APPHOPttlATE SOILS. 25 



rotten. Many are fond of street-sweepings for the cul- 

 ture of flax on moderate and sandy soils ; but others 

 dislike them, on the ground that street-sweepings en- 

 courage a great deal of darnel to spring. But careful 

 farmers do not on that account abstain from using them. 

 They plough their land deeply as soon as the weather 

 permits ; they then lay on a liberal allowance of street- 

 sweepings and other town muck ; they plough it in shallow, 

 and leave it so till the end of April. By that time the 

 weeds have made their appearance. They then give the 

 land a second ploughing, a little deeper than the former 

 one ; they give a top-dressing of liquid manure, cross- 

 harrowing immediately afterwards. In this way, they* 

 get the better of the weeds, and their flax thrives well. 



Others make in autumn dunghills of vegetable mould 

 mingled with pig-muck and farm-yard manure. They 

 turn and mix their dunghill well, and as soon as winter 

 is over they plough it in at a slight depth as soon as 

 possible, because the land will already have had a deep 

 ploughing. Towards the middle of April they give 

 another shallow ploughing, and a top-dressing either of 

 night-soil from the nearest town, or of liquid manure 

 from the farm-yard tank ; then they pass the harrow over 

 all, and proceed with the rest of the work in the usual 

 way. The addition of ashes is a favourite practice. 



Mr. Henderson, describing his mode of preparation on 

 his farm in the county of Derry, Ireland, says : " After 

 wheat, one ploughing is sometimes sufficient, but two are 

 generally safest : one in autumn, and again before spring. 

 After lea-land oats, two ploughings are indispensable, 

 and a third is frequently advisable, for the land must be 

 perfectly pulverized and cleared of all roots of every sort, 

 or no crop. I do not plough deeper than the vegetable 

 mould." After all, the special details of preparation for 

 the flax crop must be left to the farmer's circumstances 

 and common sense. Three points are requisite for suc- 

 cess ; the land must be thoroughly cleaned, well pul- 

 verised, and uniformly rich. 



