66 



Management of Wheat. 



Barking, Romford, Edmonton, Enfield, and other places— to grow 

 wheat and potatoes alternately for many years together. But in 

 order to carry on this system successfully, dung must be liberally 

 used for the potatoes ; no dressing beyond this is required for the 

 wheat ; the potatoes yielding from 300 to 500 bushels- per acre, 

 and the wheat from 30 to 40 bushels. Of course, as above hinted, 

 to carry on this kind of farming, manure must be made rich and 

 applied abundantly, or be obtained plentifully from large towns. 

 XJpon this description of land 4 pecks of seed are amply sufficient, 

 and it should never be sown till the end of October or the begin- 

 ning of November ; if at all earlier, it becomes winter-proud and 

 produces too much straw. I have witnessed the large yield of full 

 50 bushels per acre throughout a field of 37 acres in the parish of 

 East Ham, in Essex, where the seed was not sown till the middle 

 of December, after a full crop of potatoes. Upon other strong 

 yet rich loams, containing a larger proportion of clay, wheat and 

 beans are successfully cultivated alternately. The beans, being 

 kept perfectly clean, frequently supersede the labour of ploughing 

 for wheat ; in which case the land is harrowed previously to drilling 

 or dibbling the wheat. 



Peat-soils are of so loose a texture that they require to be ren- 

 dered as solid as possible by a good drainage — for peat holds 

 water like a sponge, and when the water is carried off it contracts 

 in a similar manner — by the admixture of clay or other inorganic 

 substances, and by rolling and pressing before and after planting, 

 to insure a medium quality of grain. As these improvements go 

 on in the fens of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, &c. &c., the 

 quality of grain brought to market approaches nearer to that grown 

 on sandy and loamy soils, while the quantity greatly exceeds the 

 corn grown on light sands or gravels. The fen- farmers have one 

 advantage with respect to the growth of a good quality of grain, 

 which is the absence of hedges and of hedge-row trees. A pre- 

 paration which appears adapted for peat-soils is to plough the land 

 shallow, drill-roll, and hand-dibble the seed in the grooves formed 

 by the roller, and then cover the seed with the harrow. The solid- 

 ity given to the soil by this method is what is absolutely neces- 

 sary on the spongy peat-soils. The rolling, and treading, and 

 depth at which the seed is deposited prevent the plants being 

 thrown out by alternate frosts and thaws ; and, giving the root a 

 good hold of the soil, in some measure prevent also the crops being 

 lodged or becoming root-fallen. With respect to dibbling, we 

 may observe, that it is acknowledged to be the means of obtaining 

 a stiffer straw ; and hence the propriety of hand-dibbling at a cost 

 of 7s. or Ss. per acre on a loose peat. 



On freshly broken-up grass-land oats are preferred to wheat ; 

 though, after the surplus vegetable matter of the soil has been 



