156 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 13, 1859. 
oilcake while they were on the ground, so much the better ; 
the manure they would leave would be all the richer. 
In the neighbourhood of a town there will be always a 
sale for Turnips ; and after a hard winter their tops are 
much sought after as greens for table. At all events, I 
should not advise the cow to have any of them. The 
Grass and Clover may be treated the same as recom¬ 
mended for former years. The Lucern has been already 
treated of, and the Turnip as above : the cropping in the 
autumn of the fourth year will be thus :— 
60 rods of Grass same as the last two years. 
80 „ Clover which has been cut the past summer. 
20 ,, Lucern which has also been cut as above. 
60 „ White Turnips where the Wheat and Potatoes of 
the last year had been. 
40 „ Swede Turnips where the Beans had been. 
It will be seen that the last two plots are those to be 
dealt with the ensuing season—the Grass, Clover, and 
Lucern standing over. 
Our views, still looking towards the future, must now 
take another turn. Clover, as a green crop, must not 
be repeated too often ; and all the tillage-ground having 
had that crop, or now bearing it, green food of a more 
permanent character must be looked for. Supposing the 
cultivation to have been good and liberal as regards the 
manure used, the ground will be in good order for lay¬ 
ing down to permanent Grass. We shall, therefore, begin 
our next season’s operations with that view. 
CROPS 0E THE FIFTH SEASON. 
There being 100 rods of ground which had previously 
had Turnips on, it -would be well to have a portion of 
this in Potatoes ; another plot Carrots of the White Bel¬ 
gian kind; Mangold Wurtzel in a third; and Barley, 
followed by Grass seeds, in the remainder; besides 
which the cultivator may be wishful of trying some newly- 
introduced plant as fodder—the Holcus Saccharatus, for 
instance. The proportions will, therefore, stand thus 
at the commencement of the fifth summer—omitting the 
permanent crops so often mentioned, and confining our 
directions to that portion of the ground available for 
cropping, as stated above, which we propose to be thus :— 
20 rods of Potatoes where Wheat had been previous season. 
10 „ Mangold Wurtzel where Wheat had been previous 
season. 
10 ,, Holcus Saccharatus where Wheat had been previous 
season. 
20 „ White Carrots where the Potatoes had previously 
been. 
40 „ Barley where the Beans had been previous season. 
It will be borne in mind that the whole of the above 
had borne a Turnip crop in the autumn of the preceding 
season. It must also be remembered that the Clover, 
not mentioned in the above, will most likely be exhausted 
by the end of the present season. The present year’s 
cropping must, therefore, be directed with the view to 
have as large a space of green crop the ensuing season 
as possible. For this reason there is a larger breadth of 
Barley to be followed by Grass seeds; and some of the 
other crops may also be followed by the same crop in the 
autumn, as will be shown. 
Potatoes. —Plant the same as recommended in former 
j r ears. Take up by the first week in September, if pos¬ 
sible ; and, the ground being manured and dug, a proper 
quantity of Grass seeds of the perennial kinds, mixed 
with White Clover, may be sown. The ground being 
clean and well harrowed over before, and rolled after, the 
seeds, if good, will soon make their appearance, and cover 
the ground early in autumn. 
Mangold Wurtzer requires no particular comment; 
but as it remains on the ground late in the autumn, 
nothing can be done except ridging the ground after it is 
removed. 
Holcus Saccharatus.—T his half-tropical plant is said 
to be useful as a green food, but all animals are not fond 
of it. One thing, it certainly produces as large a bulk 
of such food as anything I know. About the 1st of 
May is the best time to sow it; and as its growth is very 
rapid, it is quickly fit to cut. Experience, however, has 
shown that it does not grow 7 so well after being once cut 
as was represented, so that the inexperienced ought to be 
on their guard. It seems to answer well on dry ground, 
and endures a dry season well. 
White Carrots. —The ground for these ought to have 
been deeply dug as early in the winter as possible ; and 
lor at least six weeks or more before the time of sowing 
it ought not to be touched, as it is important to sow the 
seed on ground that has been some time exposed to the 
atmosphere. Drills eighteen inches apart will not be too 
much, and the young plants must be thinned by hand 
when they are ready : about the middle of April is soon 
enough, the enemies to vegetation not being so numerous 
after that time. The crop may be taken up late in autumn, 
and stored away in any outhouse, or covered up the same 
as recommended for Swedes; but in a general way they 
like better to be exposed some time to the atmosphere. 
Barley. —I have advised this crop as being the most 
bkely of any to be useful at home. Bigs are A r cry fond of 
Barley, &c. ; a good sample alwaj^s finds a ready sale. It 
ought to be sown about the beginning of March; and in 
May, Grass and White Clover seed may be sown amongst 
it, rolling the whole afterwards to consolidate the ground. 
If all go on well the Grass and Clover will have attained a 
good growth by harvest time. The Barley had better, there* 
fore, be mown, and lie a day or two in the swarth, if the 
weather be fine, in order for the green herbage to dry ; 
after which, it may cither be bound or carried in a loose 
state. But as the quantity is small, it would be better 
i f some arrangement could be made with a neighbouring 
farmer to have it thrashed out at once. The corn being 
safely put away, the straw will remain for any purpose 
it may be wanted for ; and if there be much Clover in it, 
cattle will eat it tolerably well. At all events it will be 
useful in many ways, and must be taken care of in duo 
course. 
AUTUMN OF FIFTH YEAR. 
At the close of this season we are left with no green 
crops. True, there is a quantity of Carrots and Mangold 
Wurtzel, but the bulk of the ground is in herbage. The 
Clover lea we will presume to be worn out, and must be 
dug or ploughed up. The Lucern remains as before, as 
also the permanent Grass ; and the second batch of the 
latter will be coming on if the weather is open. We shall, 
therefore, sow the Clover lea with Wheat; and as green 
food will be more scarce next year than hitherto, the 
part that had been Carrots might be sown in the autumn 
with Trifolium incarnalum. The part that had grown 
the Holcus, might be trenched, in readiness for Potatoes 
the ensuing season, the cropping of which we shall next 
give* J. Eobson. 
{To be continued.) 
SPEEGDLA PILIFEEA. 
I AM sorry I cannot exactly comply with the'request of Mr. 
Robson respecting the above. However, I have paid three 
annual visits to the gardens of Mr. Summer’s, at Sydenham, and 
each time the portion of lawn allotted to the Spergula looked in 
the best possible condition : although growing on a sharp incline, 
and much elevated, not a brown spot could be detected ; and I 
was assured by the person who showed me round, that it did not 
require so much trouble bestowed upon it as the grass upon the 
lawn. That is to say, using the man’s own words, “It required 
no water or any other stimulant to keep it green and thriving,” 
! as it looked on each of my visits. These visits were in the months 
I of Juno and July. 
It is doubtful, as Mr. Robson says, whether it will stand the 
traffic and barrow-work our grass lawns are subjected to. 1 
| should say certainly not, especially the latter. 
