diff --git a/lib/lyxrc.example b/lib/lyxrc.example
index ab9ef4876f..fb7348744b 100644
--- a/lib/lyxrc.example
+++ b/lib/lyxrc.example
@@ -178,11 +178,6 @@
 # is 150%.
 #\screen_zoom 100
 
-# The wheel movement factor (for mice with wheels or five button mice)
-# Default is 100, about a page down. A value of 10 give me about a line and
-# a half
-#\wheel_jump 10
-
 # LyX normally doesn't update the cursor position if you move the scrollbar.
 # If you scroll the cursor off the screen and then start typing LyX will
 # move you back to where the cursor was. If you'd prefer to always have the
diff --git a/src/lyxrc.C b/src/lyxrc.C
index 05f072a31f..fd741ab8ff 100644
--- a/src/lyxrc.C
+++ b/src/lyxrc.C
@@ -178,8 +178,7 @@ keyword_item lyxrcTags[] = {
 	{ "\\user_name", LyXRC::RC_USER_NAME },
 	{ "\\view_dvi_paper_option", LyXRC::RC_VIEWDVI_PAPEROPTION },
 	// compatibility with versions older than 1.4.0 only
-	{ "\\viewer" ,LyXRC::RC_VIEWER},
-	{ "\\wheel_jump", LyXRC::RC_WHEEL_JUMP }
+	{ "\\viewer" ,LyXRC::RC_VIEWER}
 };
 
 const int lyxrcCount = sizeof(lyxrcTags) / sizeof(keyword_item);
@@ -227,7 +226,6 @@ void LyXRC::setDefaults() {
 	geometry_width = 0;
 	geometry_height = 0;
 	geometry_xysaved = true;
-	wheel_jump = 5;
 	// Default LaTeX font size:
 	font_sizes[LyXFont::SIZE_TINY] = "5.0";
 	font_sizes[LyXFont::SIZE_SCRIPT] = "7.0";
@@ -657,12 +655,6 @@ int LyXRC::read(LyXLex & lexrc)
 			}
 			break;
 
-		case RC_WHEEL_JUMP:
-			if (lexrc.next()) {
-				wheel_jump = lexrc.getInteger();
-			}
-			break;
-
 		case RC_SCREEN_FONT_SIZES:
 			if (lexrc.next()) {
 				font_sizes[LyXFont::SIZE_TINY] =
@@ -1516,11 +1508,6 @@ void LyXRC::write(ostream & os, bool ignore_system_lyxrc) const
 			os << "\\screen_geometry_xysaved " << convert<string>(geometry_xysaved)
 			   << '\n';
 		}
-	case RC_WHEEL_JUMP:
-		if (ignore_system_lyxrc ||
-		    wheel_jump != system_lyxrc.wheel_jump) {
-			os << "\\wheel_jump " << wheel_jump << '\n';
-		}
 	case RC_CURSOR_FOLLOWS_SCROLLBAR:
 		if (ignore_system_lyxrc ||
 		    cursor_follows_scrollbar
@@ -2517,10 +2504,6 @@ string const LyXRC::getDescription(LyXRCTags tag)
 	case RC_VIEWER:
 		break;
 
-	case RC_WHEEL_JUMP:
-		str = _("The number of lines that are scrolled by mice with wheels or five button mice.");
-		break;
-
 	case RC_LAST:
 		break;
 	}
diff --git a/src/lyxrc.h b/src/lyxrc.h
index 02ceec178f..92d1971528 100644
--- a/src/lyxrc.h
+++ b/src/lyxrc.h
@@ -249,9 +249,6 @@ public:
 	bool geometry_xysaved;
 	/// Zoom factor for screen fonts
 	unsigned int zoom;
-	/// parameter for button_4 and button_5 (scrollwheel)
-	/// Only used by the xforms frontend
-	unsigned int wheel_jump;
 	/// Screen font sizes in points for each font size
 	std::string font_sizes[10];
 	/// Allow the use of scalable fonts? Default is yes.