270 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
derive a full supply of pabulum, will send 
forth vigorous roots and leaves, and Avill 
have a much better chance for a rapid after¬ 
growth. Three hundred pounds per acre of 
guano, intimately mingled with the soil, has 
been found to exert a powerful effect upon 
the Wheat plants, and yet that amount, of 
guano does not furnish to each cubic inch 
of soil as much nourishment as there is in 
a single plump kernel of Wheat. This reas¬ 
oning must appear obvious to every one ; 
and to this we may add the fact that, in our 
experience, as well as from extended obser¬ 
vation, we have found the practice of se¬ 
lecting large seed to be highly profitable. 
Our method has been to run the Wheat de¬ 
signed for seed over a coarse screen, which 
sorted out only about one-fourth to one-half 
of the largest, plumpest kernels. This pro¬ 
cess separates all foul seeds, and is the very 
best plan for rooting out such parts and se¬ 
curing “ clean land.” We have pursued the 
course for a few years, and the result has 
been that the general character of the Wheat 
has been so much improved that after select¬ 
ing one-third of the plumpest kernels for 
seed and home use, the remaining two-thirds 
has still commanded the highest market 
price. 
Varieties of Seed. —Almost every section 
of the country has some particular variety of 
Wheat which has been found best adapted to 
the locality, and no general rule can be given. 
Let every farmer be sure and get the best, 
and not sow a poorer variety because he hap¬ 
pens to have it. He can usually exchange 
with a neighbor, giving Wheat good for con¬ 
sumption or market, for that which is more 
valuable for seed. Better to expend a dol¬ 
lar more for good seed than sow poor, when 
$10 to $12 per acre is to be laid out in other 
expenses of cultivation. An additional yield 
of two or three bushels for the same labor 
in cultivating will well repay the difference 
between good and bad seed. 
From nearly all accounts of the past and 
present year, the Red Mediterranean Wheat 
has been found the most reliable, and 
wherever this seed is accessible we advise 
to procure it for a part or the whole of the 
next crop. 
SOW WHEAT EARLY. 
Every year’s experience and observation 
show more and more plainly the importance 
of sowiDg Wheat early. One half or more 
of the reports from the Wheat crop during 
two years past contain in substance the fol¬ 
lowing : “ Early sown Wheat is good, but 
late sown is Winter-killed,” or “ injured by 
the insect.” Wheat should get well-rooted 
before frosts set in. The long roots will be 
far less liable to be thrown out by frost. Na¬ 
ture is a good teacher; as soon as the old 
crop is ripe the seeds fall to the ground and 
commence growing again. North of latitude 
42° it would be better if every grain of seed 
Wheat were in the ground early in Septem¬ 
ber. From 40° to 42°, Wheat sowing 
should be finished by the first week in Octo¬ 
ber. 
METHOD OE SOWING WHEAT. 
Every person raising twenty or thirty 
acres of Wheat can well afford to purchase 
a seed-drill, unless he can join a neighbor in 
buying one. Some of the advantages of 
drilling in Wheat, instead of sowing broad¬ 
cast, may be summed up as follows : 
The seed is put into the ground at a uni¬ 
form depth, the plants come up evenly, grew 
evenly, and ripen at the same time. 
A much smaller quantity of seed is re¬ 
quired, because no allowance need be made 
for portions left partially covered, or covered 
too deeply ; nor for a large number of seeds 
falling together, as usually happens in broad¬ 
cast sowing. Nearly half a bushel of seed 
per acre may be saved, which, with the 
present high price of Wheat, would pay the 
cost of a seed-sower the first year upon a 
large farm, or where several small farmers 
unite in purchasing one. 
Where the plants grow at uniform dis¬ 
tances the light and air enter more freely, 
and a more vigorous growth is secured. Di¬ 
rect experiments have shown that where the 
heads of Wheat stand well apart the kernels 
upon each head are plumper, and often more 
than double the number of those upon heads 
growing closely together. 
W'ith the plants at equal distances, the 
roots occupy the whole soiJ, and do not 
interfere with each other, and there is a 
greater certainty of using up all the fertilizer 
applied to the ground. 
Next to drilling-in W'heat we recommend 
plowing it with shallow furrows. In this 
method the grain is covered more uniformly 
with the plow than it would be with a har¬ 
row ; the plants come up in rows and admit 
light and air ; and as they stand between the 
small ridges, the soil from these will crum¬ 
ble down with frost, and falling around the 
roots, will be partially equivalent to hoeing. 
Of course, the ground should not be touched 
with harrow, roller or brush after the Wheat 
is plowed in. 
MANURES FOR WHEAT. 
These must be varied to meet the condition 
of the soil. Where the ground is cold and 
wet, and consequently contains decayed 
vegetable matter, alkalies, such as newly 
slacked lime, or unleached ashes, are highly 
valuable. In soils not abounding already in 
sulphate of iron and sulphuric acid in some 
form, Plaster of Paris is an excellent fertili¬ 
zer, as it—so to speak—catches ammonia 
from the air and from rain water, and thus 
supplies Wheat with one of its best stimu¬ 
lants. Barn-yard manures of all kinds are 
always good. We recommend less rotting 
or composting than is usually practiced ; let 
the manure, even to long straw, be kept from 
fermenting, and get it under the surface soil, 
where it will without fail decay gradually 
and furnish just the nourishment needed. If 
this is done that will not be a waste of the 
greater part of the best elements which are 
usually lost in the rotting process. Clover 
plowed under when at its full growth, and 
while still green, is one of the very best fer¬ 
tilizers for Wheat. When clover or manure, 
or sod is once plowed under, whether before 
or after the harvest season, it should never 
be lurned up again. Let the surface be 
thoroughly pulverized with a heavy, sharp 
harrow, or with a cultivator, but never use 
the plow the second time, at least not deeply 
enough to throw up to the surface the organ¬ 
ic or vegetable substances buried at the first 
plowing. 
Of all “ foreign manures ” yet tried upon 
Wheat, there has none been found so gener¬ 
ally beneficial as genuine Peruvian Guano. 
Wheat seems to delight especially in'ammo- 
nia, and Guano furnishes this in abundance 
at the cheapest rate. Much value has been 
claimed for super-phosphate of lime and oth¬ 
er manufactured articles, but the benefit de¬ 
rived from these often lies more in the adver¬ 
tisement of the interested manufacturers, 
than in any observed valuable results. Com¬ 
paratively good results have, indeed, been 
observed, but it is worthy of remark that 
these have always followed where Guano, 
or some good substitute for it, has been ad¬ 
ded to the super-phosphate. The safer, 
cheaper plan for the purchaser is, to go to 
the fountain head and get the pure, unadul¬ 
terated Guano itself. 
MECHANICAL TREATMENT OF SOIL FOR WHEAT. 
First of all, after making it dry, let it be 
stirred deeply ; we do not say plowed deep¬ 
ly in the common acceptation of that word, 
for it is not always advisable to turn up to 
the surface a great depth of the sub-soil. 
This may be poisonous, or otherwise unfit 
for direct contact with the young plant. But 
it should at least be stirred below with a sub¬ 
soil plow to let in the air and allow water to 
drain off. If this is done the roots will strike 
down to a greater depth ; they will derive 
more nourishment, as well as sap with which 
to appropriate the food collected from the air 
by the leaves ; the frost will be less likely to 
heave them out; and the roots thus allowed 
by the deep cultivation to penetrate deep 
downwards, will be below the temporary ef¬ 
fect of the sun in long drouths or hot weath¬ 
er. 
Where under-draining is not already done, 
Wheat soil should in all cases be plowed in 
narrow lands, and the dead furrows between 
be left deep and well cleaned out, so that no 
water shall stand in the soil during freezing 
weather. A single illustration will show 
the importance of this. Dry or partly dry 
solid substances like soil, are but compara¬ 
tively little expanded and contracted by heat 
and cold, while water expands and contracts 
about one-eighth of its whole bulk by a change 
of nine degrees of temperature, (40° to 31°.) 
Eight measures of water will produce nine 
measures of ice, and a soil saturated with wa¬ 
ter will swell and contract in freezing and 
thawing just as much as the same bulk of 
water itself. Now a wet soil by these alter¬ 
nate expansions and contractions, breaks and 
tears the roots of Wheat, and if it is not Win¬ 
ter-killed outright, it will be so much injured 
as to have a sickly, late growth in the Spring 
—a result not found where the soil is free 
from water during Winter. All Winter 
crops are in a similar condition. Hence, 
we repeat, let the best provision possible be 
made to keep the ground free from water 
during freezing weather.— [Ed. 
HUMBUGS. 
A TWO CENT SHAVE. 
About the meanest imposition practiced 
upon the community, is that of certain ven¬ 
ders of quack medicines, who are continual¬ 
ly sending over the county circulars, pam¬ 
phlets, &c., directed through the Post Office, 
unpaid, to every individual whose address 
they can get from business directories, re¬ 
ports of meetings, &c., &c. The more 
prominent a man becomes the more is he 
likely to be annoyed ; but the evil is extend¬ 
ing to every class of society. Not long 
since we received a letter stating that, for a 
consideration named, “the writer would 
mail for us a circular to the address of each 
of 41,000 farmers,” adding “ that it was un¬ 
necessary to prepay postage,” and further, 
“ that he had already sent out over four 
millions of circulars for medicines, &c.,” 
that is, all of these farmers had been taxed 
two dollars, or two cents each, on 100 cir¬ 
culars, of which probably ninety-nine were 
advertisements of the sheerest humbugs. 
What is this but a downright robbery of 
$80,000? 
Scarcely a week passes that we are not 
offered a large sum to allow the maker of 
some quack medicine to send a “ circular” 
to each of our subscribers. We invariably 
refuse all such offers, however tempting, 
and if any of our readers receive any such 
