The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1857-08-27
PENN TOWNSHIP, Aug. IA.


PENN TOWNSHIP, Aug. IA.
FRIEND BoARDMAN:-B But few origi-
nal communications haye appeared in
the Farmers Department" of the
News lately, for the reason, suppose,
that most farmers, likemyself, have been
too much engaged to spare the time to
write. One or two enquiries appear
ed some time back, that should have
been noticed ere this One was asking
the best method to destroy the Potato
Bug. I am not aware that any effectual
method has ever yet been discovered
to destroy this pest. 1t has been recon-
mended to dust the zines over with lime
while the dew is on, but with what sue
cess [ am not able to say. Some take
paddles and beat them off the vines,
and then kill then on the ground. Eli
ther of these plans I would recommend
to Friend DAVIS, as preferable to put
ting them in ones trotcsers, as farmers
might sometimes in their hurry put on
the buggy article, in which case the con-
sequences would be certainly rather
unpleasant.
Another inquiry, if 1 recollect right,
was: "What is the best way to raise a
good crop of Wheat?" This is an i'm
portant question, and one that I feel
better able to answer than I do any ques-
ton in Bago1pgy, as Wheat has always
been the staple crop with me, and for
the last twenty years have never known
failure where the following plan was
pursued:
First, n,ontre tceU; then ploc deep,
harro'o 'ceu, sO,o early, and sow ,cih a
drill.
While on the subject of Wheat, per-
haps could not do better than to drop
few hints to the farmers of Highland
county, concerning the Wheat crop Just
harvested-the disposal of it, &c.
You are no doubt aware that great
deal has beer said in the Cincinnati and
other papers, to induce the belief that
there is an Unprecedented crop the pres
ent season, and that the price will soon
come down to a very low figure. Now
| have no doubt in my mind that this
is done to create panic among farm
ers, and cause them to rush their Wheat
into market and produce a glut, so that
spectators may prey upon our labor
You will see none of this croaking
about such tremendous surplus of
Wheat, in the Agricultural papers, that
are devoted to the interests of the farm
ers; it all comes from the city papers.
That there is heavy crop in High
land and some few adjoining counties,
l will not pretend to deny, but that the
crop is any more than an average one
throughout the United States ,cW de-
n.y. In Eastern Pennsylvania and N.
York, the crop, from information that
can rely upon, will fall far short of an
average. In Baltimore county, the Bal
timore Sun of the 25th ult. says the
crop will not be one-half an average one
and the same paper quotes Wheat at
Sl.65 to s1.S5, and rising. In Illinois
and Iowa, q am told by reliable persons
that have travelled there the present
summer) the winter wheat is almost an
entire failure.
This croaking about big crops, and
the prospect of low prices, is no new
thing. We have heard it repeated un-
til we ought not to be any longer alarm
ed by it. How was it last Fall, in re-
gard to the Corn crop? These same pa
pers told us that though there might be
some deficiency in the crop here, it
would be fully made up in the West,
and yet last Spring we find Corn in To-
wa selling for $3.50 per bushel, and Cat
tie aud Hogs starved to death by humid
reds. 4 ..
The Wheat crop is not, like the Cot
ton and Sugar crops, confined to small
territory, but it is raised over nearly the
whole length and breadth of the U.
States and Canada; and consequently is
not like those articles, liable to be af-
fected in price either by failure of the
crop or an unusually heavy one, in some
particular section. The very same thing
that will cause partial failure in one
section may be the means of an abun
dant yield in another. For instance a
very severe winter may injure the crop
in the Northern part Of the Wheat-pro-
ducinG district, while in the Southern