420 THE WOAD AND WELD CROPS. 



about half an inch in depth, and covered in either by a 

 bush-harrow or a very light pair of seed-harrows, the 

 operation being finished by a second turn of the light 

 roller over the field. 



Although woad likes a moist soil, stagnant water im- 

 mediately tells its tale upon the crop the plants turn 

 yellow and are soon destroyed. On the low-lying soils 

 generally selected for the cultivation, the drainage is 

 frequently sluggish, and after a heavy rainfall the water 

 has a difficulty in getting away. To meet this state of 

 things, which, if allowed to remain, would probably 

 materially injure the crop, it is always recommended to 

 cut "grips" or water-courses over the field as soon as it is 

 sown, to take off any surplus moisture and keep the young 

 plants dry. The seed, which is even of less size than 

 turnip seed, vegetates in from seven to fourteen days, 

 according to the time of sowing the earlier sowings 

 growing more slowly than the later, which, however, are 

 far more liable to injury from the " fly,'' which is as 

 destructive to this as to the turnip crop. When the 

 plants are well up in the drills, and have made a growth of 

 2 to 3 inches, they require to be " thinned," in the same 

 manner as our root crops, though they are allowed to 

 remain closer on the ground, as their growth is kept down 

 by the continual cropping they undergo during the 

 whole of the growing season. This " thinning " is usually 

 performed by the workers men, women, and children 

 being indiscriminately employed on their knees, short 

 spuds or knives being used for cutting out the plants, 

 and for extirpating the weeds at the same time. 



Towards the middle or end of July the first sowing 

 will be generally ready for "cropping." This should 

 always be commenced as soon as a change is noticed in 

 the colour of the leaves: this indicates full maturity, and 

 if it be delayed any longer, both the quantity and the 



