390 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



is less ground to be gone over. Employing a horse-hoe 

 would of course diminish both labour, and expense. 



In yoking the horses so as not to trample the wheat, 

 in adjusting the scarifier so as to avoid casting clods 

 upon tlie plants on eat-h side, in arranging the reaping of 

 such narrow strips of awkwardly-standing corn, there 

 are little exercises of judgment called for ; but our own 

 experience proves that the whole management from be- 

 ginning to end, is so simple that any good labourer en- 

 gaged throughout one year may understand and properly 

 execute the operations of the next. 



For carrying off heaps of rubbish that may be raked 

 or picked, and also for leading on mauurial top dress- 

 ings, &c , a "quarter cart" is necessary — that is, a cart 

 with shafts fixed in front of one wheel, so that the horse 

 "quarters," walking in the same track as the wheel, thus 

 making a road of the " intervals" only. And for rolling 

 the wheat rows or fallow intervals, as the case may be, 

 it is requisite to have a roller mace in two short pieces, 

 arranged on one axle, but with a distance between them, 

 the shafts being removable, in order that the horses (in 

 length) may walk either in the middle or before one of 

 the rollers, as required Only these two new implements 

 need be constructed for our Lois-Wcedon wheat-growing, 

 the ordinary plough, subsoiler, scarifier, horse-hoe, 

 ridge-harrow, and drill answerinj every other purpose. 



Still further, as to the practicability of growing 1-20 

 acres of wheat, on the stripe system, upon a farm hav- 

 ing 300 acres arable, it may be observed that the pro- 

 posed mode of culture etfectually provides for the 

 eradication of couch and other creeping or perennial 

 roots. Bunches of couch, docks, thistles, etc., may be 

 dug out of the stubble after harvest, or from the rows 

 of the growing crop ; and the fallow intervals (em- 

 bracing just half of the land) are stirred, pulverized, and 

 the root-weeds picked off. But should the surface be- 

 come thoroughly infested, in spite of all, the foulness 

 may be extirpated after harvest, by paring and scarify- 

 ing the whole breadth of the land, and harrowing 

 lengthwise and crosswise too ; obliterating the stubble- 

 rows, it is true, and so taking away the guide-marks for 

 the next drilling, but not preventing us (as we shall 

 see) from hitting the right intervals, with our method of 

 gauging the drill-row distances. But, seeing that each 

 portion of the ground is summtr or bare-fallowed every 

 Other year, no apprehension need arise of .overmastery 

 by ill weeds. 



One minor difficulty we have not yet removed — 

 headlands at both ends of a field are indispensable, for 

 the horses and implements to turn on, in the winter, 

 spring, and summer tillage ; and no vegetable seems to 

 covet the frequent rough usage of such a situation. Are 

 we to try for a few stray ears of wheat, or plant pota- 

 toes with a coating of manure ? leave the headlands to 

 themselves, with the exception of cutting up weeds .' or 

 lay them down to permanent seeds ? 



So far, our papers on this subject have shown, we 

 think, that growing the 120 acrts of Lois-Weedoa 

 wheat by our system, on a suitable soil, is perfectly 

 practicable; while the results, if at all in accordance 

 with those of Mr. Smith, will be highly profitable and 

 satisfactory. 



In reply to a letter propounding our plan of horse- 

 power tillage, Mr. Smith advised us to " say nothing 

 about it till you have had two years' experience." This 

 sound caution we are not following exactly ; but, at any 

 rate, we have had two years' experience of our method 

 of deep-working the intervals by common imple- 

 ments, which was the chief practical difficulty to be 

 overcome. And we say that our three-feet intervals of 

 tough soil have been broken up and crumbled, and 

 exposed to the atmosphere, to a depth of 9 or 10 inches, 

 and that this desired end has been attained without 



ploughing up Of otherwise damaging the wheat. 

 Cleaning the stubble, and preparing the intervals for 

 the seed, we have found to be simple and easy ; and 

 sowing the rows at the right distances apart has been 

 twice done readily and correctly by a common drill. 

 We have also kept accurate accounts of all the labour 

 bestowed, in each process, on our 10 acres ; and, having 

 already performed the heaviest operations twice, can 

 safely state what is the total cost of cultivation. Now, 

 every item shall be adduced before we close this series 

 of articles; but just at present we are insisting upon the 

 feasibility and applicability of the system, and are 

 anxious to exhibit its promising character : so we will 

 only premise here that manual labour has been charged 

 precisely what was paid for it, while half-a-crown per 

 day is put down as the expense of a horse — certainly 

 not too little, amounting as it does to £.39 a year. 



The whole cost of the crop of 1857 was £b 18s. 4d. 

 per acre — including £2 for rent ; 6s. for tithe ; 9s. lOd. 

 for rates, taxes, and 5 per cent, interest on the outlay ; 

 and ^'3 2s. 6d. as the expense of cultivation, in labour, 

 seed, etc. In future years, various savings will be 

 effected in the time spent in some ot the operations ; so 

 that the total expenditure will never reach £^ per acre. 

 What amount of produce is needed in order to repay 

 this outlay ? Three qrs. at 40s., or 2? qrs. at iiOs. ; the 

 value of the straw — say £\ — to be given back in arti- 

 ficial manure. And all the yield we get in excess of this 

 quantity will be our clear profit. Four qrs. annually, 

 we have said in a previous paper, fully equal in market- 

 value the acreage produce of the other portions of the 

 farm, and at 40s. would give us, it seems, a profit of 

 £2 an acre. What was our actual yield of 18.57, we do 

 not wish to state until the second (or comint;) harvest 

 has been thrashed ; but it gave us a sallnfaciory profit, 

 and enabled us to declare that if, after the course of 

 7nanaye77ient the field was previoKsli/ under, so much 

 could be grown by means of tillage only, we are satisfied 

 that the produce in ensuing years might be raised to 

 more than 4 qrs. by the tillage and the sovereiga's- 

 worth of manure. 



What is the history of the field ? It is a strong allu- 

 vial loam, not particularly rich, but low-lying, flat, and 

 wet ; the underdrainage being effected in a shallow and 

 half-hearted manner, by means of several very old and a 

 few new thorn drains. The rotatio.i has been as fol- 

 lows : In 1850, red round turnips (fallowed and ma- 

 nured for, and fed off) ; 1851, oats ; 1852, clover (mown, 

 and then grazed) ; 1853, wheat ; 1854, beans (manured) ; 

 1855, wheat (a heavy crop). It was now time to fallow 

 again, but was sown viirh barley instead, producing a 

 modrrati ly light crop on one-half of the fivlJ, though 

 heavier on the other. This barley stubble we had to 

 commence operations upon, so late in tlie autumn that 

 no time was possil>le for cleaning that half of the land 

 which was foul wUh coucli ; and the ground ploughed 

 up stiff, and would not be reduced into reasonable tilth. 

 Making haste ti overtake the season that had slipped 

 by (for this was at the end of October ; whereas the 

 Lois-Weedonlawis, "sow in September"), we drilled the 

 seed among large clod?, the grains being finally covered 

 with not more than an inch of " mould." Oa the best 

 of the land, after the mest enriching ''preparation" 

 crop in a "course," wheat badly got-in f-irebodes a 

 faminous product ; but following barley (after which 

 crop the mor« precious cereal is consider! d a lost crop), 

 nobody looked for a yield at all, though certainly the 

 field was ploughed an inch dtcperlhan usual. Through- 

 out the summer the scanty crop struggled undismayed 

 against the courh matting one side of tiie field, ami with 

 infesting wild buttercups and sharp thistles that sprang 

 up eviry where after the hoers with a hydra-like perti- 

 nacity of growth. Yet, in spite of all ill cireuuistaiice 



