Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1857-09-10

we plead the numerous enemies with Whicl
the wheat crop is plagued, as the cause Of 81
much uncertainty and failure, and with som.
reason. Sometimes, as during the presen
season, no known remedy has been of any
avail against their ravages in certain locaIi
ties. But taking the average of the ter
years past, we think it will be admitted thai
the growing of wheat has not been unprofft-
able, and that the certainty as well as the
quantity of the crop has been in almost ex-
act proportion to the skill of the cultivator
in the improvement of his lands, and the
proper manuring and cultivation of his crop.
1t is mere folly to undertake to cultivate
wheat upon poor land insufficiently manured.
Land not capable of yielding fifteen bushels
to the acre, should be manured, or let alone
for some improving crop. ~.
Wheat requires clean culture it cannot
be grown to advantage on any grass sod, ex-
cept well managed clover-fallow. A well
turned clover sod, that has been moved or
judiciously grazed, is the best preparation
for crop. The pea-fallow is thought by
many equal, by some superior, to the clover
Its value for the wheat crop will depend, in
measure, upon the care with which it is
managed; so large mass Of vegetable mat
ter put in with shallow ploughing, may
keep the surface soil so porus as to do the
wheat a serious harm* Ifnot very through
ly turned under with deep furrow, it is
better perhaps to do as is done by some ex-
perienced cultivators in Virginia, and so put
in the wheat and the vines, as to leave a
large portion Of the latter uncovered on the
surface. In either case, the land should be
heavily rolled. A firm seed bed seems es-
sential to the well-being of wheat. Deep
ploughing is not to be objected to, but it is
important that the earth be well compacted
with the roller, when the seed is sown.
] Any grass sod, other than clover in it's Sc
cond year, should be planted in some clean
sing crop, which will give the sod time to be
thoroughly rotted. The best of our cult
waited crops for this purpose is, without ques-
tion, TOBACCO. The neat, careful cultiva-
tion, the thorough shading, and destruction
Of all grass and weeds, leave the ground in
a state of perfect preparation for the wheat.
The shallowest working Of the surface which
is sufficient to cover the seed, is all the la
Dor required for puttinss,
drill alone will do it, withoutany other pre-
paration.
The most common cleansing crop is corn,
but it is by far inferior to tobacco. If rich
enough for wheat, the crab grass grows so
luxuriantly after the working ceases, that it
is hard to put the wheat in properly. If
not rich enough to produce grass, it is not
fit for wheat. A great deal of the wheat
crop, however, is sown upon the corn field,
and it is upon these fields that the purchas-
ed fertilizers are chiefly used Wheat grow
ers of,very reliable judgment, have adopted
the practice of putting in the seed upon corn
land with the drill, with no previous prepa-
ration by ploughing, Others stir the sur
face with harrows, only enough to procure a
covering for the grain. They avoid turning
under the grass, and leave a firm bed for the
crop to grow upon.
The practice of drilling in wheat with
machine, is one of the most important ad-
vances which has been made in wheat cul-
ture. The saving of seed, the increase Of
the crop, the security against winter-killing
and great economy in the application of fer
tilizers, arc advantages so important and SO
we'll ascertained, that no one who sows
twenty five acres, should fail to use the drill
The introduction Of the drill-culture will
be followed, we do not doubt, by the practice
of spring cultivation, with an implement to
stir the intervals between the rows Of wheat
The use of the roller is Of great importance
in the spring, to close the seams left open
by the action Of the frost, and settle the
plants we'll in their bed. But the stirring
Of the intermediate spaces to the depth of a
few inches, in such manner as not to dis
turb the plants, would admit the influence of
the rains and atmosphere, with undoubted
advantage to the crop.
As to the time Of seeding, the rule is, cer-
tainly, to SOW early. There is great ad-
vantage in having the seeds soon enough in
the ground, to get the plants well rooted by
winter. 1t may be we'll borne in mind, how
ever, that while the enemies Of this crop
generally, seem to have taken counsel to-
gether for it's destruction, the fly especially
has, for several seasons, been accumulating
upon us, and may be of course expected a.
gain in force It is desirable, for this rea-
son, to postpone the seeding till after about
the 9TH of October. Earlier seeding is less
essential, with advantages we now have, than
it was some years ago; because, 1st, the
drill is almost an insurance against winter
killing; and 2d, the use of guano is almost
an insurance against rust q We would take
chances against rust and frost, with a drill
and only fifty pounds of guano, sowing by
*The case mentioned in our last by our cores
pondent, Mr.. Rouzee, may be accounted for in
this way the mere growing Of the pea vine, by
shading and cleansing the ground, is an excellent
for wheat. Therefore there was a
good crop where the vine was entirely removed
II was inferior where the vine was left, because
perhaps the bed was left too open, and exposed to
The action Of the weather,