THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



283 



almost the only thing that converts, according to some philo- 

 Bophers' notion, dirt into a nuisance; you have, in fact, put a 

 good thing into a wrong place. As I have previously said, I 

 am convinced that the application of farm-yard manure at all 

 ia not advisable for the turnip crop, having repeatedly seen 

 that the produce from 4 cwt. of bone superphosphate has not 

 been sensibly increased by the addition of farm-yard manure. 

 No one entertains a higher opinion of the real merits and 

 value of good farm-yard manure than myself, nor can anyone 

 be more impressed with the necessity of husbanding it to the 

 utmost possible extent ; but I hold that two manuringa answer 

 far better than one in a rotation, and that turnips are better 

 grown with phosphates, and require less ammonia than corn, 

 and that, therefore, it is better to use the manure of the farm 

 for corn, and purchase stronger phosphatic manures for the 

 turnips. 



I believe that Sir Francis Mackenzie was celebrated, on his 

 farm at Csrron, for the cultivation of root crops, and I am 

 happy to acknowledge that I was induced to adopt the autumn 

 and winter system of manuring by a remark of his which I 

 read about twenty years ago ; and its justice has been confirmed 

 by my observations ever siuce. " One half the dung," said 

 Sir Francis, " if given early in winter, and ploughed in, will 

 be found equal to double that quantity laid on in the spring 

 before sowing time." And here I may mention a case re- 

 markably bearing out this theory, which occurred in 1859. 

 The first prize for the best five acres of swedes in the county 

 of Rutland was awarded to a crop grown on a farm at Wing. 

 There were many competitors in the class, as well as in other 

 classes for swedes ; but one of the judges who awarded the 

 premiums lately informed me that he considered the five 

 acres of swedes at Wing were the best in any of the classes. 

 They were the only crop where the farm-yard mauure was carted 

 in the autumn, and ploughed in eariy in the winter. More- 

 over, adjoining this piece in the same field, where manure of 

 equal quantity and quality was ploughed in only just previous 

 to drilling the swedes, the crop was much inferior in weight. 



The autumnal application of the farm's manure on one 

 year's seeds for oats does not give the farmer a slight advan- 

 tage in the keeping and management of his stock, but a very 

 great one. Seeds are not an inexpensive crop to grow ; and 

 retaining them five months longer much increases their value. 

 If we take them up in September for wheat, they are too 

 quickly hurried out of use, and the return for the invest- 

 ment is necessarily lessened. My own system with seeds 

 (and its convenience in connection with both stock and labour 

 is so great that I venture to describe it) is this : In the first 

 year, after harvest, stock lightly till the end of October ; then 

 again with ewes and lambs from March to the 1st of May; 

 take one mowing about last week in June : stock with the 

 weaned lambs from the latter end of July until they are put 

 on turnips in October : the seeds are then manured as far as 

 the stock on hand will permit, and rested till the end of Jan., 

 when there is usually a fine pasturage of Italian rj'e-grass for 

 the inlambed ewes. Having kept down these seeds, now I 

 am able to lay up all grass land, and yet not to confine my 

 ewes to keeping where they cannot get a small picking at 

 least of natural grass. Their lair on these s?eds, when all 

 the herbage is gone, is excellent for the consumption of man- 

 golds, or chaff and corn, as the case may be ; and the manure 

 of the farm has had the opportunity of doing double duty in 

 producing a very valuable eddiah for the ewes, and being of 

 equal, if not additional, service to the following corn crop. 

 I have found the advantage to be even greater on heavier 

 land. On this description of soil, where roots have been 

 grown, the lair is in the winter absolutely unfit for their con- 

 sumption. Early in the autumn remove a large portion of the 

 crop into camps duly secured in your seed-field ; then in the 

 winter, when tilths are killing to stock from their depths of 

 wet mud, on your neighbouring seeds you have a famous lair 

 for tliem, nice herbage to pick for health, and clean food 

 for the comfort and growth of the stock, avoiding the almost 

 fnvariable destruction of one or two subsequent crops by the 

 iatal process of treading clay-land in wet weather. 



UTILITY OF CHANGE OF PLACE IN SEED, 

 AND STILL MORE IN LIFE CONTINUED BY TUBERS OR CUTTINGS. 



THE STAGES OF LIFE OF THE SEEDLING POTATO CONTINUED BY TUBER CUTTINGS. 



Sir, — In your last number I tried to draw attention to the 

 importance of change of seed, and especially to have it healthy^ 

 and not injured by damp mouldiness, free from the disease 

 and weakness which naturally result from a moist ripening 

 and harvesting season. As the subject is very important I 

 ihall attempt to explore it a little further. 



1st. as regards cereals. 



For seed grain it is advantageous to have it, if possible, 

 from land which has been in pasture — the older the pasture the 

 better. Here the seed is more likely to be possessed of all the 

 requisite (what is termed inorganic) principles, and have a 

 better-proportioned and stronger constitution, than the pro- 

 duce of soil much cropped under cereals, where the fertility 

 has been kept up by manuring, especially by the small 

 manures. I have found it advantageous not to ripen the seed 

 grain too much before cutting; as the fullest ripening, while it 

 increased the quantity or maturity of the farina-supply, 

 seemed to diminish the strength of, or produce a lethargy in, 

 the germinal organs. It seems also probable, that being 



often wet and dry in the field after it ia cut, especially if the 

 germinating process ia a little started, though not enough to 

 prevent future germination, is still hurtful. Half a century 

 ago I have seen what was termed dew-ripening practised 

 with wheat in the South of Englaud (Is it so yet?). The 

 standing grain upon being cut was laid down in handfuls on 

 the stubble to dew-ripen for several days— to be moistened 

 nightly with the dew, and dried every day by the sun. This 

 repeated moistening and drying, expansion and contraction, 

 reduced the flinty and fibry connection of the substance of 

 the grain, rendering it when broken of a soft white floury 

 consistency, like the finest chalk. Although this might be 

 advantageous to the miller or baker, I think it would injure 

 the stamina of the germ for seed. This takes place to some ex- 

 tent when our slooks stand for a week or two without hoods 

 in time of dewy nights and sunny days. The effects of this 

 upon the germination and strength of the braird ought to be 

 tested. In testing it, the operator would require to place the 

 trial seeds all at the same depth in the earth. I have found 

 that wheat ploughed down abovit five inches deep gave a very 



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