THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
November 3. 
84 
resting upon chalk, where the aspect and climate is good, 
may be most advantageously managed upon the system 
recommended in my former paper upon the treatment of 
loamy land, in almost every respect; yet, upon high and 
dry chalky land, which is often deficient in climatic 
advantages, and upon the culture of which I now 
propose to write, the best mode of treatment is some¬ 
what peculiar. Formerly, the practice of these districts 
was not to sow Wheat oftener than once in six or seven 
years, and even then producing but a very moderate 
crop ; but since the introduction of artificial manures, by 
which these high and outlying lands have been made to 
produce roots equal to some of the best soils, they have 
been brought into a fertile state, which has induced a 
mode of farming based upon the four-lain system, similar 
to the rotation named as best for the management of j 
sand and gravel land, the chief difference to be observed 
relating to the details of culture. 
It must be borne in mind, that in many parts, where 
the land is highly-farmed, that these soils being made to 
produce a heavy crop of straw, yield a large quantity j 
of grain, in favourable seasons, with more certainty than j 
mauy soils naturally of a fertile character; and it is a I 
very encouraging fact to farmers of this class of soils, ! 
that their return of profit from the use of oil-cake or [ 
corn-feeding, combined with artificial manuring, will 
prove twenty-five per cent, greater than it will when 
expended upon the best description of land. In the 
treatment of lea-ground intended for Wheat, it is usual, 
upon this soil, to plough early, in order that the land 
may have time to settle and become firm, and thus 
prevent the Wheat-plant being thrown out and becoming 
root-false, which it is very liable to in this land. The more | 
effectually to prevent this, let the ridge-ploughiug be 
done not later than the month of September; and at 
the time of ploughing let it be pressed, and afterwards 
rolled crossways, and harrowed sufficiently to break the 
furrow down fine; then let it lay and become stale. 
When it is intended to be seeded, let this be done by 
the drill during the month of October, taking care to 
obtain sufficient mould to bury the seed, by using the 
nineshare, or scarifier, and the harrows, just before the 
operation of drilling. The seed should be drilled as deep 
as the firm state of the land will admit, and as soon as 
drilled, let the sheep-flock be driven upon it, passing 
twice over the land, in regular courses, throughout the 
field; this treading is peculiarly beneficial to the growth 
of Wheat upon this soil. 
The mode of manuring is generally by the folding of 
sheep; and except in land situated nearest to the 
homestead, where it is desirable to lay the yard manure, 
any deficiency of the fold may be made up by the appli¬ 
cation of bones or dried flesh manure, or Guano, which 
should be sown at the time of drilling, as the spring¬ 
sowing upon the surface does not answer so well upon 
chalky soils. 
The management necessary to sustain large flocks of 
sheep upon the land considerably affects the mode of 
preparation for Wheat. It often happens that a portion 
ot the land which has been seeded to Trefoil is rather 
fed by sheep or cut for hay; in either case it is ploughed 
up and sown to Turnips, Rape, or Mustard, according to 
the time of year, or state of the laud; the broad Clovers 
being cut for Flay. In case of failure of the seeds, Peas 
are taken, followed by Mustard, or Rape, these being all 
fallow crops, and fed off by sheep as they arrive at 
maturity; the period of sowing is thereby delayed, it 
being usual to sow the lea ground first, and give the 
stock the advantage of a month or six weeks more feed¬ 
ing. This often protracts the period of sowing to the 
middle or latter end of November, but it should not be 
later upon such laud, and all the late sowing should have 
apart. In all cases, of either early or late sowing, unless j 
the weather is unusually wet, the land should be j 
managed as before stated, without ploughing, and be 
trodden over by the flock as soon as drilled. The hardy 
varieties of Brown Wheat are best suited to this soil, 
and particularly those kinds which give plenty of straw, 
such as the Red Lammas, Spalding, and the Golden 
Drop, with many other sorts, the selection of which must, 
in a great measure, be left to the judgment and ex¬ 
perience of the cultivators of this soil. 
Joseph Bi.undell. 
LOOK AT THE KERNEL. 
By the Authoress of “My Flowers,” Ac. 
It is very melancholy to mark the quiet, downward course 
of men who have for years done well in the world; to see 
them gradually declining into poverty and nothingness, 
after being persons of consequence in their different spheres. 
It is very melancholy, very affecting, and very instructive, 
too, if we will take the trouble to look into things, and see 
what kind of men they were inwardly, as well as outwardly ; 
for it is not the shell, but the kernel, that produces the tree. 
In my last paper, I gave the sketch of a cottage gardener’s 
decline and fall; I am now going to give that of a gardener 
rather high in his profession; a man well known, by name, to 
mauy of my readers; the gardener to a gentleman with whom 
he resided many years. George Webb, by which namel shall 
call him, possessed the confidence of his employer, who had 
gardens, hothouse, pinery, and all the usual appurtenances 
of horticulture and floriculture. Webb was the “ great pan 
of the dairy,” to use a homely phrase, and everything about 
the place was directed by him. He had to provide the 
family with all the garden produce they required, and the 
rest was his own. He had, of course, his cottage, and a 
rising family, and he might have done extremely well, fairly 
and honestly, in the sight both of God and man. Webb 
had the ear of his master, and very much of his hand too, 
for his name and his influence were more spoken of and 
felt than that of any one else. If Webb chose that a man 
should be turned off, he went; if he chose another, he 
came; and so on. Webb’s word was a kind of law, and he 
ruled despotically. No man ever spoke well of him. It is 
a fearful thing to put power into any one’s hand to whom 
it does not lawfully belong; it is almost certain to be 
abused. You cannot tell what a man is until he is tried, 
and nothing tries so searcbingly as power. Webb had great 
opportunities of deceiving, injuring, and defrauding his 
master, and he had the reputation of doing all three. He 
was very clever in his business, and nothing was spnred to 
produce fruit, <fcc., of the best quality; he did just as he 
liked, and of course his master paid the bills. 
Many years passed in this way. At length his master 
determined to sell his property, and when this was done, 
Webb was obliged to remove to a home of his own. No 
one coming to the place would engage him, with all his 
ways of going on, which soon become known when the day 
of power closes; and no one in the neighbourhood would 
