The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1874-05-14

are to be seeili There is nothing that give:
such splendor to the rural landscape. and such
solid prosperity to Il farming community as
luNurlailt growth OF wheat. And this is entire
4 " independent Of the fact that, as an arti-
Gle Of commerce, it Is often sold below the cost
OF production. When the price is low, lioliie
coilsunlers get the benefit of it, In our opinion,
it would add greatly to the comfort, tie pros
perity, the happiness and the political morals
OF the Southern people, white and black, if thei.
standard diet OF corn bread Wis varied with an
annual allowance OF fifty pounds of wheat bread
per capita, the same being of domestic profluc-
ton. In Lee county, Mississippi.a field of eight
acres covered with luxurious growth Of wheat,
is sometimes so extraordinary that it is deemed
worthy OF being reported to the Agricultural
| Bureau at Washington. And yet the soil and
| climate are so favorable that gentleman raised
enough of wheat from Il quart OF seed to SOW a
field Of six acres. The usual price Of wheat in
that State is 81 per- bHshel. 1t would seem that
under ordinary conditions wheat would bea
profitable croi;, even il it would reduce the acre
age Of cotton by olle-fourth; but the planters
and their laborars have not been trained to its
cultivation.
The crop returns from Pennsylvania. New
Jersey, Ohio and Indiana are equally favorable.
There has been some freezing out in the two
last named States, but this is attributed to I'M
perfect drainage and careless farming rather
Commissioner OF Agriculture. from large per-
sonal experience aud observation, has become Il
great enthusiast for the use OF the grain drill,
aud he is prone to attribute large proportion
OF the failures in the wheat crop to broadcast
sowing. 1t would seem that he is confirmed in
this belief by the testimony of large number
of correspondents in various parts OF the coun-
try who have taken the pains toinvestigate the
matter. Wherever agriculture has attained its
highest Development, there the drill is almost
universally used. In the wheat growing coun-
ties OF New York, and in the eastern counties
Of Pennsylvania, and in Western Maryland
broadcast sowing is scarcely ever practiced.-
The advantage claimed for the drill by the va
rious correspondents is an increased production
OF from 10 to leo per cent. as compared with
broadcast sowing. This advantage is based ell
eirey on the assumption that wheat soWn in
this way is less liable to freeze out, aud that
less seed is required. But occasionally we have
winter season in which the drilled wheat fares
but little better than that which has been seed
ed in the olc-fashioned way. In looking over
the table OF statistics furnished by the Commits
soner Of Agriculture. we notice that the grain
drill is not nearly so generally used as is sup
posed by those whose observations have been
confined to the large wheat growing counties Of
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. In
these three States tie acreage put in with the
drill ranges from &c to 70 per cent. OF the whole
LII New 4Ofh anu New Jersey from ~ 10 ID
per cent. In Ohio 81 per cent. In Michigan
and Indiana 81 per cent. In Virginia and West |
Virginia from IS to AZ per cent. In Kentucky |
s per cent The farmers Of Virginia have pul-
chased more improved agricultural implements
since the war than could reasonably have been
expected, and the very fair showing which they |
make in Commissioner Watts tables speaks
well for their enterprise and industry. The |
contrast between the acreage OF drill seeding in
Virginia aud Kentucky is striking, and this rep
rasents the comparative progress Of the two
States iii agriculture with considerable accura |
cy, although much Of the soil Of the last named
State has such natural fertility that it produces
large crops even with the primitive modes OF
cultivation carelessly applied,
Commissioner Watts Tor rather the statisti- |
clan OF the Agricultural Bureau, Mr.. J. r. |
Dodge,) makes the somewhat surprising state
ment that q considerable portion of the farmers
Il New England, including correspondents OF
the Agricultural Bureau, have never seen grain
drill. In that land OF labor-saVing and time
saving machinery, it seems almost incredible
that the wheat crop is still put in with the har-
row and the shovel-plow. However, the amount
OF wheat raised bears a very small proportion
to the area and population of the New England
States when compared with the product OF the
Middle States. Washington county, for in
stance, annually raises Il bilsilel OF wheat for
every man, woman and child in the whole
State Of Maryland, while the entire product of
the six New England States furnishes but little
more than Il peck to each inllabitant.