no- &
INDIANA  FARMER
Devoted to Agriculture, Horticulttire, Mechanics and the  "Useful Arts.
D. P. Holloway, W. T. Dennis,!
B. T. Reed.—Editors.        |
RICHMOND, JAN. 15, 1855.
jllolloway & Co.,
1    Vol. IV...
Publishtrs.
..So, 0.
«•*. * Pasturing Wheat.
fH     It is often a subject of discussion among far-
* mers whether wheat is injured by allowing stock
to run on it during the fall and spring, and
though we have had but little experience in the
matter, we are willing to make it the subject of a
few; remarks.
•i    One of the  principal arguments in  favor of
*J early sown wheat is, that the blades form a
H green turf over the ground which very much
s ^prevents the action of the extreme cold of winter
Von the roots, and thus preserves the plants from
ibeing winter killed.    This is especially the  case
£-<in very rich or highly manured ground.    If there
is any thing in this argument, and we rather in-
^cline to the affirmative, it certainly cannot be
-) very good policy to pasture off this green turf,
tin the fall; .and .thus leave the ground  bare
■^through the winter.   If, however, the winter
—jshould prove uncommonly mild, which no one
. can  foretell, a very  luxuriant piece of wheat
might be pastured in the fall without injury.—
Calves are the only kind of stock that ought ever to be allowed on a wheat field in the fall, or
'-'•perhaps at any other time, as much injury would
nbe done by larger animals tramping and cutting
- lip the plants. \
With regard to spring pasturing the case is
*£ little different. There is now no danger of the
**"*winter-kill, and sometimes a piece of wheat, on
Jvery rich ground, grows so vigorously that it
iwould lodge, before it was ready (or the reaper,
Pand perhaps before the grain was properly matured, and thus a considerable loss would be occasioned. In such a case we are unable to see
why a little pasturing might not be followed with
(good results. The growth would be retarded,
.and the grain prevented from falling. A very
Huxuriant and forward growth of wheat invaria-
Ibly makes a large yield of straw, while a field
I much less promising in the spring, sometimes
produces much more grain to the acre. Even
the size of the heads are not always proportioned
|to the length of the straw. Nor are we aware
• that the ripening would be retarded by a little
pasturing; perhaps the only effect being a reduction in the amount of straw. We have known
instances in which good seemed to have been
done hy a little pasturing, hut those which have
***--''
I
proved greatly injurious to crops, we have good
reason to believe have been far the most numerous. Not a hoof should be allowed on a wheat
field in the spring until the ground is perfectly
settled, as the injury done by tramping would
quickly overbalance any good that might otherwise follow.
Many who hold to the transmutation theory
contend that pasturing wheat turns it to cheat,
but this question we are quite willing to leave in
other and more able hands, after simply remarking that, in our opinion, every seed produces its
'own kind,' and that only.
Hedge Setting in Autumn.
A few days since we saw in this vicinity a
hedge of Osage Orange which had evidently
been planted out the past autumn. The plants
very small, and were already considerably heaved up with the frost, though we have as yet had
but little freezing and thawing. Besides they
were badly tramped about with stock, some of
them missing, and many others out of their places. Altogether we should think, that by spring
the young hedge would be in decidedly a bad
condition, and the chances are that it will never
make a substantial fence.
Now we will guess that the owner, though we
know him not, does not take an agricultural paper,-for if he did, he would certainly have known
better than to plant out a hedge in the fall. It
answers very well to plant small trees of several
years' growth in the fall, but not to set a hedge-
especially with plants which havo come from the
seed the previous spring, as in the case above.—•
They are sure to be thrown out by the heaving
of the frost. '
By tho way, this case a little illustrated the position we have assumed on hedging with the
Osage Orange. Induced by the representations
of nurserymen, agricultural editors, and others,
who contend that tbe Madura is the ne plus ultra '
of hedge plants, and that it makes decidedly the
cheapest, most beautiful and most economical
fence that can be made, many, very many we
fear, enter into the business, and set out hedges,
in some instances extensively, who have very little knowledge about the matter, and if they had,
would not bestow the necessary care and labor
to ensure a good hedge in any reasonable length