GREEN VEGETABLE MASSES. 211 



tages of which the system is susceptible, the farmer 

 has, by means of turning in green crops, increased the 

 amount and depth of the mould in his soil, and thus 

 fitted it to produce a stronger stalk and more perfect 

 grain, and saved the expense and labor of hauling the 

 heavier manures, his green crops for manuring being 

 ready at hand. 



Now, instead of relying upon clover or buckwheat 

 mainly, which has commonly been the case, suppose the 

 farmer should select the seeds of such vegetables as are 

 adapted to this system, and productive of the best 

 results, and take pains to plant them for the express 

 purpose of green manuring, either along with his wheat 

 and other winter grain, to be turned in green with the 

 stubble the following summer, or in the spring, to be 

 ploughed in in autumn on wheat-land, or land to be sown 

 with other winter crops. 



His object would be to produce the largest possible 

 mass. He should, then, select the smallest-seeded plants, 

 other things being equal, and a large variety of them. 

 These seeds may be selected by himself on his own 

 farm, and cost him only the trouble of gathering, say 

 from fifty cents to a dollar for ten pounds, or enough to 

 sow an acre, while he may bring about far more satisfac- 

 tory results in the infinitely greater mass of vegetable 

 matter which he can thus produce. 



This is an important consideration, not only from the 

 fact that a great variety will hasten the fermentation in 

 the soil, and thus materially elevate the temperature, 

 but because different varieties or species of plants take 

 from the atmosphere and embody different elements, 

 and also because it is only by a large number of spe- 

 cies that a close, thick mass can be obtained. The best 

 results can only be brought about by the vigor of 

 growth and the variety. The vigor of growth depends 



