CROPS. 275 



such wheels are fixed to the same axle, which, of course, expedites 

 the work, and both are carried round by a horse or donkey. 



An Irish farmer describes his mode of feeding with gorse as 

 follows : &quot; Horses eat it with great avidity, and thrive well on 

 it. I give each working horse a bucket of prepared gorse in the 

 morning, before going out ; at dinner time, a feed of boiled 

 potatoes ; and at night, two baskets of gorse ; neither hay nor 

 oats. Cow-feeding is different ; at daylight in the morning, the 

 cattle are driven from their stalls to water if possible, a running 

 stream. Gorse, if crushed over night, and allowed to lie in a 

 heap, would ferment before morning ; the cattle are, therefore, 

 supplied with a feed of mangel-wurzel, while the gorse is under 

 going preparation. After breakfast, (ten o clock,) they get a feed 

 of gorse as much as they will eat, (should any remain in the 

 trough, it is taken away;) another feed at two o clock; at four, 

 are again driven to water ; and at six, get a large feed to last all 

 night. Cattle will not eat so large a bulk of gorse as of other 

 food, it being so rich that a less quantity suffices, Gorse, after 

 being once established, requires neither tillage, manuring, nor 

 weeding, producing the most nutritious food without imparting 

 any unpleasant flavor to the milk, which is rich and creamy. 

 Twenty acres of gorse would support one hundred head, of 

 cattle, for the winter six months, without any other feed, save 

 the morning feed of mangel-wurzel, turnips, or potatoes.&quot;* 



Three modes of sowing it are prescribed the first, that of 

 sowing it broadcast, when, by some cultivators, seven or eight, by 

 others, twenty pounds of seed are advised to be used. Others 

 recommend to sow it in drills, eighteen to twenty-four inches 

 apart, when, of course, a much less quantity of seed will suffice. 

 Others advise to sow it first in a seed bed, and transplant it, 

 making the drills as above, and setting the plants six inches 

 asunder in the drills. As the seed is a long time in germinating, 

 and much, on this account, is liable to be lost, it is advised to 

 soak the seed four or five days before sowing, and then let 

 it remain a week or more in a heap, being careful to turn it 

 frequently, to prevent fermentation. The transplanting must be 

 as early as practicable, that the plants may get a sure footing for 



* Journal of Royal Agricultural Society, vol. vi. part 11, p. 536. 

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