 
up to as high as 50 bushels the last, of an excel¬ 
lent quality of grain; and single acres have been 
made to produce from 76 to 82 bushels. This 
last amount is a trifle more than has ever been 
grown to our knowledge in America, the highest 
record of which is at the rate of 78| bushels per acre. 
We only state these as mere examples of what 
can be done in increasing the production of wheat; 
nor is it more astonishing than obtaining from 150 
to 190 bushels of Indian corn per acre, as has 
been recently done. The mind of the American 
farmer has not yet been turned so much to the 
production of large crops of wheat, as it has to that 
of com and some other things; yet we are confi¬ 
dent the moment it is, we shall see as large a yield 
recorded in the United States of this invaluable 
grain per acre, as in Great Britain. But leaving 
what perhaps may be called fancy crops ',o take 
care of themselves, we shall proceed to the gener¬ 
al method of the culture of wheat in England. 
The first requisite is to have the land in good 
heart. A root crop bountifully manured always 
precedes wheat; or else clover, tares, or some 
kind of grass fed off by sheep. To be preceded by 
a white crop, (grain of any kind, such as barley, 
oats, &c.,) is considered bad husbandry, as the 
food in the soil necessary for the production of the 
wheat in perfection, would be more or less taken 
up by the oats or barley. Peas or beans may be 
succeeded by wheat, these not being considered a 
white crop. In his seed, the English farmer is 
more careful to select the best varieties than we 
are; he also uses a larger quantity per acre, and 
generally drills it in instead of sowing it broad¬ 
cast upon the land. We think this quite an im¬ 
provement; for by standing apart in rows from 9 
to 12 inches, the wheat tillers better and more 
easily rids itself of an excess of moisture, the sun 
penetrates with greater facility among the stalks, 
and the air circulates more freely among it: the 
agitation of the crop by the wind is known to 
be an excellent preventive to rust and mildew. 
Another important consideration in sowing in drills 
is, that where labor is so cheap the crop can be 
hoed and wed out in the spring, which adds to its 
increase, and prevents the growth of weeds. The 
general amount of crop under this system of culti¬ 
vation, we found to run from 25 to 40 bushels per 
acre; perhaps the average might be 30 bushels. 
The average yield of all England we think must- 
now be full 20 bushels per acre; while that of our 
own country has been carefully estimated not to 
exceed 10 or 12; a disparity, considering our rich 
virgin soil, not much to the credit of our present 
system of farming. 
Cradling wheat is not so common a practice 
here as with us, the sickle being preferred by the 
laborers to the scythe. During harvest-time, large 
bodies of Irish laborers come over to England for 
employment, the men and women working indis¬ 
criminately together; the only difference being that 
the women do the binding and setting up the 
sheaves. It is a pretty merry time with all at 
this season, English, Irish, or Scotch; and wherev¬ 
er one passes over the country, he hears the jo¬ 
cund song and uproarous laugh, from the numer¬ 
ous bands which dot the harvest-fields in motley 
groups. 
After reaping, come the gleaners; usually super¬ 
annuated old men, or women and children. It is 
