Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-08-31
AGRICULTURAL.

-'iH WHEAT GRowING.-The numerous casu-I
alties to which wheatin in late years has been
: liable in almost every section of the
country, renders it necessary that more
care, attention and discrimination be be-
slowed upon its culture than upon any
other of our staple crops.
Every year seems to multiply the enem-
les to this crop, and renders remunerating
= return more uncertain; hence, the science
and skill of the husbandman should be ex-
ereised to the fullest extent to mitigate the
evils. ag.s.5- 5i.a
Wheat is the universal bread material of
the world, and unless science shall point
out some means by which q more unifOrm N
and certain return may be obtained, the
day is not far distant when full supply
can no longer be produced.
The Hessian fly has become q general
(enemy to the wheat crop. but much can be
-glone to avert it's attacks by observing the
proper time of sowing the seed. It is the
: early sown wheat that is attacked by the
1iy. If the sowing is-deterred until after
= the insect has appeared, there is little dan
ger from it. This may be done and still
srwell rooted before winter sets in. We can
Il fixno precise date for sowing the seed
= that viii apply to all sections, but the ex
y perience of the farmer should suggest the
proper time for his particular locality.
When wheat is attacked by this insect, its
remains during winter between the leaf
] and the main body of the plant, ready to
continue its work of destruction until its
period of full maturity in the spring. Lit
tie. injury will be sustained from this insect
if the proper time of sowing the seed is
observed. Hse -
The next serious difficulty in the way of
wheat growing, is its liability to winter
kill. Theinjury from this cause depends,
i'm great degree, upon the character and
mechanical condition of the soil. Wheat
upon any soil that retains an undue quaint
Tity of water, Is subject to the greatest in
Jury from this cause. The only remedy
for this evil upon soil of this character, is
thorough drainage-an Improvement that
b is destined to work q wonderful revolution
in American farming.
or all the insect ,depredations to which
wheat is subject, the Midge is the most
formidable. Less than forty years ago this
enemy first made its appearance in this
country, and for along time Its depreda7
stions were confined to narrow limits; it
has since spread over vast area of our
country. 1t is multiplied in immense
,Tnumbers, and we know of no means by
(which its rapid increase can be checked.
!. 1t is most destructive in those varieties of
wheat that are characterized by the thin
nest chaff. The eggs being inserted
through the chaff into the forming grain
:, soon after it has gone out of blossom. In
nelQS OF Wl6aC bnaC come IOrWarQ a lew
days earlier than the crop generally, the
Midge will be found only in the lower and
later heads, that happen to be soft just al
selt the time the insect is ready to lay its eggs
this fact has suggested to some of the bes
farmers the importance of procuring those
kinds of wheat that mature the earliest
so that It may become hard before the in.
sect merges from its winter quarters
- Wheat eight or ten days in advance of the
ordinary period of ripening, often entirely
escapes injury from this insect. Mr.. John
johnson, of Geneva, New York, secures
from half to two-thirds of crop of wheat
5 I; by having 1t ripen a few days earlier thar
others, who often lose their entire crop
IA This advantage he derives from having
his soil drained, and the application of salt
and other manures, by which means hii
crop is advanced several days. In addition
. to this he sows the best early varieties o
Ia wheat he can procure.
There are other casualties to which whea
- is liable, but the most formidable of which
we have not, before alluded to, is rust
This, we believe, is entirely owing to th'
state of the weather at the time the grain
filling. West warm: sultry whether, is th'
fruitful cause of this malady. Early ma
turity is the only means by which this
= evil can be avoided. 81 -
MANAGEMEST OF SHEEP IN SUMMER
When once the flock is ''turned off," i
should not be forgotten that the salt trough
is as indispensable for the pasture IN sum.
mer, as it is for the fold in winter.
y quantity of tar, sufficient to cover the bot
tom of the trough should first be put in
and the salt sprinkled upon this. In lap
ping the salt, the sheep will get more o.
less tar on the nose, and this is not only
heathful for the sheep, but Is an excellen
z preventive against that inveterate enemy
of theirs, the fly. A few fresh burrows
I turned over as often as once in two weeks
from the middle of July to the middle o
September. will aid the sheep essentially il
defending themselves against this vile tor
MENTOR When attacked, they will in
stantly take refuge IN the furrows, and, b.
placing their noses close down to the frest
Z soil, prevent the fly finding access to thei
nostrils. This simple means is thought. b.
some to be an infallible remedy. aganis
that scourge of the sheep, "grub in tn
! head.''
The necessity for changing food is equal
lv As great In the summer as in winter. l
ke pasture to which fifty sheep are attach
fer their summers fare can be divided
two lots, and the flock put in each
rv alternate week, they will flourish
Ich better than if allowed free range o
g whole. Fifty sheep, If unrestrained
<silI travel over q hundred-acre lot every
day. and each day be obliged to feed where
they did the day before, finding but little