Here's a thought - Maybe the wheat field in question was actually very small, but that particular property (formerly mentioned) was the best place for it, and it WAS important to have at least some wheat. To put the size of the field in perspective, there's an anecdote in a book re the church founded by my ancestors in Virginia mentions that one man (in the late 1870s or early 1880s) had a five acre wheat field and was short of help to harvest it (no McCormick reapers here!). The minister offered to do it and said he could cut it in a day. No one believed him, as they were using old-fashioned cradles in that area, and the man offered the preacher $5 if he could make good. He did, and it was often mentioned as "the greatest wheat harvest" in that length of time that any of the neighborhood had ever seen. The preacher had worked all of a moonlit night and had it all down by breakfast. Susan in Missouri -----Original Message----- From: lower-delmarva-roots-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:lower-delmarva-roots-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Thompson Jay Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2009 7:23 PM To: lower-delmarva-roots@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [LDR] Wheat or Tobacco Just a note. ref. About.com-Cyrus McCormick Was from Virginia and invented his reaper in 1831 and was mass manufacturering them in Chicago in 1847. Jay Thompson ----- Original Message ---- From: Nancy and Dave Lindroth <nlindroth@wctel.net> To: lower-delmarva-roots@rootsweb.com Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2009 8:11:14 PM Subject: [LDR] Wheat or Tobacco Ref difficulty in growing wheat..... Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:16:25 +0000 From: mike hilton <jmh963@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [LDR] Sale of Part of Bacon Quarter / Wheat or Tobacco? I attended a Seminar a number of years ago where a speaker on migration spoke about the wheat in the midwest. The wheat in the midwest may have been an entirely different crop from that on the eastern shore. Many soil and weather differences. The sod in the mid west was very difficult to penetrate, thus the term sod busters. The beer industry developed in the midwest because the German's brought in "Black Wheat" which grew well in the mid west. I hope I have remembered all of this correctly. You may want to check with Extension Offices in each state for verification. Of course wheat harvesting changed dramatically after Cyrus McCormick invented the reaper in the late 1800s, which is out of your time frame. Nancy, Augusta, GA *************************************** QUESTIONS about POSTING GUIDELINES, SUBSCRIBING or UNSUBSCRIBING? Visit The Lower DelMarVa Roots Mailing List FAQ: http://www.tyaskin.com/handley/ldrfaq.htm ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to LOWER-DELMARVA-ROOTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message *************************************** QUESTIONS about POSTING GUIDELINES, SUBSCRIBING or UNSUBSCRIBING? Visit The Lower DelMarVa Roots Mailing List FAQ: http://www.tyaskin.com/handley/ldrfaq.htm ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to LOWER-DELMARVA-ROOTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message