Suggested Changes of Fanning System. 237 



amelioration of the soil is now so great that there was no difficulty 

 experienced in breaking np the turf for the second rotation. It is 

 only, I may repeat, with the first turf that there is any difficulty in 

 taking turnips out of grass. Such, then, are some of the results to 

 be obtained from humus, and the use and action of deeply-rooted 

 plants and grasses, and I think I have said enough to recommend 

 the subject to your earnest attention, for it is only through the 

 adoption of agencies like these that we can hope to place our 

 agriculture on a satisfactory footing. 



My lecture is ended now. I am confident that the general 

 principles I have recommended are sound, and I say so after the 

 perusal of much public criticism on my work and opinions, and 

 hearing many private opinions of value, and after having, since my 

 " Agricultural Changes " was published, carefully studied the works 

 of the American agricultural writers. But though I am confident 

 that the general principles I have recommended are sound, it by no 

 means follows that any cut and dried particular method of carrying 

 them out can possibly be laid down. Each man must be left to 

 carry them out in whatever way is suitable to the climate, and 

 general condition of his farm and circumstances ; and I will go so 

 far as to say that not only does every farm require the principles to 

 be worked out in a different way, but that every field on the same 

 farm may require variations in the method of carrying out the 

 principles of the proposed farming system. 



One word more. Insist on your seed being guaranteed as to 

 purity, germination, and weight per bushel. See personally to the 

 mixing and sowing of the seed, and that it is sown as soon as possible 

 after being mixed. In the spring take a rake, and re-seed with your 

 own hands, as I have done, every vacant patch in the field, and you 

 will then see how well, or how ill, your work has been done. In 

 this connection I should advise farmers never to cease urging the 

 Government to establish a central seed-testing station, where 

 farmers could, for a small fee, get their seeds tested. This was 

 recommended in the report of the Committee of igoo appointed by 

 the Board of Agriculture, but no steps appear to have been taken in 

 the matter. This neglect of the intezest of the farmers seems the 

 more astonishing, seeing that the advantages of such an establish- 

 ment have been amply proved by the Swiss Government. There is 

 much need also for an Act to enforce that seedsmen should 

 guarantee the purity and weight per bushel of their seeds, and 

 that the guarantee should be stated on each invoice, as in the case 

 when fertilizers and feeding stuffs are sold. 



