72 THE SOIL OF THE FARM. 



this crop, my practice being to open out the furrow and 

 apply about twenty tons per acre, then, after earthing up 

 the furrows, I jiroceed to drill the seed upon the top. If 

 I did not grow turnips, I should ajoply the dung in au- 

 tumn to clover or grass. This, of course, would involve 

 exposure to the atmosphere, but I should not fear much 

 loss on this account, or, at all events, I do not think 

 there would be more by this process than by any other." 



Application of Farm Manure. — If farm manure is 

 applied in autumn, there need be no fear of loss from or- 

 dinary rains, on stiff land at least. The time of year, 

 however, as well as the mode of application which may 

 be best, must depend on what crop it is to benefit most, 

 and on the course of cropping. 



For potatoes, beans, turnijis, and other fallow crops, 

 the dung may be put on the stubbles without much risk 

 of loss before they are broken up; or it may be ai)plied in 

 the manner already described by Sir J. B. Lawes for his 

 mangel crops, at the time of planting or sowing. AVhere 

 the land is to be worked on the flat, tlie former i^ractice 

 is preferable, provided the dung is in stock early enough. 

 In England potatoes are never grown witliout manure; 

 mangels and beans seldom are either; but turnips arc fre- 

 quently grown with the aid of artificial manures only, the 

 land in this case benefiting by the sheep-fold trfterwards. 

 For potatoes, mangels, and beans, fifteen to twenty tons 

 of dung are usually applied per acre; and in most cases 

 this is supplemented with two, three, oreven five hundred 

 pounds of light manures. For turnips about ten tons of 

 dung and the above quantities of auxiliary manures arc 

 reckoned sufficient. 



For the wheat crop, the manure is applied on the clover 

 lea before plowing. Some prefer to manure the clover be- 

 fore the first cutting, others between the first and second 

 cutting ; and others again not until immediately before 



