AGRICULTURE. 



be supposed to have been their practice 



i 



cotton, and tin- ca-tor-oil plant, tire culti- 

 vated by it, 



Thi> Ciiltttm of Grain nrul Hoots. 



< )f tlie various plants raised for the nou- 

 rishment of man, wheat is of the chief 

 importance. To prevent the dis< 



. called the smut, 



steeping it* seed from twelve to twenty- 



four hours in a lev of wood tushes, in 



linn water, and in a solution of arsenic, is 



Uieacious, even although it 



sh'iutd havi- hern extremely affected 1>\ 



A less time u insufficient. 



On eohl. \\et, and backward soils, the 



tor putting this grain into the 



earth is September, particularly if the 



weather be rainy, as wheat should never 



be sown in a dry season. On dry and 



warm soils the so \\inir ina\ be best post- 



poned tiU October. In proportion to the 



eariiness of the sowing, a less quantity of 



preparation 



for it is by beans. Clover forms also an 

 excellent preparation for it : and on a 

 farm dry enough for turnips, and rich 

 enough for wheat, the Norfolk practice 

 of turnips, barley, clover, and wheat, is 

 perhaps the most eligible that can be 

 adopted. 



Hy the dibbling of wheat, for a fort- 

 night before which the land must be 

 ploughed, and rolled down with a heavy 

 roller, the seed is deposited in the centre 

 of the flag, and the regular treading 

 which the land receives presses down the 

 furrows, and gives it a most valuable de- 

 gree of firmness. The chief attention 

 required in dibbling is, to make the holes 

 dee]) enough, and to see that the children 

 drop the seed equally, without scattering. 

 After this dropping is completed, bush- 

 harrowing follows. The quantity ofVed 

 should be about six pecks in two rows in 

 a flag. If the drill-machine be used, the 

 preparation of the land by ploughing, 

 harrowing, and rolling, must be extn na - 

 irate, \\ hether tor one stroke of the 

 machine, or for a bout of it, and the 

 quantity of seed should be the sunn- :is 

 that used in dibbling. In February, 

 slight dressings are with great advantage 

 spread over the green crop of this grain ; 

 and if the fanner has his choice for this 

 purpose, he can never hesitate about tak- 

 ing them from dung; tisdungj. of all sorts 

 are excellent, and no other manures, 

 like these, are univi-rsallv applies 



the (h-ill-huslrandry, the practice of hoeing 

 is of the first importance, and has been 

 already mentioned. If horse-hoeing be 

 not employed, the haml-hoe may b : 



i advantage, and should be per- 

 formed, first, early in March, and the se- 

 cond time in the beginning ot April. A 

 scarifier is by many employed instead of 

 the hoe, with the same object and effect 

 \Vhatc\vr the operation, employed with 

 this view, ma\ be, the bottom should, 

 with respect to wheat, be left firm and 

 untouched. This is of particular import- 

 ance. 



A mild and open winter i far from 

 being favourable to this grain, pushing it 

 forward with too rapid vegetation, and 

 also cherishing those weeds which be- 

 come its most injurious enemies. No 

 weather is so injurious to wheat in the 

 ground as wet. If, however, it have a 

 good blooming time, though the rest of 

 the summer, both before and after this 

 period, may be unkindly, little apprehen- 

 sion for the crop need be entertained 

 from any state of the weather. 



If wheat be attacked by mildew, which 

 is most likely to occur in the month of 

 July, the only effectual application is the 

 sickle, which ought not to be delayed for 

 a moment, though the ear be perfectly 

 green. 



Barley requires a mellow soil, and 

 when sown upon clay, therefore, extraor- 

 dinary care is required to stirthe land im- 

 mediately after the removal of the previ- 

 ous crop ; and, with this view, the prac- 

 tice of rib-ploughing, which exposes the 

 greatest possible quantity of surface to 

 the air and frost, has been employed by 

 many. This object should, at all e\ents, 

 be gained, whichever method be adopted 

 for it, of the many which have been sug- 

 , and are indeed practised. Scari- 

 fication, with Mr. Cooke's machine for 

 this purpose, instead of ploughing, is 

 found to be an excellent method. In pro- 

 portion to the tenaciousness of the soil 

 must be. the extent of this operation, 

 which is easily dispatched, even win n 

 rcp ated, leaving the lands, or stiches, in 

 excellent order for the drill-machine te 

 advance and perfect its work- 



Tin- proper season for getting barley 

 into the ground is March. The moo 

 usi-ful preparation for it is by turnips. To 

 have the land dry for sowing is of more 

 consequence for this grain, than it is for 

 almost any other. It should always fol- 

 low either tin ameliorating crop or a fal- 

 low, and in main cases it should be fol- 

 >v clov'-r The quantity of seed 



