2$0 
the difficulty oi finding the necessary labour at the time it is wanted. 
But though some extra labour is undoubtedly required to keep land 
well cultivated it will, when tried, be found the most economical 
plan in the long run. ft is useless for farmers to expect satisfac- 
tory crops if they make no efforts to keep their land free from 
weeds, and to obtain clean seeds, even if the other conditions of 
cultivation are favourable. 
Clean During Growth. — But, in addition to the greatest care in 
the cleaning of the land before the crop is put in, and the selection 
of seed a system of cultivation cannot be deemed perfect unless 
efforts are made to destroy alien vegetation while growth is pro- 
gressing. This is generally admitted in garden practice with our 
own cultivators, and by farmers in countries where agriculture is 
carried on systematically, but in growing grain crops in this part 
of the world it is quite ignored. Ihe farmers of Great Britain find 
it pays them best to put in cereal or other corps in such a way that 
they may, without difficulty, be kept free from weeds during the 
early stages of growth. In that country, as also in others where 
agriculture is carried on systematically, grain crops, as a rule, are 
put in the ground with a seed-drill in regular rows. Under this 
system there is no difficulty in using cultivating implements during 
the early stages of growth, and consequently crops can be kept 
free to a great extent from alien plants, i his is a great advantage, 
as it enables cultivators to place their crops under the most favour- 
able conditions for a free and uninterrupted growth. 
And not only are the conditions for growth more favourable 
when the drill is used, but it also effects a considerable saving in 
the quantity of seed required. In fact, not more than half as much 
required as in sowing broadcast, which is the plan generally fol- 
lowed in this part of the world. By the use of drilling machines 
the seed is sow'll regularly at a uniform depth, and nearly every 
grain that is put into the ground becomes a serviceable plant. On 
the other hand, when seed is scattered broadcast over the surface 
of the ground, the crops are apt to come up irregularly, and many 
of the grains do not germinate at all. 
By keeping crops free from weeds that would interfere with their 
growth, and allowing sufficient space between the plants for free 
development, the cultivator must necessarily obtain much better 
returns than if these essentials are neglected. In garden practice 
these conditions are generally observed by cultivators, and the 
more closely they are observed by agriculturists the better. 
:o; 
WASHED SOILS HOW TO PREVENT AND 
RECLAIM THEM. 
FROM THE JAMAICA BULLETIN. 
The Erosion, or Washing, of Agricultural Foils. 
The denudation, or washing, of lands of the higher levels of the 
earth’s surface is a process which no human precaution can wholly 
