PEACTICAL MANAGEMENT OF SOILS. 37 



thrown together in a dry state, and thus left till sowing." 

 Professor Tanner agrees with Mr. Roberts as to the advan- 

 tages of having the stetches or furrows narrow, so that they 

 may be covered at one bout with the harrow or the drill, 

 and the horses may walk in the furrows. If the land has 

 been prepared in good time and in good condition, and the 

 weather favourable, Professor Tanner would prefer to sow 

 the seed broad-cast, rather than run the risk of losing the 

 proper time and condition of soil by choosing the slower 

 operation of drilling. In all clay lands of a strong charac- 

 ter, it is of the utmost importance to avoid the poaching 

 and treading of the land by the horses, and to have the 

 seed in, as early as the climate of the locality will permit 

 of. For so attractive and retentive of moisture is clay of 

 this character, that it not only absorbs it from the air, but 

 when rain falls its pores are filled up, and if pressed upon 

 a firm adhesion of its 'particles is the result ; the feet-holes 

 of horses retain therefore the moisture long after the land 

 is generally dry ; and the contraction of the soil when dry- 

 ing, and its expansion while being wetted, have a most 

 deleterious influence upon the growth of the plant. When 

 the seed is got in it should be harrowed, but only suffi- 

 ciently to cover the seed, not to make the surface smooth, 

 and rolling should be certainly avoided. If a fine surface 

 is obtained either by over-harrowing or by rolling, the first 

 heavy rain which comes, forms a muddy coating which, in 

 dry weather, becomes a dry crust. This crust prevents the 

 play of the atmospheric influences upon the rootlets of the 

 plants, and hinders their tillering. The surface should 

 therefore be left in a rough state consistent with the actual 

 covering of the seed. These rough clods act as good shel- 

 ters to the young plants during the hard frosts and the 

 biting winds of winter and early spring, and will mellow 

 down into a fine tilth as genial weather approaches ; so 

 that when spring-rolling is carried out, a valuable help will 

 be given to the young plants. But while the farmer is 

 counselled to leave his lands rough, it is not meant thereby 

 that he has to leave it so rough as to be negligent or slo- 



