§58 Deepsning tlie Staple Soil. 



plough in, we resolved to leave the field for oats, and in Sep- 

 tember applied 20 cubic yards of dung per acre, which gave the 

 grass an impulse, and, after six weeks' I'est, it wintered five ewes 

 to the acre, with the aid of half a pint of oats and a little chaff 

 each per day, from the 1st of November till the last week of 

 JNIarch, when the whole field was prepared for a crop of Hope- 

 toun oats, in the following modes : the whole was drilled the 

 fii'st week of April, the land being in a most favourable state for 

 receiving the seed, and hoed in May, when 3 cwt. of salt was 

 applied per acre : — 



Bushels of 41 lbs. 

 ■"^~''~' per acre. 



No. 1, ploughed 10 inches deep, produced 101 



Xo. 2 „ 10 „ „ 102 



5 „ „ 93 



Ko. 3 was all broad-shared, haiTOwed, and rolled while dry, 

 to kill the gi-ass-j half was twice grubbed 10 inches deep ; 



produced.. .. • .. .. .. - .. • 85 



Ditto, 5 inches deep 72 



No. 3 was hoed twice. No. 1 and No. 2 once ; there appeared 

 quite as much straw per acre on No. 3 ; in fact, there was the 

 same number of sheaves, but the straw was not so bright and the 

 oats wei'e more chaffy and v/orse to thresh :' taking the whole 

 together, it was the finest field of oats we ever saw grown, the 

 straw being higher than a man. 



In September, 1845, the field was prepared for wheat, each 

 part in the same way as for the oats ; we applied 3 cwt. of salt 

 per acre after sowing, and 3 cwt. again in April with 3 cwt. of 

 guano, hoed in. We should mention that we rolled the whole well 

 after sowing with Crosskill's clodcrusher, and again in March : — 



No. 1, ploughed 10 inches deep, produced 34 bushels of G2 lbs. per acre. 



w 5 ,, ,, 4i ,, 



No. 2 „ .12 „ „ 32i 



„ 8 „ ,, 37 ,, 



No. 3 grubbed 12 „ „ 28 



,, 8 ,, „ 3O5 „ 



4 „ „ 35 



In No. 3 we found, that, though all the conditions of cleanli- 

 ness and thorough pulverization were complete, the want of 

 aeration was strongly shown, proving that it is essential, because 

 the whole of this piece, on close inspection, showed a great want 

 of silica on the straw ; in fact, it appeared to us like straw grown 

 upon a bog, being a dingy light brown rather than yellow. 

 The whole was much laid, and the quality of grain much inferior 

 to the rest The quality in all the lots may safely be taken as 

 declining equally with the quantities, for the bulk of straw was 



