The Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1841-1843, 1841-08-24

III IOlio HSiSuluiS.
Mr.. BELL
Sir, the peoples Press" like other coun-
try papcrsb being chiefly patronized by farmers;
| leave you this communication, hoping it
may appear in the columns of your paper, that
the attention of that portion of community
NAV be called to a new kind of Wheat, of
late introduced into this country. This grain
being no 'matter of moonshine," all will feel
deeply interested in its propagation, for it bids
fair to restore New England, to its former
prosperity, in the production of Wheat.
The California, or many headed Wheat,
has been raised in the U. States but two years.
A description is given in the Georgia and
Carolina papers, thus,
"The many-headed, or California wheat, is
an indigenous plant of California; six heads
of which was procured by Maj. Spierien Of
AbJevilIc, S. Carolina, while government a
gent to the Ossagc Indians in lS39-it was
presented him by a grandson of Col. Boon,
he (Boon,) having received it from some
friendly Indians, who brought it from the gulf
of California. Spiericn on his return TO S. C..
let Pipheus Baker of Abbeville plant it on
shares-thc production of the six heads was
ten Thousand heads The ground on which
the wheat grew, was measured by an accur.
ate surveyor-:he heads counted, and one
head sbellcd out, and the grain weighed
Il calculation was then made, the result Of
which was, the wheat produced at the rate o.
two hundred, and thirty bushels to the acre
1t was raised on poor sandy soil, and unassis
ted by manure"
Some may ask why is this wheat more pro
ductive than other kindsl In answer 10 sucl
an enquiry, | will say--cach kernel produce.
a root, or las styled by southerners) one stoo
each root, or stool bears from twelve, t.
twenty-five or thirty heads-seldom less thai
fifteen on good land; in some cases fifty, o
sixiy-thc heads generally average about ont
hundred kernels, like other kinds of grain OIL
some roots there are small heads, but usual.
large; thus at the lowest estimate, from on
seed, may be raised twelve hundred, or at tn
medium yield, about two thousand-this is
return never yet realized from any other kin
Of wheat raised in the U. States. The CARE
lima farmers challenge those in any other pa
of the Union, to produce any kind of whea
that will begin TO compare with this-the
have raised it; and many Of them are ready
stake ten thousand dollars, each, that the
can raise two hundred bushels of this whe;
to the acre. So great has been the deman
for it that last fall (the first crop it sold reat
lily, to those who saw it growing, for five dollal
per head-and this season, although a larg
quantity considering it being the first cro
from six bcads) has there been raised, it sci
as readily as last year, although not as higi
Some may ask, has any been ground and mac
into breadl There has not-they tell me-,
'mlght as well expect them to feed their hol
ses like Caliguia, upon gilded oats" Prol
ably another year the country in that sectio
will be so well supplied, that some may test i
merits in the bread line, although from the a
pearance of the wheat, none doubt its makir
good bread. Some may ask why has it n
before been introduced into this country?-
The plain answer is, We have little or no ira
with the Caiiiornians, consequently the pr
auctions of that country have not been draw
out by this nation, as have been those
other countries. This is not the Egypti'
wheat, but very unlike it. A friend of mi
in Abbeville, S. &C. sent me a small quaint
last fall, asI did not receive it until late / W
fearful that it would not root sufficiently
"nnS'and our bleak, and frosty New En-
land winters but it did, although late sowin