AGRICULTURE. 



be supposed to have been their practice 

 for a vast succession of ages. Tobacco, 

 cotton, and the castor-oil plant, are culti- 

 vated by it, as well as every species of 

 grain. 



The Culture of Grain and Roots. 



Of the various plants raised for the nou- 

 rishment of man, wheat is of the chief 

 importance. To prevent the disease so 

 fatal to this vegetable, called the smut, 

 steeping its seed from twelve to twenty- 

 four hours in a ley of wood ashes, in 

 lime water, and in a solution of arsenic, is 

 completely efficacious, even although it 

 should have been extremely affected by 

 the disease. A less time is insufficient. 

 On cold, wet, and backward soils, the 

 best season for putting this grain into the 

 earth is September, particularly if the 

 weather be rainy, as wheat should never 

 be sown in U dry season. On dry and 

 warm soils the sowing may be best post- 

 poned till October. In proportion to the 

 earliness of the sowing, a less quantity of 

 seed is sufficient. The best preparation 

 for it is by beans. Clover forms also an 

 excellent preparation for it : and on a 

 farm dry enough for turnips, and rich 

 enough for wheat, the Norfolk practice 

 of turnips, barley, clover, and wheat, is 

 perhaps the most eligible that can be 

 adopted. 



By the dibbling of wheat, for a fort- 

 night before which the land must be 

 ploughed, and rolled down with a heavy 

 roller, the seedjis deposited in the centre 

 of the flag, and the regular treading 

 which the land receives presses down the 

 furrows, and gives it a most valuable de- 

 gree of firmness. The chief attention 

 required in dibbling is, to make the holes 

 deep enough, and to see that the children 

 drop the seed equally, without scattering. 

 After this dropping is completed, bush- 

 harrowing follows. The quantity of seed 

 should be about six pecks in two rows in 

 a flag. If the drill-machine be used, the 

 preparation of the land by ploughing, 

 harrowing, and rolling, must be extreme- 

 ly accurate, whether for one stroke of the 

 machine, or for a bout of it, and the 

 quantity of seed should be the same as 

 that used in dibbling. In February, 

 slight dressings are with great advantage 

 spread over the green crop of this grain ; 

 and if the farmer has his choice for this 

 purpose, he can never hesitate about tak- 

 ing them from dung ; as dungs of all sorts 

 are excellent, and no other manures, 

 like these, are universally applicable. In 



the drill-husbandry, the practice of hoeing 

 is of the first importance, and has been 

 already mentioned. If horse-hoeing be 

 not employed, the hand-hoe may be used 

 to great advantage, and should be per- 

 formed, first, early in March, and the se- 

 cond time in the beginning of April. A 

 scarifier is by many employed instead of 

 the hoe, with the same object and effect. 

 Whatever the operation, employed with 

 this view, may be, the bottom should, 

 with respect to wheat, be left firm and 

 untouched. This is of particular import- 

 ance. 



A mild and open winter is far from 

 being favourable to this grain, pushing it 

 forward with too rapid vegetation, and 

 also cherishing those weeds which be- 

 come its most injurious enemies. No 

 weather is so injurious to wheat in the 

 ground as wet. If, however, it have a 

 good blooming time, though the rest of 

 the summer, both before and after this 

 period, maybe unkindly, little apprehen- 

 sion for the crop need be entertained 

 from any state of the weather. 



If wheat be attacked by mildew, which 

 is most likely to occur in the month of 

 July, the only effectual application is the 

 sickle, which ought not to be delayed for 

 a moment, though the ear be perfectly 

 green. 



Barley requires a mellow soil, and 

 when sown upon clay, therefore, extraor- 

 dinary care is required to stir the land im- 

 mediately after the removal of the previ- 

 ous crop ; and, with this view, the prac- 

 tice of rib-ploughing, which exposes the 

 greatest possible quantity of surface to 

 the air and frost, has been employed by 

 many. This object should, at all events, 

 be gained, which ever method be adopted 

 for it, of the many which have been sug- 

 gested, and are indeed practised. Scari- 

 fication, with Mr. Cooke's machine for 

 this purpose, instead of ploughing, is 

 found to be an excellent method. In pro- 

 portion to the tenaciousness of the soil 

 must be the extent of this operation, 

 which is easily dispatched, even when 

 repeated, leaving the lands, or stitches, in 

 excellent order for the drill-machine to 

 advance and perfect its work. 



The proper season for getting barley 

 into the ground is March. The most 

 useful preparation for it is by turnips. To 

 have the land dry for sowing is of more 

 consequence for this grain, than it is for 

 almost any other. It should always fol- 

 low either an ameliorating crop or a fal- 

 low, and in many cases it should be fol- 

 lowed by clover. The quantity of seed 



