October 27. THE COTTAGE 
too true, that many a sylvan spot, which the traveller 
would be glad to see exhibit the skill and industry o! its 
occupier, presents a mass of confusion and dirt, as 
offensive to the eye as it is derogatory to the national 
character. J’hat much may be done by the encourage¬ 
ment of the wealthy to reform such places, we verily 
believe; and we trust the time is fast coming, when 
these disorderly gardens and homes of our rural popu¬ 
lation will disappear, and the smiling portals diffuse the 
fragrance of the best class of climbing plants, as well as 
the approaches thereto being decorated by choice 
flowering plants. Such a consummation would' in no 
wise impair the utility of the working man; but, by 
adding to his comforts, elevate and refine him, and 
teach him to study and enquire into pursuits, which, 
in his former unlettered condition, he never dreamed of. 
J. Robson. 
CULTIVATION OF WHEAT ON LOAMY LAND. 
(Continued from page 48.) 
As the cultivation of Wheat upon loamy soils, as 
well as that of others, will be greatly influenced by the 
preceding crop, it is necessary to consider the most 
usual course of cropping, and how far any departure 
from it may affect the culture for Wheat, and also the 
produce. There is no doubt that the Norfolk, or four- 
course system, viz.:—1st. Turnips; 2nd. Lent Grain; 
4rd. Clover; and 4th. Wheat;—is still the most prevail¬ 
ing practice upon loamy laud, but circumstances have 
arisen, and still exist, which has justified a deviation 
from it. For instance, upon well-farmed land in a 
high state of fertility, induced by artificial feeding and 
manuring, the substitution of Wheat for Lent corn has 
been found to answer a good purpose, which method 
will cause Wheat to follow Turnips, upon such a portion 
of the land as can be freed from the latter in sufficient 
time, either by removing the crop, or feeding it upon 
the land by sheep. 
Now, I am aware that this alteration has many 
opponents ; but, from my own experience in the matter, 
I must say, that it has been attended with success when 
fairly carried out; for the produce of grain does not so 
much depend upon the period or distauce of time 
between the sowings of Wheat, as it does upon the 
judicious cultivation for the crop; in proof of which, I 
have invariably found, when the seed has been put in 
under favourable circumstances, and the land rich 
enough to produce a full crop of straw, that the result 
in grain depends upon a favourable season; that is to 
say, a dry, hot summer gives a good yield, whilst a dark 
and wet season proves the reverse. It must, however, 
bo admitted, where this system has been continued, that 
the grain has been lighter in some seasons, not weighing 
so much by two pounds per bushel as when sown only 
once in four years. 
In prepamng the land for Wheat after a crop of 
Turnips, whether the crop has been pulled, or fed upon 
the land, it is not desirable to sow early; any time 
during the month of November is best, if the weather 
pioves favourable; for although wo usually have heavy 
rains during that month, yet they are necessary to make 
land plough close and heavy, in order to counteract the 
GARDENER. )r , 
loosening effect of the tillage for Turnips, which is un¬ 
favourable to the culture of Wheat. The laud should 
always be sufficiently manured before sowing the 
1 urnips, because the carting of manure upon the land 
for V heat, at this advanced period of the season, is 
always injurious (from the treading the land receives), 
often difficult, and sometimes impossible to accomplish. 
It is not advisable to plough the land long before it is 
intended to be sown, as it is sometimes difficult, at this 
late period, to get on the land. I, therefore, recommend 
that the ploughing and seeding of the land should take 
place on the same day, and that the horse labour should 
be apportioned in such a manner, that as fast as every 
ridge is ploughed it should be seeded, either by the 
drill, or broadcast, and finished off by the iron harrows ; 
the season will then be secured, for in case a fine day is 
selected, the land never works so well for Wheat as it 
does directly alter the plough, and should rain set in 
at any time of the day, by adopting this method, the 
season may be completed at intervals, without danger 
or risk. 
1 pon this land the ridges should never be mado 
small, not less than from ten to fourteen turns with the 
plough ; many furrows not being necessary to draw off 
the water, for whether the loam rests upon a subsoil of 
stone, brick-earth, or gravel, the water never lies long 
enough to damage the Wheat; therefore, small ridges, 
involving numerous furrows, would only prove a draw¬ 
back upon the crop. 
The late period of sowing the land, after Turnips, 
renders a little more seed necessary, and the best 
quantity is about ten peeks per acre; drilling is to be 
preferred, in order that hoeing may take place in the 
spring; lor when Wheat is sown after Turnips, it is 
much more infested with weeds than when it follows 
Clover lea. As it is usual to seed the Wheat with 
Clover and Grass seeds, they may be hoed in at the 
same time as the weeds are destroyed. 
On loamy land, the seed should be the produce of 
chalky or gravelly soils, a change being very desirable. 
Wheat of any sort should never be sown without being 
steeped, to prevent smut and disease of the grain; the 
old method was to steep in brine, and dry with lime ; it 
is, however, found much more beneficial to use the 
following steep:—Take one pound of blue vitriol (sul¬ 
phate of copper), and dissolve it in four gallons of water, 
which is sufficient for one sack of Wheat; the steep 
should be applied on a brick or stone-floor, and the 
Wheat turned with a shovel a few times, until every 
grain is thoroughly wetted. The Wheat should then 
be thrown up into a conical heap, and in a few hours it 
will be dry enough for sowing. 
This soil, when in good condition, should be seeded 
with the superior kind of white Wheat, unless the 
climate or situation is unfavourable. The southern or 
eastern counties may be reckoned most favourable for 
the growth of all varieties of white Wheat. The best 
sorts of Wheat for this land, are the Morton’s Red- 
strawed White, Chidham, Fenton, and Hunter’s, these 
being all superior sorts of white Wheat, and unless, in 
