368 
THE CULTIVATOR 
DECT 
evidently decaying state, through the loss of some of 
its most enterprising son3 and daughters who seek in 
other pursuits for that position in society to- whieh they 
feel themselves entitled, hut whieh they despair of ob¬ 
taining on the old homestead. He argued that if each 
of these towns contained but two or three farmers of 
the right stamp—men who honored their calling, and 
were an honor to it—the aspect of things would very 
soon be changed, and thrift and enterprize would take 
the place of stagnation and decay. In furtherance of 
this subject, he recommended the Ag. Societies to offer 
as a premium for success in certain departments of 
husbandry, the privilege of free attendance at a course 
of agricultural lectures at some one of the institutions 
now open for that purpose. I thought the suggestion 
a good one, and worthy of particular consideration. 
I fear I am exceeding reasonable limits, but cannot 
close without expressing the hope that you will con¬ 
tinue to make the Country Gentleman what I have 
heard it declared to be on pretty good authority—the 
best agricultural paper in the Uuion. E. N. N. 
The Peculiar Property of Wheat. 
The peculiar property of wheat which distinguishes 
it from all other cereals, is the large proportion of glu¬ 
ten which it contains, the predominance of which ren¬ 
ders it so much better adapted to the human constitu¬ 
tion, as food, than any other vegetable production. 
The late Sir Humphrey Davy speaks of gluten as one 
of the most nutritious of all vegetable substances; and, 
in fact, wheaten flour is more or less valuable to the 
baker, the housekeeper, and the consumer, just in pro¬ 
portion to the quantity of gluten it contains, whieh va¬ 
ries considerably in different kinds and qualities of 
wheat. This difference is produced by the various con¬ 
ditions of soil, climate, and manure; and it is a ques¬ 
tion of no small importance, both to producer and con - 
sumer, what proportions and modifications of these ele¬ 
ments are most favorable to the production of gluten 
in the largest proportions. 
The influence of climate may be first noticed, as be¬ 
ing, probably, as great as that of either soil or manure. 
Wheat may be cultivated in the northern hemisphere 
from the equator to the verge of the arctic circle. 
Within this range, the zone lying between the 30th and 
60th degrees of latitude, produces the most mellow and 
easily-manufactured wheat. Southward of this belt, 
the grain becomes large, ricey, thin-skinned and dry ; 
whilst northward, the berry gradually grows smaller, 
and the bran or skin thicker, rendering it of inferior 
value in commerce. Bakers, who find that that flour 
spends the farthest which contains most gluten, give 
the preference to Spanish, Egyptian and African 
wheats ; but owing to the color being yellowish they 
have to mix it with English and American in small 
proportions. The proportion of gluten in wheat from 
different parts of the United States seems to be about 
23 to 24, the amount of starch, sugar, gum and water 
being 76 to 77. 
To determine the influence of different kinds of ma¬ 
nures cm the production of gluten, some- experiment 
were made, the result of which is given by Boussin- 
gault. The manures were applied to the same soil and 
the same seed, and the results were as follows, showing 
a range of from 12 to 35 per cent ?— 
Bran and 
Gluten. 
Starch. 
soluble raaiteF. 
1. Human urine,. 
39 3 
25.6 
2. Bullock’s blood,.,. 
. 34,2 
41.3 
25.5 
3. Night soil ,........ 
_ 33.1 
41.4 
25.5 
4. Sheep’s dung. 
.329 
42.8 
24.3 
5. Goat’s do. 
42.4 
24.7 
6. Horse’s do. ,... 
61.6 
24.7 
7. Pigeon’s do. .... 
63.2 
24.6 
8. Cow’s do .... 
62 3 
257 
9. No manure,...... 
66.7 
24.1 
From these experiments it appeal's that some wheats 
must be mueh more useful than others to the baker 
and the consumer of bread y whilst other kinds raised 
with different manures, must be much more useful to 
the manufacturer of stareb. The battle, it would ap¬ 
pear, was between the gluten and the starch, there be¬ 
ing little more than one per cent, difference in the other 
components. But, whilst one kind of manure produced 
gluten and starch in nearly equal quantities, 35.1 and 
39.3, the amount of starch is about five times greater 
than that of gluten with some other manures, and when 
no manure was used the proportion of starch was more 
than seven times that of gluten, or 9.2 of gluten to 
66.7 of starch. 
Stowell Evergreen Corn. 
This corn is I think, the most profitable of any other 
variety that is grown in the northern or middle states, 
for fodder, when cut green. I found it an excellent 
fodder in September, when pasture was pretty much 
burnt up with the hot sun. It will turn out a third 
more fodder to an acre than any other kind on account 
of the large number of leaves that it produces. 
I prepare my ground as follows : Take a lot that 
has lain to grass three years—plow late in the fall— 
say first or middle of November. In the spring apply 
30 loads of bain-yard manure to the acre; then cross¬ 
plow and harrow it thoroughly. Then furrow out 2£ 
ft. apart. Sow 3 bushels to the acre. As soon as it is 
up, apply plaster and ashes; then plow and hoe it 
nicely. In a couple of weeks, go through again with 
the plow. 
I find that the corn makes excellent feed for hogs, 
when fed before it gets hard and dry. A. D. 
Fence Posts. —The Hereford Times mentions a 
farmer who took up a fence after it had been standing 
fourteen years, and found some of the posts nearly 
sound, and others rotted off at the bottom. Looking 
for the cause, ho discovered that the posts which had 
been inverted from the way they grew were solid, and 
those which had been set as they grew were rotted off. 
This is certainly an incident worthy of being noted by 
our farmers .—Mark Lane Express. 
Sheep and Pigs for the South. —S. W. Jewett, 
Esq., of Middlebury, Yt, has recently shipped a splen¬ 
did French Merino ram, to J. W. Watts, Esq., of 
Cartersville, Georgia, and a. pair of his Portugese or 
“ Webster” pigs, to J. V. Jones, Esq., of Birdsville 
in the same state. 
