New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-03-09

common name of Mediterranean being a mia
nouner
| The wheat plant is much moro sensitive b
heat than it is to cold. If il be stepped for on,,
fifteen minutes in water ten degrees above tbs
boiling point, its vitality is destroyed. In north.
| ern ATTITUDES the plant lives 1870 DAYS. but !,
Mexico only 100. Hence it is that our extrem.
Southern States have never been great whea,
producing regions. Climate alone forbids IT, even
If the coil were the right one. Whea. reoures
soil rich in phosphates, just as the vine re-.
quires lime. Every plant seems to need a spe-
cifc stimulant. The tea Of Java il ipferior
because the soil is overloaded with the salts of
iron, cause 10 which the Nankin cotton Of
China owes its orange color. Wheat also bas
its favOIites in the catalogue Of manures. Brit.
ish agriculture, aided BY chemistry, has discoy.
cred what they ore, and having used them freely,
is rewarded BY crops that nearly treble the yield
of half century ago. These are the phospbatss.
Distant countries are exhausted Of bones 10 sup
ply them, oud vast quantities of Phosphate fer.
filters are manufactured at home to meet tao
growing demand.
Winter-klling is constantly complained Of by
farmers without the causes being accurately known.
If sowed TOO deep. the grain produces so few
roots that it cannot afford to lose any Of them
without perishiDg. When the ground freezes and
thaws many times, at each freezing it cracks
open. The roots extend across these cracks and
are torn asunder, thus depriying the plant Of its
necessary nourishment, when 10 many instances
it perishes outright, or maintains sickly and an.
profitable existence. Sometimes the crop is thrown
entirely out of the ground, when it is sure to
perish, as the chance of forming new roots 10
gone. The natural remedy for such calamities 10
known to be deep covering of snow. AS the
plant, during Winter, exerts all its energy 10 do
yeloping roots and leaves, leaving Spring to form
the stalk and Summer to perfect it, heavy and
lasting snow keeps it so warm as to allow tins
energy to act, beside efectually protecting ito
roots from rupture by alternate freezing aud
thawing But seasons occur when no snowy
blanket falls. The artificial remedy is under
draining, and if done thoroughly it may be pro-
nOunced cffectual against winter-killiDg British
agriculture abOunds with proof Of this, and 10
this country, since WITHDRAWING has been intro
duced, there ia much cOnfrmatOry evidence. Our
severe and variable climate renders it much moro
necessary than in England.
One of the most marvellous faculties OF tho
wheat plant is that of sending up multitude OF
stalks from single grain, known as MteriaR. Ii
is the secret Of its great prOductiyeness. Many
experiments have been made to ascertain tho
limit Of this faculty, and the results have been
truly wonderful. An English gentleman sOwed q
few grains of common red wheat on the ID Of
June, one of the plants from which had tilered
go much By the 9Th Of August, that he thea d.
vided il into eighteen others, all which were pbnted
separately. In few weeks so many of thes had
again multiplied their stalks, that he had Sd out
si1ty-seyen altogether to go through the Winter.
With the Spring growth all these began tilhring.
go that IN March and April new division was
made, and the number OF plants increased % 800.
II was believed that another division might have
been made, and that IL would have increased the
number TO 1900. The 500 grew most yigopusly.
exceeding plants as ordinarily cultivated. When
harvested, single plant yielded over 100 ears,
and the whole number of ears produced Was
u lO9 or more than 40 to each divided plant.
and the grain measured - pecks, weighing AZ
pounds. The grains were estimated as NUMBER
ing 576,si0. All this was the product Of sin-
gle grain.
II is rn error to suppose that ours 3 the great
est wheat-producing country. We do our fun
share without doubt, but our system Of sgricul-
ture is steadily exhausting our best lands, and in
few years diminution of the yield viii be ap-
parent in our census returns. Last years crop
is assumed to be leo, OO0 600 bushels, bat the sv-
erage is probably only 100 coo, 900. The average
Weld of other countries is as follows: