JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
" .-- = 
April 19, 1883 ] 
331 
POULTRY AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 
PLOUGHING-IN OR FEEDING GREEN CROPS. 
No one, we expect, will doubt the value of green crops in our 
farming practice : they may, however, differ as to the mode of 
utilising them. A very old practice was to plough them under 
the soil as a method of manuring it. This plan has, however, but 
few advocates at the present time from various causes by which 
the home farmer may be surrounded, one of which is the necessity 
of providing green food for the sheep stock and forage for soiling 
cattle, horses, &c., at the homestead. But we wish to call par¬ 
ticular attention to one fact—namely, that in every case the object 
is of manuring the land with the whole growth ploughed in, or by 
the residue after consumption, which is one of the chief benefits 
to be derived from the cultivation of green crops, excepting where 
roots, forage, or vegetables are sold off for consumption in the 
towns. 
Although this subject at first sight may appear a limited matter, 
it is, however, when fully considered as a practical agricultural 
question in connection with different soils and climates as well as 
positions an extremely wide, important, and interesting one in 
all its bearings. To do justice to it and carry out our objects 
and intentions we shall have to inquire into and make use of the 
chemistry of agriculture in reference to the chemistry of plants, 
in order that we may understand how the death and decay of one 
genus of vegetation will contribute to the profitable growth of 
cereals and other crops grown for profit by the farmer. 
In the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England 
we have several essays relating to ploughing in green and root 
crops for manure, one of the best being from the pen of Mr. Peter 
Love in the year 1868, and in relating his own experience he gives 
information of a valuable kind for the study of the home farmer. 
He says, " I remember that it was pretty generally recognised 
among intelligent farmers that the ploughing-in of 18 tons of 
Turnips per acre, after being crushed by a clod-crusher, gave 
12 bushels more of Barley per acre than if the said Turnips had 
been first passed through the animal and the elements to form 
mutton and wool extracted. It is also pretty certain that a ton of 
Turnips will produce 14 lbs. of mutton and about 1 lb. of wool ; 
but the outlay on sheep, risk of losses, and cost of attendance 
must be taken into account.” 
This is a part of the question of immense importance at the 
present time, for there are so many farms untenanted, and the 
cost of cropping and stocking of the land which may come to 
hand on an estate, is a serious question for consideration by the 
home farmer, and any plan of cultivation and cropping, stocking, 
&c., which will require the Lasi investment of capital without 
reducing profits must be extremely desirable, especially under the 
circumstances of the proprietors being persons of limited means 
or capital. It is, therefore, our intention and endeavour to treat 
our subject, keeping steadily in view economical investments and 
full profits. 
We again quote from Mr. Love’s essay upon a very important 
point of cultivation, the best and cheapest mode of cleaning 
strong land foul with couch or water-grass. He says :—“ The 
results obtained by ploughing-in Turnips in 1842 induced me to 
try White Mustard in 1843 on a small field of 8 acres. Soil a 
stiff clay upon blue lias clay subsoil, as foul with twitch as 
possible. It was ploughed about 7 inches deep in the winter, 
then scarified with broadshares about 3 inches deep the last week 
in March, and after being well harrowed sown with White 
Mustard seed by a broadcast seed-barrow at the rate of a bushel 
to 3 acres, covered in by very light seed-harrows. This crop was 
just coming into bloom the last week in May, and 26 inches 
high, when it was ploughed in about 4 inches deep, and 
100 bushels of lime (after being slaked with salt water) applied 
per acre ; then after one turn of the Norwegian harrow resown 
with Mustard, care being taken that all ploughed in within the 
day should be resown on the same day as it was ploughed. All 
was finished on the last day of May. On the 8th of July we 
began ploughing in G inches deep this second crop, which was 
above 46 inches high. We used the drag weight and chain to lap 
the whole under the furrow ; immediately after ploughing we 
gave one turn of the Norwegian harrow, then resowed the 
Mustard as before. The whole field was finished on the 12th of 
July. The third crop was just breaking into bloom on the 24th 
of August, and the length above 5 feet. This was ploughed in 
8 inches deep with four horses at length, followed by a two-ringed 
presser following only one plough, thereby giving each furrow a 
double press. After one turn of the Norwegian harrow the land 
was left to settle down for the future Wheat crop. As for the 
couch-grass, except a few blades in the first crop of Mustard, we 
saw no more of it except the rotten roots as we were ploughing 
in the last crop. Wheat was sown on this land in October. The 
produce at harvest was all that could be desired, and the land 
perfectly clean. After one 8-inch ploughing, and a shallow 
scarifying in the following March, it was drilled with White Oats 
and Clover seeds. The crop of Oats was magnificent, and in some 
parts injured the seeds. 
“ During the succeeding seven years of my occupation of this 
farm, if I had to deal with any piece of very foul strong land I 
cleaned it in this way. The application of 1 cwt. of nitrate of 
soda to the first crop of Mustard will almost double it, and of 
course much increase the two following crops, as well as their 
power to smother the twitch and other weeds.” The cost of this 
is given in contrast with a bare fallow, which Sir J. B. Lawes 
tells us loses much fertility during tillage. 
£ s. d. 
Cost of an acre of bare fallow manured with 20 tons of farmyard 
manure .. .. .820 
An acre producing three crops of White Mustard and ploughed in 
with 1 cwt. nitrate of soda and seed, &c. ..530 
Saved by this system .£2 19 0 
Trifolium, Vetches, Trefoil, &c., or any forward crop, such as 
Rye, may also be grown as a first crop, and after being fed off by 
sheep two crops of Mustard to be grown afterwards may still be 
obtained, and eaten off or ploughed-in the same season. Mr. Love 
again says : “ Now I venture to affirm that the foulest and poorest 
possible piece of strong land (sand land excepted) may be cleaned 
by growing white Mustard with 1 cwt. of nitrate of soda per acre 
applied to the first crop, and three crops in succession ploughed 
in, let the season be either wet or dry. The soil will be left as 
capable of bearing a crop as if 20 tons of farmyard manure had 
been applied to a bare fallow.” Now whether sandy land can be 
cleaned in this way may be doubtful, but it is well known that all 
fen or peat, light gravel or loam, and all clays can. Mr. Love 
also says : “When land is partially cleaned in the autumn it may 
be perfectly cleaned and manured by growing three crops of 
Mustard to be folded. An acre will then keep an average of 
twenty sheep for fifteen weeks, which will give a result as 
follows : ■ 
WRITE MUSTARD.— Dr. 
Cost of autumn cultivation . 
Ditto as above for three crop3. 
£ d. 
1 0 0 
5 3 0 
Total cost of cultivation, &c.£6 3 0 
