Show 1 WHEAT 1 t SELECTION OF SEED sew it is of superlative importance that the best vail vall varieties ties of wheat should be used for seed arid this fact becom becomes e s still more apparent if there be any truth in t theold he old oid and ad hackneyed phrase that like begets beg t g like it Is s supposed bv many growers that th the peculiarities of different kinds of wheat are rained I 1 ed for some vears when sown in lit localities other than those to which they were nat nai natives ives care should be taken that seed wheat be free from the seeds boother plants and also that grains of or inferior quality ren reu rendered dered so by disease or the tile attacks etc be not used it is als ais also aiso 0 0 of f much importance that the varieties suited to the tiie particular climate in which it is intended to 0 o bf bo grown lie selected and in these days of rall rail rod rord travel nie hie getting of seeds from distant places a short period of time can be baisly achieved STEEPING THE SEED sned although the causes caules of the supposed effects produced by what is generally termed the pickling of seeds are involved in con sid erable obscurity yet almost every wheat grower seems to have some faith in tho the operation and claims for this tills process of pickling that it is a preventive of smut amut and other diseases common to the genus icum the plan most universally pur pursue dl is to wash the wheat with water watery after which a brine is made sufficiently strong to float an egr egg gg I 1 and then ihen the them wheat is steeped in this solution lution for about twelve hours unter after which it is spread upon a floor and as much newly slaked lime applied as will coat each grain laii it ii possible that the brine may assist in rendering the seed free from many impurities and may also where tile the soil oil Is deficient of chloride of sodium and alme jime lime ilme benefit it even by the tile application of small qu quantities anti of these constituents and thereby assist the young ilant llant ii its if s early stages of growth other soaks or steeps sleeps have also been used such as chamber ley which is well known to be a most powerful fertilizer and solutions of wood ashes as well as many others but the ones already referred to seem to have been the most universally used irrespective 1 of the effiec effects ts produced by shamber chamber ley for the pit purposes reposes of a steep vet there is is no doubt that it is very beneficial to the wheat plant during it leq growth for being bein one of the most powerful fertilizers fertilizer it furnishes constituents constituents most conducive to the growth of or the plant QUANTITY OF SEED SLED AND MANNER mansell OF SOWING IT the quantity quant quint ltv ity of seed that should be sown per acres acre is dependant cant in part upon the variety and size stze of the he seed quality and condition of soil lime time and modes of planting etc if the seed be he sown town very thickly the straw will be fine and light if sown broadcast and harrowed in more seed will be required than if put in by th the tho d drilling 11 machine because licause in such case many x grains will be left uncovered by the harrow and others being covered at improper depths etther either rot or do 0 not liot germinate if the seed bo be harrowed ini ing in about two bushels per acre are usually sown and if put in by means of tile llie seed drill about five fir pecks this saving of three pecks per I 1 acre cr I 1 e ill reg regions lotis where the wheat crop is large becomes an item of considerable sid erable importance As previously stated the wheat plant will tiller much mo more re freely in soils properly prepared by subsoil ploughing sloughing hing and under draining thus it may be understood less seed is required on soils i so treated seeds sown bythe drill in falling to the soil assume that position which is natural th they ey are planted at even depths the distances apart are arc regular and the growing crop presents a uniform appearance whereas the mechanical force exerted in sowing it from the hand band is a preventive not only of such even distribution but interferes with the natural position of the gr grala grain ain din in the soil the plough ploughing sloughing hing I 1 ug in of seed ia is more preferable than harrowing in lit for the reason that the depths to which it I 1 is sown are more regular but drilling in fit seems preferable to either elther professor nesbit in a lecture on Manur manures esbe before an nn english farmers club speaks of a rev al mr r smith of northam Northampton shire who has pursued sq the practice of growing wheat for several years without tile tiie application ion lon of manures madures and as prof nesbit is looked upon as a reliable authority it may be interesting to state mr smiths mode his soil by thoroughly digging i aging an ana forking I 1 ft I 1 t ho he then sows bows his wheat in in sets of rows three feet apart each set coh consists con consisting sisti ing of three rows one foot apart at the proper time after the crop arrives at matur maturity ltv and has lias been cut mr smith dibbles his seed for the tiie next crop according to the manner already described in those three feet spaces which had been at rest during daring the tiie growth of the previous crop and so continued hi hl operations for several years in addition to these facts prof nesbit on to state that during tile the last four or five years he has taken on an average from 30 to 34 bushels per acre from his land without the addition of f any manure whatever in the tha shape of guano or dung or any other visible matter he has been however all lle ile lie the time because by his hia constant stirring there it is s been a powerful absorption of materials from the air nitre ditre beds have been formed and the result produced is the same as would follow from an absolute dressing of nitrate of soda prof nesbit P 2130 eho states during his remarks that mr smiths soil was rich in organic materials thus it can readily be understood that the soil in taking carbonic acid and ammonia from the atmosphere had a rich supply of tad fad the be or organic g a tile materials most necessary to be added and h hence e ice that by frequent and exact mechanic il aan admixture mixture of or the soil thus facilitating chemical action by free admission of atmosphere that his crops of wheat could obtain the necessary pabulum tor lor their growth and that too for years in Iii succession but after such time as he ceased to cultivate his soil as already stated and the inorganic constituents become used up no longer could successive crops of wheat be grown for the wheat nor any other plant cannot create the constituents necessary for its development this practical experiment peri ment fully proves some of the advantages of deep disintegration many growers are now in the habit of sowing oats with their wheat at the rate rae of from front one half to three quarters of a bushel per acre which are killed upon the appearance of a heavy frosti frosty and nd serve as a mulch to the wheat thus preventing it in lit part from being winter killed how excellent cellenti this maybe may be experience will soon decide the pra practice clice seems plausible and worthy the attention of wheat growers it is quite certain that if the tile soil be under unde drained and subsoil sub soil plowed the immediate surface will be partially protected against frost and falling rains will be permitted to pass downward giving up their carbonic acid lammond lamm ammonia onu ac for the use of plants thus the interstices of tiie tile soil being in a great measure free from ice the crop Is less liable diable when thawing occurs to be thrown out by the fre frequent bent contractions eions sand ind expansions of or the soil if there be snow upon po the surface of the file soil it will on melting penetrate downwards giving up its ammonia td the carbon and instead of be berng being uz carried away over the surface of the soil with the snow water as would be the case tn in the absence of the conditions brought about by mulching the tho period at which the seed should be sown must dept depend nd upon the climate but in the northern states stiles about the tiie middle of september is considered to be the most seasonable time FALL AND SPRING FRING CULTURE if a slight top dressing of concentrated fertilizers be added in tiie the fhil fall falland failand and a light roller be used to even the surface tile llie roots will take a stronger hold and the whole plant invigorated so as to be the better enabled to withstand tile tiie free zings and tha wings of winter in lit the spring if the ci op be too thick thia a harrow proportioned I 1 in to the tenacity of the soil might be he used to thin it out if then another light top for dressing be applied it will in most instances h have ave a L tendency to increase the luxuriance of the crop clover and grass seed maybe may be sown if it such be required after which a slight rolling will prove beneficial to both crops inthe if the wheat be sown in drills it should be cleansed in early spring to eradicate weeds germination OF THE SEED the follo following whig from leibeg Lei lel begon on germination contains most of the facts already known in relation to this interesting subject i and coming from such a source w will ill lii doubtless be deemed reliable other substances must be present in in a plant besides the starch sugar and gum if these are to take part in the development of the germ leaves and first fabres fibres of the ra dicle diele there is no doubt that a grain of wheat contains within itself the component parts of the tile germ and of the fabres fibres of the these component parts aro are starch and gluten and it 11 it is evident that neither of them alone but that both simultaneously assist 1 in the formation of the root for they both suffer changes under the action of air moisture and a suitable tempera temperature ture tare the starch is converted into sugar and the gluten also assumes a new sew forms forni and both being conveyed to every part of the plant plants both the starch and the gluten are arb ar completely consumed in the formation of the first part of the roots and leaves an excess of either could not be used in the formation of leaves p or I 1 in any other way ethe arhe conversion of starch into sugar during the tb germination of grain is ascribed to a vegetable principle called diastase which is gen generated grated during the act of commencing germination but thi this mode of transformation can also be effected by gluten although it requires a long time seeds which have germinated always contain contala much more diastase than is necessary for the conversion of their starch into sugar for five parts parta by weight of starch can be converted into sugar by one weight of malted barley this excess of diastase can by no means be re regarded girded as accidental for like the starch jt it aids in me e e formation of tho the th first organs of the young plant and disappear disappears with the sugar PW working farmer |