146 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 3 



Light Lands, 

 Timothy Grass - - - Pleum pratense. 

 Pacey's Perl. Ryegrass Solium perenne. 

 Cocksfoot ----- Dactyiis "lonierata. 

 Rib grass ----- Plantago lanceolata. 

 Dog's-tail ----- Cynosurus cristatus. 

 Mixed Fescues - - - Festuca dunuscula, 

 Festuca, pratensis, 

 &c. 

 Mixed Poas - .. - - Poa pratensis, Poa 



cerulea, &c. 

 Red Clover - - - - Trilblium pratense. 

 White Clover- - - - Trifolium repens. 



The inferior description of clay lauds in parti- 

 cular have been much improved by opening the 

 furrow every autumn, about the month of Novem- 

 ber, by means of the furrow draining plough — an 

 implement of simple construction, but one that 

 cannot be too well known by the agriculturist. Its 

 object is to cut a furrow slice out of the already 

 existing ILirrow, 6 or 7 inches deeper, while its 

 mould board, formed of wood, throws tliis slice 8 

 or 9 inches clear out on the right-hand side of the 

 plough — thus forming a complete (we may say 

 almost invisible) drain — which lays the land dry, 

 and which discharges all superfluous water through 

 the ensuing winter, while the furrow slice so re- 

 moved is an addition to the compost heap. This 

 simple implement has been of the greatest use 

 here, and is strongly recommended to all farmers 

 of wet clay lands. 



Double Digging or Trenching. — Last year, du- 

 ring the distress of the hand-loom weavers, a 

 large extent of ground of a very stiff clayey na- 

 ture was trenched by those out of employment, in 

 order to employ them. The deepness trenched 

 was eighteen inches, and the inequalities of the 

 surface were regularly reduced and attended to, 

 and the grounds planted with potato anil mangel 

 wurzel, properly drilled and manured. Next year 

 wheat will be sown, and the ground laid down 

 again to permanent pasture. 



Irrigated Meadoios. — Here there are IS^ acres 

 of water meadow on the ridge or bed system, and 

 about lOg on what is termed catch-work. It hap- 

 pens unlbrtunately that the water collected in a 

 brook, descending through the lands to the Esk, 

 is hardly sufficient, except in floods, for the pur- 

 pose of complete irrigation. But the heavy crops 

 produced even under imperfect watering, leave no 

 doubt, however, of the utility of this branch of agri- 

 culture. 



There are no other meadows here, and indeed 

 the want of meadow ground is seriously felt over 

 this district. In the general management of the 

 pastures, care is taken to eradiate docks, thistles, 

 &c., from the surface; and moles are destroyed 

 whenever their workings appear. 



ROTATION OF CROPS. 



The plough rotation followed on these lands has 

 been as follovvs — on 

 Gravelly soils. — 1. Turnips. — Generally Swedes 



or Aberdeen j^ellows, consumed on the ground 



by sheep. 



2. Barley. — Sown about the middle of April with 

 seeds lor pasture : the lands laid generally quite 

 flat in the surface. 



3. Young grass seeds depastured by sheep; ge- 

 nerally ewes and lambs, from 1st May tolst 

 March. 



4. Pasture. 



5. Ditto. — Top-dressed this season with compost. 



6. Pasture. 



7. Pasture. 



8. Pasture. 



9. Oats out of ley. 



Clay lands of the best description. — 1. Summer 

 fallow, or, if the season is suitable, globe tur- 

 nips. In cither case, the land thoroughly clean- 

 ed and manured. Turnips pulled and consumed 

 in the yards by cattle. 



2. Wheat, sown in autumn; and grass seeds for 

 pasture sown in the succeeding spring: no 

 stock of any kind allowed to depasture these 

 seeds in the ensuing winter. 



3. Young pasture seeds, depastured by sheep from 

 1st May to 11th Novemlier; but unless the en- 

 suing winter should happen to be particularly 

 dry, no stock admiited afier that period. 



4. Pasture for the same period. 



5. Ditto, ditto. — Top-dressed with lime or com- 

 post. 



6. Ditto, ditto. 



7. Ditto, ditto. 



If the lands now begin to show moss, so as to 

 hurt the pastures, and render the grass later in 

 coming to a iLill bite, they are generally ploughed 

 for oats in the eighth year, about the middle of win- 

 ter, so as to derive advantage from atmospherical 

 influence, and are ploughed with a strong furrow. 

 Clays of the. second-rate description. — 1. J3are 

 fallow. — Thoroughly cleaned, limed, and ma- 

 nured; the greatest pains being taken in all cases 

 of clay land in the ploughing, so as to give the 

 ridges a proper shape, to discharge all surface- 

 water from the centre to the furrow. 



2. Wheat, of the red kind, or oats, sown out with 

 seeds for pasture. 



3. Seeds, depastured by sheep from 1st May to 

 11th ISovember. 



4. Depastured by any kind of stock from ditto to 

 ditto. 



5. Depastured by any kind of stock from 1st May 

 to 11th November. Top-dressed with lime or 

 compost. 



6. Ditto, ditto. 



7. Ditto, ditto. 



8. Oats out of ley. 



These various courses of cropping have been 

 found to suit the lands extremely well. The ap- 

 plication of lime or compost to the third year's 

 pasture, is a point never overlooked; for it is found 

 to renovate the pasture grasses, and the grounds, 

 after an interval of two or three years, break up 

 in capital condition for oats. 



Wheat. — The wheat sown on the best descrip- 

 tions of soil is invariably the white kind. That 

 most in request for seed is understood to be what 

 is called, in East Lothian, "Hunter's wheat." 

 Wheat, after summer fiillow, has always been 

 found of the best quality and greatest weight to 

 the acre ; on inferior clays, red wheat is often 

 sown. This variety is certainly well suited to 

 such soils, and often fair average crops are ob- 

 tained; but it is thicker in the husk, and therefore 

 not so much in request with the corn-factors. 

 The price in the market is generally one shilling 

 per Carlisle bushel under the price of white 

 wheat.* 



*A Carlisle bushel is equal to 3 A imperial mea- 

 sure. 



