212 EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE. 



who consume meat, and is the principal meat to be found in the 

 markets, where it is exhibited in extraordinary perfection. 



The soil preferred for wheat is a strong soil, with a large pro 

 portion of clay ; but experience has, of late years, contrary to 

 early and strong prejudices, determined that even the light and 

 loamy soils are capable of bearing heavy crops of wheat, pro 

 vided they can be sufficiently consolidated. This is done often 

 by driving sheep over the land after sowing, arid by an imple 

 ment which I shall presently describe, called &presser. 



The first process is, thoroughly to clean the land from weeds 

 and rubbish ; but the green crop previously cultivated, if it has 

 been properly managed, will have done much towards this. The 

 twitch grass (triticum repens) abounds in the lands here to a 

 most extraordinary extent, arid this is raked out and pulled out, 

 and generally piled on the land and burnt, and the ashes spread. 

 Some persons adopt the method of mixing the piles of it with 

 quicklime, and thus forming an enriching compost for their land. 

 Others carry it into their barn-yard, to be trodden under the feet 

 of the cattle, and to absorb the liquid of the yard. 



But wheat is often sown after clover, or upon what is called a 

 clover lay ; the first crop in the course being turnips, the second 

 barley, the third clover ; if cut the first year for hay, then de 

 pastured with sheep the second ; or otherwise fed and ploughed 

 in, and the wheat sown on the inverted sward, and the land not 

 harrowed so deeply as to tear it to pieces. When the clover is 

 designed to stand only one year, it is mowed and made into hay in 

 June, and then sheep are folded upon it ; and in this way they 

 go over the field twice before it is ploughed for sowing. It is 

 deemed of great importance, in this case, that the soil should be 

 in as compact a state as possible, and a heavy roller is passed over 

 it. The greatest stress is laid upon this matter of consolidating 

 the soil, where it is of a light or spongy character ; and in some 

 soils the ground is simply harrowed, where the preceding crop 

 allows of such a process, or otherwise ploughed not more than 

 three or four inches in depth. 



An instrument much used for consolidating the soil, and very 

 much approved of by those who use it, is called a scam-prcsscr. 

 This implement passes over the land in the direction of the fur 

 row, and it forms on the furrows two deep drills at a time, the 

 two rollers being eight or nine inches apart, and the blade of the 



