MAECH. 171 



after them into their holes : this, soot prevents 

 best. Soot thinly distributed on newly-sown tur- 

 nips, just before they come up, prevents the fly or 

 grub from injuring them, provided no rain falls to 

 wash it into the soil. Soot answers best on light 

 dry chalk soils, and in moderately wet seasons. It 

 does little good on strong or wet land, or in very 

 dry seasons, unless sown earlier than usual. Ths 

 London soot from coals is rarely bought unmixed 

 with cork-dust, coal-ashes, or sweepings of the 

 streets ; yet even in this adulterated state, it is 

 found to answer much better than real country 

 soot from wood. 



2. Coal-ashes cost in London from 6s. to 14s. 

 per waggon-load (narrow wheels and four horses), 

 the price depending on the business doing in the 

 brick-fields near town, in which considerable quan- 

 tities of ashes are used. Carriage included, they 

 cost on the land about 5^d. per bushel. Coal-ashes 

 are bought in small quantities in the neighbour- 

 hood at 4d. per bushel, and collected to the land at 

 about id. per bushel. They are distributed on the 

 land v\ith a shovel, from a cart or wheel -barrow, 

 Another, and perhaps the preferable mode, is sow- 

 ing them by hand. The former way costs lid. per 

 waggon-load, the latter 18d. Coal-ashes are used 

 from 50 to 60 bushels per statute acre for a com- 

 plete dressing, which amounts to from 23s. to 2Gs. per 

 acre : they succeed well, sown on clover in March 

 or April, on dry chalk lands ; and also do much 

 good on sward, applied during any part of the 



winter 



