THE FARMEiVS MAGAZINE. 



419 



lanJ-pressei, the ground may be left until the 

 seedtime comes. During this interval, frosts are 

 almost certain to have crumbled the surface, and 

 produced a nice light mould for the seed : such 

 land will then present the most desirable seedbed 

 for oats — a soil well charged with vegetable matter, 

 firm beneath, yet easy of penetration for the rooting 

 of the plant, with a surface light and free in its 

 character for the germination of the seed. This 

 firmness of land for the root must be distinguished 

 from the hardness with which wheat will contend 

 after it has once made a fair growth. 



I have known instances in which portions of 

 fields have been so fearfully trodden during the 

 winter (by no means an unusual circumstance in 

 hunting districts, when a large number are in at 

 the death), that all vestige of the wheat plant has 

 been destroyed ; and yet at the following harvest 

 the crop on such portions has been very superior. 

 This the oat could not stand against ; for, v/hilst it 

 requires a firm soil, it cannot flourish in a hard 

 soil. Nothing suits the oat better than a turf 

 ploughed down ; and, conversely, as a general rule, 

 tliere is nothing preferable to the oat for strong 

 turf. In the north of England, where the turf 

 even of a clover ley becomes too rank for wheat, 

 the oat comes in as the substitute ; and cases are 

 very rare in which either wheat or barley can dis- 

 place the oat from old and rich turf, newly ploughed 

 up. I do not here include clover leys and such 

 artificial grass turf; but I think, with these excep- 

 tions, there is no corn crop which will penetrate 

 and break up an old turf as well as the oat. The 

 reason is, because turf presents just that condition 

 of soil which meets the requirements of its roots ; 

 and, if the seed requires a light covering, this is 

 generally produced by an exposure of the soil to 

 frost and a hght tillage of the land. To favour 

 this result, the turf should be ploughed whilst mo- 

 derately moist; but the surface should not be 

 broken down for sowing until it is in dry working 

 order. The same degree of moisture which favours 

 the solidity of the turf would, if the surface be cul- 

 tivated at the same time, render it close and ad- 

 hesive, and quite unfavourable to the germination 

 of the seed. 



The sowing of oats commences in February, and 

 in some of the midland districts as early as 

 January, but the great bulk is sown in March. 

 There is a very general feeling in favour of early 

 sowing, and the practice is certainly altering in that 

 direction. When oats are sown upon turf, it be- 

 comes much more necessary to sow early, than 

 when they follow a root-crop or bastard fallow. 

 The great objection is the influence of frost, which 

 frequently gives a bluish tint to the blade, but, if 

 the land is in fair condition, will not materially in- 

 jure the crop. A larger proportion of oats than of 

 any other grain is sown broad-cast, chiefly because 

 an earlier seed-time can thus be secured. It often 

 happens that the ground will harrow well when it 

 it is not dry enough for drilling ; and in wet dis- 

 tricts, with the uncertainty of spring weather, 

 waiting for the drill frequently involves a consi- 

 derable loss of time, and thus much is sown broad- 

 cast even where the drill would in some respects 

 be preferable. 



Upon land which is foul, and especially on old 

 grass-land, it is very important to drill the seed, as 

 we thus secure an opportunity for destroying the 

 weeds, which would otherwise materially injure the 

 crop. After the seed is sown, the land should be 

 well harrowed so as to cover the seed thoroughly. 

 The use of the roller depends much on circum- 

 stances ; if the ground has been ploughed late and 

 is not in a favourable condition, the roller will be 

 employed to reduce it to a fine tilth, but this will 

 precede the sowing. As a general rule (and espe- 

 cially in the case of early sowings), the ground is 

 better not rolled down smooth after the seed is 

 deposited, but should be left rough from the 

 harrow. This roughness will be attended with a 

 double advantage; for it will protect the plant 

 from the severity of the cold winds, and by 

 the time these are passed and the oats are ready 

 for rolling, these rough portions of the soil 

 \Vill be nicely mellowed, so that the crop will 

 then be improved by the fresh soil as well as 

 by the pressure. Upon some of our blowing sands 

 this roughness of the surface is the chief protection 

 to the crop. I have known the greater portion of 

 a crops of oats blown oft' the ground, simply from 

 the field having been rolled instead of being left 

 rough from the harrow. Upon such land the seed 

 must always be buried deeply— say, two inches, for 

 this gives the plant a better opportunity for 

 securing itself to the spot. 



The quantity of seed will vary according to local 

 requirements, but the variable character of the 

 seed-oat in a great measure explains the diflference 

 in the quantity sown. As the oat degenerates in 

 character, so it becomes longer and less plump than 

 good seed ; for this reason, inferior seed weighs 

 less and numbers less to the bushel, than a 

 sample of close and sound seed. Thus, whilst 

 some use from ten pecks to three bushels, accord- 

 ing to the time of sowing, others put on from four 

 to five bushels of seed-oats to the acre. This dif- 

 ference cannot, however, be entirely traced to one 

 cause ; for when the climate is wet, and there is a 

 great tendency to produce straw, a thick seeding 

 favours the yield of corn. 



Peas. — The cultivation of peas is seldom prac- 

 tised as part of any regular rotation of crops, and 

 they must rather be considered as a catch crop. 

 The preparation will necessarily vary in detail, ac- 

 cording to the preceding crop. A corn-stubble is 

 more generally selected for this purpose, but a 

 young clover-ley, on which the plant has partially 

 failed, is by no means unfrequently used. The 

 system of cultivation generally approved cona- 

 mences with cleaning the surface of the land in 

 the autumn of the year, after which the farm-yard 

 manure (if any is to be applied) is spread upon the 

 land and ploughed in before winter. In this state 

 it remains until the arrival of the seed-time in the 

 spring. If the land during this interval has be- 

 come close and adhesive, it receives another 

 ploughing in the spring, immediately before the 

 sowing of the seed ; but this only becomes neces- 

 sary in the stronger class of soils, upon which peas 

 are not so frequently grown. The peas require a 

 free and loose soil for its successful growth, and it 

 is upon soils of this character that it is chiefly cul- 



