Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1843-07-11

called spelt, speltsr and spslta, enormously The
real spella is described thus Spslt, spea, spelter
nother plant often miscaed Cheat it is also erro
neouslv supposed to cheat the farmer OF his CROP
This plant was shown TO you by the farmer II
the Titieum speita, Of boansts-belongs to the same
family with wheat Ii is cultivated in Switzerland.
in high situations where better kinds of wheat do not
thrive Its grain is almost as inferior os that of cheat
and darnel. II has compact head. very much re.
semblinp common wheat, and therefore, is easily dis.
from the other two pants-cheat and darne
Now to the facts stated by you: list, "When the
light and withered grains Of wheat principally al the
ends of the heads blown off from the tail Oe the
wheat FAM they apt to produce an abundant har.
vest of cheat, out Of the mass which IS blown off,
Granted. Ali very true-and glad should the farmer
be that it is That u.s. mean to say, it is true that
ont Of the Of light seed thus blown of, cheat will
be produced. This proves, that the cheat seed, 1t
being light wthered seed,) is blown of with the
shrunken grains Of wheat. But, if it be intended 10
say that the wheatin the fan contained cheat that
there cheat grown with the wheat, then must
be permitted to doubt the truth of the fact stated
Everybody knows, that this is of the methods
sorted to- clear the wheat Of the cheat seed when
is known to be mixed with the wheat The second fact
states that quantity of wheat straw, with lis rustied
and withered grans was removed by fresh from the
shock, and lodged upon tobacco field, and thence
came up abundance If cheat. Granted again. The
rusted and wilhered grains of wheat did not vegets
being soaked and fermsntet in the water, and by the
exposure in fresh but the cheat that in the mass
Of straw, was very much assisted in its vegetatye
power by this very accident, and would, Of course,
produce abundance Of cheat wherever it might be
lodged, even on the shores Of river.
Let conclude this letter, by giving you my deli.
berate opinion, founded upon long course OF close
observation and careful examination. Every plant, like
every animal, orig nates from It's kind, and cannot
by any possibility be produced from any other kind
lo for nj nt In chano IN
Their plant it is for pig to change to bear and
accident of weather. or season, or bad Management, will
effect the one, any more more than 1t will the other
these o,ions did harm, for one should
not trouble myself correct them But, unfortunately
they are prolific of mischief They induce farmers 10
be careless Of the purity Of their seed, saying in their
hearts, when they cheat seed in their wheat "no
mstter is useless to clear it out, for the wheat will
turn cheat any how the season be nfavorable &c
The true and only way 10 that the land itself has
not borne cheat BEFORE that cheat be in the fodder
hay that fed TO the stock that cheat seed may
be carried the manure and then that cheat seed
whatever, be in the seed wheat. These precautions
observed it will be impossible for the field 10 pro-
duce cheat the wheat will not then tern to cheat.
But how easy it is for every farmer to try the expe
riment Let him this Fall take handful of cheat seed
and SOW il in place that has been clear free from all
weeds and wheat for years-ln his garden and hand
full Of perfectly clean wheat and sow it by the side OF
the cheat and tell you what the product next Fall
o.
so them in the way; also, let him per-
ecty clean wheat perfectly clean soil, and let him
rample il down in winter, cover II with water, winter.
kill much he pleases and see If ne can turn The
growth to cheat by harvest time He may kill 1t, but
he cannot change its character-it will be wheat or
nothing Respectfully, u,,
rive thank Mr. Smith for the information which he
has communica;ed-and cordially recommend his
scheme, of making experiments to determine the chm
racter of the plants in question Indeed appears 10
u.s. that if our farmers would multiply such expert
ments to ascertain any doubtful phenomena, (as for
example, how far the stalks of corn should be planted
how many stalks in hill; how deeply the ground
should be poughsd, &C., &c., it would be frequently
productive Of very useful resutsbut let them be con
Quoted on q very small scale, and with the most eco
nomical expense Of labor and of time.
With the vie VS. which MIR. Smith expresses, we have
no doubt he agrees with in the establishment which
we feel at the perusa of the first piece IN the last "Ba.
tmore Farmer" The article is written IN neat and
perspicuous sye-bu the facts appear to US to be very
naccuraely observed, and the whole theory e1Hava'
CANT and unsound. 1t attempt on The part of Mr.
Mckinney of Georgetown, District OF Columb'aJ TO
explain the origin Of The Hessian Fy-and he attempts
10 show that "does no! proceed from the egg Of any
insect, but is the natural product OF the gram! lie
contends that "no has yet detected ny IN the act
of deposting eggs in the wheat either in the grain or
during its growth" He assumes, that in variety OF
plants there is an animal and vegetable principle
combined together, which cooperate IN harmonious ac
ton, and produce at the same time perfect animal
and perfect vegetable He resorts to analogy to es-
ablsh the existence of such a law Of Nature-and be
brinss forward the little fy Uhich is found in the gar
uen pea-tne insect which is detected in tho ohssnu,-
and which he contends to be formed by the itsei
because ne insect penetrate the and pulse
burr which efcoses the NUT the purpose of de
ing It's egg lie illustrates his ideas, also, by the worm
IN The llckorynu the woev in grain, &C., &c and
he finally concludes, that tie Hesjian Fly is the pro.
duction of the wheat itself Nothing appears to us
TO be more incomplete, than this series of
or more unphosophca than this course o. reasoning
We rather conclude, that Mr. Mckinney has not been
sufficiently vgiIant to detect The fly than that i, does
not exist at all How much stronger is Mr. Smiths
position about the variety of the seeds of vegetables
when applied to the difference between The seeds of We
getable and animated nature If the "rut tree Yields
fruit, whose seed in itself after its knd"-it would
seem much less doubtful that vegetables from their
kind, and animals from their own kind.
But the problem of the Hessian Fly induces US to
play Paul Pry again upon Mr.. Sm;h-und We ask for
information about the of its propagation, ard
the means of preventing arresting it, Is it not true
as lady has just remarked to us, that the essan Fly
has appeared this year much more numerously in the
corned land than in the falo wed fields; and therefore,
may We not conclude, that the eggs preserved
the stubble OF the late cornGeld-and that the fly travels
from The cornheld 10 the fa.iow?-E Enquirer
FOR THE ENQUIRER
There is evidence of the decline of a nation