On the Agriculture of the Netherlands. 



63 



depth of the furrow varies according to seasons and circumstances, and 

 there is much skill and ingenuity displayed in doing this, so as to divide 

 the ground well, and lay the dung where it is most effective. When 

 weeds are to be destroyed a very shallow skimming is thought sufficient. 

 In autumn the dung is ploughed in a few inches deep only, to allow the 

 access of air to decompose it. In the following spring the furrow is 

 made several inches deeper, to bring fresh earth to the surface without 

 uncovering the dung. When a first ploughing has been very deep to bury 

 weeds, the next is often shallow to divide the slice first turned over, with- 

 out bringing up the seeds again within the influence of the atmosphere, 

 which would cause them to spring up (the furrow-slice must, in this 

 case, be turned quite over and laid flat, and not leaning on the preced- 

 ing, as in ordinary ploughing). In all this there is a great attention paid 

 to every operation, so that it may be performed most effectually. No more 

 ploughings are given than are thought necessary to each particular crop. 

 A great object is to have an early harvest, both because the weather is 

 generally driest and best early in summer, and because a second crop 

 may be sown before the midsummer showers. Winter barley is on this 

 account preferred to spring barley ; and rye is sown early, that turnips 

 may be sown with some chance of success immediately after it is reaped. 

 Summer stirring and liquid manure keep the land in a clean and rich 

 state, and it is not allowed to remain idle. The heavier soils are laid up 

 high before winter ; the intervals between the stitches are well dug out 

 with the spade, and numerous water-furrows are dug across them that 

 no water may stand anywhere after rains. The winters are more severe 

 on the continent than in Britain ; and even in Flanders, which is so 

 near to us, the frost is much longer and more intense: but this is taken 

 advantage of to expose stifi' soils to its influence." — pp. 19, 20. 



VII. — 071 the Flax-Dodder. By Charles C. Babington, 

 M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., &c. 



To the Secretary. 



Sir, 



Although the culture of flax is not of common occurrence in 

 England, yet, as it is a valuable product in several parts of this 

 country and also of the sister kingdoms, I conceive that a very 

 short notice of the parasitical weed which peculiarly infests it, and 

 in Germany often quite destroys the crop, may be interesting to 

 the Agricultural Society. 



A few years since, Mr. J. E. Bowman noticed that the Cus- 

 cuta epilinum (Weihe), or flax-dodder, was a frequent inhabitant 

 of the flax-fields in Shropshire and the neighbouring counties of 

 Wales ; and during the late summer, in a visit to the West of 

 Ireland, and also to Argjleshire, I observed it amongst the flax 



