ONE YEAR’S LEY. 27 
The grower must study his soil, its surroundings and 
situation, carefully selecting his seeds accordingly; his 
only alternative course is to go to a reliable, practical, and 
experienced seedsman, explain to him his requirements, and 
the nature of the soil proposed to be dealt with, and to leave 
himself almost entirely in his hands. 
One Year's Ley. 
The difficulty one has to contend with on a one year’s ley 
is that one’s seeds are almost invariably sown with spring corn. 
Now spring corn, notably barley, requires what the farmer 
calls plenty of mould. This is a light and pliable seed bed, 
which is obtained by ploughing the land early, and, after the: 
frost has completely pulverised the clods, and the March 
winds have dried the land, cultivating with grubber and 
harrow until such a bed is formed. Should one plough the 
land in a wet state, and no frost supervenes, one must harrow 
and roll until the big clods are reduced to smaller ones, and if 
under such circumstances one is unable to form pulverised 
soil, neither the grain nor the seeds will thrive. 
Whether the bed is pliable or not is easily ascertained by 
a very simple experiment. Push your foot into the freshly 
raised mould, drawing it along a little way, and if you can 
easily do this you have a seed bed suitable for your purpose as 
far as spring corn is concerned. 
It is no use attempting to force your land; your only course 
is to. permit it to get thoroughly dry, and the first rain will 
reward your patience, as after a shower the clods will slake 
readily and freely to the touch of the roll and harrow. 
Now arises the grass-grower’s great difficulty; he has 
formed a perfect bed for his spring corn, but it is absolutely 
unsuited for his grass and clover seeds, and he is compelled 
to sow these as the grain is coming up. 
