The Importance 0/ Rolling. 



lambs and calves after harvest, without any bad 

 effect. But it is important to remember that before 

 any stock is admitted to the fields the land should be 

 rolled, so as to prevent any injury to the grasses, many 

 of which are sure to have but a slight hold on the 

 ground. It is important to remember that rolling in 

 warm weather makes the land warmer, and in cold 

 weather, colder. 



The next error, and one which is often committed, is 

 that of failing carefully to roll the land in the begiiming 

 of winter and the spring following, for, in consequence 

 of this neglect, the plants are liable to be thrown out 

 by frost, and also to suffer from drought in the spring. 

 And when I say carefully I mean that the land should 

 be rolled with careful rega,rd to the weather and the 

 state of the land, which is very apt to be too damp or 

 too dry, and I have had land of my own injured by 

 being rolled when in too damp a state. Having the 

 land well rolled enables a shower of rain to be much 

 more eifectual than it would otiierwise be. When the 

 soil is not rolled, and therefore loose, the water of a 

 shower would quickly evaporate and be easily carried 

 away by the wind, whereas the rolled soil would cause 

 a shower to go much further in supplying the plants 

 with moisture. EoUing would sometimes have the effect 

 of keeping plants alive which would otherwise die. 

 When my steward mentioned to a farmer visitor the 

 importance of rolling, he said : " Oh, we have no time 

 for rolling." But if the farmer seems often to have no 

 time to spare for the valuable, and indeed most important 

 work of rolling, he seems to have no diflS.culty in finding 

 time for the harmful practice of raking the stubbles 

 of his young grass fields. This is most objectionable, 

 as the teeth of the rake sometimes pull up, and some- 

 times rupture, the roots of the tender grass plants, and 

 the stamp of the horses must often destroy late spring 

 seeds, which not infrequently germinate close to, or 

 immediately after, the time of harvest. 



