'FALLOWS' AND WHAT FOLLOWS. 65 



" Yes, one half of it ; the other half will be manured 

 with guano." 



" With what, Sir !" 



I will spare the reader the little scene of utter 

 mystification which followed this announcement ; the 

 subject would be antiquated now ; though many an 

 amusing tale might doubtless be told of the first in- 

 troduction of that " magic compound " upon the rural 

 mind. In spite of smiles, winks, murmurings, shakes 

 of the foreboding head, and other demonstrations, jo- 

 cular and serious, the guano was at last duly sown, on 

 the flat, a ton to five acres, and ridged in ; the other 

 five receiving a hundred cartloads of 'the good old 

 stuff' hauled (nearly half a mile) from the farm-yard, 

 forked into the ridges, and covered in by a second 

 ridging, as usual. 



' A hundred to one upon the farm-yard manure ' ! 

 of course, or any other amount of odds : all bidders, 

 and only one moonstruck, misguided taker. It proved 

 a miserable year for Turnips generally. Everywhere 

 ' The Fly ' was omnipotent and omnivorant : the odds 

 fell a little when the highly backed ' farm-yard ' 

 ridges had to be sown a second time, but a crop came 

 at last, alxnit the size of apples. 



And what on the guano? 



F 



