46 



F A R INI E R S ' REGIS T E R . 



[No. 1 



ferable to sow only lor papttire; in which cage. less 

 red clover, and a lartrsr proportion of wh te and 

 yellow, will be proper. 



In this li(j;ht and loose soil, the grass-seeds 

 should be sown after the barley has srot one har- 

 rowini^;' and it will be necessary to roll it well 

 when the other course of harrowinaj has been 

 completed. There may be oiher rotations lor this 

 kind of soil, but none better adapted to it; nor anj' 

 that will return a profit .so easily, and ieuve it 

 a>£ain in an improved slate of pasture. 



IV^. j1 anther clafis nf light smh, wet, the pasture 

 stinted and unproductive. 



Here, the surl'ice bein'j less rusrued and iine- 

 yen, it may be manured on the sward with a 

 compound of limn, earth, and farm-yard dung, at 

 the rate of 100 cartloads per acre. This should 

 be plouffJied down m the months of October and 

 November, and sown with oats early in sprino'. 

 The second crop should be peas with two fur- 

 rows; and the third and last crop, oats, with fjrass- 

 seeds, lor pasture only. The compoinid should be 

 made up some months previous to its beint^ used 

 as manure; and should be once turned over, to 

 accelerate its decorn[iosition, and render it more 

 easily incorporated with the soil. 



V. Another class of similar soil, having the sur- 

 face over-run with coarse grass, heath, ^'c. 



If this soil is of sutTicient depth, it will be advi- 

 sable to pare and burn it before the first crop. * 

 When this is done, 150 bushels of well slacked 

 lime to the acre should be spread on it, alons; with 

 the ashes, which will ensure a good crop of oafs. 

 The second year, potatoes or turnip; and for the 

 third and last crop, barley or oats, wi'Ji grass- 

 seeds, for pasture only. 



There are *he dilierent classes of soil, with the 

 mode of management, that were proposed to be 

 treated of in this part of the Appendix, as, being 

 those which most generally occur. JModifications 

 of culture may be judjjed of and apphed by the 

 occupiers; but the leading object, aiter drainincp 

 is to overcome the barren and unproductive state 

 in which they lie; but not, by over-cropping, to ex- 

 haust or deteriorate them; an<i after being man- 

 aged in the manner described, to let them remain 

 at rest liir some years, when they will be better 

 able to undergo a more extended course of crop- 

 ping, and become still more fertile and productive. 



genf:ral conclusion. 



In the preceding pages, I have endeavored to 

 explain, in as precise and explicit a manner as the 

 subjects admit, the various circumstances, princi- 

 ples, and data on which the 'Art of Draining 

 Land' is founded; as also, the manner of its ap- 

 j)lication in every practicable case; with .such di- 

 rections to guiiie the execution, as. I hope, will 

 enable every practical farmer to profit by the dis- 

 covery of the late Mr. Elkingfon, in the drainage 

 of those more intricate cases to which his system 

 applies: and also, to apply the more usual modes of 



* Though this, in practice, is now almost exploded, 

 it is the best method of subduins; such herbaee. 



hollow and surface draining, which are etill very 

 much practised in both parts of the kingdom; 

 and which, in many cases^ are the only kind ap- 

 plicable. 



Of embankments, I have given a pretty full 

 detail, with practical di/eciions applicable to their 

 various situatiijns, and forms of construction. 

 And lastly, in the preceding Appendix, I have 

 ijn'en sucli hints an<l directions as may be usefiil, 

 not to the exjterienced and more practical fiirmer, 

 but to those who are not yet so ililly acquainted 

 with the culture and improvement oC ivet and 

 unproductive land, after it has been drained. 



I have treated these subjects, in all their vari- 

 ous branches, with that degree of confidence, 

 which the experience of a long and successful 

 practice has enabled me to do; and it will alibid 

 me peculiar satisfaction, if this w;or/e shall contri- 

 bute, in any degree, to the extension of the knowl- 

 edge and practical application of these important 

 objects, so likely to promote the interest ol the 

 landed proprietor, the liirmer and the public in 

 general. 



John Johnstone. 

 Lauriston Lodge. Edinburgh, ) 

 December, 1834. ^ 



From the Cultivator. 

 EGYPTIAN WHEAT. 



This was spoken of, with the other varieties oi 

 spring wheat, in our September number, volume 

 iv. Since that time, our attention has been par- 

 ticularly tamed to this grain, by the receipt of se- 

 veral parcels kindly sent us, and by repeated in- 

 quiries where the seed could be purchased, and at 

 ivhat price. It has also been highly commended 

 in the news journals. 



This wheat is known under the various names 

 of Egyptian, Syrian, Siuyrna, many spiked, reed, 

 and ivild-goose wheat. It derives its latter name 

 (rom a story, which is current in the north, that 

 four or five kernels, from which the x^merican 

 stock has proceeded, was found in the crop ol a 

 wild goose, which was shot about four years ago, 

 on the west shore of Lake Champlain. It is call- 

 ed reed wheat from the great strength of its straw, 

 which serves to prevent its being prostrated in the 

 field. 



The first notice we have of this species of wheat 

 in the United Slates, is in the 'Memoirs of the 

 Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture.' 

 A parcel of_it was received in 1807, by the socie- 

 ty, li'om Gen. Armstrong, then our minister at 

 Paris. This grain was grown five or six years by 

 Judge Peters, and proved to be very productive; a 

 pint of seed, sown in drills and hoed, giving one 

 bushel and a peck of grain. But we find the 

 judge sayitig, after three or lour years' trial, that it 

 had not "thriven so as to encourage extensive 

 culture." In a more southern latitude, he express- 

 es a beliefthat it would do well. It was exten- 

 sively distributed; but from our not having heard 

 more about it in the last twenty-six years, we be- 

 lieved it had not proven a valuable accession to 

 our husbandry. 



We have seen beautiful fields of this wheat. 

 We sowed a sample specimen two 3'ears ago, but 

 on being assured by a liiend that it was inferior 

 lor flour, we gave it up. In the Philadelphia edi- 



