THE CULTIVATOR. 
13 
monstrated by the fact, that many valuable varieties have originated 
from a single ear, distinguished by remarkable properties, and which 
has been propagated separately. 
The time most favorable for depositing seeds in the ground, de¬ 
pends upon their habits and the condition of the soil. Barley, rye, corn 
and buckwheat germinate best upon a dry warm soil; wheat and 
oats upon one that is moist. Spring grain, as wheat, rye, barley 
and oats, should be sown as early as the ground will permit, as the 
ordinary spring frosts seldom seriously affect them; corn and pota¬ 
toes, as soon as the season will justify, so as to escape the early 
frosts. In this latitude the best time for corn is between the 12th 
and 20th May. Late planted corn seldom matures well, and the 
experience of late years justifies the early planting of potatoes.— 
Seeds indigenous to warmer latitudes, as the melon, cucumber, Li¬ 
ma bean, and many other garden productions, should not be sown 
until the ground has obtained a natural warmth sufficient to ensure 
a prompt germination. 
The depth at which grain should be soicn is a matter of some im¬ 
portance, though not enough regarded. Heat, above 32 of Fahren¬ 
heit, air and moisture, are all necessary to the germination of seeds. 
Without heat and moisture, they would remain dormant; with 
them, and without air, they will rot. All these being present, a 
seed imbibes moisture through its outward covering, the heat and 
air convert its farina into a fluid, of milky appearance, .and of a 
sweetish taste, which nourishes the young plant, the root first, and 
then the stem, till it can provide for its own wants,—which is when 
the root extracts water, &c. from the soil, and the first leaves elabo¬ 
rate it into food. The conclusion resulting from these facts is, that 
seeds should be deposited so near the surface as to receive the vivi¬ 
fying influence of the sun and atmosphere, and yet be so covered as 
to secure to them a due degree of moisture, and to exclude.light.—■ 
Hence the utility of sowing shallow, to secure the agenfcy of heat 
and air, and of compressing the earth upon seeds, with the hoe or 
roller, to secure moisture. Soils differ. Upon porous and sandy 
ones, heat and air penetrate deeper, and moisture sooner evaporates. 
Thus a stiff soil requires less covering than a light one. Wheat has 
two sets of roots; one springing immediately from the seed, termed 
seminal, or seed roots; the other immediately below the surface ot 
the soil, called coronal roots. These latter are subject to be chilled 
and injured by an early frost, and if the seed be not sown at a proper 
medium depth, the seminal roqjs may be also exposed to similar at¬ 
tacks ; which forms a strong reason for early sowing. Wheat, bar¬ 
ley and oats require more covering than rye and buckwheat. The 
depth may be varied from 1| to 3 inches. 
The quantity of seed to be sown per acre, should be dictated by 
experience. In Britain, much larger quantities are sown than with 
us. Much depends upon soil. A rich soil "will carry more plants 
than a poor one ; but even in a rich soil, the thinner the plants are, 
the more they will tiller. Something depends too upon the time ot 
sowing. Early sown winter grain requires less seed than late sown. 
For the first, five pecks of wheat or rye are ordinarily sown ; for the 
latter, six, seven, and eight pecks are sometimes given to the acre. 
If grain is too thick, the shoots exhaust each other, acquire a yellow 
dusky tinge, and if the season be unfavorable, many of them perish. 
¥ The roller upon the young crop, by often burying the crown, inclines 
the plants to tiller better, that is, to throw up more seed stocks.— 
Von Thaer condemns the practice, prevalent upon the marsh lands 
of the Oder, of seeding with eight bushels of oats to the acre, and 
affirms, that he gets the best crops where he has only five or six 
plants to the square foot. An instance is quoted in the Quarterly 
Journal of Agriculture, of two-thirds of a crop of potato oats being 
destroyed by the grub, and yet from the luxuriant growth of the re¬ 
maining third, the yield was 60 bushels of fine grain to the acre. 
A change of seed is strongly advocated by some, and thought un¬ 
necessary by others. Among the latter, was the late T. Cooper, of 
New-Jersey, who considered that varieties improved under his care¬ 
ful management in using only his select seed. The weight of tes¬ 
timony, as well as our experience, seems to be in favor of change. 
The writer of British Husbandry advises, that seed be procured 
from land of an inferior quality, as well as from a drier climate; for 
strong lands, from poor light soils, or from the fens; and for friable 
loams, from stiff clays—and avers, that a shrivelled sample of wheat, 
from a poor gravel, has produced a.beautiful crop when sown upon 
adhesive clay. Wheat may be sown when one year old, but rye, bar¬ 
ley and oats are always preferred for seed when of the last har¬ 
vest. 
The injury of frost upon winter grain does not depend so much 
upon its severity, as upon sudden changes of weather, and upon the 
condition of the soil in regard to moisture. In long continued frosts, 
which have penetrated below the roots of grain, the plants have til¬ 
lered with extraordinary luxuriance in the ensuing spring, and the 
sharpest winters have generally been productive of the most abun¬ 
dant crops. Sunny days and frosty nights are very trying, especial¬ 
ly when there is not slope enough to carry off the water as it falls 
or melts from snow, as the ground being yet frozen, it cannot sink 
into the soil; and the ground being thawed during the day, shrinks 
from the roots, which thus become exposed to the frost of the night, 
and the most vigorous plants find great difficulty in resisting these 
alternate changes of the weather. The best preventives of the 
evil is, upon level surfaces, to sow upon ridges, and to use the roller, 
and perhaps first the harrow, as early in the spring as the state of 
the ground will permit. 
Ripeness. If grain is suffered to become dead ripe before it is 
cut, considerable loss must inevitably result from the depredations 
of birds and insects, and the shelling of the grain in the process of 
harvesting,—and the straw is much diminished in its nutritious pro¬ 
perties. And besides, although the grain may be subject to some 
shrinkage, it is contended that both wheat and rye make the best 
flour when cut before the kernel becomes perfectly hard, and if not 
too early, that the grain is brighter and of a better color. It is ge¬ 
nerally conceded,- that, from these considerations, it is better to cut 
thent-before they are fully ripe. 
The grain of each species produces, when ripe, nearly the follow- 
lowing quantities of meal, or household flour, and bread, per bushel, 
namely— 
Wheat, if weighing 60 lbs. of Flour, 48 lbs. of bread 64 lbs. 
Rye, do 54 do 42 do 56 
Barley, do 48 do. 37 £ do 50 
Oats, do 40 do 22 4 do 30 
[See British Husbandry. 
Agriculture . in Maryland.— Petitions are before the legislature of 
Maryland, praying the establishment of 
“1. An agricultural school and pattern farm. 
“ 2. A general state agricultural society, to be formed by delegates 
from county establishments. 
“3. County agricultural societies, to be voluntarily formed. 
“ 4. That the state grant bounties in the silk and beet sugar busi¬ 
ness. And, 
“5. That facts in regard to the latter be collected, published and 
distributed, at the expense of the state.” 
The Rural Library —Is the title of a monthly agricultural work, 
of 32 8vo. pages each number, published at New-York, by S. Fleet, 
former editor of the New-York Farmer, at $3,per annum. It is in¬ 
tended to comprise standard works on Farming and Gardening, se¬ 
lected and original. The second number, which has reached us, is 
well executed. Subscriptions will be received at this office. 
To Printers. —Our exchange is already extensive, and is increas¬ 
ing. Our monthly sheet does not offer an equivalent for one pub¬ 
lished weekly or semi-weekly; while on the other hand we can de¬ 
rive but little benefit from any but agricultural or horticultural pub¬ 
lications. To benefit both parties, we propose to conductors of news¬ 
papers, that instead of their papers, they send us ten subscribers, and 
a $5 bill, and receive the Cultivator as their commission. This ar¬ 
rangement, while it cannot prejudice their interest, or give them 
much trouble, will save them the price of their paper, and extend our 
(we believe) useful circulation, 
Exculpatory. —We have been advised by a highly respectable 
correspondent, that G. Page, Esq. P. M. at Morristown, N. J. feels 
himself aggrieved by our notice of the failure of monies by mail; 
that Mr. Page exerted himself to trace the lost letter, mailed at his 
office, end that he obtained at Philadelphia the way-bill which ac¬ 
companied the letter to that post-office, thus showing that the 
missing letter, was sent from his office. We implicated no one, 
bat gave merely a statement of facts, leaving the public to draw 
their own conclusions. We consider that Mr. P. is wholly exculpat¬ 
ed from blame. 
Acknowledgments .— We have received from Gen. Tallmadge, mad¬ 
der seed from France, and Russian seeds of the cucumber, and of or- 
