546 Deepening the Staple Soil. 



district in the kinjrdom ; yet we must own that during our 

 sojourn in that famed district we noticed that the cottage allot- 

 ments were growing better crops than the farms, although, as is 

 too frequently the case, the allotments were on the thinnest- 

 soiled land : the superiority of the crops we mainly attribute to 

 deeper cultivation. We will just mention that our observation 

 upon allotment cultivation has been, judging from their crops, 

 in their favour, and against the farmer's shallow cultivation, 

 except upon sandy soils, where shallow cultivation with sheep- 

 treading produces the best crops. We have also found deep 

 cultivation injurious on fen or bog soils, where the plough 

 brought up either black or red peat or turf, unless (as was our 

 practice) the peat or turf was first raked together and charred, 

 in which case it acted beneficially. We would caution parties 

 against dipping deep at once, and bringing up so great an 

 addition to the staple, where artificial or other light manure is 

 to be the preparation for the crop ; but where a liberal dress- 

 ing of farmyard manure is to be used, there will be ad- 

 vantage in going fully half the original depth of cultivation 

 deeper, until the maximum of a foot or whatever is desired is 

 obtained. 



We will here give what we have found the quickest and best 

 mode of deepening soils, so as to obtain depth with an aljundant 

 supply of vegetable matter, wholly changing the character of the 

 land in one season. 



Afier autumn-cleaning the surface, plough double the depth 

 the land has been previously cultivated (taking a foot as the 

 maximum), and performing the work as we have described, viz, 

 with the furrow-slice laid over on edge, laughing at its cheerful 

 and healthy position, experiencing the pleasures of every change 

 that takes place in our fickle climate, so that by the middle of 

 March every individual atom will be ready for a general dance, 

 to the music of the harrow, roller, and grubbei-, by which the 

 high and low, rich and poor, atoms, will be all well reeled and 

 mixed together. Half a bushel of white mustard-seed should 

 then be sown to the acre, and lightly harrowed in. As soon as 

 it is well brairded, and on the point of going into rough leaf, let 

 a hundredweight of nitrate of soda be applied to the acre ; this 

 will force it into a good crop a yard in height by the middle or 

 end of May at the latest. Whenever the first blossoms drop and 

 the embryo seed-pod makes its appearance, plough the whole in 6 

 inches deep, with the lime-cart applying from 10 to 15 quarters of 

 lime to the acre, close after the plough ; the harrow close after, 

 followed by the sowing machine, sowing half a bushel of white 

 mustard per acre, lightly harrowed in, followed by a light roller. 



