EXPORT TO FOREIGN PORTS, FROM SEPTEMBER 1, 1859, TO AUGUST 31, 1850. CROP OF SEA ISLAND COTTON.-The crop of this staple the past year (included in the general statement) was as follows:-Florida, 14,955 bales; Georgia, 18,657; and South Carolina, 18,801-total, 52,413, against 47,592 in 1858-9; 40,566 in 1857-8; 45,314 in 1856-7: 44,512 in 1855-6; 40,841 in 1854-5; and 39,686 in 1853-4. CONSUMPTION. Total crop of the United States, as before stated.. In the Northern ports..... Makes a supply of...... Deduct therefrom the export to foreign ports 3,774,178 917 185,522 978,043 Taken for home use in Virginia, and south and west of Virginia.............. Total consumed in the U. S. (including burnt at the ports,) 1859-60. 1858-9.bales 760,218 167,433 927,651 1852-3.bales 1857-8.. North of Else- 452,185 143,377 595,562 1851-2...... 650,393 153,332 803,725 588,322 111,281 699,603 386,429 99,185 483,614 476,486 137,012 613,498 504,143 138,342 642,485 523,892 92,152 616,044 1850-1...... 1849-50..... 1854-5..... 571,117 135,295 706,412 1848-9.. 1853-4...... 592,284 144,952 737,236 | 1847-8...... WHEAT: ITS HISTORY AND ITS CULTURE. The following account of one of the most useful crops of this country, and particularly of the great industrial West, is well worth preserving in the pages of a work like the Merchants' Magazine, dedicated, as it is, to commerce in all its relations to Agriculture and that other germain sister Manufacture. We therefore copy from the Prairie Farmer a brief history of its past and present culture : There are five kinds of grain upon which mankind principally subsist-wheat, rye, Indian corn, rice, and oats. Wheat grows in a great variety of climates. The isothermal curve of 57° 2' appears to be its utmost boundary in North America, though in Europe it grows at Drontheim in Norway, in 65° north, a mean temperature of 40° in summer. It is not grown nearer the equator than within 20°. In 1622, wheat was introduced and sown on the Elizabeth Island, Massachusetts. In 1611, it was sown in Virginia, and in 1648 hundreds of acres of it were grown in that colony, though soon afterwards tobacco claimed precedence, and wheat became neglected. It was in 1718 that it was first grown in the Mississippi Valley, but it did not succeed well, owing to the peculiar character of the soil, growing too much to straw, and producing but little grain; however, in 1746, in consequence of a better culture perhaps, it was exported from the Wabash Valley to New Orleans. During the last fifteen years the gain in the production of this crop in the United States has been over sixteen million bushels, while at the same time it has decreased in New England over one million bushels. It is estimated that one bushel of seed is used to every ten produced, and that three bushels are used annually by every individual of the population. There are eleven species or sub-species named by botanists, but it is more than probable that some of them are mere varieties. In this country two only— winter and spring wheats-are generally grown. The grain of spring wheat is not usually as large as that of winter wheat, but it contains more gluten, and is preferred by many, who think it makes a more palatable bread. It is unpopular except where it is impracticable to grow the winter species. Sir JOHN SINCLAIR tells a story, the correctness of which we doubt somewhat, as we do some other things which he has written, that the Scotch farmers were in the habit of sowing fall wheat in March, and that it ripened as well as fall sown wheat. The experiment has not yet been tried in this country, to our knowledge, but we should not expect much from the trial. Spring wheat should be sown as early as possible, the soil may be lighter than that necessary for winter wheat, but to insure a good crop it must be in good condition as to fertility. Rolling the land after sowing, especially if the soil is light, is highly important. From one-anda-half to two bushels is the quantity of seed per acre. Grass seeds generally do well with spring wheat, and they should seldom be omitted. The varieties of wheat are very numerous, differing in appearance, in constituent qualities, in adaptation to soil and climate, in their power to resist disease and insects, and in productiveness. Under our present system of culture here, is one fact of general application regarding wheat, which is, that a given variety, though it succeeds better than any other when first introduced, by-and-by begins gradually to deteriorate in the qualities which at first recommended it. We are not prepared to say that this is owing to bad management or improper culture altogether-we should not like to make this accusation against our best farmers. They will agree with us, however, as to the fact alluded to. That we sow a great deal of imperfect seed, which in turn produces imperfect grain, or grain lacking a strong vitality and vigor, and which in its turn again produces weak and feeble plants, bearing a diminished product, no observant farmer doubts. Yet, is this cause alone sufficient to account for the deterioration spoken of? We are not able to determine this question. Gen. HARMON, of New York, one of the best, most extensive, and observant wheat growers in the country, gave the following as the best varieties of wheat in the United States : 1. White Flint, probably introduced from the Black Sea into New Jersey in 1814. Its peculiarities are strong straw, solid grain, with thin bran; the chaff adheres to the grain so that it does not readily shell out; is little affected by frost; has withstood the Hessian fly better than any other now cultivated. Its usual yield is from twenty to twenty-five bushels per acre. 2. Improved White Flint. It is superior to the last in the size of the berry, thinness of the bran, and the weight per bushel. 3. White Province, introduced from France. It grows rapidly, yielding much straw; ripens four or five days earlier than the common varieties; withstands cold, and is not injured by insects, but the straw is soft and apt to fall down. It is bald; berry very large and white, yielding flour well and of good quality. 4. Old Red Chaff. This originated in Southern Pennsylvania. It is a bald wheat, with a red chaff, but a white grain, and in other respects is similar to the last. On new oak lands it succeeds admirably, when the season is just right, but on old lands it is subject to rust, mildew, insects, and winter killing. 5. Kentucky White Bearded, (Hutchison White Flint, Canada Flint,) a white chaff; bearded wheat, which endures dry weather remarkably. 6. Indiana Wheat, originated in Indiana; white chaff, bald wheat, peculiarly adapted to strong soils. 7. Velvet Beard or Crete Wheat, introduced from England twenty-five years ago; a red chaff; bearded, large berried wheat. It is very hardy, not apt to be thrown out by frost nor injured by insects. 8. Wheatland Red, originated from the Virginia May, by Gen. HARMON; a red chaff, bald wheat, and not apt to rust. 9. Golden Drop, an English variety. 10. Mediterranean, introduced from the south of Europe in 1829. It is a light chaff, bearded; berry red and long, bran thick, and flour inferior, but it is not injured by insects, and ripens early. (Since Gen. HARMON wrote this, a great improvement in grinding this wheat has been accomplished, and it bears a better character for bread, and is in better repute in market. 11. Blue Stem, cultivated in Virginia about sixty years since, but now generally grown in the Northern States. Formerly it was a red wheat, but now it is changed to a beautiful white. It is very productive. This list might be much extended, but it would be of no practical utility. SPRENGAL analyzed 100,000 parts of dry wheat and obtained the following inorganic constituents: Silica.... Grain. Straw. 225 20 Sulphuric acid... 240 29 Phosphoric acid.. 96 240 Chlorine 690 32 26 90 1,777 3,518 400 2,870 The organic portion of wheat consists of albumen, gluten, starch, more than half, gum, dextrine, sugar, &c. The time of cutting affects the weight of produce as well as the quantity of organic matter, and the relative proportions of flour and bran. JOHNSTON gives some experiments in cutting with the following results. That cut twenty days before ripe gave 160 pounds of grain; that cut ten days before gave 220 pounds; that fully ripe 209 pounds. The yield of flour and brand were the same in proportion-in favor of the portion cut ten days before ripe. The best wheat soils are those which contain a good proportion of clay with lime and potash. BOUSSINGAULT estimates "rich wheat land" to contain 75 per cent of clay, 10 of sand, 4 of lime, and 11 of humus; but we do not deem it at all necessary for the production of the largest crops that the soil shall consist of three fourths clay-not at all. Nor is 4 per cent of lime essential. In Great Britain, good crops of wheat are taken from very sandy soils, where the alternating system is employed. By adopting a good system of rotation, with turnips and clover, and sheep, we can produce wheat on any arable soil. As a scourging crop, wheat must be placed at the head of the lists of grains. According to BOUSSINGAULT, a medium crop takes from one acre of ground, in grain and straw 17 pounds phosphoric acid, 2 pounds sulphuric acid, 1 of chlo rine, 16 pounds of lime, 13 pounds magnesia, 24 pounds potash and soda, 121 pounds silica-all in the straw, and 2 pounds oxides of iron and alumina. It is therefore found impolitic, and indeed impracticable, to grow this grain for several years in succession. Wheat, more than any other grain crop except barley, requires a dry soil. It cannot endure an excess of water either in the soil or sub-soil. It is water which by freezing and thawing causes the much complained of winter killing, rusting, &c. Wheat was never known to winter kill on a dry soil, and seldom to rust. A dry soil, therefore, is the first requisition in growing wheat with profit. Next in importance is good condition. No farmer-and especially no poor farmercan afford to raise a poor crop of wheat. Three poor crops of wheat in succession-where this grain is made almost the sole dependence as it is in the West -will cripple his energies for twice that number of years to follow. The land should not only be well cultivated, but should be supplied with all the elements taken up by the crop as indicated by the above analysis. Wheat may be safely and profitably grown after corn, barley, or oats, providing the land is in good condition; otherwise it is a bad practice under any circumstances. Taking a series of years into the account, estimating the influence of seasons and the depredations of insects, there is no better method of growing wheat than the old fallow system affords. If there is more labor, there is also less hazard or risk. If there is a loss of the use of the land during one summer crop, there is generally a gain in the amount of crop sufficient to make it up. This system admits of thoroughly working the land which the plan of sowing after another crop will not in every case allow, and this consideration is one of the highest importance. What cannot be done in the best manner, had better be let alone altogether. This is the first rule in arable farming. The waste of seed is very great in our common broadcast way of seeding. STEPHENS made the following calculation :-Wheat at 63 pounds to the bushel gives 87 of its seeds to the drachm; or 701,268 apothecaries' weight, or 865,170 in avoirdupois weight. Now three bushels of seed are sown to the acre, or 2,595,510 grains of wheat. Suppose that each grain produces one stem, and every stem bears an ear containing the common number of 32 grains, the produce of an acre would be 96 bushels; but the heaviest crop in Scotland rarely exceeds 64 bushels to the acre, or 33 per cent of the seed is lost in the best crops, and 58 per cent in an ordinary one of 40 bushels. This is a subject of great maguitude, although we seldom sow more than a bushel and a half or two bushels of 68 pounds to the acre. The loss of seed is attributable to two causes; imperfect grain and covering too deeply. We are too careless in the preparation of seed for the field. The small light grains should all be taken out, and this may be done to great perfection with the "eagle fan," now manufactured by JARVIS & Co. at Laporte, Indiana. Then we sow in a very inconsiderate manner-dashing the seed on the ground so rough and uneven that it is with difficulty he who casts the grain keeps a straight course or an even step across the field. In no case should wheat be buried deeper than two inches. In order to germinate freely a seed must have air, warmth, and moisture. If it is covered to deeply it will not sprout for want of air and heat. Old wheat is better for sowing than new. It is less affected by bad weather and insects, and the stalks are more numerous and vigorous. The proper way to keep old wheat for seed, is not to thrash it and let it remain exposed to air in the bin, but put upon some safe scaffold let it remain unthreshed until seeding time arrives. Then let the threshing he done by horses. In judging of seed the dimpled end should be distinctly marked, and the point from which the roots protrude must be somewhat prominent as if it was swollen. THE PRODUCTIONS OF IOWA FOR 1860. We commend the following letter, says the New York Tribune, to the particular attention of farmers and all dealers in farm produce. The writer is a gentleman of intelligence, whose position gives him rare opportunities of obtaining information:— SIR: I have just returned from an agricultural trip through the northeastern counties of this State, which enables me to give a pretty accurate estimate of the yield of wheat and corn in that section of Iowa. From a partial examination and inquiry in regard to the yield in the middle, southern, and western portions, I think I am enabled to form a pretty correct estimate of the average yield there, also. Owing to more frequent and copious showers, as well as the better adaptation of the soil for wheat, the average yield in the northeast is fully equal to twenty bushels to the acre. But in the middle, western, and southern counties, it is not over from 12 to 15 bushels per acre. Much of the wheat, all over the State, was sown in March, and generally not later than the first week in April. It was sown on a very dry soil, little or no rain or snow having fallen during the previous eight months, and it was not until a month at least, on the ave rage, after the grain had been put in, that sufficient rain fell to moisten the earth. Much of the wheat was above the surface at that time, and at least half had germinated after the first rain. Hence it was very irregular, and it was feared for some time that not more than half a crop would be gathered. Some fields all over the State have been seriously affected by rust and the chinch bug, but not so much as to prevent a yield of 16 bushels per acre as the average of the State. This is double the yield of last year, and nearly four times that of the year before. The quality of the berry is at least 25 per cent better than it has been for years. I subjoin the breadth of land occupied by wheat for four years with the gross production of each of those years, the first two from official returns, the last two upon estimates based upon as good authority as can be obtained. I esteem the estimate below rather than above a fair computation, at least I am satisfied that it is not extravagant. Twenty-five per cent only on the two previous years, has been added for the breadth of land occupied by wheat in 1859 and 1860 :— From present appearances the average yield of corn for 1860 will exceed that of any year since the settlement of the State. Unless we have an early September frost, as was the case last year, the northern half of our State will exhibit as good, if not a larger yield, than the middle and southern counties. From the best information I can obtain, in addition to my own extensive examination of fields, I am safe in placing the probable average yield at 45 bushels per acre. In many sections of the State it will be from 60 to 70 bushels, while there are numerous fields which will not turn out less than 100 bushels per acre. I subjoin the production of corn for four years past, but I have only placed the increased breadth of land for 1859 and 1860 at one-fourth that of wheat : |