I8t> PICK STONES. [MARCH, 



dent. He who possesses a bog, especially a flat 

 deep bog in a sheltered spot, and yet not too con- 

 lined, may very profitably convert it into a hop- 

 ground. A solid, weighty peat-bog makes an ex- 

 cellent hop soil, when laid into beds, by transverse 

 trenches. Such land is a natural dunghill, and will 

 demand such manures as may perhaps be easily pro- 

 cured. Here the chances are favourable. 



If such a spot be not chosen, the best prepara- 

 tion of the land for hops, is two successive crops 

 of turnips or cabbages, both fed on the land by 

 sheep, and off early enough for ploughing and 

 planting the land in March. They may be planted 

 in rows at eight feet asunder, and six feet from hill 

 to hill, which will give full space for all the requi- 

 site operations. Three, four, or five fresh cut- 

 tings are planted in each hill, or spot which is to 

 form a hill. 



In this month old plantations are dressed, the 

 hills opened, the roots pruned, and mould or com- 

 post returned. The time of poling depends on the 

 shooting- of the plants. 



PICK STONES. 



In a dry season, an opportunity should be taken 

 this month, to stone pick the grass and clover fields 

 intended for mowing. In this work no stones 

 are to be taken but such as would impede the 

 scythe. The pickers, who general ly like this work, 

 will over-pick, if they are not attended to, and they 

 will propose to pick other fields which are not to be 

 mown ; but on no account is this to be permitted, 



if 



