Kanawha Valley star. [volume] (Charleston, Va. [W. Va.]) 1856-1861, 1858-07-06
\ 4aua@ba UaIItp st 4.
caARLEsToE. TUESDAY. JULY 4, 1859.
Whoa! crop Of Kauawha gallty.

Wneat Gfvp VI hhuhMHa LUTTE i
Much has been sai,l about the Wheat
crop in this yalleJ--by some, the real
old croakers, that the crop j. almost an
entire failure. and By others. that there
viii not b. more than a half Oh a third VI
crop. Now, we do not wish 70 play il
TO the hands u the spectators, By say
ing that thcre is a better crop than there
really Is. neither do weiwish 70 aid the
/ croaking. never-saiisiied portion of tie
farming community. which Is Away cry-ll
ling wolf, when there IS no wolf-which
always sees famine stalking through the
land, every time there. is 4 shower too
many or too few. to come UP toHthe stand
ard Of what they think the Almighty
should do. {.
What we have to say, will be more ~
reference to what We deem 70 be the
causes Of light crop, and what may bs
4 preventive fsr thu future, than 70 arf
quo for or against the existence Of 4
short crop. II
In thelfrst place, We do not think there
i as much Of . failure as there is said
!. ID be by many Some few hrmors in The
Valley proper. may not have over two
thirds, while others will have but one hall
u acrop; take The Valley through up ).
|. lands as well aslowlands and there will
/ BE- al average crop. And making all al
] lowances, We think, from alive can learn,
that there viii be nearly.if not fully, as
much wheat as last year, as there was 50
much more spwn This year than last.
iii We havo observed as "a general thing,
that where these failures exist, the wheat
Was sown la.e, and On thin soil. ThisI
shows the necessity Of preparing lands
I rel and early Farmers have been in
the habit Of sowing their lands repeated
s7lY with tile same kind of crop; frequent.
INV, It is sown on. stubble land, without
an II manure, or any kind Of preparation =
nothing done, but toslightly scratch i
-loYer after the seed issown. We know
that some Of our farmers will boot at
the idea Of nlannring Kanawha bottom
lands they will tell you that, if 4 the l1's
land be weN prepared their third crop
will be equal il not superior to the first !;
This All may be, but.the very facts. that
the ground must be we'll prepared. and
shat there is a decrease otter tho third.
crop, shows that succession Of The same
kiad Of crop, erhausts tile lands. and is an
argument in favor Of our position, that
there should be an Attenuation rotation
of crops, and that this want Of rotation,
is oaeAo the causes Of rast, which is the.
main evil our farmers have to contend
with.
h Toe frequent a repetition IF The same
lind Of crop on 4 piece of ground, e1-I
/ lsatists the soil Of the elements which!
make npl=the constituent parts Of that
4 crop; For iastance,F.if slick be supera-
huhdant 10 any particular soil, il will
stand a repetition Of a wheat crop much
\ better than j field where this substance
4 q less abundant. Butla, too frequent
4 repetition will exhaust this hitherto
II good soil, and there win be failure
ii ths wheat crop. The element, 50 ex-
tFacted BY overworking THE soil+in one
direction, must now be- replenished by
rrhsanures containing silex, on, By rest
Hut instead Of exhausting The soil. it
would have been bettert ID have rotated
the erops--one year, 10 have put in a
crop that would have either added 10, OF
II III very slightly diminished, ahe peculiar
element which the crop Of Che previous
!. yRar had heavily drawn upon, "A slight
8afquaintance with agricultural chemistry.
BoT even allittle attention to book farm
Iidg,"as reading offagficulttHal papers is
sSeeringly called, would enable our farm
efs soon to become familiar with the 81.
elllehts necessary ID sustain tile different
a cAops. we would not hear Of quite 50
many failures ii different 6elds-thai
t'las. year, this feld had d good crop on
II! but this year, ! can see what il Tho
matter with it, The matter was. tina
although there may have Been a rotation
fcrops, aIcrop was put u That required
ths same constituent elements that wert
taken up b the previous crops. a lii
III ,lsI scientific knowledge would have pre-
vented this
#3 Rust is occasionedl by THE exposure .
4 the wheat stalk to sudden and repeated
TB changes from wet to heat from shower
10 sther rays of the sun. The time sha
ID iiss wheat crop is most exposed v thes
sudden changes. is in the month VI June
E WI then have our most violent showers
and the rays Of The sun are frequently a
l poyerfulasat any other season. The din
4 DC Ahe farmer then should be. 70 50 pre
I3 parp and put in his crops, as 70 have itheI
A. - Ky + FllI Il