Affriculturc of Berkshire. 
19 
too much out of the hind ; whether necessity will compel us to 
cultivate it to a greater extent, in the absence of other alter- 
natives, remains to be seen. 
Barleij and Oats. — The preparation of the land for the suc- 
ceeding barley or oat crop commences as soon as the fields are 
cleared of the roots. When the weather will permit, it is ploughed 
up immediately after the sheep, so as to receive the benefit of 
the frost, and a final ploughing at the end of February or begin- 
ning of March is given before the barley or oats are sown ; the 
land fed off later in the spring is mostly sown after once plough- 
ing. Of late years barley is put in much earlier than formerly, 
as it is found that a better sample is grown. The drill has 
nearly superseded the plan of sowing broadcast ; the quantity of 
seed is from 2^ to 3^ bushels of barley per acre, and from 4 to 5 
bushels of oats, according to the condition of the land. 
Where grass-seeds are sown the seed-barrow follows the drill and 
deposits the seed in the channels made by its coulters ; if the land 
does not work fine, then it is harrowed and rolled before the grass- 
seeds are put in : the quantity of seed used is, for red clover and 
cow-grass 14 to 16 lbs. per acre ; white clover 14 lbs. ; sometimes 
a mixture of 6 lbs. white clover, 6 lbs. trefoil, and ^ a bushel of rye- 
grass per acre is used on the lighter lands. Some people prefer 
sowing their grass-seeds after the barley is up, and merely rolling 
them in, but in dry seasons the former plan is considered best. 
When sainfoin is laid down with the barley or oats, it is drilled 
the opposite way, about 4 bushels of rough seed, or 60 lbs. of 
milled, with 8 lbs. of trefoil per acre. 
Barley is either mown with the scythe or reaping-machine, 
and allowed to ^ay in swath till fit for carting, sometimes re- 
quiring a turning or two. The plan of fagging oats is much in 
favour, as it greatly economises labour and time in carting. 
Grass. — That portion of the barley and oat field which has not 
been sown with grass is fallowed as early in the autumn as cir- 
cumstances will admit, either for rape or turnips, or for beans 
and peas. The manui-e for the most part is carted on from the 
farmyards and spread before the land is ploughed. Beans and 
peas are sometimes mixed together — 1 bushel of peas to 3 
bushels of beans per acre.* The greater part of the Berkshire 
farmers may be said to rely entirely on hay made from artificial 
layers. This crop, therefore, is an important one, especially to the 
owners of breeding flocks of sheep, which depend very much on 
this resource for summer-keep. Of the layers mostly cultivated, 
the broad or red clover stands first, and produces large crops of 
excellent hay in the valleys and on some of the best land in the 
* I consider this very slovenly farming, as it interferes with the proper cleaning 
of the land. — Editor. 
c 2 
