1857 Original ear..... 1858 Finest ear 1859 Finest ear 1860 Ears imperfect from wet season 1861 Finest ear 61 84 Thus, by means of repeated selection alone, the le has been doubled, their contents nearly trebled, an power of the seed increased fivefold. The following table gives similar increased con tained in three other varieties of wheat : It was supposed by ancient writers that the power fered in relation to their positions in the ear. Thi investigated in 1858, by planting the grains of ten showing their several positions in the ear. The only among most conflicting ones, was that the smallest gi remote from the center of growth, exhibited through pectedly, a vigor equal to that of the largest; and th worst grains, in one or two instances, did not by an far short of the good ones as had been expected. Freq also been made of the comparative power of large an and thin grains, and, in the case of oats, which produc attached to a large one, trials as to their respective po form results, viz., that, in good grains of the same p mere size nor situation in the ear supplies any indica perior grain. Very close observation during many years led to that the variations in the cereals which Nature pres not only hereditary, but that they proceed upon a 1 and from them has been educed the following law of cereals : 1. Every fully-developed plant, whether of wheat, presents an ear superior in productive power to any of t plant. 2. Every such plant contains one grain which, upo more productive than any other. 3. The best grain in a given plant is found in its bes superior degrees to its progeny. 5. By repeated careful selection the superiority is accur 6. The improvement, which is at first rapid, gradually, series of years, is diminished in amount, and eventually rested that practically a limit to improvement in the desi is reached. 7. By still continuing to select, the improvement is and practically a fixed type is the result. THIN SEEDING WITH SELECTION.-Let us discuss what by a combination of thin seeding with selection. In order we must look at the present modes of cultivating the cer fining ourselves for the moment to wheat alone, we know two to five bushels per acre are sown. The bushel of ordi contains 700,000 grains and more, and, taking two bushels the quantity sown, we have about 1,500,000 grains per ac Hallett has counted at harvest the number of ears upon a an acre of wheat (drilled 20th of November with one and a of seed per acre, and which proved an exceptionally hea fifty-six bushels per acre), and the number of ears found v per acre, or not so many ears as the grains sown. Here it from the number of grains sown, that either the natural po ering could not have been exercised, or that the greater seed must have been sown uselessly. Doubtless some of did produce more than one ear, but this only makes the worse for the remainder. Not only was the number of that of the grains sown, but each ear was but the stunted a struggle for existence. A high authority has said that, yard of thickly-sown wheat be counted in spring, and th number of ears then recorded, it would be found that nine of them would be found missing at harvest. Beyond all thickly-sown wheat, very many of what appear as stems in die away before harvest, and have thus grown not only us in the struggle for existence have starved and stunted those mately came to ears. In ordinary English crops the number of ears produc being taken as about 1,000,000, and the crop as 34 bushel at 700,000 grains per bushel, 23,800,000 grains per acre, or per ear of only 23 to 24 grains; and, if more than 1,000,0 acre be claimed, it must be at the expense of their contents. perial pints (= 6.1 American measure) of wheat per acre September, 12 inches x 12 inches, gave 1,001,880 ears per acr ears in excess of those produced on the other side of the 1 14 bushel, or more than thirteen times the seed. Again (American measure) of wheat planted 12 inches x 12 inch ear; 20 cars per 1000, at 40 grains only per ear, : bushels per acre. All the conditions of time and spa we can obtain from a single parent-grain as many rily obtained from twenty grains, with this most imp viz. these ears being produced from plants which nearly so) perfect development of their growth, c double the common number of grains, and their largely increased by the continued annual selection o ous parent-grains. These small quantities may be scale in the following manner: The object is to insu ness and regularity of plant, with uniformity of depth may be obtained by the drill, as may the former also following plan: The seed-cups ordinarily used in d so large that they deliver in bunches of grains, cons seven, which fall together within a very small area, fi produce will be obtained than if it had been occup grain. The additional grains are thus not only wast tively injurious. By using seed-cups which are only contain one grain at a time, a stream of single grains i the desired object, viz., the depositing of grains sing tained. The intervals in the rows will not be exact they will be sufficiently so for all practical purposes. these intervals will, of course, depend on the speed seed-barrel revolves, which can be regulated at will b gear which drives it. By this mode of drilling, the ad "broad-cast" system is obtained (equal distribution), a be close together, and the grains as thin in the rows as The crop should be hoed, as soon and as frequen with a horse-hoe. If the seed has been sown early, done in the autumn, as it causes the plants to tiller a whole ground before winter sets in. It is essential to thin seeding to keep the land perfectly free from wee growth of the crop. Now, what are the advantages of Major Hallett's bushel of pedigree wheat (original red) produced from planted 12 inches x 12 inches, contains about 460,000 g bushel of ordinary wheat contains 700,000 or more grain in two crops consisting of exactly the same number of g from thin seeding would be upward of 70 bushels again per acre. Again, a bushel of pedigree barley, produced planted singly, contains 390,400 grains; while a bushel barley contains upward of 550,000, or, in two crops of e of grains, the one would be 55 bushels, the other 39 bush fifty per cent. The saving of seed from such a practice is immense. area of the United States is not less than 40,000,000 a average seeding is very much higher than two bushels per a these figures be taken as a basis, we shall not err on the To plant grain at the rate of one berry to each square fo equal to 43,560 grains per acre of 4,840 square yards, or 1 English quarts. This shows that the farmers of the U have it in their power to reduce their consumption of seed 80,000,000 bushels to 2,500,000. Good seed-wheat ought be worth a dollar a bushel out West, and is worth very m the East; but on this showing we have a possible saving of in seed only for the wheat-crop alone. One dollar and a h of the population is worth attention. ones. The roots of wheat sown in August become by the mid ber so developed as to render it quite safe from lifting b and attacks of wire-worm would be almost unknown. If v were all drilled by the 10th of September, the entire fall the farmer's disposal for clearing the land and sowing s early. The crop could not become winter-proud, or be summer rains. The harvest would be from two to three w The harvest being over at least a fortnight earlier, would be advantage in clearing the land. Seasons are frequently m able to late-sown cereals, but they are scarcely ever so to On well-farmed lands, on the common practice, contents of the wheat-ears must be from 20 to 30. Were Major Hallett's system, the average contents would be, least, from 40 to 60, and far more likely from 60 to 90 such a system so small an ear as one of 40 grains is quit tion. And this increase of the contents of the ears would without any diminution of their number; the crop, in fac doubled where now fairly good farming yields 30 bushels These promises are not illusions, since a good many men. countries, and in the United States also, have accompl results in agriculture by the application of commonly acce ples of science. Major Hallett has himself grown 216 b three acres with one bushel of seed, or 72 bushels to the acr a whole field 82 bushels of barley, weighing 57 pounds to from only two gallons of seed per acre. In reference to the point of time of sowing, it must mind that the rate of growth for wheat during the differ in England is as follows: October; in the next ten days a growth equal to that November; and, in the last five days of September, to that of the first twenty days of December; or, wheat up on September 1st has a double autumn for winter sets in; and, indeed, the case is in reality mu this, for, if winter were to set in early, there would be at the end of October little or no autumn growth abov importance of every day (especially the early days growth can not be overrated. To illustrate this, Mi two very accurate drawings, which her father pro They were taken on December 30th, of two plants from a single grain, one of which was up on Sept other on September 19th, and had thus lost the grow ing come up) of the first nineteen days of Septembe ment of the earlier being double that of the later. clearly point to the necessity of sowing in August. in shedding the grain in August, seems to indicate it time, or rather as a not unfit time, or the species wou petuated. Within the present century it was the cu English farmers to go to wheat-sowing whenever it harvest. In determining the space to be assigned to each g deal with seed the result of continued selection, for the v the different grains of ordinary wheat are so very u would be impossible to fix upon any uniform distance. grains of wheat in August, singly and twelve inches ap all the requisite conditions of time and space seem to be as will be seen further on. Wheat has been planted S 9 inches 9 inches, and produced at the rate of 108 bus It must be borne in mind at all times that it is a matte study and judgment to correctly apportion the quantity time of sowing, and to all the existing surrounding circu large quantity of seed sown early is just as much opposed a small quantity of seed sown late, and in fact more so, case it will become winter-proud and can not succeed, w son may be such as to enable the last to do so. As a g the drilling of wheat on a large scale might be conducted end of August and the 10th of September, at the rate of gallons per acre; for each week later to the end of Septem extra. When observing the unimpeded growth of cer seen to exist a striking variation in their modes of growth of production. The superiority of some individuals over marked in various ways as to lead irresistibly to the con |