48 
Agricultural Proyrcss and 
he set great store by his hoeing. In a dry spring, when wheat 
carried a splendid colour on good land, it used to turn yellow 
and sickly on this strong clay, even where well drained ; and our 
farmer said it was all from want of hoeing. He explained it 
thus : if land is in good condition, and free from stagnant water, 
the roots of the wheat-plant will grow all through winter, and 
will extend over a considerable surface by the time when dry 
weather usually sets in. As soon as clay begins to dry it begins 
to crack, and the fissures are wide enough entirely to break off 
the small roots and sever the plant from a large portion of its 
supply of food. Hence its change of colour and loss of vigour 
during the dry weather, which is on all other grounds favourable 
to its healthy development. This can only be prevented by 
horse-hoeing, not a single shallow hoeing, or rather sliding over 
the surface, which only shaves off a few annual weeds, but hoe- 
ings repeated until a good covering of mould can be obtained. 
When he had accomplished this, he used to boast that his clay 
would carry the wheat up to harvest better than any light land in 
the country. 
. The arrangements for stocking and managing the grass-land 
on this farm were worthy of attention. It contained a good deal 
of inferior pasture, but no grass good enough to fatten a bullock ; 
and the previous plan had been to buy in young cattle in the 
spring, when most other graziers were doing the same, and when 
consequently in nine years out of ten they were bought dear. 
They had to be sold out again in the autumn, when many other 
farmers were selling too ; so that the tenant generally returned 
from the fair grumbling that he had scarcely got more than 
he gave for his stock, and that his summer's grass was all but 
thrown away. The difficulty on this land was that cattle could not 
be fattened at grass ; and, if made up in winter, they either re- 
quired more turnips than it was profitable to grow on such a 
farm, or, if fed solely on corn and cake, it was difficult to make 
them pay their way. The new tenant's first attempt was to give 
his bullocks cake at grass, but some of them would not eat it ; 
and even with this assistance the grass was not good enough for 
the purpose, and the cost was considerable. He therefore tried 
another plan, which turned out a complete success. He bought 
yearling heifers in May, and a young bull to run with them at 
grass. The bull was taken from them in August, so that none 
should calve later than May. The heifers remained in these 
pastures until severe weather set in, when they were taken into 
the strawyard, and received once a day a feed of roots, if there 
were any to spare ; if not, 2 lbs. of linseed-cake daily, which, at 
12/. per ton, cost Is. 6d. per week. If in-calf heifers were very 
dear in the spring, he occasionally sold a few just before calving, 
