The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1861-10-19

1 but untH tneo lt VIII HoS % uuleeSou"OiS
for me TO claim for my labors some slight
share of public confidence.
1 supposed. until the fact was facstiously
controverted by "Countryman. that nearly
every farmer in this section had noticed the
feebleness of the stalk compared with the
berry of wheat and other small grains.
Every man with whom have conversed
has admitted this peculiarly.
Countryman" asserts that "'W. F.'s'
wheat kinked, but he raised an excellent crop
of oats Further comment is unnecessary"
Further comment on What? ''W. F." never
asserted that his wheat kinked so badly
as to prevent the harvest of fair crop.
The oat crop yielded nearly forty bushels
to the acre. In Wisconsin, three years ago,
according t04n agricultural journal of that
State, the average yield of oats per acre
was sixty-fve and half bushels. The best
yield of oats in this county during the pres
ent season was upon the farm of Mr.. D. w.
Arpleby, which was a little more than 40
bushels per acre. So that your assertion
that kansas, during the past season, has
produced as heavy crop of oats IS can be
raised in any country" needs confirmation.
Roots of wheat and potatoes will not pane-
trate deeper than the seed is deposited, ac-
cording to my learned friend Country
man. One would be led to the conclu-
sion that he had made a regular chain OF
statements, which were so extremely I'M
reasonable that he neither believed them
himself, nor expected anybody else to.
Does he not know that the roots OF wheat
push downwards more than an inch and
half before the pedicle (stem) begins to
force its way upwards at all? Since the
appearance of his remarkable article, "W.
F.'' has taken potatoes from the ground
from seed planted on the 1st of June, dur
ing the wet weather, and not covered more
than two inches deep. The potatoes are
now found from three to five inches deep,
while the principal roots extend much
deeper. The grain of corn placed in
warm soil will push its root downward
below the seed from four to FIVE inches, by
the time the stem appears above the sur
face.
'';Shruuk wheat he thinks, will produce
chess. No, he don't think so--this is too
modest; he says it a0iH produce it. Many
years ago, there was class of ''book farm
ers" who foolishly advocated this theory;
but in advocating it they were necessarily
compelled to adopt the infdel idea that
plants grow without seed, and that animals
spring into life without paren:s--in other
words, that man sprang from a tadpole,
there being a regular graduation of plants
and of animals-the one gradually develop
ing itself into the other. First. a low class
of plants: next, highly organized class;
next, sluggish animals; next. man. Now.
if grain of wheat can produce another dis
tinct plant (ohess), it must be in accord
ance with some fixed law of reproduction;
and as no such law has ever been establish
ed in connection with any other plant or
animal, it is safe to say no such law of
transmutation existe. Experiment: Let any
man select half a pint of shrunken wheat;
seed by seed; sow and rake it in by itself.
He will find wheat, not chess, will be pro-
duced. This experiment has been tried
hundreds of times, with the same result.
The Indians always pick their seed corn
while it is in the milk-the kernel shriHks,
but this does not affect il for seed.
II the author of "Countryman article
has never heard the idea advanced that
shrunk wheat would answer for seed" ex-
cept by Mr.. a. G. Proctor, who had this
kind of seed to sell, must be permitted to
state that the berry being slightly shrunken
would be no no objection in the minds OF
the wheat growing farmers Of Delaware and
New Jersey. And as Mr.. A. G. Proctor is
an honorable merchant of Emporia, it is to
be presumed he made his statement in good
faith.
There are two or three other statements
in his reply that would reply to. were it
not that it would extend this Article beyond
reasonable length.
And now, Bro. B.. must lake respect
full leave of you for this time; and as shall
be absent from home for some weeks, do
most sincerely hope you will not get "kink-
ed till ny return. ". F.
NEW Breed OF SHEEP.-A report has