ADVANTAGE OF RAPE IX COW-FEEDING. 31 



not SOW his rape in proper time as he was desired, and I 

 was at last obhg-ed to discharg'e him from the work at Gos- 

 ford, before he woukl be at the trouble of doing* so. This 

 neglect occasioned the crop to be late coming" forward in 

 spring- ; and having- wasted his turnips, in beg-inning- to them 

 before they were ripe, and using- them extravag-antly, they 

 were all finished before the rape was fit for cutting-. This 

 being- the case, he turned his cow into the rape to graze, by 

 which the crop was completely destroyed ; and this failing-, 

 he put the cow to g-raze upon tlie young- clover. This being- 

 soon eat down, I found the animal eating- the tender shoots 

 of the young- cpiicks, in one of the new made ditches, when, 

 upon inquiry, all the foreg-oing- circumstances came out. 

 Being- provoked at such conduct, I ordered the cow to be 

 sold ; but, when the day of sale came, he was able, from the 

 improved state of his farm, to g-et one of his neig-hbours to 

 g'o security for the payment of his arrears, his rent, and the 

 price of his cow ; and also that he would buy rape elsewhere, 

 and feed his cow in the house, as I required ; upon which I 

 did not persist in my intention of selling- her. He accord- 

 ingly bought a small piece of rape ground (10 Irish perches, 

 or 70 yards long, and 2 yards broad), which, with a little 

 dry fodder, kept his cow in full milk for thirty days ; and, 

 upon that feeding, gave 14 quarts daily, whereas, upon dry 

 food, she had fallen ofi:' to half the quantity. The immense 

 produce of rape, when well manured, is beyond anything 

 almost that can be imagined, if let stand until it gets into 

 blossom, which was the case in this instance. Manure makes 

 the stalk tender and juicy, which would otherwise be hard 

 and dry, so that if cut into small pieces, not a bit will be 

 lost, and it grows to a height of six feet. I am almost 

 afraid to say that I believe, with the addition of some straw, 

 an acre will keep thirty head of cattle in full milk for a 

 month. I state these particulars to show jon the folly and 

 blindness of this man to his own interest. By neglecting- to 

 sow the rape in proper time, it was not ready to supply the 

 place of his turnips, and everything went wrong- by this first 

 neglect, which appeared to him of no importance. If the 

 turnips had been properly managed, they would have lasted 

 out longer ; if the rape had been properly treated, it would 

 have been ready sooner ; and, if it had not been trampled 

 down, would have lasted imtil the clover supplied its place, 

 and everything- Avould have answered in its turn. Now he 

 Las been obliged to buy frona others, at the rate of fully 10/. 



