JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
382 
[ October 21, 1880. 
lea has been dunged the whole lain will be in good condition 
for the seventh course, which will be 60 acres of Wheat, con¬ 
cluding the rotation. In this rotation there ,will be 120 acres of 
Wheat and only GO acres of Barley. The advantage of the Wheat 
crop over Barley on sand land is that Wheat being winter-sown 
and well-manured will succeed better Barley, as the spring tillage 
for the latter in a dry spring or summer makes the crop more 
hazardous than any winter-sown corn. This rotation or course 
of cropping is only adapted to outlying districts. 
We, however, now must refer to land of the same light descrip¬ 
tion but situated in a favourable climate and near to populous 
towns, where a large number of consumers will require an exten¬ 
sive supply not only of vegetables but milk and butter. The 
rotation we advocate will be calculated to supply this demand, 
and in consequence dairy cows will take the place of sheep for 
the consumption of vegetable crops, and the cropping with vege¬ 
tables will be so arranged as to be made available either as food 
for the people or for cattle under certain circumstances connected 
with supply and demand. Notwithstanding these are the leading 
points that relate to the growth of vegetables, the produce of 
cereal and pulse crops must not be neglected in order that 
straw, hay as fodder, litter, and corn for meal may be made to 
some extent supplementary as the food of stock, but also for the 
purpose of sale when the prices are satisfactory. To illustrate our 
rotation as recommended vve will again take a farm of 450 acres, 
50 acres of which may be laid into Lucerne, Saintfoin, and per¬ 
manent pasture, as alluded to in a former rotation. We shall 
then have 400 acres to be cropped on the four-course rotation ; 
and still keeping in view the fact of a large number of dairy cows 
to be provided for, the rotation will be—1st, Wheat; 2nd, green 
crops and roots ; 3rd, Lent corn ; 4th, Clover and grasses, pulse 
and roots. As the root and green crops will be removed from the 
land and, in fact, nearly all the cereals, pulse, and grass also, the 
manure at the stalls, stables, and pig pens must be carefully pre¬ 
served. At the same time purchased manures will be required as 
back carriage after delivery of all articles sold into towns, except 
dairy produce, such as milk and butter. 
Our rotation may be termed a system of combined farming for 
corn, dairy, and vegetable produce. The first course will be of 
Wheat 100 acres, the preparation for which will be better and 
fully described in the fourth course. We have, therefore, only to 
observe that none will be sown without the land being in what 
the farmer calls a correct or advantageous preparation, well 
manured, either by yard or town dung, or artificial manures. 
The second course of 100 acres will be prepared immediately after 
harvest by the autumn fallowing of 40 acres of the foulest land. 
The seeding of 60 acres of the cleanest land to be as follows :— 
15 acres of the Giant or St. John’s Day Rye, 20 acres of Trifolium 
of the early and late varieties, 20 acres of the early and late winter 
Vetches, and followed by root crops seeded in the spring, 20 acres 
of Mangolds after Rye manured with dung ploughed in, and 
artificial manures applied by the drill at the time of seeding, 
20 acres of Carrots (to follow Trifolium), the White Intermediate 
beiDg sown first, and the Red Intermediate variety to be drilled 
last, the seeding of the Carrots to be concluded by the 10th of 
June. Our practice has always proved most successful when the 
seed has been drilled at 18 inches between the rows, from the 
1st of May up to the 10th of June, as at that time of year the 
seed will, as a rule, germinate immediately, and very few weeds 
will appear after a green crop once ploughed, until the young 
Carrot plants are forward enough to be both horse and hand-hoed. 
After the Vetches the Hybrid Scotch Green Round will be seeded 
on the land first cleared, and the remainder to be seeded with the 
Red Mammoth or Greystone variety of Turnips, drilled after once 
ploughing. Both the Carrots and Turnips should be drilled with 
a full dressing of bone superphosphate and Peruvian guano. In 
referring to the 40 acres autumn fallowed in this course this 
should be cropped after a good dressing of dung ploughed in, 
with the earliest sorts of Cabbage, planted in the autumn to the 
extent of 20 acres, and the remaining 20 acres in the spring; 
10 acres should be planted with Champion Drumhead cattle 
Cabbage, and 10 acres of Early Broccoli. These latter, besides 
having the dung ploughed in, should have 1^ cwt. of nitrate 
of soda applied at the first horse-hoeing between the rows. 
The third course will be 100 acres of Lent corn. Nearly all the 
root crops will have been removed by the 1st of March, when 
50 acres may be sown with early white Oats, Canadian, Lincoln, 
or Poland varieties being the best, as they will each be ready to 
harvest before the Wheat; the other 50 acres may be seeded at a 
later date with White Waterloo or Black Tartarian Oats, and 
Barley mixed as drege corn. Clover seeds on 50 acres to be 
seeded in the drege corn, the mixture being Red Clover, Alsike, 
and foreign seed of Giant Saintfoin. The early Oats we have 
sometimes followed with stubble Turnips or in part with the 
Dwarf Savoy Cabbage planted directly the Oats are cut, a portion 
being done between the shocks ; this may extend to 25 acres, as 
they will either or both come off in good time to be followed by 
tall Rape and summer Vetches mixed. The other 25 acres, after 
the early white Oats, may be tilled and manured for the early 
varieties of Potatoes or Peas for supplying green to the market in 
towns ; after which, and the haulm harvested carefully, this portion 
may be sown with early white Pomeranian Turnips, to be pulled 
off for sale or for feeding cattle. This completes the fourth 
course in the rotation. Thus it will be seen that all the crops 
advised may easily be got off in time for the Wheat crop ; the 
Clover having been cut twice for hay or soiling horses, cattle, &c., 
may be dunged early, and ploughed and pressed early, giving this 
light soil time to consolidate before drilling the Wheat. The 
portion of the fourth lain last cleared, such as the white Turnips, 
Rape, and Vetches, may be dunged, and ploughed, and last sown 
after the autumn rains have made the land heavy. We shall 
next refer to gravel and stone brash soil rotations. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME EARM. 
Horse Labour .—This may still be supplemented by steam power in 
ploughing and pressing Clover leas, &c., for Wheat seeding, and it is 
extremely important, because some horses will be required in various 
work. Drawing out manure will still be going on in some fields in 
which this work may have been unavoidably delayed. The carting 
and storing of Mangolds and other root crops must be done, the sooner 
the better. Swedish Turnips may also be carted and stored at the 
homestead, near to where they will be required for the feeding of cattle, 
pigs, <irc. Carrots may now be taken up, especially the interme¬ 
diate sorts, which have short roots and easily removed, and carted 
away to the farm premises, and placed near to the stables and other 
sheds, where they will be required for feeding horses and other 
animals. They are very nutritious for weaned colts, and there is no 
vegetable equal to them for raising young growing horses into a large 
size and excellent condition. The Potato crop will require to be 
ploughed out with the lifting plough. They may then be sorted in 
the field by women and carted away for various purposes—those 
tubers touched with disease for the dairy cow r s and pigs, those for 
seed stored by themselves, and those for sale stored conveniently 
for taking to market when required. There is also plenty of work 
for the odd horse or mule in carting straw to the cattle boxes, stables, 
and other pens for pigs. Hay, too, will be required for the cart 
horses, and also Carrots. This must also be done by the odd horse 
and man, who may and should be specially employed for such work, 
for we deprecate the plan and practice of the teamsmen being em¬ 
ployed to fetch provender of any kind for the horses under their 
charge, as it is too often made the excuse, particularly in short days, 
for reducing the period of labour in the field. Drilling Wheat will 
be going on ; and upon strong land especially, where the weeds 
usually injure the corn in the spring, it will be necessary to drill at 
10 to 12 inches between the rows, as in case the weeds prevail in 
spring, or when the Wheat plants look yellow and sickly, if the 
space is not wide enough between the rows effectual horse-hoeing 
cannot be accomplished. It is no use to expect the work to be 
done by hand-hoeing. The right season for hoeing is but short, 
nor is hand-hoeing so effectual for moving the ground as well as 
killing the weeds as the horse hoe, and when the Wheat plant is un¬ 
healthy it will never bring a good-sized ear unless the surface soil is 
stirred round the plant to give it fresh life and vigour. 
Hand Labour .—Some of the men may be employed with the thresh¬ 
ing machine, for about this time some Wheat and Barley will be 
required for sale, and straw for daily use. Drege com, too, will be 
required for the horses, and seed Wheat for sowing, as a consider¬ 
able portion may be grown on the home farm, although we may 
require to purchase for seed some new variety, newly selected, or pedi¬ 
gree grain. Those crops of roots which like Swedish Turnips may be 
pitted in the field, or even Mangolds if required for sheep in the 
spring, may be stored and covered by men assisted by the women; 
or a man his wife and family may be employed and paid by the acre 
for the work. Carrots also may be heaped in the field and fetched 
away by the odd horse or horses as required for use, and this saves 
horse labour at this busy period of the year. The plan of storing 
Carrots and Swedes in the field is of the greatest importance, not 
only because they would be seriously injured by game and rabbits, 
wood pigeons, &c., during the winter if left in the land during frosty 
weather, but also because the roots cannot be frozen without losing 
much of their nutrition. The storing, heaping, or pitting by the 
acre is a matter of hand labour only, and as such we think it pays 
well for doing. 
On the parklands and pastures in nearly every district Oak trees 
are found, and as the crop of acorns is this year very great it is fre¬ 
quently found when the cattle are allowed to eat them that they 
become seriously injured. We have known in some seasons when 
they have eaten them to excess it has resulted in the death of some 
of the animals, and of great damage to the health and condition of 
others. When those which have died and undergone a post-mortem 
examination, large undigested masses of the acorns have been found 
