Deefcninfj the Stajde Soil. 547 



This crop will grow a fourth higher and heavier than the former 

 one by the first week in July, when it will be fit for ploughing 

 in nine inches deep. The same process of sowing half a bushel 

 of mustard goes on again, which will be fit to plough in by the 

 second week of September at latest, when it should be ploughed 

 in the full depth that the land was ploughed the previous 

 autumn, and, after laving a few weeks, a crop of wheat may be 

 put in, without the least doubt about there being an abundant 

 crop, provided that, after sowing, the press or clodroller is used, 

 and again in March and April, when 3 cwt. of salt should be 

 applied per acre : if the land is at all of a soft or spongy nature, 

 let it be fed off by sheep in April and again press-rolled. In 

 the year 1843 we put a piece of poor, spongy, thin soil, 

 upon a stiff yellow clay subsoil, through this ordeal of manage- 

 ment ; the result was a produce of 41 bushels of wheat per acre. 

 It was ploughed up after the wheat was off, when it worked 

 like a garden. In spring, oats were sown, which yielded 78 

 bushels j)er acre ; the field then went to root-crop and regular 

 rotation. The same season we adopted the same plan with an- 

 other wretchedly poor piece (but naturally good land), the soil 

 light and shallow, upon the Northampton ironstone subsoil. 

 The soil had been previously cultivated the full depth, about 

 five inches ; we ploughed it ten, bringing up the rotten ironstone 

 which we had previously subsoiled. We then put it through 

 the mustard process, as before stated, after which it was sown with 

 wheat ; then some turnips were drawn and thrown over it for 

 sheep, which were kept upon it until it began to braird; the land 

 was twice press-rolled in spring with Crosskill's roller, and salted 

 with 3 cwt. per acre. The yield from this piece was 38|^ 

 bushels of wheat per acre. This was a piece of land that had 

 been in tillage from time immemorial. Both pieces were first 

 laid dry by drainage 3} feot deep in 1840 ; both these pieces of 

 land have since been well worthy the name of good land, and 

 with fair management they will continue to yield abundant 

 crops, having a deep and fertile staple of soil to work upon. 



We think it right to state that we have experienced some 

 very unprofitable results from sowing wheat ujjon land deejdv 

 ploughed after clover, beans, and potatoes, before we got the 

 knowledge of applying Crosskill's roller, or sheep-treading, 

 after sowing and again in the spring, and applying 3 cwt. 

 of salt -per acre. We have satisfied ourselves by a series 

 of experiments that extra-deep cultivation is only useful for 

 green crops, where liberal farmyard manuring must be applied 

 after each extra depth is brought into action. When the full 

 depth desired is obtaiued, artificial mnnure will by itself grow 



