DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF WHEAT.

As we have now given somewhat in detail the history of the wheat plant, its habitat, its physiology and chemistry, and mode of culture, we will proceed to notice at greater or less length those diseases and dangers to which it is subject during its growth, or after maturity, and which serve to diminish the certainty with which the agriculturist might otherwise depend upon an abundant supply of the "staff of life" in proportion to the ground cultivated, and the quantity of seed sown. But as many of the causes acting unfavorably upon the production of the wheat crop have been mentioned with more or less perspicuity in our foregoing remarks, we need not again dwell upon these items, when especially under consideration, at so great a length as we should do if they were not already somewhat familiar to the attentive reader.

The causes affecting the wheat plant deleteriously, may be enumerated as follows: Terrestrial, atmospheric, agricultural, and constitutional; and these several causes and the special application of the terms here used require a few words of explanation, or must, to prevent confusion, be defined as to our application of the words:

Under the term terrestrial causes, we would include all that pertains to the soil, and its aptitude or otherwise for the culture of wheat, on account of original constitution or subsequent changes, accidental or intentional. These causes have been already discussed sufficiently fully in the foregoing pages to render superfluous more than merely to mention here that they have relation to the chemistry and constitution of the soils, making them more or less fit to afford sustenance to the wheat plant itself, or to promote the production of plants and animals inimical to it.

Atmospheric causes affecting the wheat plant consist in the general aggregation of aerial phenomenon called climate, and those special departures from the usual climatic course, which give to the character of an entire year the peculiarities which are referred to as the season of such or such a year, and which modify the climate to such an extent that climatic aptitude for wheat culture varies greatly in the same place in different years.

Agricultural causes include all those separate and often distinct modifying influences affecting successful agriculture which depend upon the preparation of the grounds, their protection from obviable causes of injury to the crop during the entire process of culture, and even in the storehouse and granary after the growth of the crop is completed.

Under constitutional causes are grouped together the pathological conditions of the plant itself, and the vegetable and animal parasites and enemies by which it is endangered at any period of its existence from the moment of germination until germination again, some of which are entirely obviable and most or all of which are capable of great modification in their deleterious effects by the application of skill on the part of the agriculturist.

As many of these causes already mentioned have been discussed in other portions of this report, we will here only advert to those prominently which have not been elsewhere examined.

The conditions of the earth as to constituents and preparation have been pretty fully discussed in those parts of our report devoted to the subjects of agricultural chemistry, draining, &c., and need not be repeated in this place, and all that is here necessary is, to remind the agriculturist that due regard being had to the condition of the soil chemically, and to the proper draining, plowing, and other preparatory processes, the per centage of chances in favor of a good and certain yield are greatly increased. And we must advert again to the fact that draining is an important part of the preparatory work for a good crop, as by draining, winterkilling is rendered less likely to occur, and a more constant and equable supply of moisture is secured, as draining prevents excesses at some periods of the year and deficiencies at others, both of which conditions of supply are injurious to wheat.

The atmospheric causes which affect the productiveness of the wheat plant are mostly so far removed from the control of human skill that but little can be accomplished to secure the crop from injury by the operation of these causes, among which may be mentioned untimely frosts, storms of wind, hail or rain, lack of snow, sudden and violent changes of temperature in the winter, &c., all of which are entirely removed from the control of man, and their effects can only be slightly modified by having regard to the proper mode of cultivation.

ICTERUS OR JAUNDICE, is the name of a condition of the wheat stalks, which occurs most commonly upon rich ergillacious, imperfectly drained lands, after the cool rains of spring. The stalks turn yellow and many of them perish in such seasons as yield a superabundance of moisture in the spring, because the roots are elongated and enfeebled in such circumstances and do not transmit a sufficiently concentrated and nourishing sap to the plant and they die for want of a proper pabulum to sustain their growth which has been made rapid at the expense of their vigor. Proper draining and cultivation will in a great measure obviate this malady. If

the earth be too compact and tenacious on account of the superabundance of clay in its composition, repeated plowings and manurings, with such manures as render the earth porous and mellow are of great advantage, and if carried sufficiently far will entirely prevent the disease above named.

BLIGHT OR WITHERING.-A dry state of the atmosphere, and a clear sky and great heat of the sun immediately following light showers, at the period when wheat is "in the milk," i. e., when the albumen and starch are still in a liquid state, or a prolonged drought at the same period, are ordinarily the causes of a condition of the grain known by the above name, which consists essentially in a too early desiccation and maturity of the grains by means of which, not having continued in a state of growth long enough to be well-filled by a deposition of the proper contents of farina, although the skin of the grain was already fully developed, it assumes a shriveled appearance, and does not yield largely of flour. Such wheat is called blasted, blighted, withered, or badly nourished. This diseased condition is almost or quite unavoidable.

LODGING.-Wheat upon rich moist soils, although growing luxuriantly, does not produce so firm and elastic stalks as upon drier or poorer soils, because of the too dilute condition of the sap, producing large but watery, or succulent stalks, leaves them more feeble. If heavy winds succeed rains, while such stalks and head are yet heavy with the retained rain drops, they bend or break near the roots, and mat together, not being strong enough to raise up again, become in part over-heated, retaining their moisture and in part dried by the rays of the sun, and if the ground be not free from weeds, these overgrow them, and they are then attacked by rust almost without fail, and the crop is lost. If only bent the stalks resume their erect posture so soon as the water is shaken off and the wind ceases blowing.

Rolling light soils after sowing, to give them more consistence, and properly draining the richer moister lands, will prevent the occurrence of lodging to a great extent.

Tornadoes, hail storms, and very heavy rains often break down and destroy fields of wheat when approaching maturity, but for these evils there is no remedy applicable, beyond the careful and skillful culture which may favor the development of strong healthy stalks, and the selection of such varieties of wheat as produce a short firm straw for cultivation in those localities which are more particularly liable to the occurrence of heavy storms. But these principles have already been sufficiently discussed in our preceding remarks, and we will pass on to a consideration of

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the next branch of this important subject, the diseases and accidents to which wheat is liable, to wit: agricultural causes of failure to secure a good crop.

Many of the agricultural causes of a deficient crop have already been pointed out and their remedies suggested, and but few of these remain to be mentioned. In our remarks upon the wheat region, manuring, the chemistry of agriculture, &c., we have pretty fully demonstrated that a proper selection of the seed, and preparation of the ground, together with a nice discrimination of the season of sowing, go far towards securing a profitable return for labor applied, but this is not all, for some few accidents to which wheat is liable, are so strictly agricultural that they deserve a special notice here or elsewhere in the remainder of this disquisition. The only one we will advert to here, however, is

GERMINATION OF WHEAT IN THE STRAW.-The importance of a discussion of this subject may be inferred from a statement made by reliable authority, M. Emilien Dupont, in his "Essai sur . . . le ble," to the effect that the loss of one-third of the wheat crop of Lower Canada, in 1855, was due to this cause alone.

When wheat has reached entire maturity it constantly has a natural tendency, in favorable circumstances, to undergo the process of germination, and if, at the time of harvesting, the wheat be exposed to the conjoined influences of warmth and moisture, even while yet in the straw, germination will occur, and those changes of the contents of the grain already adverted to, and which impair or destroy entirely the fitness of it for the purposes of bread making, must necessarily occur. Agriculturists who are not careful to avoid these influences, that is, those who permit their wheat to lie a length of time on the ground, and exposed to the dews and rains of the season and the heat of the sun, will find their grain sprouted, and even a comparatively small portion being thus affected, the quality of the grain is greatly deteriorated.

This evil, so greatly injurious to the interests of the community at large, as well as the individual producer, is one which it is comparatively easy to obviate, as will be seen by the following directions and reasons for these directions to prevent its occurrence.

Heat and moisture conjointly operating cause germination in grains entirely matured, and it is only required to prevent the concurrence of these causes and conditions to prevent the evil, and the means are suggested almost spontaneously to the intelligent farmer.

The time at which wheat is cut is a matter of importance for two reasons, the first is that an earlier or later cutting has an influence upon

the germinating tendency of the grain while necessarily remaining in the straw, and the second is that it also determines in a greater or less degree the falling out and loss of the grains in the various handlings to which wheat is subjected, until at last threshed out in such manner as to secure the product.

The most reliable information we have been able to obtain, leads us to adopt the opinion that grain cut a short time before complete maturity secures a better yield than when cutting is postponed until such perfect maturity has been reached, because, first, the grain is not so liable to shed out during the processes of harvesting, and because, second, the maturation of the grain goes on in the straw while this is drying, and is completed when desiccation has been completed, and it cannot germinate until this maturation has been perfected, at which time, if the cutting have been early, the straw will be sufficiently dry to permit its deposit in barns or stacks with safety. The grain may be cut with advantage to the quality as well as quantity of the product while the husk or chaff has still a number of green streaks or markings upon it, and this early cutting is a certain preventive of sprouting in the sheaf for some days at least after cutting, and should for the purpose of gaining time, and saving grain and making it of better quality even, always be performed.

After cutting, an immediate shocking up of the grain in such a manner as to favor desiccation and prevent the influence of moist heat should be practiced, and if properly performed, shocking will secure the grain against this evil for an indefinite period of time. The most economical modes of making shocks are perhaps the following:

CONICAL SHOCKS are made by placing one sheaf upright, arranging four others around this, in a slanting position, and then filling the intervals between these with four others, and then capping the whole by a large sheaf bound near the butt of the straw and spread equally over all. The nine shock sheaves should not exceed one foot in diameter each.

DIAMOND SHOCKS.-Take ten sheaves and place them in two parallel lines, join their heads and give them a slant.. Then join two other sheaves by a good band and place them on the others in such a manner that they may incline the heads towards the ground and spread over all the other. The shocks of this latter fashion are perhaps better able to résist the winds than the former, because they afford it a free passage through the space between the butts of the grain. If the grain is bound thus at the time of cutting it is necessary that it should not contain many weeds, otherwise it will be necessary to leave it in the swath for a few days.