174 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Ch. XII. 



done, and that the land be at all exhausted, it should be renovated with a 

 good dressing of well fermented spit-dung, in a complete state of decom- 

 position ; for it is a delicate plant, and the nutriment furnished to it should 

 be rich and easilj' absorbed. 



Although more commonly sown after turnips than in any other way, yet 

 in Essex, it is very generally sown upon a fallow ; as fallowing for wheat 

 is there considered barbarous management. This is, indeed, more labo- 

 riously performed than in any other county, and the autumn ploughings 

 much exceed those which are usually bestowed*; but, on strong land, 

 much spring tillage is considered inexpedient, and the best crops are 

 produced by perfect summer fallowing, and then putting in the seed upon 

 one ploughing ; or, still better, by the operation of the grubber. The land, 

 after being ridged up, is therefore left in that state until spring, and when 

 dry, it receives the seed-furrow ; as it is a general rule always to sow barley 

 upon a fresh-stirred soil. When it follows turnips, the land should be 

 ploughed into ridges as soon as they can be got off the ground, and a second 

 ploughing should be given for the seed-furrow. Ten-furrowed ridges are 

 those most generally employed, but as the land is sometimes laid down at 

 the same time to permanent pasture, broader ridges are then commonly 

 used ; and if only sown with clover, to stand for one crop, it is hardly 

 necessary to say that a smooth and well levelled surface will not only tend 

 to the good appearance of the field, but will much facilitate the operation of 

 the mower. 



SEED AND SOWING. 



Barley is not exposed to any disease, except partially to smut, and from 

 that it rarelv suffers mischief. The ears which are attacked are those which 

 sprout first, and the whole field then seems to be covered with it ; but these 

 are succeeded by healthy ears, and no sooner do they appear, than the 

 former are dislodged, and scarcely a trace of it is left. Steeping the seed 

 is, therefore, rarely practised, but the operation, when performed, assists in 

 cleaning it from the small light seeds of grass and weeds with which it 

 commonly abounds ; and it should, at all events, be carefully screened. 

 If steeped during twenty-four hours in soft water, it will also cause the 

 grain to germinate at the same time; and this, especially if it be sown at a 

 late period, is of more importance than may be generally imagined, as it is 

 otherwise apt to ripen unequally. 



The month of April is the time viost commonly chosen for sowing sum- 

 mer barley ; though it may generally be put into the ground with advan- 

 tage until towards the middle of May, and good crops have been frequently 

 reaped which were not sown until the beginning of June. Discrimina- 

 tion should, however, be used in regard to the species of grain, as well 

 as the nature of the soil on which it is to be sown ; for if the latter be 

 warm and rich, the sowing may be deferred longer than if it is cold and 

 poor, and attention should be paid to the qualities which we have already 

 stated as distinguishing some peculiar kinds of barley. On strong lands, 

 which have been got into good tilth, the first or second week in April is 

 early enough ; but those which are light and dry may — especially in the 

 southern counties — be sown in the latter end of March. Cold springy soils, 

 or such as have not been sufficiently drained, should, however, be not 

 touched until later, as a wet spring would starve the crop ; but, whatever 

 may be the property of the ground, the time of sowing must still be chiefly 

 governed by the temperature of the season. 



* See Chap, v., and Essex Rep., vol. i. p. 195. 



