That Old Seven-Headed Wheat.
We are sending you some heads of grain which was grown in this county.
The land was planted with an imported Australian wheat, which we believe
the smaller heads to be, but the wheat is about evenly mired with grain
like the large heads, which we think to be a species of barley.
The grain is an old, coarse, bearded wheat which is continually
appearing in fields of ordinary grain and naturally excites interest
among all to whom the variety is a novelty. It is the old seven-headed
Egyptian wheat, which has never proved of any cultural value, because
its manifolding of the head is of no advantage. It is better to have a
straight well-filled head than to have a branching head of this kind.
This matter has been fully demonstrated by experience during the last
thirty or forty years, not only in this State, but in other States, for
the variety has a way of getting around the world, and seed has
sometimes been sold at exorbitant prices to people who have been
persuaded that it is of particular value.
Speltz.
I have heard of a Russian grain called "Speltz" or "Emmer." Can I raise
it successfully and, if so, what is the very best time of year to sow
some for the best crop obtainable? Can it be sown in the fall, say
November? Would springtime be a better time to sow it on soil that is
very soft in winter?
If your land yields good crops of wheat or barley or oats, you have
little to expect from speltz or emmer.
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