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that the curse might fall with double weight—that by the sweat of his 
brow even, man should not always eat bread. By these classes prosecu¬ 
ted—those who knew nothing of it, those urged by necessity to realize 
• 
something immediately at whatever future cost, by those whom success 
had rendered reckless—husbandry could not be permanently and reliably 
successful. 
The truth is, farming in Wisconsin has been a shameful abuse of the 
soil. Its present resources have been taxed almost to exhaustion by the 
crops of a few years; its future'fertility has been impaired by extracting 
the best properties from the surface without mixture with the native 
strength of the soil below. The grain has depreciated in quality by its 
constant reproduction on the same soil, by carelessness in the selection 
of seed, and by disease and mixtures never guarded against. These are 
plain facts. They may not be creditable, but they are true. And they 
are the causes which have made late harvests, the yield uncertain and 
scanty, poor grains, and a bad reputation in the market for the wheat 
and flour of our State. 
From 1847 to 1851 the wheat crop in hardly a single instance escaped 
injury from the severities of winter. It did not suffer by the usual “win¬ 
ter-kill” of the Eastern States, but from the early spring winds, which 
blew the dirt from the roots, leaving them exposed to the cold, the air 
and the drought. There was not sufficient snow upon the ground to 
protect the plant, and there seemed to be no possible remedy for the evil. 
For the last two winters the crop has suffered less, or but little from this 
«sause. There may, however, lessons be derived from experience, that will 
be valuable in case of future returns of open winters. If the spring is 
wet and favorable to vegetation the plant will not suffer, the earth re¬ 
maining wet and compact about the roots. If it is not, there are various 
partial remedies that have been, and may again be, applied with success. 
Some have covered the field with straw. This, however, is a laborious 
undertaking, and it is difficult to spread it is so evenly as that some places 
will not remain bare, while others will be covered so deep as to prevent 
the growth of the grain. There is also danger of injury to the plant by 
driving over, and treading upon it; and further, the straw is quite as 
liable to be blown off as the dirt is. Good effects will arise from leaving 
the ground rough and uneven after sowing. Every little elevation will 
