Ch. XXVIII.] ON RADISH AND SPINACH SEEDS. 329 



CANAR-V SEED, 



although an object of apparently slight consumption, as being almost solely 

 devoted to the food of singing birds, yet commands a considerable sale iu 

 our markets, and is rather a favourite crop among the farmers of the Isle of 

 Thanet. It is managed, according to Mr. Boy's account*, under three dif- 

 ferent tilths, namely : — " summer-fallow, bean-stubble, and clover-ley ; the 

 last the best. If the land be not very rich, a coat of rotten-dung is fre- 

 quently spread for it ; but, whether manured or not, the proper tillage is to 

 plough the land the first opportunity that offers after wheat sowing. As 

 soon as the ground is tolerai)ly dry in tlie spring, furrows are made, from 

 10 to 15 inches apart, and the seed is sown broad-cast, at the rate of about 

 four or five gallons per acre, well harrowed in. When the blade appears, 

 and the rows are distinct, the intervals are immediately hoed with a Dutch 

 hoe, and afterwards, in May or June, the hoeing is repeated with a common 

 hoe ; carefully cutting up every weed, and thinning the plants in the furrows, 

 if they are too thick." The harvest is later than that of any corn crop, 

 and it is cut with a hook, called a ' twible,' and a ' hink ;' by which it is laid 

 in lumps, or wads, of about half a sheaf each. The seed clings remarkably 

 to the husk ; and in order to detach it, the crop must be left a long time on 

 the ground to receive moisture sufficient to destroy the texture of the co- 

 vering, or otherwise it would be hardly possible to thrash it out. The wads 

 are turned from time to time, to allow them the full benefit of the rains and 

 sun ; and it has thus continued in the field till December, without vegetating 

 or suffering any kind of injury. The produce is from three to five quarters 

 an acre f, and the actual price is from 40^. to 42^. The liaulm is a most 

 excellent fodder for horses. 



UADISH AND SPINACH SEED 



are also much cultivated on the rich loamy soils of the Isle of Thanet, and 

 East Kent, for the supply of the London seedsmen, who send it to all parts 

 of the kingdom for the retail consumption of the g<ardeners. 



"The radish-seed is sown on furrows, about 10 inches apart, in a dry 

 time of the month of March, at the rate of about two or three gallons per 

 acre. As soon as the plants appear, every other row is cut up with a 

 horse-hoe, leaving the rows 20 inches apart. When the plants get two or 

 three rough leaves, they are hoed out in rows and are then kept clean by 

 repeated liorse and hand hoeing, when necessary ; leaving the plants at 

 about 18 inches distance. The crop is seldom fit to reap till October, and is 

 sometimes out in the fields until Christmas, without receiving injury from 

 the wet weather ; it being requisite to allow it much rain, in order to rot the 

 pods and facilitate its thrashing. The produce is from 8 to 24 bushels per 

 acre J.'' 



"Of spinach seed there are two sorts, the prickly and the round ; both 

 are sown in furrows, about 12 or 14 inches apart, early in March ; the prickly 

 at the rate of six, and the round at four gallons per acre. And when the 

 plants have leaves about an inch or two in length, they are hoed out to the 

 distance of 4 or 5 inches. AV'lien the crop is in full bloom, the greater part 

 of the male plants are drawn out by hand, and given profitably to young 



* Survey of Kent, 2nd edit. p. 104. 



f Mr. Bartley, of Bristol, who made several experiments on the cuUiireof canary seed, 

 on land consisting; of a mixture of loam and clay, states, however, "that his produce 

 never exceeded 17 bushels per acre." — Bath Soc. Papers, vol, iv. p. 279. 



I Survey of Kent, 2nd edit., p. 105, 



