426 
Cultivation of Waste Lands. 
has been incomplete no land, as arable land, will pay worse ; in 
fact, the plough cannot enter it at all without certain loss. 
The rotation most profitable to be adopted will depend upon 
the length of time that has elapsed since the ridding was com- 
pleted. But for ten or twelve years after the heath-ground has 
been cleared I would follow the four-course shift for the following 
reasons : First, because in the newly recovered heath-ground 
there is hardly any such thing as " clover sickness," and the 
crops of clover are enormous ; and secondly, because frequent 
cultivation and aeration seem to be beneficial, the air exerting a 
wonderful influence upon the newly broken-up heath-ground. 
In the first years the rotation would therefore be : — 1. Turnips 
or potatoes. 2. Barley or oats. 3. Clover. 4. Barley or oats. 
On the clover showing a tendency to fail, as it would after a 
certain number of years, I would adopt the five-course system, 
keeping the seeds down two years. After cultivation and aera- 
tion have done their proper work, I would finally have recourse 
to the six-course system, keeping the seeds down three years. 
This plan I would ultimately and steadily follow for several 
reasons : First, because the clover and other seeds will never 
fail ; second, because the yield of grass available for pasture in 
the second and third years will be more than double what it 
would be, if allowed to lie in permanent pasture ; and lastly, 
because the ground is greatly invigorated for future corn and 
root crops, by being allowed to remain in grass for three years. 
After this, the pasturing power of the worn-out seeds diminishes 
rapidly, and they require to be ploughed up again to recommence 
the rotation. Under this system every crop will be abundant, 
none will fail, and the ground will be progressively improved. 
It may be worthy of mention that last year I had the curiosity 
to weigh a crop of turnips, the growth of 1867. I weighed three 
drills of swedes, 100 yards in length. The first drill gave 
6 cwt. 3 qrs. 2 lbs., the second exactly the same, and the third 
7 cwt. From this it may be readily calculated that the crop of 
swedes of 1867 was over 21 tons per imperial acre, while the 
yellow Tankard turnips, grown in the same field, were over 
28 tons per acre. Surely these will be considered satisfactory 
crops, more especially when it is remembered that they were 
grown with artificial manure alone, and that too on land where 
nothing but heath formerly grew. The crop of potatoes of 1867 
was not equal to that in former years, but those sold before 
Christmas last realised upwards of 20Z. per acre. 
In 1864 I attempted to grow a crop of potatoes that might be 
considered a maximum, at least upon heath-land. This experi- 
ment I tried upon 2 acres, and the yield appears almost incre- 
