Ayleshy, Riby, and Rothwell Farms. 
423 
It will thus be seen that, out of 1714 acres of tillage, about 
500 acres are annually devoted to wheat. 
1. Wheat. — Except on the strong land at Ajlesby, the seeds 
are always ploughed and pressed early, and the land is left thus 
until the end of September or the beginning of October. The 
strong-land seeds are generally broken up by the steam-culti- 
vator at a cost of about 12.9. an acre, and the land is afterwards 
ploughed and pressed. Any portion which seemed to require it 
would have a dressing of summer-made foldyard manure before 
ploughing ; and another portion would probably be top-dressed 
with 2 cwt. of guano and 3 cwt. of salt early in the spring. 
The seed, after having been dressed with arsenic, or preferably 
with blue vitriol, is drilled with an ordinary corn-drill, from 8 
pecks on the strong land to 12 on the Wold land being used to the 
acre. Oxford Prize (a red wheat) is the kind usually sown. 
Sowing commences on the Wold land at the end of September, 
and finishes on the strong land in the last week in October, except 
on those portions of the farm where wheat succeeds early-fed 
turnips, as there it cannot be sown until the end of November or 
beeinnine: of December. There also the seed is drilled with 
a two-row presser-drill, consisting merely of a common drill 
attached to an ordinary two-horse presser. Early sowing is 
regarded as of the greatest importance on the higher lands, as it 
enables the plant to resist the severe winter frosts of that climate 
so much better than it could otherwise do. Spring wheat is 
cultivated to a certain extent. 
Early in the spring the land is Cambridge-rolled, and the 
strong land is well harrowed ; a large portion of the light land is 
also gone over with lighter harrows ; but hoeing is not much 
practised. 
At the commencement of harvest a reaping-machine is used ; 
and, after a certain portion has been thus cut, the remainder of 
the wheat and the whole of the spring corn are cut by the scythe. 
The wheat cut by the reaper is harvested as soon as possible, and 
every endeavour is afterwards made to keep the harvesters as 
close as possible to the scythe. The harvesting of the machine- 
cut wheat commences as soon as the scythe begins to be used to 
the remainder, and afterwards to the spring corn — harvesting and 
mowing proceeding together. 
Wheat and barley are sheafed and stooked in the same manner 
as on the Wolds ; and the former is made into round stacks, each 
of which contains about one day's work for a steam-threshing 
machine, or, on the average, from 40 to 50 quarters. The stacks 
are placed on raised steddles, which are nearly one foot in height, 
and are made of a concrete composed of a mixture of chalk and 
sand. 
YOL. V. — S. S. 2 F 
