Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 2, 1802).djvu/83

65&#93; COR fining oui ''•!;.• to su-h . iLl v- to the dif- ferent • l but animadvert upon the iajudid .us mi u ti< ■ of cutting corn iu coid autum ' ripe ; .is i • bas d, that, I I ft st m lingi the will continue to Jill, and b< - come heavier, even during the autumnal frosts. Were tbw Lit- ter method adopted, a much greattei proportion of flour might be pro- ■d ; and the grain would nei- ther shrink, nor shrivel, in barns or granaries: it might, at the same time, be prevented from ro on account of its Immaturity, and the softness or moisture which are the necessary consequence. Notwithstanding the great care and attention which the husband- man may bestow on the cultiva- tion of corn, his expectations of a plentiful harvest are often frus- trated by a variety of disorders, and accidents, to which corn is peculiarly liable. The first and most formidable is the smut, which is caused by vermin breeding in the grain, and thus destroying its substance. — (bee vol. i. p. 170and 1/1). Their propagation, beside other causes, is evidently facilitated by laying on the soil too large a quant 1 ty of crude dung; which, becoming mouldy, promotes the generation of the smut-anim?ls. Various experiments have been accordingly tried, to eradicate this zoxious distemper, with different degrees of success; a few of which, we shall enumerate. — In the greater part of the counties of Devou and Cornwall, on the evening before the wheat is intended to be sown, it is laid on the floor in a heap, on v.idch is poured a solution of lime, HO. V. VOL, II. COR [ 65 slacked with boilin and reduced to feme of cpeara: both are then' mixed, and 1. it together till mornin •;, by which th ■ wh tat is drj ,aud lit to be sown. In other parts of the! same coun- ties ' 1 cither in fresh or salt water, for 12, IS, or 2 t hours, when it is put to drain for an hour or two, alter which, powdered lime is sifted over it, the whole being well mixed with a shovel : it is then thrown toge- ther in a heap, to dry previously to its being sown. Few farmers. however, soak it in brine, and a still smaller number of them, sub- stitute animal urine, soap-boiler's lye, &c. In several other coun- ties, there prevails a general prac- tice of employing brine, strong enough to bear an egg, tc which powdered lime is added, till it ac- quires an unctuous consistence. This composition is mixed with the wheat, the evening before it is com- mitted to the ground.- In York- shire, and several of the adjoining counties, arsenic is substituted for salt : some farmers render the so- lution thicker, by the addition of lime, while others either sprinkle the wheat with it, or steep and wash the former, then sift lime over it, and mix them as before. Another method is, to put JO gallons of water into a tub, at the bottom of which is a hole provided with a staff and tap hose, as in brewing ; to this 'a to be added half a hundred Aveight of lime- stone, and the whole well stirred for half an hour, when it is suf- fered to stand about 30 hours. It should then be drawn off into an- o her tub, and three pecks (42lbs.) of salt added, which, when dis- solved, will make a strong pickle, F fit