Injury of Wheat.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 7, 20 August 1874, Page 1 (Supplement)

Injury of Wheat.

An important inquiry has been made whether machine-thrashed wheat is not injured for seed. It is stoutly claimed by some farmers that it is so injured. An instance is given of the plumpest wheat that could be found being examined under the microscope, and the coating was seen to be full of cracks and seams and the germ broken in several places. It is maintained now that as we understood why the yield of wheat has diminished so much since the time powerthreshers were introduced, and this even on new and rich land, such as formerly yielded heavy crops. Seed wheat is imported frequently from Europe, and on trial it proves ail that it was recommended, but after its cultivation has begun and thrashing is done by the machine it becomes no better than our own varieties. The Odessa wheat is mentioned as especially in proof for the reason that it comes from a country in, which threshers are seldom used. This, too, explains why wheat seems to turn to chess and why so much is smutty. This is a subject worthy of the. most careful investigation; and should it be found that the machine does injure wheat for seed it should be ascertained, and then, next, whether threshing by the flail and even by horses does not injure it also. When it is considered that our farming is constantly growing better, that land is ploughed deeper, and that manure is saved more carefully, it is worth while to ascertain why the wheat crop is constantly growing less per acre. Still it would seem that if the fault lies in the machine it would have been discovered; but it is proper and easy to have a demonstration