50 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, October 25, 1859. 
less moisture at the roots for them, and the oldest plants 
keep best, because there is more substance in them to 
hold out the longer against accidents of all kinds. These 
old stumps will hold on safe enough till Christmas in 
any dry room, and among Fern or straw ; but longer it 
is not so safe to leave them so, as to bos their roots just 
as in the autumn, and to watch over them to see that no 
mouldiness gets on them. There is more danger with 
them in a mild spring than during a hard winter, as, if 
they once begin to grow, and the place is dark, or the 
roots very dry, they will soon exhaust themselves, when 
one might think they were the most prosperous. 
D. Beaton. 
HOW TO FARM TWO ACRES AND MAKE 
THE MOST OF THEM. 
(Continued from page 35.) 
Having in preceding chapters detailed the particulars 
of the garden management and culture, we now come to 
the more important feature of the present work—that of 
making the great bulk of the two-acre plot as productive 
as possible, and with such crops as will be of service in 
the keeping of a cow and one or more pigs. To accom¬ 
plish this there is no better plan of making our description 
well understood than by dividing the plot into a certain 
number of portions for the respective crops to be put 
upon it. Our present remarks being for the cropping 
and management of the 
STIFF LAND FARM. 
DIVISION OF THE GROUND. 
There being 260 rods to work upon, it would be prudent 
to lay a part of this down to permanent Grass. For this 
purpose I would advise 60 rods ; and if this section could 
be contrived to be in one corner of the plot, it would have 
the advantage of a permanent fence on two sides. The 
other sides I would advise to be divided by a wire fence 
from the ground in tillage, as it will be advisable to turn 
the cow in this grass plot at times to prevent that stiffness 
arising from continued confinement. It would also be 
advisable to secure water in this plot if it could be so 
managed: and if the ground does not possess a suitable 
piece of natural grass at the place wanted, it will be 
prudent to make one by sowing a suitable mixture of 
Grass seeds along with the corn crop of the preceding 
year (which see further on). It being understood here 
that the section intended for Grass occupies sixty rods 
of ground. 
PREPARATORY TREATMENT. 
Assuming the ground to have been in careless hands 
previously, and to have been only very slightly ploughed, 
it would be advisable after draining, as previously stated, 
to have it all what is called “bastard-trenched”—that 
is, the top spit being retained at the top, and the 
bottom spit turned over and broken in its place, as 
described for gai’den culture. This work, if done when 
the ground is moist—say winter—will cost from Gd. to 9 d. 
per rod, or from, £4 to £6 per acre. The earlier this is 
done the better, s6 as to have as much of the winter to 
mellow in as possible. It would certainly be advisable 
to go over the whole piece this way; taking care, how¬ 
ever, to keep the best soil at the top, and adding what 
dung can be spared to it at the same time—especially let 
the part intended for permanent Grass have some lime, 
mortar rubbish, or other material, to keep the bottom 
from subsiding again into a stiff impenetrable mass. The 
other portion of the ground may also have as much 
manure as can well be afforded; from thirty to forty 
one-horse cartloads per acre not being too much of farm¬ 
yard manure. The quantity may be increased if the 
material is less rich and nutritious ; taking care, however, 
to keep all dung near the surface, except where Carrots 
are grown, which on clayey ground are seldom attempted 
and not here advised. The ground being trenched early 
in winter, we are now ready for the first crop. 
CROP OF THE FIRST YEAR. 
If the staple product of the neighbourhood is Wheat, 
sow this crop, if it will answer sown in the spring ; but if 
not, sow Barley. In many places of the South of England 
Barley answers well on stiff heavy ground better than on 
light soils ; and as Barley will be useful in the pig-feeding 
way, and is always when good a saleable corn, it might 
with advantage be sown. Beans do best of all on stiff 
soils; but the Clover and Grass seeds, which I purpose 
sowing at the same time, do not answer so well with 
Beans: and these after-crops, being really of more con¬ 
sequence than the com crop, ought to have every ad¬ 
vantage. Early in March I would therefore sow 180 
rods of ground with Barley, Wheat, or Oats ; and along 
with that corn I would sow to the extent of 60 rods with 
a mixture of permanent Grass seeds and white Clover; 
and about the first week in May sow the remaining 120 
rods with red Clover amongst the corn mentioned above : 
this will give 180 rods in crop out of the 260 in all. Of 
the remaining 80 rods one-half may be sown with Man¬ 
gold Wurtzel the third week in April, and 20 rods 
planted with Potatoes for the use of the family early in 
March. The other twenty rods may be sown with Swede 
Turnips early in May. Thus the first year’s crop for the 
stiff-land farm will be thus 
120 rods Wheat or Barley, with red Clover sown to follow. 
60 „ „ „ with permanent Grass to do. 
40 with Mangold Wurtzel. 
20 with Potatoes. 
20 with Swede Turnips. 
MANAGEMENT OF THE CROPS. 
Supposing the ground to be pretty clear at the time of 
sowing, the corn crop will want but little attention beyond 
rolling early in May, when the Clover seed is sown, and 
cutting when it is ripe. If the Clover do well it will be 
a considerable height by the time of harvest; and the 
Barley, if mown, will contain a good deal of Clover, and 
make not bad fodder for a cow when not in milk in winter. 
Of course, the thrashing out of the corn must be done 
somewhere for hire; but reserve the straw and offal for 
the pigs, and keep a portion of the Barley also to fatten 
off a couple of bacon hogs, (which see hereafter). The 
Mangold Wurtzel to be sown in drills two feet apart, 
and thinned to plants from eight inches to a foot apart in 
i the row. Swedes may be a little closer in the row, but 
j the same distance fr^jn row to row. Hoeing and keeping 
down the weeds amongst these crops must be carefully 
attended to. The Potatoes to be planted early in March 
in rows over rather than under two feet apart, and about 
a foot from plant to plant; hoeing and earthing up at the 
proper opportunity being duly attended to. 
GREEN CROPS OF THE SECOND YEAR. 
The portion that had been sown with Clover will 
require little attention during the winter, neither will 
that of the permanent Grass ; but if the latter had now 
and then a dose of liquid manure from the cesspool (to 
be described hereafter), it would greatly improve it; but 
neither of the crops will require any dressing with solid 
manures. The Clover being intended to be cut for the 
cow, it may be commenced with as soon as a suckler or 
head is seen, or even before that, only cutting as much 
each day as is wanted during that time : but the Grass 
must not on any account be allowed to get long, for that 
spoils the bottom. It is better, therefore, to mow it as 
short-lawn Grass for a time until later on in the summer, 
when the cow may be turned out upon it in dry weather. 
It ought to be mentioned here that both this and the Clover 
ground ought to have a good rolling early in the spring, 
having previously gathered off all the stones from the 
surface; this rolling smoothes the inequalities, and makes 
