OF THE COUNTY OF D'OWN. 123 



afford protection to the young plant in winter, but it 

 will increafe the quantity of green food in fpring. 

 Should chickweed appear at that feafon, a few cows 

 turned upon it in dry weather will foon devour that 

 weed, and free the clover from the incumbrance. 



In fome foils harrowing in clover over wheat in 

 fpring, is found to anfwer better than any other cul- 

 ture. The Rev. Mr. Fletcher, who has a fandy foil 

 near the race-courfe of the Maze, purfues this method 

 upon wheat after potatoes, and finds the wheat much 

 improved by the operation ; in his foil it is abfolutely 

 neceflary, he thinks, to commit the clover to the mold 

 of a potatoe fallow, which of courfe muft be very fine, 

 if the drilled method is followed ; and he mentions a 

 curious circumftance in fupport of his opinion. In a 

 field of fix acres, four of which were in drilled pota- 

 toes, and two in the lazy-bed way, but previoufly 

 ploughed as if for drilling, he fowed wheat : in fpring, 

 clover was fown over the whole, and the ground 

 lightly harrowed ; the feed of the fame quality , the 

 clover was excellent after the drilled potatoes, but in 

 the two acres fet in the ridge way it failed completely. 

 The .only way he could account for it was, that the 

 fubfoil (a clay) thrown up by trenching in the potatoes 

 rendered the ground an unfit nidus for the feed. Al- 

 though this gentleman's farm is in the county of An- 

 trim, I hope I fhall be excufed for flepping over the 

 river, in confideration of this piece of practical infor- 



R 2 mation. 



