242 On the Agriculture of the Netherlands. 



field; turnips are immediately sown, and watered with liquid 

 manure, and these are gathered in time to manure and plough the 

 land again for rye. The turnips are supposed to have sweetened 

 the land ; and the second crop of rye shows no symptom of weak- 

 ness or disease. The ground, however, has not been cleared 

 of root-weeds, although the turnips have been very carefully hand- 

 weeded ; the next crop therefore must be one which admits of 

 good preparation and careful destruction of weeds, such as pota- 

 toes, peas, and carrots. Unless the peas be very carefully cul- 

 tivated and gathered very early in a green state, it does not appear 

 how the ground is to be cleaned so as to admit of a corn crop after 

 it, viz. oats or rye again. In order to see how rye can be made 

 to return so often, we must follow the mode of cultivation adopted. 

 In the poor sands every crop, except buckwheat, has not only a 

 considerable portion of stable manure ploughed in before the seed 

 is sown, but also a quantity of rich liquid manure, consisting of 

 cows' and horses' urine, or the emptyings of privies mixed with 

 water. The process is thus described in the " Outlines :" — ■ 



" The stubble is well harrowed soon after harvest, in order to pull up 

 the weeds and expose their roots to the sun. In the beginning of 

 October from 10 to 15 tons per acre of good rotten dung are spread 

 evenly over the land, and immediately ploughed in 6 inches deep : the 

 land is ploughed in stitches or beds, varying from 6 to 12 feet wide 

 according to the nature of the soil ; the heavier soils are laid in the 

 smallest stitches : liquid manure at the rate of 10 hogsheads per acre is 

 then poured into the intervals between the stitches, by means of a water- 

 cart, which delivers it regularly, the horse walking in the interval. The 

 harrows are now drawn across the stitches. This brings a part of the 

 fine soil into the intervals, and prevents the too rapid evaporation of the 

 liquid manure. Six pecks of rye or of wheat, or 2 bushels of winter 

 barley, are now sown evenly over the land. The manured soil in the 

 intervals is first stirred by the plough going once up and down, as is 

 done between rows of turnips in the Northumberland system, throwing 

 the loose earth in a ridge in the middle. Men follow with shovels, and 

 throw this earth over the seed, as is done with potatoes in lazy-beds in 

 Ireland, and completely cover it. A roller is then passed over, if re- 

 quired ; or, in very loose soils, men tread in the seed regularly with their 

 feet as the gardeners do. The small extent of the farms allows of this 

 garden culture, which in large occupations would be impracticable ; 

 but the principle is the same, whether executed by manual labour or 

 machinery." 



The deep stirring of the soil, and the fresh rich earth from the 

 intervals spread over the seed, cannot fail to secure a vigorous 

 vegetation. The turnips, although they are never eaten by sheep 

 on the land, because they are more valuable for the cows, pro- 

 duce much liquid manure in the tank, and draw but little from 

 the soil, they seem to have the power of counteracting the de- 



