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THE FARMER»S MAGAZINE. 



tivated. The land can scarcely be rendered too 

 free for their growth, and hence soils which do not 

 need to be ploughed a second time are improved 

 by the use of the cultivator in the spring, unless 

 the manure is thus brought to the surface, in which 

 case a drag will be preferable. The seed-bed best 

 suited for peas may therefore be described as a 

 deeply-worked and well-cultivated soil, fine in 

 texture, loose and free; the seed should therefore 

 be sown when it is dry, so as not to prejudice the 

 condition of the land. 



The depth at which the seed should be sown 

 will vary from two to three inches, according to 

 the time of sowing and the nature of the land ; 

 the earliest sowings and the lightest lands having 

 the seed deposited at the greatest depth. Drilling 

 is, beyond question, the best mode of depositing the 

 seed so as to allow of cultivation between the rows 

 during growth. The plan of double rows, nine or 

 ten inches apart, with an interval of 18 or 20 inches 

 between them, is advisable because of the greater 

 facility for cleaning the land and the greater sup- 

 port which the peas gain from the neighbouring 

 row. Thrse bushels of seed to the acre is the usual 

 quantity sown. The early sowings may be com- 

 menced in February upon dry and light soils, and 

 be continued up to the middle or end of March, by 

 which time the seed should all be in the ground. 



Beans. — This crop requires a soil of strong and 

 adhesive character, as much for the supplies of 

 food which it requires as for the mechanical quali- 

 ties which such land offers to the plant. In this last 

 respect beans do not differ materially from wheat ; 

 for a firm condition of the land appears in each 

 case to be equally necessary, and our preparation 

 for this crop is regulated accordingly. Beans are 

 almost always sown upon a corn-stubble, and even 

 in exceptional cases the treatment adopted is 

 directed to the attainment of the same condition 

 of soil. The practice of different districts neces- 

 sarily varies much in detail, but the following sys- 

 tem is that which is generally adopted, and may be 

 taken as illustrative of the most suitable kind of 

 management. The stubble should be cleaned in 

 the autumn as well as circumstances will allow ; 

 the manure should then be spread upon the land, 

 and the land ploughed up deeply and laid as rough 

 as possible for the winter : in this state it lies until 

 the seed-time has arrived. But some prefer to re- 

 serve the manure until it can be applied in a well- 

 rotted state early in the spring, and then plough it 

 in ; but this does not suit the crop as well as the 

 earher use already described, especially on true 

 bean-land. If the dung is ploughed in before 

 winter, the land has time to become sufficiently 

 settled before the time for sowing, whilst the ma- 

 nure below prevents it from becoming too consoli- 

 dated for the plant to make a vigorous growth. 



The bean flourishes best in a deep but strong 

 soil, and the penetrating powers of its root are well 

 adapted for extending into and through a firm soil ; 

 hence the great importance of the cultivated soil 

 being well settled before the seed is deposited. 

 This is secured by the early ploughing of the land, 

 whilst the exposure of the surface makes it free and 

 easily, worked and secures a light covering for the 

 seed, open to the influences of air and heat. V^hen 



the land is not prepared before winter, we often 

 find the seed ploughed in without the furrow-slice 

 being broken. Four bushels is an average allow- 

 ance of seed for the drill, and the beans are thus 

 deposited about three inches from the surface. 



The practice of dibbling the seed is quite as 

 general as the employment of the drill, and it has 

 many advantages ; one of tl\ese (besides the saving 

 of seed) is the earlier sowing which it enables us to 

 make upon the strong land ploughed up before 

 winter; for such ground will often admit of hand- 

 labour of this kind when it would suffer much from 

 the working of a drill. Beans are dibbled and 

 drilled at various widths from 9 to 27 inches, but I 

 prefer double rows at the distance of 6 or 8 inches, 

 with 20 or 24 inch intervals. This width between 

 the rows is especially important if we consider the 

 bean crop (as we ought) to be a fallov/-crop. When 

 the seed is sown, nothing more is required but to 

 cover the seed, either by hand or by harrow; but 

 after the beans are well above the ground the roller 

 is serviceable, as it consolidates the soil and pre- 

 pares the bean for an early commencement of the 

 blossoming. This may be advantageously followed 

 by the use of the horse-hoe and stirrers in the in- 

 tervals, when the beans have sufficiently firm hold 

 upon the land which is immediately beneath them. 

 The time of sowing beans extends throughout 

 February and March, but ; as far as climate will 

 allow, an early preparation, followed by an early 

 sowing, will produce the most satisfactory results. 



In the growth of winter beans the same objects 

 should be aimed at. The ploughing of the land 

 should be finished by the middle of September, 

 and a month allowed for the ground to settle. The 

 seed should be drilled as near the middle of Octo- 

 ber as possible, after due care has been taken to 

 get the ground firm. It is want of firmness in the 

 soil, and late sowing of winter-beans, that have 

 prejudiced the minds of many against their more 

 extended growth. A firm seed-bed is as important 

 for the stability of the bean as we have seen it to 

 be for the wheat crop, but this point is frequently 

 overlooked. In sowing this variety of bean, the 

 wider intervals are eventually necessary for the 

 purpose of horse-hoeing. 



Grass and Clover Seeds. — Under this head 

 we may include both natural and artificial grasses. 

 These seeds are small in size, and proportionately 

 weak in their powers of growth ; for which reason 

 they require the greater care to secure their healthy 

 germination. A depth and condition of soil which 

 may be suitable for larger and more vigorous seeds 

 is really destructive to their growth. Some ex- 

 periments which have been reported* on the germi- 

 nation of seeds are so satisfactory and conclusive 

 that I have introduced them here as they furnish 

 us with decided evidence respecting the growth of 

 seeds under highly favourable circumstances. 



Column No. 1 shows the depths at which the 

 largest number of seeds grew. 



Column No. 2 shows the depths at which one- 

 half of the seeds grew. 



Column No. 3 shows the least depth at which 

 none grew. 



* Morton's " Encyclopedia of Agriculture," vol. 

 i. p. 999. 



