fittest 
) 1854 . 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
The Drouth and its Effects. 
Eds. Co. Gent. —W-e have had, and are •still having, 
very dry weather—a season which will he remember¬ 
ed as very unprofitable by many farmers. This sea¬ 
son has eminently shown the importance -of taking 
time by the foretop, and cultivating the ground tho¬ 
roughly. Those farmers whose soil was dry enough 
to plow and sow early, and who pulverized the ground, 
thoroughly with the roller and drag at the time of 
seeding, have realised good crops of barley and oats 
On the other hand where the land was wet and 
undrained—plowing delayed till May when the drouth 
came and continued, poor crops were the result. 
This season 'has also shown the great superiority of 
a clay soil to withstand the drouth. A field which 
seemed to be the best corn in our town about the first 
of June, is now the poorest. It is a sandy Seam and 
its stalks are now quite dry and earless or nearly so. 
April with us was a wet month, yielding 7. 8-10 
inches of rain and melted snow. In May we had 2.82 
inches rain and most of that was at the commence¬ 
ment of the month. During the month of June 3.58 
inches of rain fell, of which 2.8-10 inches fell in the 
space of two successive days. One sudden violent 
shower gave over two inches ; of this a large portion 
ran away into .the streams and ditches. July afforded 
about an inch of rain, and the second day of August 
we had an inch of rain, since which we have been 
favored with none. I wish every farmer would have 
a thermometer, barometer and rain gauge and keep a 
register of the weather. The cost of the whole would 
not exceed fifteen dollars. The barometer enabling 
him to foretell storms and rain, would soon repay the 
cost. The barometer and thermometer can be pur¬ 
chased in most of our cities and villages, but the om¬ 
brometer or rain gauge can be partly constructed at 
home, to facilitate w hich I append a description of one 
recommended by the Smithsonian Institution. It con¬ 
sists of a zinc funnel—two graduated cylindrical glass 
vessels and a reservoir. It should be placed in an open 
space away from trees, buildings or any thing which 
may have a tendency to increase or dimmish the quan¬ 
tity of rain which would ■naturarily fall into the funnel 
whose surface should he placed about six inches above 
the ground. 
Directions. —Place in the ground a cask or barrel, 
watertight, the top rising above the ground about three 
inches; cover it with boards slightly inclined in the 
form of a roof, which project on all sides beyond the 
edge of the barrel at least a foot. A circular opening 
in the middle receives the funnel, the borders of which 
rest on the hoard. At the bottom of the barrel to re¬ 
ceive the water, is an earthern or metalic vessel with a 
narrow neck (an ordinary earthern jug will answer} in 
which is placed the end of the funnel exactly filling 
the opening. It must contain about three quarts or a 
gallon. The funnel is fastened by means of two clasps 
to the board, which must be covered up with sod to 
make it like the ground itself. 
To make the observation, remove the funnel and 
pour the water from the jug into the large graduated 
glass cylinder. The opening of the funnel being one 
hundred square inches, one inch of rain in depth gives 
one hundred cubic inehes of water; and each division 
of .the glass containing a cubic inch of water, each of 
them represents a hundredth of an inch of rain fallen 
into the ombrometer. These degrees are large enough 
to permit us to measure the thousandths of an inch. 
The divisions of the smaller graduated glass cylinder 
will measure directly the thousandths of an inch, and 
it may serve in cases of accident as a substitute for 
the larger one. 
The weather has such an important part in the 
economy of the farmer, that it surely must be very 
useful for him to note and foresee its changes. In a 
word the possession and right understanding of the 
above instrument will render him weather-wiser and 
happier, and render his home more attractive. Yours 
truly, S. B. Buckley. W. Dresden, N. Y. 
Mediterranean Wheat. 
Messrs. Editors —Since sending you an account of 
the experience of Mr. A. G. Moore, of Michigan, in 
reference to the different kinds of wheat, and a brief 
statement of the reason for which he prefers Mediter¬ 
ranean to all other kinds, we have met with seme cor¬ 
roboration of Mr. Moore’s views in The Genesee Farm¬ 
er for August Speaking of the attack which the wee¬ 
vil has made on the crop of this year in western New- 
York, and of the great alarm caused by it, the editor 
says; “In a recent visit to Cayuga county, where 
the fly has prevailed longer than it has in the Genesee 
valley, we found the brown Mediterranean wheat near¬ 
ly exempt from the attacks of this depredator, while 
the different varieties of white wheat were near¬ 
ly destroyed. Plump Mediterranean weighs some four 
or five pounds more per bushel than either the white 
flint, blue stem, or Soule’s wheat, and the flour of the 
former is ‘ stronger 1 —that is, it will imbibe per 100 
pounds, more water, and yield more bread than the 
flour of white wheat; and therefore, bakers in cities, 
who sell bread by weight, like it. It has however, a 
thick hard bran, and the flour is comparatively dark 
colored.” Dr. Lee adds that Mediterranean is better 
than no wheat, but thinks that farmers in the Genesee 
valley will rather reluctantly engage in its cultivation. 
Perhaps the advantages which this kind cf wheat pos¬ 
sesses over most or all other kinds, and which were 
stated in our former communication may go some way 
towards inclining the farmers in that region to make a 
trial of it. 
If any of your readers should have received so 
much damage from the weevil this season as to discou¬ 
rage them from attempting to raise wheat for next 
year, but should feel inclined by the statements in 
this and former article, to venture to try the Mediter¬ 
ranean variety, notwithstanding the common preju¬ 
dices against it, we would suggest to them that they 
will find in The Cultivator for 1851, several additional 
statements in regard to this kind of wheat, which will 
probably be sufficient to turn the scale in favor of 
making a trial of this early, hardy, sweet, fruitful and 
every way excellent variety. A. 
