44 OUR FARM CROPS. 



ing, at the rate of 3 to 5 cwt. per acre, is generally found 

 to be followed by good results. 



Again, appearances just opposite to these are to be fre- 

 quently seen in crops growing even on strong and good 

 wheat soils, especially if the season be a dry one, where a 

 deficiency of organic food for the plant occasions a stunted, 

 though at the same time not an unhealthy growth. This 

 may entirely disappear should the weather change, and 

 furnish a supply of moisture to the soil, which would 

 enable the roots to obtain more readily the needed sup- 

 plies; or it may be materially improved by the judicious 

 application of some manurial substances, rich in the ele- 

 ments which the plant is supposed to require. Here the 

 good effects of nitrogenized manures are generally seen, 1 

 guano (Peruvian), and nitrate of soda being those usually 

 applied, at the rate of 2 to 3 cwt. per acre. In all cases, 

 these topdressings should be applied immediately before, 

 or during wet weather, so that they may be acted upon 

 by the rain, and carried at once into the soil. 



Frequently, after a mild winter especially, the autumn- 

 sown wheats on good soils, present an appearance of luxu- 

 riant growth, which is considered to augur badly for the 

 future crop, as rendering the plant more liable to disease, 

 and to suffer from the weather. In this case, a practice 

 exists of feeding it off by sheep, and then allowing it again 

 to resume its growth. This practice does not appear to 

 make its way as it ought to do ; chiefly, I am inclined to 

 think, because where it has been tried unsatisfactorily, 

 the necessary conditions and precautions were not pro- 

 perly observed. It should not be attempted too late in 

 the season, certainly not later than the end of March; 



1 Ammoniacal manures are generally found more effective than the phos- 

 phatic when applied to our cereal crops ; the latter, however, are preferable to 

 the former for turnips and fallow crops generally. The difference in the pro- 

 portion of the leaf and in organic structure between the orders to which the 

 plants severally belong may account for this. 



