PRACTICAL MANAGEMENT OF SOILS. 39 



crop of green food upon light land, it is requisite to be 

 very careful as to the firmness of the soil. It is generally 

 objectionable to sow wheat upon this plan in the southern 

 districts, though it is often practised in the northern dis- 

 tricts of England ; but there, measures are specially taken 

 to give firmness to the soil. The crops of autumn food 

 which in these districts usually precede the wheat are rape, 

 turnips, and rape, and common turnips, and these are 

 always consumed on the land by sheep. After the land 

 is ploughed, the presser is taken over it ; but if this does 

 not give the necessary firmness, sheep may be turned in to 

 tread it down, thus giving a consolidation which no rolling 

 can ever give it. Should all this fail in consolidating the 

 soil properly, the only way is to change the cropping, and 

 take the wheat after clover, which after all, in such soils, 

 is the best preparation for the wheat crop. But as there 

 is in the northern counties a strong objection to wheat after 

 clover, the only mode at disposal is to sow the seed while 

 the land is wet, which will secure the firmness required. 

 A clover ley, well inverted by the plough, offers a fine firm 

 furrow; hence its advantages for the wheat crop. The 

 furrow is all the better for lying for some time after inver- 

 sion, so that the seed may be sown upon a ' stale furrow.' 

 It is also advisable to use a skim coulter with the plough 

 to assist in burying the turf completely, otherwise the clover 

 is apt to spring up between the furrows, which is objec- 

 tionable. 



25. As the land becomes lighter, on which it is proposed 

 to raise a wheat crop, the laiid-presser comes in to aid 

 most opportunely and efficiently in getting a consolidated 

 seed bed. Professor Tanner states that he has frequently, 

 with advantage, used a small drill in conjunction with the 

 presser for sowing clover ley, especially in wet seasons when 

 the soil is disposed to be rather adhesive. Such land, he 

 says, can often be ploughed up quite dry enough for imme- 

 diate sowing ; but before a sufficient breadth of it can be 

 prepared for a day's work of a large drill, it gets too wet to 

 be worked, and often has to lie therefore a considerable 



