TIME OP SOWING- AND CHOICE 01? SEED. 127 



off on the land by sheep ; 2nd. Barley, sown with grass 

 or clover seeds ; 3rd. Hay, or pasture, which in certain 

 cases lie unbroken two years ; 4th. Max, which never 

 does better than on the upturned sod; 5th. Turnips 

 again, or beetroot, heavily manured themselves, resting 

 the land, and helping to make manure in turn ; 6th. 

 Hemp; 7th. "Wheat. Between the flax and the root 

 crop which follows it, it would be easy to steal a crop of 

 green food (vetches and rye), to be cut or eaten on the 

 land in early spring. Eeclaimed marshes and deep 

 alluvial soils would bear this rotation admirably. 



THE TIME OF SOWING AND CHOICE OF SEED. 



The time of sowing hemp varies greatly according to 

 the climate, and in the same climate according to the 

 locality. It extends as widely as from the month of 

 March to the month of June. The grand rule is to 

 avoid all danger of severe spring frosts, as the plant is 

 extremely liable to be affected by them. Still, early- 

 sown hemp is always the best ; and it is sometimes worth 

 while risking a little precocity in the matter of sowing, 

 if there is but a supply of seed at hand to recommence 

 with in case of accident. Prudent agriculturists, who 

 grow several fields of hemp in the same season, generally 

 sow them a week after each other, but never when the 

 weather is dry and cold. Great care must be taken to 

 sow none but last year's seed ; old seed will not come up 

 at all, or at best very uncertainly. With hemp, as with 

 flax, the question of thin or thick sowing must depend 

 upon the object of the grower and the quality of the 

 land. In fact, on middling land, hemp should be sown 

 thinner than on heavy land. When it is wanted to pro- 

 cure a very long and fine sample of fibre, very thick 

 sowing is necessary ; because the stems then draw each 

 other up, and even blanch each other to a certain degree ; 

 thereby causing the bark to be more delicate. Hemp 

 which grows so wide apart as to throw out side branches, 

 produces a large quantity of seed and a very strong fibre, 



