GROWIXQ OF RAPE 293 



and Giant. The former is more generally useful, 

 especially on the light, chalky lands of England, 

 and it is the only one that has given satisfaction 

 in this country. The other is grown on strong 

 lands, and occupies a full place in the rotation. 

 Rape has taken the place of turnips to some 

 extent, and is very similar in its management. 

 All varieties are annual, but in England they 

 sometimes do not mature seeds the first season. 

 The advantages of rape are: (1) it is well adapted 

 to most soils; (2) it can be seeded either in spring 

 or summer, serving an excellent purpose as a 

 catch-crop and for green-forage; (3) the expense 

 of seed and seeding is low; (4) it is especially 

 useful for sheep and swine, although with care it 

 may be profitably fed to dairy cattle. 



Preparation of land, and seeding 



The seed of rape is small, and the preparation 

 of land is therefore very important. The land 

 should be deeply plowed, covering all vegetable 

 matter, thoroughly pulverized, and the surface soil 

 made extremely fine previous to seeding. 



Although rape does well on soils of medium 

 fertility, the best results are secured when they 

 are naturally rich, or have been well fertilized. 

 When grown for forage, an application of barn- 

 yard manure at the rate of eight tons per acre, 



