On the Giant Sainfoin. 



55 



anxious to make the seed go as far as I could, I planted it by 

 dibbling between the rows of wheat drilled in the autumn upon a 

 pea stubble, which had been previously well prepared in reference 

 to this object. My reason at this time for selecting a wheat crop 

 upon a pea stubble was, because I thought I could depend upon 

 such crop not injuring the plant ; whereas I felt that, with no 

 other crop upon the farm, I should be perfectly safe should a 

 dripping summer ensue. The enormous price I paid for the 

 seed induced me to use this precaution. I have, however, sub- 

 sequently discovered other reasons which have induced me to 

 continue the practice. Wishing to cover as much ground as I 

 could with my seed, I set six droppers to follow one man, that 

 only one seed should be put in each hole, making them as close 

 as possible. In this way I succeeded in making the 4 bushels 

 of seed reach over more than 2J acres of ground. The seed 

 planted well ; and although the plant was thin, yet, having left 

 the stubble to protect the plant during the winter months, it 

 rallied early in the spring, and, by the first week in June, I could 

 have cut 35 cwt. of hay per acre ; but, thinking I could obtain 

 two crops of seed in one year, I left it for that purpose, cutting it 

 in July ; but the plant being thin, it branched out considerably, 

 which retarded the flowering, and, consequently, the maturing of 

 the seed, so that only a scanty crop was realized ; and the second 

 crop, although it went to seed, was late in October before it 

 attained anything like maturity, and a frost causing the seed to 

 fall, the crop was a total failure, By falling into this error I sus- 

 tained a heavy loss. The 2^ acres as a maiden crop produced 

 me only 19 bushels of seed ; whereas had I mowed the first crop 

 for hay, and the second for seed in August, there would have 

 been more uniformity in its ripening, and I have no doubt, from 

 crops I saw treated in that way, but 1 should have obtained 40 

 bushels of seed, so that, when the loss of the hay crop was also 

 taken into account, my loss by this injudicious step amounted to 

 about 90/., as some of my neighbours obtained 80s. per bushel 

 this season for their seed. The next season I was more success- 

 ful, and in June cut about 40 cwt. of hay per acre, and in August 

 obtained about 20 bushels of seed per acre. 



Wishing, however, to notice my failure as well as my success, I 

 proceed to state that the next season I procured another 4 bushels 

 of seed, at 70s. per bushel, which I planted by dibbling with 

 Tartarian oats, sown thinly, but very early. The seed was put in 

 precisely the same as with the wheat crop of the preceding year, 

 but it never planted so well, and the oats being heavy, the Sain- 

 foin was only a partial crop ; still, however, I suffered it to remain 

 three years in plant, and the price of the seed ruling high during 

 the whole period, it was, upon the whole, a profitable crop. 



