'FALLOWS' AND WHAT FOLLOWS. 65 



' Yes, one half of it ; the other half will be ma- 

 nured with guano.' 



< With what, Sir ! ' 



I will spare you the little scene of utter mysti- 

 fication which followed this announcement ; the sub- 

 ject is antiquated now; though many an amusing 

 tale might doubtless be told of the first introduction 

 of that 'magic compound' upon the rural mind. 

 In spite of smiles, winks, murmurings, shakes 

 of the foreboding head, and other demonstrations, 

 jocular and serious, the guano was at last duly 

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

 the other five receiving a hundred cartloads of ' the 

 good old stuff? hauled (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 omni- 

 vorant : 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, about the size of apples. 



And what on the guano ? 

 F 



