4U6 34. 
for plant-food until it beginB to decay. The to¬ 
bacco usually matures in from 10 to 12 weeks, 
and it is necessary that the young soedlings 
should be provided with plant-food in the right 
condition in order to give them a “ start,” as old 
tobacco growers say. 
The Massachusetts growers, a few years 
since, tested very many kinds of fertilizers, 
Buch as ootton-seod meal, Indian meal, &c., and 
in some instances with considerable success. I 
would not recommend, however, the use of any 
groat amount of fertilizers of the latter kinds 
by way of experimenting, until the grower is 
satisfied that his land is adapted for the use of 
such manure. Old tobacco planters say, and 
with truth, that stable manure is the beBt plant- 
food attainable, and years of trial with this and 
all other fertilizers help toconvinceour growers 
of the truth of tho assertion. I know of bnt 
one other article used that will approach it, and 
that is tobacco stems’ When used wholly to 
grow the crop, or in part, fine large leaves are 
obtained, and the resu'ts everyway seem to be 
the same as when grown with ordinary farm 
manure. The fertilizing of the tobacco gronud 
is one of tho most important things to be oou- 
Bidered, as the application of plant-food will 
determine the quality of tho crop. No one 
in New England should think for a moment of 
raising the wood without a heavy dose of some 
kind of manure. All who think otherwise are 
not at all acquainted with the habit of the plant 
and the enormous demands it makes on the 
fertility of the soil. 
. -*•-*”*-- 
THE FALL WHEAT CROP. 
BY A JEUSEY FARMER. 
THE WHEAT PLANT. 
Although the majority of farmers do not find 
the wheat crop profitable, yet there is no way of 
avoiding the necessity for growing it. Fall 
grain of some kind is at the foundation of our 
Bystem of agriculture, for it is the best prepara¬ 
tion for getting the land into grass again. Be¬ 
sides, wheat is the ‘‘staff of life;” and what 
would the world do without its bread ? What is 
necessary to bo done should always be doue in 
the best and most effective manner. If, then, 
the wheat crop is a necessity in our system of 
agriculture, it should be grown by the best pos¬ 
sible methods. Thus grown, it may be made 
i 
Young Wheat Plant. 
profitable even at present low prices. For the 
thorough understanding of tho best system of 
wheat culture, tho character of the wheat plant 
should he well understood, and it well deserves 
study. Wheat belongs to the family of grasses, 
and to that variety of them known by the bo¬ 
tanical natao of Tritlcum. This variety has a 
habit of spreading from the root as is well 
known in winter wheat and the related species, 
the common Quack-grass; although the manner 
of growth in these two differs somewhat in char¬ 
acter. If a young wheat plant is carefully re¬ 
removed from the ground it will be found to 
have two Bets of roots, one of which springs 
from the Boed, and the other from a bulbous 
enlargement near the surface of the ground. 
As the latter set grows and becomes vigorous, 
the former dies away, and tLo plant depends 
for sustenance upon the surface roots. 
The manner of root-growth is shown at Fig. 1. 
Here the youug plant is just appearing above 
the ground; and having exhausted the nutri¬ 
ment furnished by the mother seed, is pushing 
roots here and there in search of food in the 
soil. Just here might be remarked the neces¬ 
sity of furnishing this needed food, of an ex- 
aotly right and of the most available kind just 
at this important moment. As the plaut grows, 
the well-known process of “ tillering ” is aecom- ' 
plished by the throwing out of offsets from the 
main root as shown at Fig. 2. Each of these 
offsets soon becomes an independent plant, 
which throws out a sot of roots for itself, and 
which may be separated and transplanted if de¬ 
sired. This new plant also pushes out inde¬ 
pendent offsets of its own accord, and if the 
growth is vigorous and (here is room enough, 
these offsets again push roots and other offsets, 
and so the plant increases very rapidly until the , 
THE RURAL HEW-V@RMIR. 
ground is fully occupied. Bat it is now that we 
should prepare to meet 
THE DANCERS THAT MENACE THE WHEAT PLANT. 
The first and most frequent danger is the im¬ 
proper oondition of the soil. If the soil is not 
Vigorous Wheat Plant Late in the Fall-3 
in such a condition that the roots can grow and 
spread safely, tho plant is weak from the begin¬ 
ning. For instance, a soil that has been plow¬ 
ed at this season cannot help hut bo cloddy 
and uneven in texture. If the soil is then but 
lightly harrowed, the seed sown and harrowed 
in and the surface then relied as a finishing 
operation, tho seed has a hard time of it. The 
young rootlets need to bo furnished with a fine 
mellow bod in which to grow; if there are clods 
and air spaces in their way, thoy cannot pene¬ 
trate the one and they dry up in the other. A 
soil prepared as above mentioned, will be in the 
3 : 
A Plowed Soil Rolled, but Imperfectly 
Harrowed, 
condition shown at Fig. 3. Tho surface will be 
fine and hard packed, but below this there will 
be a mass of lamps separated by interstices. 
The seeds deposited in these will either remain 
dormant or they will sprout to find impenetrable 
clods just above them, opposed to the passage 
of the spires; or the tender rootlets will perish 
by exposure to air in the open spaces and many 
plants will be abortive. Those which survive 
will be met by a hard, beaten, baked, surface 
impenetrable to air and to moisture; through 
which they will emerge with difficulty, weakened 
arid injured. This oondition of the young 
growth is more frequent than is suspected. 
If, however, the soil had been rolled and then 
thoroughly harrowed, the mellow soil would 
have been worked down through the clods, and 
have filled the spaces between them, whilo the 
hardest and tho largest of these would have 
been brought to tho surface. The soil would 
then appear as at fig. 4, furnishing a perfect 
seed-bed and an open, loose soil, through which 
air and moisture, with consequent warmth, could 
pouotrato in all directions. 
It is useless to spend time in discussing tho 
need for proper and sufficient supplies of plant- 
food. “ That goes without saying.” Tho wheat 
plaut canuotfeed upon raw, undecomposed food. 
It must be fit for immediate digestion and as¬ 
similation ; and there is no other that can sur¬ 
pass in value thoroughly well decomposed stable 
manure, aided by a liberal addition of fertilizer, 
4t 
A Well-Harrowed Soil. 
containing potash, nitrogen and phosphoric acid. 
Lime, in many soils, will bo very acceptable. 
Our worst of all iuseot pests may be circum¬ 
vented by giving vigor to the growth and enab¬ 
ling the plant to throw out new offsets for those 
injured or destroyed by the now industrious and 
frequent Hessian fly. 
THE EFFECTS OF SURFACE WATER 
seriously endanger the best sown crops. When 
frosts arrive, the turf ace soil is at first lifted 
from that below it by the expansion of the water 
contained in it; aud as tho cold iienetratoB 
Surface Heaved by a Light Frost. 
deeper, the soil is cracked perpendicularly into 
innumerable fissures. A 6urfaoa frost acts as is 
seen at fig. 5 ; a deep frost acts as shown at fig. 
6. Think for a moment of the effect of such a 
disturbance of the soil upon the roots as shown 
at fig. 2. Iu the first case, the plant is either 
torn bodily from its roots, or the roots are drawn 
out of the undor-soil just so much as the crown 
of the plant is lifted. These roots can never re¬ 
turn to their place again. The consequence is, 
a few such light frosts draw the weak plants with 
shallow roots completely out of the soil, and 
leave them naked upon tho cold ground to die ; 
or they rupture the fibers and entirely separate 
the plants from their roots. But a strong plant 
with abundant roots will he able to lift up the 
soil with its roots, just aB in weeding we fre¬ 
quently pull up the roots and ball of earth to¬ 
gether when a weed is strong and vigorous ; and 
it will then resist the frosts successfully. When / 
severe frosts occur, the weak plaut succumbs in 
another way. The ground being fissured as 
shown at fig. 6, the root fibers must necessarily 
be ruptured, and the weak plant will be deprived 
of tho most of its food gatherers. But the 
strong ones can stand this treatment even 
though tbev may suffer rupture of tho roots. 
This rupturing process will tend only to separate 
the individual offsets to 'make distinct plants of 
them. Thus no harm will happen to the crop 
well sown, npon well-prepared fertile soil, ex¬ 
cepting under very unnsual circumstances, which 
would entirely destroy a weak crop. 
BROADCAST AND DRILL SOWiNC 
differ most in the depth to which the seed is de¬ 
posited. This is a very material point, as may 
Surface Split by Deep Frost. 
be eeen on reference to the annexed illustra¬ 
tions, figures 7, 8, At Fig. 7 is represented some 
seed sown broadcast; at Fig. 8 the drill-sown. 
Understanding tbo manner of growth of the 
wheat plant, and the effects of frost upon it, it 
is obvious and indisputable, that the broadcasted 
soed must suffer tlia most from the dangers inci¬ 
dent to the winter season, and must bo wasteful 
of seed, because somo of it cannot grow in the 
best manner and must fail to thrive; at the same 
time many plants will be prevented from effect¬ 
ing their natural tendency to tiiler and spread, 
because they have not room for it; while others 
will have moro room than they can occupy. 
Broadcast Sowing. 
However something of this matter must be left 
for the reader to deduce for himself, and this 
point may well be left. 
METHODS OF DRAINING 
are very important. But where land is not al¬ 
ready well drained naturally, or by means of tile^. 
it is useless to refer to the escape by these 
means from dangers which menace the wh->at 
crop. A substitute for thorough drainage may 
however be found. This is by plowing tbe land 
Drill-Sowing. 
in ridges. It is an old fashion, but a good one: 
and if t ightly dono, may not interfere with the 
after use of tho reaper or the mower. The ap¬ 
pearance of a ridged field is shown at Fig 9 
These ridges may bo made 11 to 22 paoea wide, 
or of such widths as may be found desirable for 
tbe character of the soil. A wet, heavy clay 
would require narrow ridges, and a better soil 
those of the full width. The ridges are made 
by throwing deep back furrows where the cen¬ 
ters will eomo, and plowing lands of the width 
required, with each successive farrow rather 
shallower than the last one, so as to give a 
slightly rounded form to the land. When the 
Ridges for Surface-Draining. 
field has been sown and finished, tbe open fur¬ 
rows between the ridges should bo cleared out 
neatly, with a round-pointed shovel, if need be, 
both to make a smooth channel for tho water 
and an even slope from tho ridge to the bottom 
of the hollow. For an 11-paco ridge the rise of 
the crown need not bo more than six inches; 
and nine inches will be sufficient rise for a 22- 
pace furrow. It will bo obvious to thoughtful 
persons, but others may need to be told, that 
the ridges should be made to run with the slope 
of the field, so that the water may run off 
through the open furrows. If the field has con 
Eiderablo inclination the ridges should not be 
made directly up and down the slopes, but diag¬ 
onally across them, so as to give the least in¬ 
clination to the furrows possible with effective 
surface drainage. This will prevent a too rapid 
flow and washing of the soil. It is some extra 
trouble to plow a field in this manner when the 
eurfaee is uneven, but it will pay well, if only 
the good, workmanlike appearance of a field 
thns plowed is considered. To have the work 
well done, makes it look well, and there is the 
advantage of making the work the most effect¬ 
ive. 
Bergen Co., N. J. 
®|f jpoultn) gar It, 
POULTRY BREEDING-No. 3. 
A. M. VAN ATJKEN. 
POULTRY HOUSES. 
We must have a house, in fact seven houses, 
in which to house our flocks, and as we are 
breeding for fowls and eggs for market, we can 
F 
rum i 
-*• r 
(• 
27 
p;. ijq?3 r 
wml 
afford no ingenions ventilators, no patent feed- 
hoppers or hens’ nests, but all must be cheap 
and plain, though our house must be warm, 
well lighted and well ventilated. 
First, I will describe our house for layers, 
which must also be the sitters’. Figure 1, is the 
ground-plan; it contains four rooms for layers 
and an apartment for sitting hens. Rocsta are 
at R; F, T, ia the feeding trough; W, P, is a 
common wooden water pail which we find to be 
the best water vessel; D, D, are doors; and N, 
N, are nests. 
The roosts are of 2 by 4 scantling set flat-wise, 
with the upper edges rounded a little. In front 
of the roosts is a board partition coming up as 
high as the roosts, bo that, in our mouthly 
house-cleaning, we can mix the dirt with the 
manure and leave it under tho roosts till spring. 
•I prefer tho roosta to be two feet fpom the 
, ground. 
The nests are made so that the hen enters by 
a covered passage in the rear of the nests, thus 
making them dark, which gratifies the hen’s 
love of secrecy, and prevents the others from 
going into the nests to scratch and learn to eat 
eggs. The partitions are made tight for three 
feet, and above that are of strips two inches 
apart. The uests for sitters will bo described in 
the article on sitting hens. 
Fig. 2, is the elevation as seen from the south, 
of the house. It is built by setting posts iu the 
ground eight feet apart, cut off three feet high; 
put a 2 by 4 on the top, and mortice another 
one in near the bottom, the same as you would 
for a picket fence, and sot a post on each side of 
each door, as high as the door top. Fit your 
rafters on at a pitch of >£, and board them with 
surfaced lumber, then cover with tarred roofiog; 
cover the sides and ends in the same manner. 
There are four windows in the roof, each made 
hot-bed fashion, 3 by 5 feet, and in each out¬ 
side door is a sash. A strip of felt forms the 
gutter where tho two roofs meet. The fence 
runs up over the roof, and lengthwise ok the 
peak nail on pickets about three feet high. In 
the auramor the doors are taken off and wire net 
doors take their places. 
The breeders’ house, is.quickly described: the 
lenght is 20 feet and the width eight feet; it is 
divided into four apartments each 5 by 6 feet. 
The partitions are made of strips of I hv 
inch pine, nailed two inches apart. The out¬ 
side is of inch piiie boards planed aud battened, 
and the roof is of common matched flooring, 
and in each apartment is a 3 by 5 hot-bed sash 
in the roof. Ventilation is provided for by 
raising trap-doers in the short pitch of the roof. 
Tho fowls that go in the yards north of the 
house, pass through a movable box across ihe 
passage. No rafters are used in the building. 
In the plan, fig. 3, the nests are at N, aud at 
It are the roosts ; the circle is a water pail, and 
by it is a feed-box, so that these may be filled 
from the passage. 
The other houso is just like this but it is only 
half the size. 
Brown Co., Wls. 
