Frencli Experiinentai Farm at Vaujours. 
301 
No .ajjricultural treatise, to my knowletlsfe, speaks of forage- 
fiops beinjf lodged ; but the rej)oit of tlie English Coiniiiissioiiers 
.sent in 1859 to Milan notices this remarkable fact — that 4000 
acres of meadow irrigated by the waters of the Canal of \ ittabia, 
the main outfall of the sewers of Milan, become so much en- 
riched that every three years, or even every other year, the sur- 
face herbage {la surface inherhee) is removed, and sold as 
manure. Rut for this precaution, the growth would be so rank 
and luxuriant that tlu? grass would lodge, so that the scythe 
would not go through it. 
At Vaujours a contract had been entered into to use 10,000 
tons of sewage yearly ; in 1859, 6000 tons had been applied un- 
tliluted, the lodgment of forage-crops not having been antici- 
pated. The City of Paris has annulled this contract, wisely 
-considering that its interest is best promoted by the most econo- 
mical application of its stores of manure, so as to exhibit the 
best result with the least amount of seAvage. 
The best precautions against lodging are to apply the manure 
same time before sowing the crop, and then to give a good deep 
-cultivation. It would seem that " lodging " arises especially 
from a want of equilibrium between the organic and mineral 
constituents of the plant ; and that this want of equilibrium takes 
place when the manure has been so recently applied that it has 
not had time to act chemically on the soil, so as to render the 
mineral food of plants free, soluble, and capable of assimilation. 
Top-dressings must consequently be avoided. or made very light 
—say 6 to 8 tons per acre. 
With proper attention to these precautions cereals may be 
<;rown with sewage. For Layers, especially rye-grass layers, 
these rules should be observed : — - 
1. As in the case of grain-crops, to apply the sewage some 
time before sowing, and stir the ground well. 
2. To give but a moderate winter dressing. The danger is, 
that the first crop should lodge ; the second and third will bear 
forcing. 
3. To grow lucerne and mixed layers rather than Italian rye- 
grass. 
4. To feed the most luxuriant crops till the middle of April, 
■or even later. 
There are certain crops which never lodge, however highly 
manured, e. g., cabbage, maize, sorghum, hemp, tobacco, and 
beet. The first requires too much labour to suit Vaujours ; the 
second and third might be serviceable when our dairy is organ- 
ised. Hemp grows well, but cannot be sold standing; the 
labour of scutching, &c., makes this crop better adapted to the 
peasant proprietor than to the large farm. 
