The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-07-03

( w hatsOever man sowcth. that shall
he also reap" No cheat plant ever
grew from a wheat seed and none
ever Will. had made up my mind
never again to try to combat this old
superstition, because it is perfectly
useless to argue with those who have
amDlbed such notion. 1t is the result
OF q lack Of intimate study of plant
hIe, point III which all or our cdu-
eatlOnal institutions have heretofore
been deficient, and it is not only the
ignorant and uneducated who are
ready to believe these things, but men
nomlnally educated are Just as apt
to believe them as the ignorant, for
| there is a woeful amount Of the dem
SeSt ignorance among educated peO-
| pie in regard to all the wonderful
phenomena Of plant life and growth
Of course the cheat (Bromus Secali-
nus) is Il distinct grass. 1t has good
seed of its own and does not depend
on wheat OF oats fer any help at all.
| This talk about oats running to cheat
always follows Il winter in which oats
| get badly winter killed. The absence
| CT snow last winter in our cOl6lest
weather caused a great deal Of winter
| killing. This hard freezing is just
| what the seeds of the cheat need to
| make them germinate and the soil
is full Of them, and they do germinate
when the oats are killed. and the far
mer who has never studied plants. sees
| something green there and thinks
it is oats until it heads out and then
he finds that it is cheat. 1t has been
| cheat all the time from the start
| from the seed but he did not know
|
with which cheat seed are mixed. He
! finds good deal of oats in the spring
! have turned to cheat" But he lets
! the whole grow, and the cheat seed
are all dead ripe by the time the oats
are cut, and the land is further stock
ed with them. Then the chances are
| that he goes to work and soWS that
same StUbblc land in oats again. and
the winter kills; and the hardy cheat
| seeded more thiclllv there than the
oats ever were. grows ranklv. and the
result is that the Whole field has
turned to cheat in the spring. While
il is all the result Cf careless farming
and the sowing Of foul seed. Some
| insist that cheat seed Will not grow
| They say this because they have al
| ways heard it so stated. and have neve,
investigated for themselves Take tive
|
| been roasted in an oven at a heat
sufficient to destroy all seeds that may
be in it. In one of these boxes plant
some wheat or oats. paying strict
attention that nothing but the grair
| is planted. In the other box plant
seed of cheat. Now put both boxes
out where they will take the chances
of the weather. taking care that they
do not dry up. Now if the weather
in winter gets cold enough to scorcl
off the oats. watch closely and see il
YOU can find any of them turning t,
cheat. Watch the other box. lol
will find that it takes cold weather tt
make the cheat seed grow, but they
will start finally and YOU can study
the two plants side by side. and ge
acquainted with the appearance O
cheat and oats in Il young state. |
the oats live over the winter. thc'
will make oats head. but never
plant of cheat will be found in tha
box nor a plant of oats in the other
There are hundreds of farmers WhC
will not believe a word of what
have written. for they know tha
oats and wheat turn up to cheat.
only shows how strong a hold an >Oit
superstition has and how hard i
is to oct men to study the laws whicl
God has ordained for the growth o
, plants. ''Consider the lilies. how
they grow. was the in junction, o
, Him who spoke as never man spoke
and it is said TO think how little at
tention has been. given by the major
ity of men to an effort to find out how
the lilies grow, and how ignoranc
of the laws Of nature hinders mcl
from a proper use OF the Creator
gifts in plants and soil and make
them sOiI-rObbers instead Of farmers
Even in an agricultural college tn
men are scarce who wish to learn any
thing Of plant life or plant culture
, The Young men are being attracte'
p, away from the farms to the shop
and factories and the men who hay
: never farmcd we'll themselves. and ca1
, see nothing in farming, when the
send their sons to college, never wan
! them to study agriculture. After
while some of these will learn tha
9. there is more in the free life of tn
farm than in the din Of the mill an
, the slavery Of the shops, and we ma
- look for a revival of interest in Sclen
, tific agriculture.