WEEDS OF AGRICULTURE. 311 



patches. This land will by no means lie profitably in per- 

 manent grass, neither can any four fields of it be rendered 

 convertible, because the continuance of ploughing pulverizes 

 the soil to dust, and the encroachment of the couch requires 

 much exertion to master it. In the state of a dry powder, 

 the soil powerfully resists moisture, and becomes highly 

 infertile, and the weeds overpower all husbandry. 



The usual rotation in the drier part of fen lands, is either 

 from paring or burning the grass surface for rape, eaten off 

 by sheep, to oats the second year, and wheat the third year ; 

 or Heligoland beans after rape, and wheat the third year. 

 If, with the wheat, the land were returned to grass, no fault 

 ought to be found ; but the cultivator will not part with the 

 arable system so soon. After wheat they go to fallow, and 

 here begin the powder and the weeds. Fourth year, fallow, 

 rape ; oats the fifth year, and then wheat and grass seeds. 

 No management* on earth can subdue weeds on light deep 

 soils, with such a system ; those which naturally prevail in 

 the soil, and such as may be sown with the crops, are per- 

 fectly triumphant. Horse-hoeing is here impracticable, the 

 soil being so light ; hand-hoeing and weeding have been 

 followed, to the expense of five or six and twenty shillings 

 an acre, without being able to clean the crop. The mode 

 looked to, is to get a thick crop of corn if possible, and 

 when the crop is a foot high, or more, to put weeders in it, 

 who break off" and crop and batter down the biggest of the 

 weeds, and leave the others to contend with the crop as 

 nature and the season may rule. As to hariff', where it 

 abounds, they sometimes drag the crop (if wheat) with a 

 horse-drag. Sometimes the weeders make themselves short 

 rakes, and scratch and tear the crop in pieces, as well as the 

 weeds. These methods never did much good ; for that 

 which pulls the corn away, opens the path for the weeds to 

 grow again. Where patches of this weed grow through a 

 thick crop of wheat in spring, nothing better can be done 

 than to crop off" the superior shoots within the wheat leaves, 

 and leave the wheat crop as entire as possible, to smother 

 the plants below. 



But, after a great deal of experience, which i liave had in 



