1847. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
53 
CULTIVATION OF WHEAT. 
Is there not some great defect in our general mode 
of wheat culture ? In the early settlement of the coun¬ 
try, when the soil was first brought into cultivation, 
wheat was readily produced in almost every section ; 
but the production of this grain soon began to decline, 
and with the progress of population westward, it may 
be said the wheat region has been constantly receding 
in that direction. This circumstance would, long ago, 
have excited alarm, but for the vast extent of territory 
in our possession still unoccupied. The question, how¬ 
ever, may even now excite some anxiety—Whence are the 
future inhabitants of our country to derive their bread, 
when there shall no longer remain new land to cultivate ? 
Our soil, in regard to the production of wheat, pre¬ 
sents quite a contrast, in some respects, to that of some 
of the countries of Europe. There, soils which now' 
yield bountiful harvests, have borne the same crop, at 
various intervals, for a thousand years or more. In our 
oldest districts, where cultivation was only commenced 
a little more than tw r o hundred years since, the culture 
of wheat is mostly discontinued, and where carried on 
at all, yields in general but poor returns. 
In view of these facts, it appears to us that we may 
derive some useful hints from attention to the best 
modes of European wheat-husbandry. In the best sys¬ 
tems which prevail in England, for instance, there are 
at least two points which we think might be very ad¬ 
vantageously adopted in this country. We mean the 
more perfect preparation of the soil, and the special 
adaptation of manures to the production of wheat. 
We have been led to these remarks by the perusal of 
an excellent essay on the cultivation of wheat, in a late 
number of the Farmer's Magazine. In relation to the 
requisites for the growth of wheat, the writer observes 
that the plant is not one easy to cultivate, u for though 
it thrives in a stiff soil, it may be too hard ; though it 
will grow in a loose sand, if properly attended to, it is 
easily thrown out ; though it thrives in a hot summer, 
it may be burnt up for want of moisture ; and though 
wet is injurious to it, it still requires, at certain sea¬ 
sons, considerable moisture. Indeed, it may be said to 
require a medium of soil, condition, and climate, to be 
^brought to full perfection. If the soil be too poor, it is 
short and sickly ; if it be too rich, it lodges or mildews ; 
and no plant requires the watchful eye of the cultivator 
more carefully or more assiduously.” 
He speaks of the improvements in cultivation which 
liave been adopted in England within a few years, and 
observes it was formerly thought that wheat could only 
be grown on strong retentive soils, but that it is now 
successfully cultivated on nearly all light soils as w r ell as 
on strong. He says the “four-course,” or alternating sys¬ 
tem of farming, “ established the fact, that wdiile the 
clover root was a better bed for wheat than a fallow, 
the sheep’s treading and droppings were a much better 
‘dressing than lime or barn-yard manure ; and that blow¬ 
ing sand could, in eight or even four years, be adapted 
to the production of as many bushels of wheat to the 
acre as the naked, open, laborious fallow, and with this 
difference., that on the latter there were the accumula¬ 
tion of two years’ rent, tithes, taxes, and labor • on the 
former there was a stock of sheep to sell, and no labor 
beyond the plowing and sowing.” 
In this country, so far as our observation goes, no 
better preparation can be had for a wheat crop, than a 
•clover-ley depastured by sheep. The action of clover 
-on sandy soils/ is to render them more compact In the 
language of this writer, “such is the consolidating pow¬ 
er of the trifolia, that the very lightest soils will some¬ 
times become so hard as [when very dry] to defy the 
power even of a Ransom’s or a Howard’s plow to pene¬ 
trate.” 
He cites the analysis of Sprengel, by which it ap¬ 
pears that the principal ingredient in wheat of a fixed 
character, is phosphorus, and observes—“ when it is 
considered how much of that material is drained from 
the soil year after year, and sold off the farm, it is not 
surprising that we hear farmers complain of ‘ old going 
land’ and { spent soil!’ ” 
The most suitable manure for wheat, he believes to 
be bones, in connection with the droppings of sheep left 
while feeding on the land ; and where this course of cul¬ 
ture has been adopted, he says good farmers in all parts 
of the kingdom have come to the unanimous conclusion 
that no soil is too light to grow thriving crops of wheat, 
if only it be properly tilled. “ In the bones, the phos¬ 
phorus, which is so essential to the formation of the 
grain, is supplied, and the urine and dung of the sheep 
supply the other constituents necessary for perfecting 
the plant in straw and grain. Many examples of the 
successful application of bones to wheat, it is said, 
might be related ; and the experiments of Sir Samuel 
Crompton are referred to, “ who has on a light and nat¬ 
urally poor sand, obtained most magnificent crops of 
wheat.” 
Bones are prepared for use as manure either by being 
crushed in mills designed for the purpose, or by being 
dissolved in sulphuric acid. The latter seems now to 
be considered, in England, the better course, and is be¬ 
ing generally adopted. Prof. J. P. Norton, in a com¬ 
munication to the Cultivator for 1845, page 266. gives 
the following mode of preparing bones with acid : The 
bones are placed in a conical heap on a bed of ashes, 
and the acid slowly poured on. Twelve pounds of acid 
per bushel is the quantity applied ; but previous to its 
use it is diluted with once or tw r ice its bulk of water. 
The bones will absorb nearly the whole of the acid : the 
outside of the heap should then be turned inside and the 
whole will in a short time become soft and fit to mix 
with ashes for drilling or sowing. 
They are sometimes applied in a liquid state, and are 
also used alone as top-dressing. The quantity applied 
per acre is from sixteen to twenty-five bushels. 
The writer of the essay, of which w T e have been 
speaking above, has no confidence in the system of 
“ dibbling and thin sowing,” concerning which we have 
lately heard much ; and though he thinks it certain that 
under the necessity of economy which at the present 
time exists, great efforts will be made to adopt it. He 
deems it equally certain that it will end in failure. He 
says —“ We are in possession of a series of experiments 
which have been made, and the results brought to the 
test of the bushel and scale, which shows the dibbling 
system a perfect failure, and wiiich at a future opportu¬ 
nity we shall give.” 
He is in favor of drilling, of which he thus speaks : 
“ The drill is the sheet-anchor of wheat sowing. The 
seed is deposited with the accuracy and regularity of 
clock-work ; the quantity can be regulated to a fraction 
—a peck per acre ; the rows are straight, parallel and 
regular ; the depth can be adjusted to a trifle ; and the 
whole apparatus adapted to the necessities, capabilities 
and circumstances of the soil and season, with the mere 
loosening of a screw, or the turning of a handle.” 
