20 



ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE 



barley crop is rarely as good as it is after the consumption of the 

 turnips upon the land. The condition of the " bed" in the time 

 of seeding is of primary importance. The best state of the soil 

 is a friable one, so much so that when sowing the seed, in the 

 language of the old adage, " the dust should rise above the har- 

 rows." Still there should be,, at the same time, a sufficiency of 

 moisture in order to germinate the grain and give the plants a 

 start. With these conditions of soil, early sowing answers best, 

 for it is usually productive of the largest bulk of straw and the 

 heaviest grain yield. Both broadcast and drill sowing are prac- 

 tised. While there are undoubtedly great advantages to be 

 derived from the former, which in some respects suits the habits 

 of the plants very well, the great difficulty is to secure that 

 uniformity of depth which alone gives, or at all events gives 

 best, the uniformity in the sample so desirable in the barley crop. 

 If sown broadcast, about 12 pecks per acre are allowed; if by 

 drill, 8 to 9 are considered sufficient. On account of its produc- 

 tiveness and the preference shown to it by maltsters. Chevalier 

 still seems to be the favourite variety, but on high-lying farms 

 much common barley is also grown, i^nnat and Golden Drop 

 also have their patrons, but these descriptions do not yield so 

 well as Chevalier. Moreover, where the soil is manurially rich, 

 the latter is least liable to lodge, and when it does fall it is not 

 at all subject to send out lateral germs or shoots. Full crops 

 yield bQ to 60 bushels per acre, but this quantity is not often 

 reached. A fair return for Edinburgh may be stated at 42 to 

 48 bushels per acre, and 40 to 46 in Linlithgow. The weight of 

 best samples reaches 56 or even 57 lbs. per bushel, but a good 

 average may be estimated at 54 or 55 lbs. 



Oats. — The oat crop in Edinburgh covers a similar area to 

 that occupied by the same crop in Argyll and Moray, Linlithgow 

 having about half the extent. The acreage was in — 



It appears from these statistics that the land devoted to the 

 oat crop in both counties has decreased somewhat in twenty 

 years, but has varied very little in the past ten years. It is 

 almost the invariable practice to take oats after lea, the excep- 

 tion being here and there a patch of potatoes which are taken 

 from the lea furrow, or on the high farms a crop of oats taken 

 after roots. Some farmers plough their land early ; others leave 

 ituntil after the stubble has been turned over. Early ploughing, 



