122 THE DAILY LIFE OF OUR FARM. 



roots per acre," which, containing so much nitrogen as 

 these roots do, constituted an exceedingly good dressing 

 for the wheat crop to follow. The whole of this little 

 volume is full of the most valuable information for the 

 sucking agriculturist. 



Talking of oilcake, the other evening, as I was watch- 

 ing the gang busy cutting the " seeds," I happened to 

 remark how much the manure showed that came from 

 the boxes of the best-fed animals. One of them, who 

 until recently had been in the service of a notoriously 

 cross-gi'ained farmer of the neighbourhood, who treats 

 his animals as ill as he does his human attacMs, said 

 that if he does ever get a ton of oilcake in, he gives his 

 shepherd out one piece daily to be divided amongst the 

 flock. He is of opinion that half-an-ounce a day is 

 plenty for a sheep, and that if a portion of the lot 

 should consume more' than their due proportion one 

 day, it will only make the rest nimbler at the troughs 

 the next feeding time. 



Walking the wheat-field yesterday on which I had 

 observed the rooks so busy in the spring, I find that 

 the stems have tillered out gloriously to cover the weak 

 spots, and that, in fact, the plant in that portion of the 

 field looks almost healthier than in any other. We had 

 a battue, however, of the young rooks the other day, 

 which, made into tarts, were pronounced excellent by 

 those who ate them. It was surprising how quickly 

 the old birds moved off all their offspring that could 

 fly, into some elms across the river, beyond our reach. 

 The very day the firing ceased they seemed to compre- 

 hend how matters stood, and returned, notwithstanding 

 that several young scions of the noble family lay dead 

 in the various nests to which they had managed to 



