WINTER GREENS AS A SUBSTITUTE 141 



spreading was done with the chain harrow, which 

 mixed the manure with the top layer of soil, and 

 hence formed a soil mulch. The remaining portion, 

 where the crop was backward, had farmyard manure 

 carted on, ploughed in, the land then cultivated and 

 the crop sown. 



The cultivation of the entire field was undertaken 

 during a period of very dry weather. Hence, whilst 

 the manure was being carted on and spread on the 

 backward portion of the crop, the soil got very hard 

 and dry. Having become dry, it was absolutely 

 imperative to plough the land, which meant further 

 delay. 



The difficulty in ploughing the land was 

 considerable, although a steel bar-pointed plough was 

 used (no other plough would have faced the baked 

 surface). Further difficulty and delay was 

 experienced in reducing the soil to a fine tilth. On 

 the other hand, the cultivation of the more forward 

 portion of the crop had been done entirely with the 

 disc harrow, the triple cultivator and the spring-tooth 

 harrow, which it may be here remarked did not 

 involve one-fourth the labour that was required for 

 the part that had to be ploughed. The cultivation, 

 as well as being more economical, was very much 

 quicker. A fine surface having been obtained, the 

 seed was sown immediately, the manure, as already 

 stated, being carted on and spread. 



This meant that we cultivated and sowed the more 

 forward portion some ten days earlier than the 

 backward portion. The sowing of the whole area, 

 it should be mentioned, was completed by the end 

 of June; the crop was inspected on the 25th of 

 September; and although we got moisture in plenty 

 from about mid- August onwards, the later-sown parts 

 never recovered. The crop had become stunted in 



