306 
Wheat and Chess. 
This subject having been recently alluded t© in the 
Country Gentleman, and the fact stated that at va¬ 
rious times during the past twenty years, premiums of 
fifty and a hundred dollars have been offered by dif¬ 
ferent persons for a specimen in a state of transition,, 
(for among the billions constantly changing it was 
supposed many might be found in the act,) or with part 
chess and part wheat growing from the same stalk or 
root. Several such specimens were claimed to have 
been found, but they were either spurious or artificial¬ 
ly made, or were not actually presented for the pre¬ 
mium. If there are now any genuine specimens of 
the kind in existence, and the premiums heretofore of¬ 
fered are not large enough to bring them to hand, one 
of the editors of this paper is willing to increase the 
reward to any desired amount, sufficient to bring such 
a specimen before the anxious and incredulous public. 
Our principal object, however, at the present time 
in alluding to this subject, is to report the progress 
made by the committee appointed last year by the 
New-York State Agricultural Society, to turn wheat 
to chess ,—provided they could do it. Our readers may 
perhaps remember that wo stated about a year since, 
that Benjamin Hodge of Buffalo, had previously of* 
fered a prize of one hundred dollars to any one who 
would turn wheat to chess. A worthy farmer near 
Hochester claimed the prize—one of the conditions of 
the payment of which was its award by a committee 
appointed by the New-York State Agricultural Society. 
Such a committee was appointed, and met at Rochester 
in company with the claimant for the premium, with a 
mass of wheat and chess growing mixed together, and 
conveyed in a large tub. Clean wheat had been plant¬ 
ed, and chess was found. As it was not certain that 
the seed of the chess might not have been accidentally 
scattered by fowls or in various other ways, the com¬ 
mittee could not make the award, unless the chess was 
found actually growing from the half-decayed grains 
of wheat. This was found to he the ease ; but on fur¬ 
ther examination by microscopes, the roots of the chess 
were discovered, not to proceed from the end of the 
grain from which the sprout always issues, but in every 
instance from some other part at random ; and a fur¬ 
ther examination showed that there was no adhesion 
between the grain and the root, but that it merely 
passed through the shell of the grain, or came in ac¬ 
cidental contact. So far, then, this experiment proved 
nothing. 
The applicant was not willing to relinquish the in¬ 
vestigation here, confident as he was of complete suc¬ 
cess, if he only had a fair trial. He desired the con¬ 
tinuance of the committee, for further experiment, ex¬ 
pressing at the same time his entire confidence in their 
integrity and fairness. He provided them with large 
square tin boxes, in which to effect the transmutation 
under his special direction. They all performed the 
experiment, with all the care required. The earth be¬ 
fore placing in the box, was boiled in a cauldron with 
water for an hour or two, to destroy all seeds it might 
accidentally contain. The wheat was then planted, a 
part in heads and a part in grains, arranged in a regu¬ 
lar figure so as to detect any accidental seed that might 
afterwards fall among it. It was planted shallow, was 
subjected to flooding, freezing, and thawing, rubbing 
with the foot, and various other kinds of hard treat- 
mentytending to make it deteriorate to chess-Ui^ no chess 
came. The wheat would sot change in the hands of 
either of these three committee-men. In one box, the 
wheat was entirely destroyed by the freezing and thaw¬ 
ing of winter, added to the severe manipulation it had 
received. In another, it grew, bat seemed obstinately 
determined to retain its own identity ? it would not j 
chaBge. This is the present state of the subject.—and j 
it will probably remain so. 
In the mean time, we wish to get hold of any half- 
transmuted specimens, or with wheat and ehess from 
one root, and as we before said, are willing to offer such 
a prize as shall eertainiy bring it, if such a specimen 
exists. Applicants will please say how high a sum 
they want. 
- 0 0 9 - i 
Braining Prevents te . Heaving Ont.” 
Among other evils incident to undrained soils, is the 
liability to heave or freeze out the crops sown thereon, 
so that it is difficult, if not impossible, to grow winter 
grain or clover profitably, though the- soil otherwise is 
well suited to their production. A case coming under 
our observation the past winter, will well illustrate the 
subject. A field of five acres, seeded to clover two 
years ago upon rye, owing in part to the presence of 
snow upon the ground the greater part of the first win¬ 
ter and spring, escaped with slight injury from this 
cause, and gave a very good growth of clover. But 
the past winter, the weather being of a different char¬ 
acter, the grass on about three acres of the fitdd was 
entirely destroyed, every root of clover, being pulled 
up or thrown out, laid loose upon the surface of the 
ground the present spring. This was an example of 
u heaving out ” of unmistakable character. 
The cause and process of freezing out has been ex¬ 
plained as follows r “ The soil is pulverised only to the 
depth of the plow, some six or eight inches. Below 
this is a stratum of clay [or hard-pan] nearly imper¬ 
vious to water. The autumn rains [and melting snows 
in spring] saturate the surface soil, which absorbs 
water like a sponge. The ground is suddenly frozen ; 
the water contained in it crystalizes into iee, and the 
soil is thrown up into spicules or honey-combs, and the 
poor clover roots or wheat plants are drawn from their 
beds, and, by a few repetitions of the process, left 
dead upon the field in. spring.” 
The evil lies in a saturated soil. It matters little 
whether the surface be clay or sandy—it did not in the 
case above mentioned—if the subsoil is of an imper¬ 
vious character. We were much surprised to find in a 
slight depression, some three or four rods across, where 
the surface soil was a light sand, that the clover was 
as badly winter-killed as on the clayey part of the field. 
And the clayey part, it is well to mention, had good 
surface-drainage from the descent or slope of the 
ground—at least an inch in a foot. This sandy corner 
was underlaid by an impervious hard-pan, holding 
water equally as well as the clay ; and we believe this 
will generally be found to be the ease in all loams i 
which suffer from heaving or freezing out- 
We have shown in a previous article, that u draining 
deepens the soil,” and hence it is the remedy for 
freezing out in all cases. Water no longer saturates r 
the surface soil in such quantity as to form honey- V 
comb ice every time it freezes ; the plants are no long- 0 
