COUXTIES OF EOSS AND CROMARTY. 141 



soil a most thorough stirring. The plough takes a breadtli of 3 

 feet at a time, and from 4 to 5 acres can be gone over in a day. 

 The total cost is about SOs. per acre, but high as this may seem, 

 the system has been found to be a most profitable one. A great 

 many stones never before touched by the plough have been taken 

 to the surface by the knifer, the smaller ones being used in. 

 "boxing" service roads. Immediately after this stirring the land 

 is cross ploughed by a pair of horses to a depth of from 10 to 12 

 inches. In this condition the land lies till early in spring, when 

 it is grubbed and harrowed and cleaned in the ordinary way. 

 The weeds are carted into a heap and soaked with liquid manure, 

 and after being allowed to lie in this state for several years, the 

 compost is used as top-dressing. The farm manure is carted out 

 into the field on which it is to be used during the leisure houi^ 

 of winter, and in this way time is economised in spring. Turnip- 

 sowing commences about the 18th of May, and about a week 

 previous to that the manure heaps are saturated with liquid 

 manure, which is poured into trenches dug across the midden to 

 the depth of about 2 feet and about 2 feet apart. About three- 

 fourths of the turnip break is put under swedes, the other fourth 

 being sown with yellows and white varieties for early use. For 

 swedes the land is manured with from 30 to 35 loads of farm- 

 yard manure and 2 cwt. of bone dust, 2 cwt. bone meal, 1 cwt. of 

 guano, and 1 cwt. of superphosphate per acre ; and for other 

 varieties the dose is lessened a little. Mr Mackenzie is this year 

 experimenting upon the action of nitrate of soda. On one plot 

 he added 1 cwt. of nitrate of soda to the mixture of artificial 

 manure, on another h cwt., and on another J cwt., and on the 

 remainder of the field no nitrate of soda has been sown. The 

 effect of these special applications has not as yet been ascertained, 

 as the crop at the date of this report was still on the field, but the 

 result of the experiment will be of considerable interest* The 

 drills are about 28 inches wide, and from 10 to 12 inches deep. 

 Turnips of all kinds usually grow very well, and aff'ord a yield of 

 from 24 to 30 tons per acre. It will be seen that a very large per- 

 centage of the mixture of artificial manure consists of bones in 

 various forms, and the object of this is to favour the growth of grass 

 in after years. Potatoes are grown only for home consumption. 

 ^Vlmost all the first year's grass is retained and cut as hay, not a 

 lioof being allowed to enter the field from the time the grain is 

 removed till the gathering of the liay. At one time the stubble 



* Tho tuniij).s (Swedes), grown on eacli i)lot were weigliod in tlie last week ot' 

 Xovemb( r, ami, though the dillerence did not exceed a Rw pounds, thf greatest 

 Aveight was reached by the roots groA\Ti without any nitrate of soda. The con- 

 clusion come to, is that nitrate of soda is thrown away when apph'ed to a turnip 

 croj) on light land, such as tliat on which this experiment was conducted. The 

 turnips olf ea'li plot were stored separately, with the view of testing their keeping 

 quaMties ; and having been examified the other 'lay al^out t!ic mid;l!e of Februaiy, 

 were louTid to !•<• all ei[ually sound. 



