Farming of East Lothian, 



285 



It is, however, very rarely that frosts injure the more hardy 

 varieties. 



After the removal of the turnip crop, preparatory to wheat 

 sowing, a furrow of medium depth, 4 to 6 inches, is given — the 

 land being sometimes gathered up into ridges, more commonly, 

 however, ploughed flat in the ordinary manner of four ridges,^ 

 with an open furrow every 24 yards. If the condition of the land 

 admits of it, sowing frequently follows the ploughing ; some, 

 however, prefer allowing the land to lie for a time previous to 

 sowing. As much as possible of the turnip-land is seeded before 

 the middle of December, as sowing is generally suspended from 

 that period till February. Spring sowing commences sometimes 

 towards the close of January, but the end of February or 

 beginning of March is preferred. A red variety for " April 

 wheat " is sown sometimes even to the end of April. This 

 variety occupies the ground about the same period as the later 

 varieties of barley. In favourable seasons nearly the whole of 

 the turnip break is sown with wheat ; but since 1847 the relative 

 prices of barley and wheat have changed, so that many farmers 

 now prefer a crop of barley to spring-wheat, the acreable money 

 return being not unfrequently in favour of the barley. Last seasonj 

 from the difficulty of getting in the usual breadth of wheat, 

 barley has a higher place in the statistics of the county than it 

 would otherwise have had, although its cultivation is extending. 



The varieties of wheat most grown are Hunter's, Fenton, and 

 Hopetoun of white wheats, and Lammas red, Spalding's, and 

 Nottingham of reds. Of the whites. Hunter's occupies the 

 largest breadth, Fenton the second, and Hopetoun the third. 

 Considerable diversity of opinion exists as to which of them is 

 the best. Fenton, being a stifF-strawed wheat, admits of more 

 liberal top-dressings, and its acreable produce, especially by the 

 application of guano and the nitrate of soda, can thus be greatly 

 increased. Its cultivation is from this cause greatly extending.. 

 Hunter's has been an established variety for about sixty years — 

 Hopetoun and Fenton about fifteen. Besides these, which may 

 be termed local varieties, there have been several introduced from 

 the south. These are generally found, however, to deteriorate sa 

 much in a year or two, that they speedily lose favour, and con- 

 siderable losses have been sustained from growing new varieties. 



Some farmers apply from 2 to 3 cwt. of guano to the turnip- 

 land previous to sowing the wheat. Some apply farm-yard 

 manure, but guano is the most general application, top-dressing 

 with it in spring being now the most esteemed practice. 



If sowing is delayed till March, the grass-seeds are sown at the 

 same time as the wheat. If Autumn sown, these seeds are put 

 m generally in March. The quantity of seed varies considerably j. 



