RAPE. 



inches or more wide ; but the host 

 cultivators put them only in every al- 

 ternate furrow. In this case, also, 

 there are no rulges. The season of 

 the year afTords sufficient moisture, 

 in the north of Europe, to ensure the 

 growth of the plants ; and if they 

 have escaped the fly in the seed-bed. 

 they are now tolerably safe ; no far- 

 ther attention is requisite till sprinsr; 

 the weeds are then carefully extirpa- 

 ted by hand and hoe, and where the 

 distance of the plants admits of it. 

 the light plough stirs the ground be- 

 tween the rows, throwing the earth 

 towards the stems, yet so as to leave 

 each plant in a little basin, to catch 

 the water and conduct it to the roots. 

 When the plants are invigorated with 

 rich liquid manure, such as niixht soil 

 mixed with water, or the drainings 

 from dunghills, they become extreme- 

 ly luxuriant, and every trouble or 

 expense bestowed upon them is am- j 

 ply repaid. The difference between I 

 a crop partially neglected and anoih- ', 

 er carefully cultivated often exceeds 

 fifty per cent. 



"A moderate return of seed for 

 colza is thirty bushels per acre ; but | 

 it frequently exceeds fifty The value i 

 on the Continent is nearly the same 

 as that of wheat. In England it is 

 somewhat less, owing to the quanti- 

 ty imported. It is usually sold by ] 

 the last of ten quarters. j 



"There is not much difTerence | 

 between the value of colza and rape 

 seed (called narctlc in French), but 

 the latter produces less. When the 

 rape is transplanted before winter it 

 is much more productive than when 

 sowed in spring In the latter case ! 

 it produces seed the same year.- It j 

 is sowed in drills, and thinned out by 

 tlie hoe ; and in favourable seasons 

 a tolerable crop is obtained. It is 

 generally sowed on land which could 

 not be t)rouglit into a proper tilth af- ! 

 ter harvest, and which would reqnire 

 the frost of winter to mellow it. 



" Great crops of cole seed and rape 

 have been produced by merely paring 

 and burning the surface and plough- 

 ing in the ashes ; and these crops, 

 alternating with oats, have in many 

 652 



instances so exhausted the soil as to 

 cause a great prejudice against them 

 in the minds of the landlords. Many 

 leases have a clause prohibiting its 

 cultivation, except to be eaten green 

 by sheep. The principal cause, how- 

 ever, of the diminution of this crop 

 in England is the inferior price ob- 

 tained for the seed when compared 

 with wheat, which can be raised on 

 the same laud, and is a more certain 

 crop. 



" The rape and colza ripen their 

 seed very unequally. The lower pods 

 are ready to burst before those at the 

 top are full. If the season is wet at 

 harvest, much of the seed is lost ; 

 and, without great attention, some 

 loss is sustained in the most favour- 

 able seasons. It should be cut when 

 the dew is on it, and moved as little 

 as possible. If the weather permits, 

 it is thrashed out on a cloth in the 

 field ; and as many thrashers are em- 

 ployed as can be conveniently col- 

 lected, that no time may be lost when 

 the weather is fair. The seed is 

 spread out on the floor of a grana- 

 ry, that it may not heat, and is turn- 

 ed over frequently. It is then sold 

 to the crushers, who express the oil. 

 The pods and small branches which 

 are broken off in thrashing are much 

 relished by cattle. 



" This crop returns little to the 

 land, and is of itself very exhausting. 

 Not so, however, is the rape when 

 sown as food for sheep ; it is, on the 

 contrary, a valuable substitute for 

 turnijis, upon land which is too wet 

 and heavy for this root. The Bras- 

 ska aleracca is more succulent than 

 the Brassica napus. Its stem is not 

 so hard, and the soft pith which it 

 contains is much relished by every 

 kind of live stock. To have it in per- 

 fection, the land should be prepared 

 and manured as for turnips. The 

 rape should be sown in drills, ten 

 inches apart, about the beginning or 

 middle of August, which gives ample 

 time for preparing the land without 

 interfering with the turnip crop. It 

 will be sufficiently forward before 

 winter, and it should then be hoed 

 over once. If the crop is very for- 



