1858. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
151 
Harrowing - Wheat in the Spring, &c. 
(In answer to “An Inexperienced Farmer,” p. 203.) 
Messrs. Editors —The treatment of fall sown wheat 
at the present time, should be well attended to, as 
much of the success of that crop depends upon it. I 
harrow with a double Scotch harrow, lengthwise of the 
drills, and then roll it. I again harrow crosswise of 
drill, and again roll it. Rye I treat in the same way. 
(I have just finished my crops of both as above.) This 
treatment assists the tillering of the plants. When the 
plants are too thick, it should be repeated three or four 
times, and where they are thin, by the loosening of the 
soil, it makes stronger plants. Why is it that those two 
crops do not require the soil stirred as well as any other? 
After laying all the fall and winter, the ground becomes 
a perfect crust, and it is admitted by all that to suc¬ 
ceed in raising a good crop you must keep the ground 
constantly stirred. No crop will succeed where the 
ground is allowed to become crusty and hard on top, 
neither will wheat or rye. Whether it will pay to pur¬ 
chase a harrow and roller for the express purpose of 
cultivating wheat, must depend upon the number of 
acres that there is to work—but I am prepared to say 
that no well managed farm, from twenty-five acres 
upwards, should be without a roller, (wooden or iron,) 
and at least one heavy and one light harrow. They 
cost a little at first, but they will soon pay for them¬ 
selves, and they can always be used to advantage when 
on hand; a roller, for instance, applied on a field of 
young clover that has been pretty well froze out, will 
settle the earth to the roots. This saving of crop would 
pay for the roller. 
An “ Inexperienced Farmer” may have got his 
ground into too mellow a condition before seeding, 
which will account for his slender growth. Wheat land 
should get but one plowing and one harrowing before 
seeding, except where the land is a very heavy strong 
clay ; in this case it may require cross plowing, har¬ 
rowing and rolling. If lumpy, the winter frosts and 
thawing will reduce them, and by harrowing and roll¬ 
ing in the spring you make a level surface, so that you 
can cut with a reaping machine, which, by the bye, you 
will find cheaper than the cradle or scythe, and deci¬ 
dedly better. 
Lime is an essential manure for wheat, and should 
be applied before sowing, as follows: when plowed, 
spread your lime from the carts, and harrow in lightly, 
just covering it as thin as you would grass seeds. The 
lime should be kept well on the surface—it will itself 
work down to the subsoil. By plowing light the fol¬ 
lowing year, you again bring it to the surface, and the 
following, plow to the subsoil, thus bringing the lime 
again to the surface. 
Sowing plaster on wheat I consider a bad practice, 
except where the land is in very fine condition. It 
will draw sorrel out of the ground, if it is the least 
subject to sorrel, and it should be a wet season. Land 
that is sorrelly should be well dosed with lime. 
As to the application of wood ashes, it is good. It 
should be applied after first harrowing and rolling, and 
then harrowed and rolled in. Unless this is done, it is 
useless ; the ground being hard, it cannot get to the 
roots. I have applied in this way guano and muck, 
(well dried to powder,) which was a decided benefit, 
and paid well. 
As to ashes or plaster applied as above, producing a 
large growth of straw, it is incorrect. Those that 
have found their crop all straw and no grain, must at¬ 
tribute it to some other cause. The following is more 
likely the cause : The generality of farmers think that 
they cannot get too much stable manure on the land 
they intend sowing with wheat; in fact all their ma¬ 
nure goes to the field intended for wheat. This over¬ 
dosing of manure will run any grain to straw. Even 
this dose of manure is applied to sward, and it may do 
for Indian corn, but not for wheat. Fresh manure in 
no case should be applied to wheat. Land that has 
been manured the previous year is suitable for wheat, 
or sward or clover plowed in in July and August, and 
getting a sufficiency of lime. This is the best prepa¬ 
ration for wheat. When a light harrow is not at hand, 
use the seed drill. You can adjust the drills to pene¬ 
trate between the rows an inch deep, which will an¬ 
swer all purposes Gerald Howatt. Newton , N. J. 
-»*«- 
Good Slieep Feeding. 
Mr. Jurian Winne of Bethlehem in this county, to 
whose experience in Sheep Feeding we have more than 
once alluded during the past few years, has recently 
sold 220 head, fatted by him since the middle of last 
December. They were purchased for the purpose in 
Canada, mostly Leicester grades in breed, and were 
sold to the butcher, at an average on the whole lot, for 
a little over $12 per head. The cost of feeding was 
carefully estimated by Mr. W., who thinks it cannot 
have exceeded $3 50 each as an outside calculation. 
The feeding included corn and oats, with hay, in the 
morning; straw and carrots at noon, and corn, oil-meal 
and hay at night. The estimated live weight of the 
220 head was 165 pounds. Mr. W.’s yearling stock 
ram weighs 230 pounds, and we give below the weights 
of several head out of the lot sold, taken by the scales at 
different periods in the course of feeding, as they may 
be interesting to some one with such figures of his own 
to compare with them. No. 1 in the following list was 
a yearling ram of Mr. W.’s own raising, and shows that 
his flock promises 
well. 
The sheep 
were 
weighed as 
follows: 
Jan. 8. 
Jan. 23. 
Feb. 13. 
Feb. 27. Mar. 20. 
1,.... 184 
197 
195 
206 
217 
2 ,.... 218 
226 
229 
240 
246 
3. 216 
219 
218 
226 
231 
4,.... 196 
212 
224 
229 
230 
5..... 208 
210 
219 
231 
236 
6 ,.... 189 
200 
201 
210 
222 
7,.— 201 
205 
212 
222 
222 
Experiments to "be Tried in May. 
Messrs. Editors —Will the farmers try the follow¬ 
ing experiments, and report the result? Select apiece 
of sod which lies waste, and place potato sets on the 
grass, covering them up with six or eight inches of 
straw, being careful to wet the straw. All that is to 
be done in the fall, is to rake off the straw, and the 
potatoes are uncovered. I am aware that this mulch¬ 
ing potatoes is not new, but were it proved by a num¬ 
ber of experiments tried the same year, it would es¬ 
tablish beyond a doubt whether potatoes can thus be 
grown sound; and, what is of no little importance, at 
a great reduction of labor and means. I intend trying 
it, and will report the result next fall. N. St. ikf—, 
Canada East. 
Hon. L. Chandler Ball of Hoosick, has been ap¬ 
pointed President of the Rensselaer Co. Ag. Society, 
in place of J. D. Willard, resigned. 
