On Cropping/ and Caltivatinf/ Ligld Land. 



81 



to the foulness of the land, and to the farmer's determination to 

 clean it, at an expense of 3/. to 5/. per acre. 



The turnips or swedes are planted in May, June, or July ; 

 manured with farm-yard manure, ^uano, bone-dust, and ashes, 

 or, perhaps, by superphosphate. The root-crop is fed on the 

 land by sheep. Barley is sown the next spring ; seeds are sown 

 in the barley ; and the barley being harvested, the seeds remain, 

 and are mown for hay, and fed by sheep during the following 

 spring and summer ; at the ensuing Michaelmas, farm-yard 

 manure is again applied, and the land sown with wheat. 



Such is an outline of the common four-course system. The 

 first and most common deviation from this routine is to cover the 

 fallow with a green crop, rye or tares, which prevents the fal- 

 lowing, and produces a crop of green food, to be fed off by sheep, 

 or ploughed in as manure for the root-crop. The only objection 

 to this crop has been the doubt whether the land could be kept 

 sufficiently clean. Another variation of the four-course is to 

 omit planting seeds amongst the barley, and, instead of a crop of 

 hay the following spring, to produce a crop of peas or winter 

 beans ; wheat following the pea or bean crop, instead of being 

 planted upon a grass or clover ley. 



It is also common to plant oats or wheat instead of barley ; 

 but this is merely adopted in cases of emergency, when a proper 

 barley-season could not be prepared, and it cannot be called a 

 distinct course, being planted for a change, or because it might 

 be thought that one would bear a better relative price than 

 another. The following course is sometimes met with, i.e., 

 wheat after turnips, seeds in the wheat ; oats after seeds, and 

 peas after oats ; but though a plentiful supply of manure may 

 enable the land to bear this rotation with tolerable success, the 

 want of sufficient opportunity to keep the land clean has hitherto 

 prevented it from being more extensively pursued. 



A most signal departure from any old system of cropping, 

 which has gained ground in a few instances, is the alternate 

 growth of roots and wheat. Although this mode has long been 

 known and practised on a small scale — as a distinct and adopted 

 course — it is of very recent introduction. As there is generally 

 a vein of more tenacious soil upon every light-land farm, a 

 different rotation is pursued upon it ; and as there is a difficulty 

 in feeding off roots upon such land, they are generally omitted 

 from the rotation, or carted off when grown ; and beans, wheat, 

 seeds, and oats are sown, either as here stated, or according to 

 the judgment and wants of the occupier, care being taken not to 

 infringe the covenant, which confines every course to two crops 

 of white corn in every four years. 



No doubt additions might be made to the courses here roughly 



VOL. XIV. G 



