THE WHEAT CROP. 19 



of those unprofitable occupants. The addition of a third 

 crop to the rotation, which would admit of a better pre- 

 paration of the land, might be obtained in the smooth- 

 leaved Rape. This, on such soils, grows well ; it admits of 

 the land being well worked and cleaned before sowing, 

 and of being kept clean during its growth ; it comes to 

 maturity early enough to be fed off by the end of Sep- 

 tember, and leaves a large amount of good dressing for 

 the succeeding crop of wheat. The good effect of the 

 extra tillage in cultivating root crops is always shown in 

 the succeeding wheat crop ; and although different prac- 

 tices prevail necessarily in different districts, still, as a 

 general rule, a farmer cannot deepen his soil too much, 

 nor reduce it to too fine a tilth, in preparing it for the 

 reception of his wheat. 



Having, then, to the best of our judgment and our 

 power, completed the preparation of the land, the next 

 point for consideration is the selection of the seed; and 

 this is a point of far more importance than farmers are 

 generally disposed to concede to it. We have no series of 

 properly conducted practical experiments to refer to, which 

 are always desirable in cases where scientific principles are 

 so opposed to general practices, as in this instance ; but 

 to those at all acquainted with natural history the laws 

 of animal or vegetable life a little consideration would 

 clear up any doubts they might before have possessed in 

 reference to it. We may be told, it is true, that good 

 seed does not always produce a good crop, while the pro- 

 duce of inferior seed is sometimes of a superior quality. 

 This may be quite true, and there may be many other 

 ways of accounting for the result beyond the mere differ- 

 ence in the seed ; but, as a rule, the law of production 

 "that like produces like" cannot be disregarded; therefore, 

 if we wish to secure the best results, it is important that 

 the seed sown should be of the best quality that it should 



