And Improvement of Soils. 195. 
be eaten greedily by the cattle after they have been sa- 
tiated with the soft blades of the oats ; under this ma- 
nagement, beeves have been fatted for family use and 
taken off in December, without any grain. It is ob- 
served that the oats scour at first, but the free use of 
salt, readily corrects the complaint, and in no pasture 
do they rise faster in flesh; and the juices of their meat 
uncommonly grateful. 
The fields which have been in corn the preceding 
year, have also been sown in the spring; without being 
reploughed, and have done equally well, except upon 
heavy clays, when the spring has commenced with 
heavy rains, which have rendered the soil too compact 
to be opened, even with a heavy brake harrow, drawn 
by four horses. The fields from the oat pasture the 
foregoing autumn, have also been sown, without re- 
ploughing, when the spring has set in without much 
rain, after severe frost: not only the oat pasture, but 
also the clover sown therewith, have answered well. 
Oats have also been sown amongst the hills, and 
drills of corn, after it has received the last dressing. It 
has succeeded, without any visible injury to the corn, 
provided, care has been taken not to injure the roots, 
by the plough or harrow at the time the oats were 
sown. 
It has been enquired, are not all crops of oats ex- 
hausting, if so, how can two sowings of oats in the 
same year, render the soil fertile ? it is granted, if oats 
shall be matured into seed they will certainly exhaust, 
but if cut off, while in the blade, they, and all culmi- 
fercus plants, will fertilize. The experiment was made 
with Inaian corn, sown broad-cast, cut twice and car- 
