Weekly Minnesotian and times., 1859-12-31

cd rolling. He noticed on road through
his field, where it was beaten down, the wheat
grew better, not higher but thicker.
Mr.. Schultcs, of Farribault Co., said the
average there was less than 70 bushels. The
ground was new and poorly cultivated as yet.
lie believed that the crops throughout the
State had been overestimatcd, however, and
that the general average would not much ex-
coed theirs The blackbirds had troubled
them greatly. With fall blowing they got
more, as they could get it in earlier III the
season, and the soil was more compact. lie
said in reference to smutty wheat, that he
had supposed it was owing to the fact OF the
soil being damp on the top when sowed. Re
gar,iing the average throughout the State, he
believed it was less than ~ bushels, and
| that was large.
Mr. Brooks, of WinOna, said that nc had
known farmers in his neighborhood steep their
seed in u solution Of blue citriot, and that 1t
was free from smut. They used a pound to
3 or bushels. 1t had answered as pre-
ventive, that he knew, though he could not
give an explanation.
Jared Benson, of Anoka, said the soil be-
tween the ST. Croix and the Mississippi was
not so rich as in some other parts OF the State
and he should therefore tell some reasonable
stories i'm reference to it. The tone of speak
ers tonight was less eXtravagant than on the
former meeting, and it had now come to be
believed that if the State average was 20
bushels, it was enough to boast OF, but lie be-
lieved it was less than that.
Mr.. Benson then gave his experience. Mr..
Il. has one of the finest and largest farms on
the Upper Mississippi He had sown, in
four years, four different crops of wheat. The
first year he sowed Red River and had an ay
erage of twelve bushels. The second, some
seed, but the grasshoppers harvested it for
him. The Sd year, to same seed, he got fif
teen bushels to the acre. The 4th, (this)
year-he sowed three varieties from the Red
River, he got II bushels-from the Black
Sea, 15-and from Rio Grande, % bushels.
Of Rio Grande, he said bushels to the acre
should be sown, as the grain is very large
The soil of his farm was bottom land, and con-
sidered rich On the high prairie land
throughout that section, the average was not
more than 10. This was the case throughout
Sherburne, and adjacent counties north.
Though he could not boast of enormous
wheat yields in pumpkins, and such things,
some enormous ones.
He had not been troubled with smut at all,
nor was it common to that neighborhood. He
could not understand the ritri0J theory.
In his scctiod the soil was light and dry
More than a month after frosts had been seen
in southern Minnesota this fall, he had tOma-
toes growing untouched by it. Thus, there
are compensations by nature for the apparent
sterility of the SOIL
He thought fall blowing Of itself was not the
cause of better crops, but it was owing to the
fact that thereby the farmers were enabled to
SOW earlier. In this country, though. we can
plOw before the frostis fairly out Ofthe ground
as the soil is light, and no mud.
His barn, he said, was the best in the up
per country, it was 20 by 10, and this fall he
had it filled to overilOwing and much grain
stacked outside.
Mr. Burnham, Of Wabashaw Co., said a
majority of grain in that region was sown on
the sod. lie gave instances of the average
yield in his neigborhood. His corn had aver
aged about % bushels. The winter wheat he
noticed averaged more than the spring The
land was mostly prairie and oak openings.
The seed sown was about five pccks to the
acre. They had been troubled with smut
considerably, and some had used the vitriol
remedy, which they had found to answer we'll
He thought the philosophy Of it was this
smut arises from defective seed. The vitriOl
destroys these kernels.
j. j. Knox, of st. Paul, said he was far
mer by proxy, i. had farm in Henncpin
county worked by a man, and had been dis
satisfied by return of fifteen bushels to the
acre, but was now Modified by the accounts
of the general average.
w. b. Quinn, of Ramsey county, thought
this county need not be Sneered at as it has
been, even if not so rich as some others. lie
had farmed 10 years on his place, and never
got less than fifteen bushels to the acre, while
sometimes he got forty. This year his aver
age was %. lie said better crops could be
raised if farmers paid more attention to seed.
We SOW bad wheat-t should only be the
very best lie deemed the Canada Club
superior variety. The Rio Grandc should
have more seed than other varieties to the
acre.
Mr.. w. F. Wheeler commented on Mr.
Bensons theory OH fall blowing The reason
of it's superiority was, that the soil being
turned up to the snow, absorbs ammonia dur
ing the winter, an important element in
wheat.
did not intend to retract any remarks made
last week about the yield in his county. He
knew they were correct. The ground there
had been in cultivation some time. Every
ve.,r. in speaking Of yield, there had been
some drawbacks noticed-weather, scarcity
of seed, drauc hit, smut, rust and other unfa-
vorable causes, AMI with favorable attendants,
the reports of the average OF 20 bushels,
would be about correct. In Houston county
the average would be % bushels. The State
through, probably % or % bushels.
Judge Goodrich thought Mr. BensOn's idea
of utter want of knowledge regarding the Wit
riol theory the correct one. Every wheat
field shows that any preparation OF the kind
is untcnablc as a preventive. lie never saw,
in an experience of 30 years, the blight, or
smut on marty elevation. In low, depressed
places it is to be found. Seed has nothing to
do with smut The same seed will in the
same field make the difference. 1t is because
in these low places where the rain is absorbed
the soil becomes sour, and unfavorable, DC.
lie ridiculed the idea of smutty seed from
thrashing machine communicating the blight
to field. A smutty or b!ighted seed has no
reproducing power
In the south where the ground freezes, It is
followed by excellent crops. Frost enllvens
the SOIL In conclusion the Judge thought 20
bushels a remarkable average yield.
MIR. j. r. Syphers, a scientific gentleman
and naturalist of Lancaster, Pa, (residing
here temporarily gave some very entertain
ing remarks regarding the chemical and &C.
illogical theories adduced in the discussion.
1t has been remarked, he said, that in
field of an undulating surface, no blight or
smut appears on the elevations, but is al
ways found in the depressions. Without seek
ing to prove the truth of the statement, there
seems to be scientific fact involved in the use
of blue vitriol. In the lower portions of the
field, as the vain will be there collected, evap-
grafton will be much greater than on the
higher places. More ammonia would there
fore be carried off, leaving the soil more acid
Now, if by any means the escape of ammonia
can be prevented, the soil would not be sound,
as the ammonia would neutralize the acid
If, therefore, smut arises from the sourness of
II Al