14 
Agriculture of Nottinghamsliire. 
on some farms during the present year. It has been suggested, 
and we think with good reason, that the danger arises from its 
being done when the clover is t(JO young, which induces flatu- 
lency and disorder of the stomach and bowels, and ends in diar- 
rhoea, which often proves fatal to lambs at that season of the 
year. 
It has been almost the universal practice to allow the grass 
seeds to remain down for pasture two years, and often longer, 
before the land is ploughed up for wheat. An opinion now, 
however, prevails in favour of ploughing it up after one year, as 
it is found that as much wheat can be grown after one year's 
seeds as upon those of longer growth, which, perhaps, may be 
accounted for on the ground of the fibrous roots of such seeds as 
are the growth of one year being sufficient for the support of the 
succeeding wheat crop : whereas, when of longer standing, a sea- 
son commensurate is required before the roots can decompose, 
and become available matter for the support of other plants. 
The red clover is seldom allowed to remain down longer than 
one year, doubtless from the circumstance of its deteriorating more 
than the white after that time. 
Fourth Year. — Wheat. 
The season for sowing wheat on the warm soils of this district 
commences now much later than it formerly did. Very little is sown 
before the last week in October, but November is the principal 
month for this important operation. Ttie customary mode of 
preparing the ground is by ploughing and pressing the clover ley, 
one presser following two ploughs. There is no neater mode of 
performing the work when it is well done. It is, nevertheless, 
objected to by some good farmers, on the ground that the grass is 
liable lo grow up between the furrows, so as to interfere materi- 
ally with the after growth of the wheat. The almost universality 
of the practice in the district seems to furnish an argument 
against that objection. It has, however, been met more effectu- 
ally by a plough invented some years ago by Mr. Hodgkinson 
of Morton Grange, which is termed a "skim-coulter plough." 
The advantage he proposed was, that it should take off a thin 
furrow from the surface before ploughing the main one : the 
sward would, by that means, be effectually disposed of by being 
thrown to the bottom of each furrow, and could not grow through 
to the injury of the wheat. The whole is performed by one 
plough, which requires four horses. Its adoption would certainly 
increase the labour of the wheat seed-time, but it wouhl, at the 
same time, carry out a most important principle of good farming, - 
we mean that of deep ploughing (to which it is, undoubtedly, a 
preliminary step), on almost every kind of soil. Deep drilling 
