1920.] The Value of Lupins on Poor Light Land. 983 



blue variety, so that the seed ripens late and is consequently 

 more difficult to save. 



Lupins are grown for seed, for ploughing in green, and for 

 folding with sheep. No statistics exist of the area under 

 lupins in this country, but there are probably from 1,000 to 

 2,000 acres grown annually in East Suffolk. 



Sowlns:. — ^When grown for seed, lupins are sown at the rate of 

 if to 2 bush, of good seed per acre in April or early May. 

 When sown towards the middle of May there is danger, in Suffolk, 

 that the seed may not ripen satisfactorily, and in late seasons 

 difficulty is experienced in harvesting. Thus, in 191 8, lupins 

 sown in the middle of May could not be harvested in some cases 

 until the middle of November, When the crop is intended for 

 seed, the middle of April is probably the most satisfactory time 

 for sowing. 



One Suffolk grower, who lives near the sea, and whose land is 

 therefore not so liable to spring frosts, sows in March, Further 

 inland there is considerable danger from frost if sowing takes 

 place too early. Lupins sown in April, however, do not often 

 suffer from frost in East Suffolk, and when grown for seed it is 

 probably better to sow in this month than risk a late harvest by 

 postponing sowing until the middle of May. If sown in April 

 or early May the lupins will, in an average season, be ripe by 

 the middle of September. 



WTien grown for ploughing in green, or for folding with sheep,, 

 the seed may be sown at any time up to the middle of July. 

 Usually, however, lupins are sown by the end of June. 



Cutting^. — Lupins intended for seed may be cut with the binder 

 in the same way as beans. They may also be cut with a side- 

 delivery reaper, and harvested loose. The plants hang to- 

 gether very well, and this latter method of cutting has the 

 advantage of saving string, and of avoiding wear and tear of 

 the canvasses of the binder, which are liable to be somewhat 

 damaged by the spiny pods of the lupins. 



If^the lupins are tied up, they are shocked in exactly the same 

 way as beans. In Schouwen, in Zeeland, near the mouth of 

 the Scheldt, Boodt* states that this crop is cut loose, allowed to 

 dry partly, and then tied up and stooked, being subsequently 

 placed in small stacks — the smaller the better — on a base of 

 brushwood. 



From 20 to 30 bush, of seed per acre is an average crop. 

 This must be regarded as good, when one considers the type 

 of land upon which lupins are grown. 



* Tijdschrift der Ned. Heidemaaischappij , March, 191 8. 



