Now we will suppose another man sets out with a determination to raise a crop of wheat and not make his land much the poorer for it. He believes in summer fallowing. He selects a piece of clover sod the second year after seeding. In the month of June, when the clover is in full bloom, he goes in with his plow and a good heavy team and turns under a good growth of clover about nine or ten inches deep. After this he keeps the top thoroughly pulverized to the depth of five or six inches. Using first a common drag or harrow to level the surface, after which a wheel cultivator, with the aid of the sun and rain, is all that will be necessary until it is time for seeding, which is about the ninth day of September, when he takes his drill and sows about one and one-half bushels to the acre. In the spring following, in the month of March, he sows on the same field about 15 pounds of clover seed and 100 pounds of plaster to the acre, and what is the result of his experience? As in the former case, let harvest-time answer. Well, harvest time comes, and if all things are favorable he finds that he has to harvest about 30, from that to 40, bushels to the acre. He also finds that he has his land thoroughly subdued with a good thick coat of clover on, and just as good, if not better, than it was when he commenced.

Now as to the kind of soil most adapted to raising wheat. Almost all varieties of soil will produce wheat. One thing is indispensable, and that is the presence of lime in the soil. But of all the varieties of soil that we have in this country the sandy loam seems to be the most preferable on account of the clods being so much easier pulverized than on the more heavy clay land. But a mixture of sand and clay is good if drained so that the surface water can run off, which is very necessary in all kinds of wheat land. In certain seasons of the year when the ground is frozen, and consequently the water is kept from soaking down in case of a thaw or heavy rain, wheat on our level lands suffers very materially from the effect of water, and in many instances, as was the case here last winter, the ice injures it badly.

As a general rule we will say, if a man wishes to buy a farm for a wheat farm, let him select one moderately rolling, with a mixture of clay and sandy loam, and then let him use plenty of teams, plenty of plow-points, plenty of clover seed and plaster, plenty of muscle, and plenty of good judgment, and we dare say he will have no trouble in raising good wheat.

NOXIOUS WEEDS.

BY D. L. CADY.

Nearly six months ago, at one of our club meetings, I was requested to write up something on "Injurious Weeds," with the hope that their increase would be checked. Not being much of a writer, it has been easily delayed until the present, when all of us are obliged to see another crop ripening, thereby making their increase seventy-five or a hundred fold. For while our crops, by thorough cultivation and diligent attention, increase, some twenty, some forty, and some perhaps sixty fold, these weeds of which I shall speak only require to be left alone to increase as above stated.

It has been stated in popular language any homely plant which is not noticeable for the beauty of its flowers, nor entitled to respect by a reputation for medicinal or other useful qualities, is designated by the epithet, weed. In an agricultural sense the term is used with a more restricted meaning, and is applied to those intrusive and unwelcome individuals that will persist in growing where they are not wanted; in short, the best definition that has yet been given of a weed is the old one, "a plant out of place." Most of the weeds troublesome in our agriculture are emigrants either from the old world or the warmer portions of this continent. The number of plants indigenous to our country that are entitled to rank as pernicious weeds is comparatively small. As the aborigines disappeared with the advance of the whites, so do the native plants generally yield their possession as cultivation extends, and the majority of the plants to be met with along the lanes and streets of villages and upon our farms are naturalized strangers, who appear to be quite at home, and are with difficulty to be persuaded or driven away. The labor of the agriculturist is a constant struggle. On the one hand, by presenting the most favorable conditions possible, he endeavors to make certain plants grow and produce to their utmost capacity, and on the other hand he has to prevent the growth of certain other plants that are ready to avail themselves of these favorable conditions. The farmer is interested in two points concerning weeds: how they get into his grounds, and how to get them out. A plant that spreads itself entirely by the seed must of course be differently treated from one that multiplies by the root also, whether we would propagate or destroy.

A sound constitution established by a proper regard to the constitution of health is not only the best preventive of the attacks of disease, but facilitates recovery if this be contracted. In like manner thorough culture and good farming ensures a sort of general exemption from the pestilence of weeds, and renders easy the subjection of those which happen to make their way into the ground. In agriculture, as in morals, idleness is the mother of vice, and if the ground be not occupied with something good, there will be a plenty of the opposite character to take its place. Possession is a great advantage in other matters than those of law, and a plant, whether useful or troublesome, when once fully established, is not disposed to yield without an argument.

A learned and sagacious observer of nature remarks that all the plants of a country, all those of any given place, are in a state of war in relation to each other. All are endowed with means more or less efficacious of reproduction and nutrition. Those which first establish themselves accidentally in a given locality have a tendency, from the mere fact that they already occupy the space, to exclude other species from it. The largest ones smother the smallest ones, the longest lived supersede those of shorter duration, the most fruitful gradually take possession of the space that would otherwise have been occupied by those which multiply more slowly. The farmer, therefore, should avail himself of this principle, and aid the more valuable in their struggle to choke down or expel the worthless. I need hardly say that weeds are introduced upon a farm in a variety of ways. Many have their seed sown with those of the crops. This is particularly the case where the seeds of the weeds and of the grain are so nearly alike in size that their separation is difficult. Proper care in procuring and preserving clean seed will save much future trouble and vexation. The observing farmer will notice the means which nature has provided for the scattering of seeds. By so doing he will find that the most pernicious seem to have been especially furnished with contrivances to facilitate their dispersion. The

clot burr, beggar's lice, and others, have barbs or hooks by which they adhere to clothing and the coats of animals, and are widely distributed by this agency. All of the thistles, and many others of the same family, have a tuft of fine, silky hair attached to the seed, or more properly fruit, by which they are buoyed upon the air and wafted from place to place. So numerous are the ways by which seeds are dispersed, that however careful a farmer may be upon his own premises, a slovenly and neglectful neighbor may cause him infinite. annoyance by furnishing his lands with an abundant supply.

In some European countries a farmer may sue his neighbor for neglecting to destroy the weeds upon his lands, or may employ people to do it at the delinquent's expense. And in our Compiled Laws, page 781, section 2376, the law is that all railroad companies doing business in this State shall, between the first day of July and the twentieth day of August, in each year, cause all noxious weeds growing on the lands occupied by them to be cut down and destroyed. And in case of neglect or refusal they shall be liable in a penalty of twenty-five dollars. I would have the same law reach every owner or occupant of lands in the State. Yet for all others, except railroad corporations, it is left for a two-thirds vote of the supervisors, except in the attention to Canada thistles, which is found in our road law.

The vitality of seeds is sometimes remarkable, as many farmers well know by using seeds that have been kept from the influence which causes germination two or three years, yet when surrounded by the necessary influences they will germinate and grow well. And this life in the seed we have known to endure through many years. Hence, an old field, after deep plowing, has often a fine crop of weeds from the seeds thus brought to the surface. It is not safe to wait until weeds have flowered, if you wish to exterminate them by cutting. Injurious weeds, if left till the seed has formed, should, after cutting, be carefully gathered and burned. Yet in all weeding it is of the greatest importance that it should be done before the plants have formed seed. The prolific character of some weeds is astonishing, many having a collection of a great many flowers, each of which produces one or more seeds; and as a single plant bears a great many heads, the number of seeds that a single individual is capable of supplying in a season amounts to several hundred. In weeds, evil should be emphatically nipped in the bud. And it has been said in this respect, the farmer should act in the spirit of the western savages, who kill the women and children of their enemies as a tolerably sure way of preventing the multiplication of warriors.

Annual weeds are much more readily kept in subjection than the perennial Especially those which multiply extensively by their underground stems or roots often become truly formidable. Of the perennial weeds, the Canada thistle I can say was once a terror to me, and I will mention a few others, and my way of combating with them. I have killed a number of patches of Canada thistles by applying salt to the plant. Not, as some say, after cutting them, but by applying any time before the seed is formed. Yet of course a young plant is killed quicker and with less salt than an older one, and so a small patch than a larger one, though I have killed them after they were in the blossom by simply sprinkling salt on them. Do not let stock of any kind have access to them after the salt is put on, for the reason that the stock will eat the salt and perhaps the plant, leaving just enough salt to act as a fertilizer instead of destroyer, and the plant starts up really with renewed vigor. Couch grass also propagates by the roots as well as the seed. I do not know that salt will have

the same effect upon it, but by preventing any stems or leaves the roots cannot long survive, as often repeated cuttings will at length exhaust the underground portion of its vitality. We will all do well to keep in mind two rules: Do not let weeds flower, and do not let them breathe,-for the leaves may be considered the lungs of the plant, and without the aid of these it cannot long maintain itself. So a plant, well known as Bouncing Bett, is a perennial, spreading by the root as well as seed, thereby becoming troublesome. Tares, red-root, or pigeon weed I have not seen in this section. Rag weed is on the increase. Prevent it from seeding. The clot bur, not much inclined to spread and not difficult to subdue, seen along roads and in some fields. It is the long cocoonshaped bur, covered with hooked prickles, and a great annoyance in the fleeces of sheep. The small bur, called beggar's lice, is a worthless and troublesome weed, though an annual and easily prevented from seeding. The stalk at the time of blossoming is very brittle, and by using a tough, straight stick, three or four feet long, knocking them right and left, a large patch may soon be disposed of. It is a well known and disagreeable weed on account of the barbed hooks of the seed which cause it to adhere in great numbers to clothing, and to sheep or cattle. Milk weed is another exceedingly pernicious weed, difficult to get rid of, spreading by the root as well as seed. Keep it cut close. The several kinds of dock are troublesome. They are all annual I believe, except the burdock, which is biennial. Everybody knows these homely weeds wherever they have gained admittance, especially the burdock. But everybody does not take care to keep them in due subjection.

It has been said that one of the earliest and surest evidences of slovenly negligence about a farm-yard is the prevalence of huge burdocks, and I will add on my own account (as usually what I have seen in print in relation to weeds and thistles is directed to the farmer), in our villages, where, if there is a difference, there is more of them than on the same number of acres in the country. And to me it seems that in our villages they certainly should not be allowed to grow and ripen. It is, to say the least, a poor example to those in the country.

Hoping that this subject will receive more attention and action, I remain the servant of the club and others.

AGRICULTURAL FAIRS.

BY MISS FLORA WOOD, READ BEFORE THE FARMERS' CLUB OCTOBER 17, 1874.

Agricultural societies are intended to promote the cause of agriculture and its allies throughout our land, principally by their annual exhibitions; to inspire in the hearts of our American people a greater love for rural life; to teach men and women not only to become better farmers and farmer's wives, but to extend their field of usefulness; or, in short, they are designed to perform a certain and not unimportant part in the education of the human family. What is education but a succession of influences brought to bear upon the hu

man mind? One writer has said "the lightest wave of influence, set in motion, extends and widens to the eternal shore." Then do not you, the managers of an agricultural society, occupy responsible positions, and are not you accountable, to a certain extent, for the influences surrounding those who attend your fair? We would press this question particularly concerning the young, and for them we will make our plea. They are to be the rulers of our country in a few years, and the present generation have to say what sort of men and women they shall be.

Since your annual exhibitions exert an influence upon them, in order that such may be more interesting and beneficial to them, we would ask that you remember them in your premium lists. Send out an annual premium list as a means of communicating with the citizens of your county or State, setting forth the object of such a meeting, and inviting them to participate in the exercises by way of exhibitions in one or many of the various classes, whether live stock, grain, fruit, mechanic, or household arts, at the same time offering them a suitable reward for all animals or articles of merit exhibited. Have you not a similar inducement to offer the children and youth?

An event occurred during the present autumn which suggested to us much. thought on this subject. A little girl ten years of age, having worked diligently, succeeded in finishing the second patchwork quilt in time for the fair, and exhibited them. One of them was labeled: "Cut and pieced by a girl under eleven years of age." We met the owner of the quilts the last afternoon and asked if she had received a premium. With a countenance bearing disappointment she replied, "No," and a person standing near remarked that "No premiums were offered for children's work." Sure enough, upon a more careful inspection of the premium list, we found that children's labor was not once recognized.

The following week this same girl was invited, through the premium list of another society, to exhibit her quilts, on which she received prizes; also a second prize upon "specimen of bread made by a girl under sixteen years of age," and went home jubilant over the three dollars received. Would a child having thus earned the money spend it foolishly? Would she not, rather, go home encouraged and stimulated to learn to do other kinds of work, and with the laudable wish to do well what she undertook.

Some persons say that the girls of to-day do not learn to sew. Suppose a premium of a dollar, or more or less, were offered for the best specimen of plain sewing, with second and third prizes to correspond-a similar purse to girls under sixteen years.

Not only would the girls be interested in competing for the premiums already mentioned, but they would, by suitable encouragement, learn to make butter, and to perform various other kinds of household labor; to do fancy work, the little articles, both useful and ornamental, which help to make a home attractive, to raise flowers, which would afford them a union of work and recreation. We believe that no one can love flowers without being benefited by them; they exert a benign and refining influence upon mankind. For the boys, suppose premiums were offered for vegetables and fruits cared for by themselves, for various kinds of poultry which they had reared, and with these, specimens of coops, thus cultivating their mechanical genius. In some societies premiums are offered to boys for the training of steers and colts.

Without enumerating farther, we would say in conclusion, that we believe agricultural fairs may be made very useful and interesting to the children.