246 THE LENTIL CROP. 



of growing anything, gave him the first means of arriving 

 by degrees at an immense improvement in his farms. 

 Those who have poor sandy land, and require green food 

 for their stock, would probably find the cultivation of this 

 plant much to their benefit/" The name it usually bears 

 in France is Jarosse or Jaraude. 



Although the lentil is indigenous to, and may be culti- 

 vated successfully in, soils of the lightest silicious character, 

 still it follows the order of cultivation generally, and 

 gives a larger produce in soils of a better quality. A 

 sandy loam of a warm friable nature appears to be the 

 best adapted to it. If cultivated for its seed produce, it 

 is not desirable that the soil should be in too high condi- 

 tion, as that is apt to induce an herbaceous growth, 

 which, although valuable for forage purposes, is rarely 

 accompanied by a large produce in seed. When its culti- 

 vation, however, is chiefly as a forage plant, manure may be 

 applied as to other crops of a similar character, and in such 

 case nothing is better than good farmyard dung, liberally 

 applied. Its agricultural treatment, in ail respects, is the 

 same as that of vetches. There is a winter and a spring 

 variety ; and the time of sowing, the quantity of seed, and 

 mode of depositing it in the soil, are the same as have 

 been already described. 



On the Continent, in France especially, there are three 

 varieties of the lentil cultivated for human food : The 

 Small Brown Lentil, which has the most agreeable 

 flavour, and is accounted the best for soups and other 

 culinary preparations. The Yellow Lentil, which is 

 reckoned the next best, is somewhat larger in size, and 

 separates very easily from its husks : it is largely used 

 for grinding into meal, and in that shape used for various 

 culinary purposes, and forms the basis of those prepara- 

 tions which have been so long and so successfully forced 

 upon public notice under the names of " Revalenta," 



