f straw; and of a crop of barley,
40 bushels per acre, 2,080 lbs. grain, and 2,500 lbs. of straw, as
follows:

----------------+----------------+----------------+------------------
| In Grain. | In Straw. | In Total Produce.
+-------+--------+-------+--------+----------+-------
| Wheat | Barley | Wheat | Barley | Wheat | Barley
| lbs. | lbs. | lbs. | lbs. | lbs. | lbs.
Nitrogen | 32. | 33. | 13. | 12. | 45. | 45.
Phosphoric acid | 16. | 17. | 7. | 5. | 23. | 22.
Potash | 9.5 | 11.5 | 20.5 | 18.5 | 30. | 30.
Lime | 1. | 1.5 | 9. | 10.5 | 10. | 12.
Magnesia | 3.5 | 4. | 3. | 2.5 | 6.5 | 6.5
Silica | 0.5 | 12. | 99.5 | 63. | 100. | 75.
----------------+-------+--------+-------+--------+----------+-------

A few years ago, when the midge destroyed our wheat, many farmers in
Western New York raised "winter barley," instead of "winter wheat," and
I have seen remarkably heavy crops of this winter barley. It is not now
grown with us. The maltsters would not pay as much for it as for spring
barley, and as the midge troubles us less, our farmers are raising
winter wheat again.

Where, as with us, we raise winter wheat and spring barley, the
difference between the two crops, taking the above estimate of yield and
proportion of grain to straw, would be:

1st. Almost identical composition in regard to nitrogen, phosphoric
acid, potash, lime, and magnesia; but as it has more straw, the
wheat-crop removes a larger amount of silica than barley.

2d. The greatest difference is in the length of time the two crops are
in the ground. We sow our winter wheat the last of August, or the first
and second week in September. Before winter sets in, the wheat-plant
often throws out a bunch of roots a foot in length. During the winter,
though the thermometer goes down frequently to zero, and sometimes
10deg. to 15deg. below zero, yet if the land is well covered with snow,
it is not improbable that the roots continue to absorb more or less food
from the ground, and store it up for future use. In the spring, the
wheat commences to grow before we can get the barley into the ground,
though not to any considerable extent. I have several times sown barley
as soon as the surface-soil was thawed o