774 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 



out the summer and autumn, which is the most advantageous method of consuming 

 them, successive sowings should follow till the end of May. Summer tares, when meant 

 for seed. Brown observes, ought to be sown early, " otherwise the return will be imper- 

 fect ; but when for green food, any time betwixt the first of April and the latter end of May 

 will answer well, provided crops in succession, from the first to the last mentioned period, 

 be regularly cultivated. Instances are not wanting of a full crop being obtained even 

 when the seed was sown so late as the middle of June, though sowing so late is a 

 practice not to be recommended. In Middlesex, the winter-sowings are commenced 

 about the beginning of August : in the northern counties no winter-sowings are made, 

 as the tare there will not endure the severity of tht season. 



4802. The mode of sowing tares is mostly broad-cast, which should be performed 

 as evenly as possible over the surface of well-prepared land ; the seeds being after- 

 wards covered in by proper harrowing, in order to prevent their being picked up by 

 birds, and ensure their perfect vegetation and growth. It has been suggested, how- 

 ever, that in rich clean soil, it is probable the row-method would succeed well with 

 this sort of crop, as Marshal states, is the practice in some of the southern districts of the 

 island. After the seed is sown, and the land carefully harrowed, a light roller ought to 

 be drawn across, so that the surface may be smoothed, and the scythe permitted to work 

 without interruption. It is proper also to guard the field for several days against the 

 depredations of pigeons, who are remarkably fond of tares, and will pick up a great part 

 of the seed, unless constantly watched. 



4803. The quantity of seed to an acre is from two and a half to three and a half bushels, ac- 

 cording to the time of sowing, and as they are to be consumed green or left to stand for a 

 crop. When tares are intended for seed, less seed is required than when they are grown for 

 soiling or for drying the haulm. A writer in The Farmer a Magazine (vol. i.) has sug- 

 gested that the most productive method of sowing this crop, when intended for seed, is 

 to mix them amongst beans when drilled, at the rate of one firlot of tares to one boll of 

 beans. From trials made, it is ascertained, it is said, that the quality of the tares is vastly 

 improved by being blended with beans, as, by clinging to the latter, they are kept from the 

 ground, and enjoy the full benefit of the sun, for ripening them in a perfect manner; 

 and they are in this way much easier harvested than when sown by themselves. They 

 answer, at the same time, for bands to tie the principal crop ; and the produce may, on 

 an average of seasons, be considered as at least double. A little rye sown with winter tares, 

 and a few oats with the spring sort, not only serve to support the weak creeping stems of 

 the tares, but add to the bulk of the crop by growing up through the interstices. 



4804. In the choice of the seed it is hardly possible to distinguish the grain of the winter 

 from that of the spring variety : the former is alleged to be rather smaller and lighter 

 colored ; but the only reliance must be on the honesty of the vendor. Plump seed and 

 a sample free from the seeds of weeds, will of course be selected, whatever be the variety. 



4805. The after culture given to tares consists merely in pulling out the larger weeds, 

 unless they are in rows, in which case the horse or hand-hoe is applied ; or intended for 

 seed, in which case weeding must be more particularly executed. 



4806. In reaping tares for soiling they ought always to be cut with the scythe, as, the 

 sickle by breaking asunder the stalks, and tearing up a number by the roots, renders the 

 second crop of little value. When mown early, they will in a moist season produce three 

 mowings, but generally two. In reaping tares for seed, they may be either mown or taken 

 with the sickle, and treated like pease in drying, stacking, and threshing. 



4807. Tares are eaten off the ground in some places by different kinds of live-stock, 

 particularly by sheep ; and as the winter-sown variety comes very early in spring, the 

 value of this rich food is then very considerable. The waste, however, in this way, even 

 though the sheep be confined in hurdles, must be great ; and still greater when consumed 

 by horses or cattle. 



4808. Tare crops are sometimes made into hay^ in which case more attention is found 

 necessary than in those of most of the artificial grasses, as wet is more injurious to them^ 

 and they require more sun and air ; but in other respects they demand the same cautious 

 management, in order to preserve the foliage from being lost. The time for cutting for 

 this purpose is, according to the author of The Synopsis of Husbandry, when the blossoms 

 have declined and they begin to fall and lie flat. When well made, the hay is of the 



^est and most nutritious quality or properties. 



^ 4809. The produce of tares cut green is, according to Middleton, ten or twelve tons per 

 acre, which is a large crop ; and when made into hay at about three tons the acre, which 

 shows the disadvantage of making these crops into hay. And it is found, that the spring 

 tare crops are lighter, and most liable to be injured by a dry season. 



4810. The produce in seed is likewise found to be considerable, being by some stated 

 at from three to six sacks ; but in other instances forty bushels, or more, have been ob- 

 tained from the atre. 



48 11 . In the aj^Mcation of tares they are found to be a hearty and most nourishing food 



