Winter  Cropping. 
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are  so  well  known  to  good  farmers  that  I am  almost  ashamed  of 
describing  them ; still  I wish  them  to  be  not  only  common,  but 
universal,  that  is  on  soil  suited  to  them.  Swedes  will  be  sown 
in  good  time  after  the  rye,  and  turnips  after  the  vetches. 
Besides  these  two  feeding-crops  there  is  a grain-crop  coming 
largely  into  use — winter  beans.  They  are  a great  favourite  in 
this  neighbourhood,  and  are  even  substituted  sometimes  for  the 
spring  bean  upon  real  bean  land,  as  being  less  subject  to  the 
black  aphis.  They  are  often  drilled  in  close  double  rows  with  a 
wide  interval,  in  which  root-crops  are  sown  in  the  spring,  man- 
gold-wurzel,  or  turnips.  Mr.  Bravender  thus  describes  the  pro- 
cess on  Lord  Bathurst’s  farm  at  Cirencester  : — 
“ The  beans  were  drilled  in  double  rows,  with  an  interval  of  3 feet.  In 
the  spring  the  mangold  was  planted  between  the  double  rows  in  the  centre 
of  the  wide  space  left.  At  harvest  the  wurzel  was  very  regular,  but  not  so 
large  in  bulb  as  those  planted  without  beans ; but  on  the  beans  being  re- 
moved the  wurzel  grew  very  rapidly,  and  when  removed  for  storing  were 
little  inferior  in  weight  to  those  where  no  beans  had  been  planted.” 
The  land,  of  course,  was  not  so  clean.  Turnips  also  are  sown  in 
the  same  way,  but  are  not  equal  to  a regular  crop,  especially  if  the 
soil  be  liable  to  grow  hard.  My  own  plan  is  now  to  draw  the 
beans,  setting  them  up  widely  in  rows,  plough  the  land,  and 
sow  a fresh  crop  of  turnips  at  once,  which  may  be  done  by  the 
middle  of  July,  at  the  same  time  when  other  farmers  are  sowing 
their  regular  crop  of  turnips.  There  is  another  winter  crop  which 
I am  trying  this  year,  and  which  is  as  yet  little  known,  if  at  all — 
I mean  winter  peas.  They  are  grown  about  London,  and  have  also 
been  raised  for  some  years  by  Mr.  Brown,  at  Purton,  in  Wiltshire. 
They  too  will  come  off  in  time  for  sowing  turnips ; and  Mr. 
Brown  has  had  a good  crop  of  turnips  after  them  even  this  year. 
Thus  we  have  two  corn  crops,  beans  and  peas,  which  farmers 
will  admit  to  be  paying  crops,  and  two  fodder  crops  of  rye  and 
vetches,  which  certainly  are  paying  crops  when  used  for  sheep  ; with 
which  four  crops  we  may  surely  occupy  the  land  and  fill  up  the 
three  seasons  which  the  wisdom  of  our  ancestors  set  apart  for  the 
propagation  and  extirpation  of  couch.  It  is  proved,  then,  that  we 
may  grow  five  crops  instead  of  four  in  the  four  years  for  four  years’ 
rent.  We  may  even  do  a little  more.  If  the  land  be  good  and 
clean  the  wheat-stubbles  can  be  scratched,  and  the  mustard-seed 
broadcast  before  winter  beans  or  peas ; only  it  should  be  done 
at  once,  for  mustard  will  not  grow  if  sown  late.  There  is  another 
excellent  plan  followed  by  good  farmers,  whose  wheat-land  is 
clean,  namely,  to  sow  hop-clover  on  the  young  wheat  in  March. 
It  may  be  penned  off  once  by  tegs  after  harvest  (but  not  too  close 
or  too  late),  and  in  spring  it  will  afford  a crop  of  keep  equal  to 
winter  vetches,  in  ample  time  to  be  ploughed  up  for  the  regular 
