MODE AND PERIOD OF SOWING, &c. 195 



is also of great importance that they should not be allowed 

 to be touched by sheep or cattle, as any want of attention 

 to these two points would be sure to be followed by a 

 proportionate failure in the crop. The practice of sowing 

 the crop broadcast is still followed in some districts, 

 chiefly in Wales ; it possesses, however, no compensatory 

 advantages, as double the quantity of seed is required, 

 and the difficulty of keeping the crop clear of weeds 

 during its early growth, which is the great obstacle to its 

 success as a crop, is considerably increased. As the crop 

 is intended to be of some years' duration, it is always 

 desirable to have some spare plants to fill up any blanks 

 that may occur in the drills, a small patch should there- 

 fore be kept as a seed-bed, to furnish the supply that may 

 from time to time be necessary in the field. The blanks 

 should be carefully filled up as soon as the winter is fairly 

 over; then the only attention the crop requires during 

 the spring and summer months is that it be kept free 

 from weeds. In the autumn of the second year the plants 

 are sufficiently advanced to give a crop, which may be 

 mown with a scythe in the usual manner. After the first 

 cutting, it is recommended by some to cut every alternate 

 row only each year, thus giving each row a two years' 

 growth, and at the same time better access to air and 

 light than if grown and cut down altogether. In this 

 case the crop has to be cut with the hook instead of the 

 scythe; this, however, is but of small importance as 

 regards the labour, as it is desirable not to cut more at a 

 time than sufficient for a day or two's consumption, and 

 the hook will do this as quickly as the scythe. Others, 

 again, consider it best to sow the plant in wider rows, and 

 mow the whole crop every year, as the shoots are more 

 tender, and there is less bottom and dry stems than in the 

 two-year old plants. 



The great advantage that gorse offers as a forage crop 



