46

UPPER CANADA.

informed me that all his ideas respecting the nature of thesoils best suited for wheat were completely changed sincehe came to Canada. Wheat, he said, was not so exhaust-ing a crop in Canada as in Scotland, as it could be so easilyraised on very light soils; and farther, he maintained thatfarm-yard manure had not so great au effect in increasingthe yield of wheat as'it had at home. For this reason, manyfarmers would not put themselves to the trouble of driving itout, as the clover sod seemed perfectly sufficient for raising agood crop. It would appear that the decaying matter whichthe clover roots and herbage yield is best adapted in thisclimate for supplying the wheat plants with the food that theyrequire from the soil. But in my opinion the practice ofsowing wheat early in America has also the effect of renderingless manure necessary.

Nor do I think that the explanation of the matter is atall difficult, if we bear in mind the peculiarities of the climateof the two countries. In the first place, early sowing inAmerica is rendered necessary in consequence of the severityof the winters, for the plants must be well rooted before thefrosts set in. In Scotland, wheat sowing is carried onthroughout the winter when it is mild, and if the crop hasbeen too early sown on light land, it becomes too thick,which is not desirable, as it is well known that thick wheatusually dwindles away during our long and cold springs, andyields a small return.

In Canada, on the other hand, the comparatively hightemperature of the autumns, pushes forward the wheatplants and produces a thick carpet of vegetation, yet vegeta-tion is entirely suspended during the winter. The extragrowth which the wheat plant thereby obtains in the longautumns of Canada is kept in reserve, in the shape of sap-stored roots and leaves, until the spring or rather the sum-mer, for in this Siberian climate there is no spring. Withincertain limits, then, the more autumn growth that the wheatgets in Canada, the less need has it of mauure in the earlysummer. In Scotland, we see the application of a similarprinciple in the growth of turnip seed. Bulbs of late summerand autumn growth are first got, and then the nourishment