The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-12-14
[From the Boston Globe.l
THE FARM-YARD CLUB OF LOTHIAN.
By DR.. George B. Loring.

rwENrY-FIRsr MEErING-suBJEcr GRAIN
CROPS.
Continued.
"WHEAT.-''And now," said Mr. Howe,
"Let me call the attention of the club to the
wheat crop, having, as l think, exhausted
the subject OF oats. have no doubt of
the value of oats as an article of food; but
cannot conceive of the highest form of
civilization without an ample supply of
wheat. 1t seems to me to be the universal
grain; and if it is provided with less sugar
and gluten and gum than oats, it has as q
fair offset large preponderance of starch,
which makes it applicable to all the nicer
varieties of artificial food known to man.
have studied the wheat problem with the
greatest interest, and l should consider it
an evidence Of advancing agriculture If
could see every farmer in New England,
who now supplies his table with flour from
Western mills, devote small patch of his
farm to the production of wheat for his
own family use. 1 am sure it would be
good economy for him to do this, and
would avoid the necessity for that enor-
nous outlay of money to which as people
we are subjected because we will insist up
on it that we can buy cheaper than We can
raise it.
suppose every good farm in New Eng
land has soil adapted to the growth of
wheat, strong, clayey land, supplied with
silica enough to make bright, firm and
stiff straw, and well-filled grain. Wheat,
know, will grow on a great variety of
soils, but best on that which l have de-
scribed. 1t is land like this which is most
readily brought into good condition for
wheat by the use of mari or ashes, or de-
| composed barn-yard manure. or bones, or
clover hay ploughed in, or superphosphates.
have no doubt that barn-yard manure
composted with sand and well fermented
and rotted, would be found to be peculiarly
applicable to the wheat crop. The ad-
ditiOn of salt to the manure, TO the extent
| of about three bushels to the acre, would
undoubtedly largely increase its value. In
| addition to this process of fertilizing the
land, Boressngault says: "Farmers are
won't, before putting their seed wheat into
the ground to prepare 1t in various ways,
with view to destroying the germs OF GER
| tain parasites which are believed to adhere
to it externally. The process is generally
called picking, or LINING, because milk or
lime, in which the seeds are put to steep
| for twelve hours. is often employed in its
| course. Means that are said to be more eff
| ficacious have also been recommended !;
some make use of alum, others Of sulphate
| of iron, sulphate of zinc, sulphate of cop
| per, sulphate of soda. and even white OK
ide of arsenic. All these means appear TO
| coHduce to the same result"
| Wheat should be sown the last of August
or the first of September; and the seed
should be covered about two inches. On
most soils two bushels of seed will be re-
| quired to the acre. The seed on all the
great wheat fields is sown with q drill,
broadcast sowing with the hand being now
entirely confined to the small fields and to
lands whose unevenness prevents the use
of the drill. When sOwn in season and
well started in the winter, the wheat may
be specifically narrowed in the spring with
fine-toothed harrow, for the purpose OF
stimulating the growth of the plants and OF
| removing from the soil those weeds which
will, If not checked, interfere with the
crop. The wheat plant grows very rapid
| ly in the spring, and will, II properly cul-
| tivated, outstrip the weeds and keep pos
session of the soil throughout the season.
II it happens to be necessary or conven-
lent to SOW spring wheat, let It be sown as
early IN the spring as possible; always re-
memberiug to prepare the ground for this
as for all spring crops at the time OF seed
ing Even If your land is ploughed in the
autumn, plough 1t again In the spring just
before sowing, and in all cases apply your
fertilizers in the spring months. Harvest
your crop as soon as the seed 10 firmly
formed, and as soon AS the straw by turn
ing yellow on the upper joint indicates that
| thu urnWth nf the tlant hQa Cpaapd and the