206 AGRICULTURE 



crop is removed, the dry weather of late 

 summer being utilized to cultivate the ground, 

 and to bring the weeds to the surface, most 

 of which will, by such treatment, be killed 

 under the influence of sun and drought. In 

 due course the wheat will be harvested in 

 August, and the stubble, being broken up in 

 autumn or early winter, will be exposed to 

 the ameliorating influence of frost, which is 

 the most effective natural agent in the pro- 

 duction of the fine tilth that is so essential 

 to the cultivation of the turnip crop. Turnips 

 conveniently precede barley, which is a 

 cereal crop that can be sowed comparatively 

 late in spring, so that ample time is given 

 for the consumption of a proportion of the 

 turnip crop on the land by sheep. Moreover, 

 the manure left by the folding of sheep 

 remains near the surface after the land has 

 been ploughed with a 6-inch furrow ; and 

 such disposition of the sheep droppings 

 admirably suits the shallow-rooted habit of 

 the barley crop. Along with the barley are 

 usually sown the seeds of clover or grass, 

 and these not only find congenial conditions 

 of growth in the clean, well-manured ground, 

 but the resultant plants also grow well during 

 summer under the comparatively mild shade 

 of the barley crop, in other words, barley 





