Chapter VII.
Arable Land

Sect. IV - WHEAT.

1. Preparation-When wheat is sown on turf, or on clover leys, the land requires no preparation but one ploughing ; and the land in that state being generally in good heart, no manure is necessary, unless the farmer chooses to give a top dressing of soot in the spring, which will generally answer upon clean land ; and Mr. Grahame says, best when the wheat is thick on the ground, otherwise it is pretty sure to force weeds in the vacant places.
When wheat is grown after oats, beans or other crop, the land is sometimes partially fallowed and ploughed 3 times Mr. Rutherford, at Lord Moira's, was giving the bean stubbles a second ploughing, when I was there, the beginning of October, 1807, and meant to plough them a third time before sowing the wheat, which was meant to be put in by Cooke's drill, before the end of October.
In the common fields, and in a few other instances, the land is fallowed for wheat (See Fallowing), and manured with muck or lime, which is, or should be, laid on in summer before the third ploughing, and the land should receive one or two ploughings after. The season for sowing autumn wheat is October, or a little before or after ; for spring wheat generally the month of April ; this is sown after the eating off of turnips, or other green crop, at one or more ploughings.
On lay ground wheat is sown broad cast, two bushels and a half per acre, and well harrowed in, but on pulverized land often drilled. At Lord Moira's, Mr. Rutherford puts it in upon bean stubble well worked, with Cooke's drill, 2 bushels per acre, in 6 rows at 10 inches, or 5 at 12 inches ; the sort, the red straw lammas. Spring wheat has also been tried here, sown in April, and answers well ; I examined some thrashing in a barn, it is a white ear, a little bearded, and red grain (triticum æstivum). I understand it sells in the market about 6d. per bushel lower than good autumn wheat. Mr. Rutherford assured me, their growth was 4 quarters per acre, and he reckoned it to pay full as well as 6 quarters of barley, and its growth was meant to be continued. Mr. Stone, and others, also occasionally grow spring wheat. The grass seeds succeed better with it universally than with barely, the straw standing upright, and being less smothering to the young plants of clover, &c. ; it is sown after a green crop instead of barley.
To prevent the smut in wheat steeping in brine, or swimming the seed in a tub of brine, and skimming off whatever swims is practised ; or putting down the seed in a heap, and well saturating it, by pouring on brine or urine, and afterwards well drying it with quick lime is also practised, and the result satisfactory ; the former method certainly the best, were it not for that the brine, if fouled by the smut dust, is not fit for re-using. I suspect that this preparation will interfere with the practise of drilling unless the seed be afterwards be spread thin for some time on the floor, when I believe it will pass the ladles of the drill machine ; if the seed be drilled or sown without this preparation, care should be taken that it is from a sound stock, or sort perfectly free from the least taint of smut, when I believe the risk of producing smut will be very small on well prepared land.
Dibbling of wheat is not much practised ; a few years back, the late Mr. Wilkes made an experiment upon Ashley Wolds, upon between 30 and 40 acres, of paring and burning for potatoes ; the ashes were laid in rows, and the land ploughed in narrow ridges for potatoes (See Potatoes), and paring and burning ; the potatoes were got up by forking along the middle of the ridges only, and the ridges preserved ; they were afterwards rolled down by the drawing a heavy roller along them lengthways and dibbled with wheat without further tillage. The experiment succeeded perfectly well as to the potatoes, but the wheat failed, the crop not exceeding 7 or 8 bushels per acre. Mr. Johnson, of the Wolds, thinks, the clods were not sufficiently pulverized for wheat, though the ashes and fresh soil had forced a good crop of potatoes : I saw part of this wheat after coming up, October, 1801, and it then looked promising, but failed the following summer. I heard of no other instance of dibbling wheat in the county.
Water furrowing is of course practised, between the ridges of all wet land sown with wheat, as well as cross gutters made, to clear such furrows of water, and discharge it into the ditches. This being necessary upon all wet land not well under-drained.
Hoeing of wheat is only practised where it is laid in by the drill, and is either done by hand, or by Cooke's scarifiers. Feeding off by sheep is sometimes done in the month of March, when it is got forward, and is supposed to do it no injury if eaten before April, and is of some value to the sheep. The reaping is universally done with a sickle ; the corn bound in sheaves, and set up in shocks, and when sufficiently seasoned carried to the barn or stack ; the stacks generally placed on rick-stools to keep out vermin.
The distempers to which wheat is principally subject, are the mildew and smut, and I heard of no other in this county, nor any particular complaint of them this season, 1807, the wheat being kindly, and likely to be productive. The mildew is doubtless from the atmosphere, the cause humidity and want of sufficient sunshine : the theory of Sir Joseph Banks, that it is caused by funguses, is I believe beginning at the wrong end ; such funguses, if they exist, being the effect and not the cause of the disease. I fear the prevention and cure are beyond human effort, and believe nothing can be done but good preparation and sowing in due season ; the rest must be left to the seasons and their director.
The smut may be sufficiently prevented by choosing sound clean seed, and by the usual process of swimming or washing in brine or urine, or both, and drying with lime or ashes : I never heard of, or knew the smut in any great degree injurious, but in cases where that process had been neglected, nor even then unless there was some taint of smut in the seed.
Burnt, or black ears, do no injury to the rest of the crop, but are merely the loss of so many ears ; but I think corn in any more than common degree subject to them, should not be sown, as the evil has the tendency to increase, and the same of barley.
The process of stacking wheat is known to every good labourer. Thrashing is done by the flail, unless in the few cases where thrashing mills are erected, and which are likely to increase.

Every wheaten loaf is to be marked with a large roman W. and every household loaf with a large roman H. on pain of forfeiting not more than 20s. nor less than 5s. for every loaf.

The wheat harvest is in August and the beginning of September : the stubbles of wheat are pretty generally mown, hacked, or harrowed off, and carried to the yard for litter.
The average produce of Wheat in this county may, I suppose, be stated at 3 quarters and a half, or 28 statute bushels per acre : the well cultivated land produces probably 4 quarters, the common fields and inferior culture less than 3 quarters, average as above : deduct the seed, and suppose 25 bushels per acre nett produce, at 60 lb. to the bushel, this gives 1500lb. weight of wheat per acre : the growth has been before estimated at 25,000 acres : if we allow 1 lb. weight of wheat per day to each individual, from the above data, the growth of the county will supply little more than 100,000 persons, but the population of the county is near 130,00, the county therefore supplies bread for only about four-fifths of its inhabitants, leaving nearly one-fifth, or about 25,000 persons unprovided for, to be supplied from elsewhere.
Additions to the article wheat : transplanting wheat recommended.-A gentleman of Cambridge sowed some wheat, June 2d, and on August 8th, one plant was taken up and separated into eighteen parts, and re-planted ; these plants were again taken up and re-planted from September 15 to October 15, and were then 67 plants ; they were again taken up and divided in march and April ; and finally produced 500 plants, these produced 21,109 ears, and three pecks and three quarters of corn, weighing 47 lb. 7 oz. and estimated at 576,840 grains.-PHIL.TRANSACTIONS,v 58.
I know from my own experience, that wheat transplanted in April, will ripen well with the other crop, and be equally productive. Dr. Darwin says, wheat may be sown in a garden (or nursery), and one acre will produce sets for one hundred acres, at nine inches asunder : this is being too sanguine, though I think one acre may supply twenty ; and this may answer when and where plenty of hands can be had at reasonable rates. He recommends spring rolling of wheat, to consolidate the ground and squeeze caterpillars ; says, wet seasons in wheat blossoming time, may wash away auther dust, and prevent fecundation, and he believes may occasion the smut. There is, however, no doubt but the smut is caused by infected seed, though other unkindly circumstances may operate as predisposing causes : to prevent the smut, he advises, to steep the seed in brine that will swim an egg ; or 2d, in the lime water ; or 3d, which is thought most efficacious, in an alkaline ley, made by adding pot-ash to lime-water, and to dry it with quick lime.
The following, too, is given as a certain preventative of smut, from different very respectable authorities : Boil 1 lb. of arsenic in a few gallons of water, and increase it to 28 gallons ; put the seed wheat into it through a riddle, and skim off whatever swims, let it steep six or eight hours, and dry as usual with quick lime.
A bushel of wheat is said to contain from 620,000 to 645,000 grains of corn.

Sect. V. - Rye.

Very little rye is grown in this county, except what is sown for early spring pasture for sheep ; occasionally a head land, or hedge side, may be sown, to supply seed for the above purpose ; or sometimes a patch of light land ; but little or none used here in the manufacture of bread.
The rye, for early spring sheep pasture, is sown upon an early oat, barley, or pea stubble, so soon as the crop is cleared off, which will be in August ; the rye is grazed by the sheep the following April, and the land immediately ploughed for turnips, or other green crop.

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