Hannibal journal and western union. (Hannibal, Mo.) 1851-1852, 1851-09-04

umns. am not prepared to say that It will or
will not, but will state my experience and leave
those who may read it TO draw their own con-
illusions.
In 1893 / commenced to make a farm upon
entirely new land, in the wilderness in Ionia
county Michigan | prepared field Of six
acres upon which no crop had ever before been
raised. My seed-wheat contained very little
chess or cheat, and not having conveniences for
separating it, | sowed il as it was. The soil
was a sandy loan. raised fair crop of wheat,
with sprinkli'g Of chess, at the rate of about
one bushel to twenty of wheat. was delayed
in harvesting, so that my wheat shelled in hand
ling, and left perhaps one bushel per acre scat
tered over the ground. Immediately after har-
vest ploughed up the same field and sowcd it
again to wheat, this time with clean seed !;
worked it alone with but one team Of
oxen. Considerable time was consumed in
preparing the ground and getting in the crop.
After the ground was ploughed and before drag
ging commenced, observed that some Of the
wheat left by the former crop sprouted and
came up, perhaps one-fourth as much as would
seed the ground, but this speedily disappeared
when the dragging commenced. To avoid as
much as possible the mischief Of large flocks of
pigeons which constantly lowered around me,
used to sow in the morning what l could drag
in during the remainder Of the day. In this way
that which / sowed first got well started up be-
fore had completed the field. The pigeons Ia
king advantage of several large fields standing
close TO the side Of the field first sOwed, and
which afforded them q convenient lookout, used
to assemble there in great numbers and then des-
cend to the field and have jolly times. Owing
to the dust they kicked up, my curiosity was
excited to find out what they were doing, as
supposed that they never scratched. succeed
ed in getting near enough to observe that with
almost incredible dexterity they removed the
earth with their beaks, seizing and throwing it
aside, until they had uncovered the kernel at the
root of the plant, which they bit off and devour-
ed sometimes tearing up the plant, but general
y leaving it standing, with portion Of the roots
laid bare and the kernel gone. During the fol-
lowing winter, owing to the form of the land,
two large and deep snow-drifts were formed by
the wind, which remained upon the field nearly
three weeks after the snow had left the rest Of
the field. When these drifts where gone, the
wheat, where they had lain, appeared entirely
KILLED. One spot covered nearly half an acre,
the other not so much. did not see the field
again until about the first of June, when, very
much to my surprise, found the places where
the snow-drifts had lain, as well covered with
luxuriant grain as any other part Of the field,
and just ready TO push out their heads. After
the grain had headed saw it again. and was
again surprised to find that, Just SO far as had
supposed the wheat killed in the spring by the
snow, now had beautiful crop Of chess, and
where the snow had lain heaviest and largest,
there was chess and nothing else. also found
that where the pigeons had torn the wheat the
most, that chess was more plenty than wheat,
and there was generally through the field more
than twice the amount Of chess had expected to
find
Thus far have given simple detail Of facts.
Now, how shall we account for them? | know
it is argued by many, and they think they have
nature on their side, that every seed must and
will reproduce its own kind and nothing else.
grant that this, in the main, is true; but it is
eqally true, that nature, disturbed in its proper
functions, will often produce monsters both in
the animal and vegetable kingdoms. Why does
rye produce ergot, or corn black, ill-shaped
fungus? Neither Of them are the natural and
proper products Of rye or corn. And why may
not wheat, when disturbed in its natural and
proper course of vegetation, produce something
as different from its original, as ergot from rye,
or fungus from corn?.
The only satisfactory conclusion that can ar
rive at in relation to my wheat, is this that the
general abundance of chess through the whole
field was produced by the wheat shelled on the
ground from the former years crop, which
sprung up after the ground was ploughed, and
was torn to pieces by the subsequent dragging.
That the greatet abundance of chess found
where the pigeons had worked was the result
OF the injuries done by them to the crop sown,
together with the general cause Just mentioned,
The spots where the snow had lain producing
entire chess, mingling and gradually shading of
into wheat at the edges, was the result Of inju-
ries done by the snow. But the advocates Of
the doctrines that ''like produces like" will
doubtless fly TO their old refuge, and argue that
cheat being harder plant than wheat, and the
wheat being partially or wholly destroyed, the
chess occupied its place and grew in greater
abundance than if the wheat had not been injured
But, ask, where could it come from? 1t must
either grow from its seed, existing in the ground
in sufficient abundance to produce the number of
stalks found, or else the few roots that did ex-
list must have spread and thrown up great
abundance of stalks to supply the vacancy left
by the wheat. Now, the truth is, that where
the pigeons did their mischief, there was not as
great crop Of wheat and chess together as on
other parts of the field, by about one third
where the snow drifts had lain there was no
perceptible difference in the amount of stalks !
with the uninjured parts of the field. |
Nor was their any perceptible difference in the
number of stalks growing from the same root, !
either Of chess or of wheat, especially where
he chess was most abundant. Besides this, if
all the chess that grew on that field that year,
was the product of chess sown, some one else
besides myself must have sown it. Neither, if |
all the chess that grew on the field the year pre-
Vious had shelled off on the field would it have
been enough to have produced so great crop.
Again, if chess seed was the origin of the chess
hat grew, how did it happen that just as far
nd Ind, L. koo A.