308 ON FLAX, ITS VALUE AS 



but for all this, I very mncli donbt if it is a more exhausting' 

 crop than several others that are g-rown ; and the principal 

 reason of its being- thought a scourging- crop has, I believe, 

 arisen from an improper course of cro[)ping- having- been pur- 

 sued, and thereby the fertility of the land in some cases 

 injured ; whereas the g-reat art in following- out a proper 

 course or rotation of cropping-, is to adopt such a scheme, 

 that no particular crop may follow another which has already 

 extracted from the soil a great portion of the principal 

 ingredients required for the succeeding- crop, without first 

 adding- to that land such a description of manure as will 

 remedy the defect. I may here also be allowed to name 

 that at another of our past discussions I was deputed to 

 introduce a subject, which was " The comparative advan- 

 tages and profitable cultivation of old grass land as compared 

 with arable land of similar quality." I then showed that it 

 required, at the very least, two acres of good grass land to 

 keep a fattening- beast for a year ; and I now wish to show, 

 as clearly as I am convinced myself, that less than an acre 

 and a half of medium tillage-land, by adopting a proper 

 system, will do the same thing, and also will feed the cattle 

 much faster than the old method. There are already some 

 gentlemen, not far distant from our immediate locality, who 

 are using considerable quantities of linseed, as steamed food, 

 along- with meal, cut straw, and turnips, for winter feeding-, 

 and I believe also with very good effect ; and I think the 

 probability is that, to some extent at least, it will be also 

 applied by the same parties to summer feeding, along with 

 green cut food. There is one gentleman in particular whom 

 I may name, John Hutton, Esq., of Sowber Hill, who has 

 adopted this system, and who very kindly invited our chair- 

 man, along- with Mr. Johnston and myselfj to go to his place, 

 and see the whole process of preparing the food, and the way 

 in which the stock seemed to thrive upon it. We availed 

 ourselves of his kindness, and by that means obtained a treat 

 of no common order, when he gave us in detail all the diffe- 

 rent items of expense that he was at in the preparation of 

 the food ; and during the few hours that we spent at Sowber 

 Hill, we were three different times amongst the cattle, and 

 each time found them Ij'ing down resting; in fact, their 

 quiet appearance and healthy thriving- condition were 

 such, that we felt perfectly satisfied that they were feeding 

 in a very superior manner; whilst Mr. Hutton quite con- 

 vinced us that by using- the steamed food along with turnips, 



