soil, such as cannot always be brought to a fine tilth by spring culture. On such soils this is often a great difficulty.

Early sowing is of great importance for this crop. The usual season is from the middle of April to the middle of May, and for the heavy crops we must not trust to late sowings. The growth of the seed may be promoted by steeping it in water for a few hours before it is planted. This will soften the skin and render germination more rapid. After this has been done, it should be kept moist until it be placed in the soil, and then be lightly covered by fine soil to the depth of from half to three-quarters of an inch. It is usual to run a light roller over the surface after the seed is sown, unless the soil is too moist to allow it to be done. The best mode of sowing the seed is by means of the hand-dibble, especially in the case of strong land, upon which it often enables an early sowing to be secured, when waiting for the drill would have made it late.

Carrots and Parsnips.-A deeply-cultivated soil is necessary for each of these roots, but they differ in the soils for which they are best adapted. The carrot flourishes best in a very loose and friable soil: the parsnip prefers stronger land, and can be successfully grown on soils which are too stiff for carrots. The best mode of cultivating them is after another root crop, as they require the land to be kept very free from weeds during their growth. When they follow a corn-crop particular care must be taken to have the land well cleaned in the autumn, and plowed (if possible subsoiled also) before the winter. Thus the labor in the spring will be brought within moderate limits for securing that condition of soil which these crops require, viz., a deep and thoroughly cultivated soil, with a fine surface; when this has been obtained we may consider that we have completed the necessary preparation.

Carrots should be sown early in April, and the parsnips early in March; for producing heavy crops the seeds must be sown in good time. The progress of the parsnip and carrot may be much favored by mixing the seed with some damp sand a few days before it is to be sown, and laying it out shallow in a warm room. When this is not done, the carrot-seeds need other preparation, because they cling together so much; a good rubbing between the hands, followed by the admixture of as much as three bushels of ashes to the acre, is probably the best means for favoring its distribution on the land. When this precaution is taken, the seed can be very easily drilled, and this is by far the more frequent mode of sowing both these crops; but many prefer sowing both carrots and parsnips by hand, especially after germination has been encouraged. It is a very good plan to mix some corn with the seed, so as to indicate its position for the early guidance of the horse-hoe.

The seed is usually sown in drills, from 12 to 18 inches apart; and about 6 lbs. of seed per acre gives a sufficiently thick plant. It should not be buried more than three quarters of an inch from the surface. When the sowing is completed, the land should be lightly harrowed, if corn has been mixed with the seed, but otherwise it will be better to roll the grou d, so as not to destroy the drill-marks; but, if the land be at all adhesive, a light harrowing is preferable.

Rape or Cole. The general requirements of this crop are similar to those of the turnip, and need not be repeated; but I may add to former remarks that the peculiar characteristics of some of our soils which are favorable for growth of rape, but not of turnips, arise from their composition rather than from their mechanical condition. The preparation necessary in each case is the same; but the time of sowing extends from April to September, according to the succession of food which may be required. The rapidity of growth varies much with the climate, richness of the land, and method of cultivation; but the sowings in April and May will generally be ready for feeding in August and sometimes in July, whilst the August and September sowings come in for spring use. As the principal demand for rape is in September and October, the corresponding seed-time is June and July; still the influence of climate will often render the growth slower, and necessitate an earlier sowing. From 2 to 4 quarts of seed per acre will be necessary, according to the suitability of the soil and climate, care being always taken to increase the allowance of seed as circumstances become unfavorable.

Spring-feed. The crops which are usually sown for this purpose (with one exception, which I shall subsequently notice) all require a similar preparation to be given to the land for the reception of the seed, however varied may be the soils for which they are in a special degree adapted, and however this character of the soil and the succession of food required may influence the choice of the crop. They are sown upon the corn-stubble, and the class of soils selected for their growth are generally dry and free in their nature. Their growth upon strong soils is exceptional, and never to be recommended except in dry climates. After the corn is cut the cleaning of the surface should immediately commence, and, as soon as this is done, the land should be deeply plowed (for we have to prepare for the succeeding root-crop as well as for the present one); after it has lain a few days the sowing of the earliest spring-feed may take place. Nothing further, besides rolling, will be required before the seed is sown, for these soils are not difficult of cultivation. Rye is one of the earliest crops for spring-food, and usually forms the first sowing. It is generally sown broadcast, at the rate of 4 bushels to the acre. The next sowing will be rye and vetches, or else winter-oats and vetches mixed. For these the same preparation will be necessary. allowance is 1 bushel of rye or oats and 3 bushels of vetches per acre, broadcast or by the drill: thick sowing is always advisable for spring-crops. For these crops rather stronger land may be selected than for the rye, and they are also more likely to receive manure, as they require more nourishment from the land, and, if so, the roller will be necessary.

The usual either sown

The sowings will be commenced in September, and continued at intervals to the end of October. Vetches may be sown about the middle of October, without any mixture; but they will not be ready for use as quickly as the mixed seeds. In these cases rolling will be found advisable, especially when the soil is not covered with a fine mould, which is very necessary for the growth of these seeds. It is also desirable, after the use of the drag, to give some pressure to the soil, as they do not thrive well when the ground is too loose; with rye this is not so material

as with vetches. A dry time should be selected for sowing the seed, and after this the land should be left harrowed and not rolled.

French Clover or Trifolium.-This plant is somewhat peculiar from the excessive firmness of soil required for its successful growth. It is usually sown after a corn crop, and, for its culture, a clean stubble should be selected upon land which is tolerably stiff. If this is twice harrowed it will produce soil enough to cover the seed, and this seems to be all that is requisite except a light rolling. This may appear to be a slovenly mode of farming; but it is decidedly the best plan, for, when the stubble is pared and the land cleaned, and especially if it should be plowed, the trifolium will not thrive so well. As regards the appearance of the stubble, provided a clean stubble be chosen, no doubt need be entertained. that successful practice will justify from every charge of neglect, when in the spring the stubble disappears amidst the luxuriant growth of the clover. About 20 lbs. sown broadcast will be found a sufficient quantity of seed to the acre. When the soil has been loosened more than by moderate harrowing, the roller must precede the sowing, otherwise much of it will run down into the soil too deeply for germination, and a thin plant will be the consequence.

I have thus noticed the special requirements of each of our principal agricultural crops, so far as regards the mechanical condition of the land, and other circumstances connected with the successful germination of seed. So far as my limits have allowed me, I have endeavored to show the chief variations in practice; but it must be remarked that local peculiarities of soil and climate will occasion exceptions from these general rules in minor points of management, which are still of the greatest importance for obtaining a successful growth. I do not, therefore, pretend to say that the conditions named will be invariably applicable; but, from a rather extended experience, I have reason to consider that they represent the most successful systems of management.

Queen's College, Birmingham.

[Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England.

THE PROPER OFFICE OF STRAW ON A FARM.

BY HENRY EVERSHED.

PRIZE ESSAY.

[From the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England.]

Straw is used on most farms, both as food for stock, and as a bed for them to lie on; I shall therefore endeavor to assign to each of these uses its proper value. The requirements of the farm-yard necessitate, as I believe, certain modifications in the use of straw; and the system of letting the cattle "eat their liking" from the crib, and tread the rest under foot, though still finding favor in some secluded districts, may be amended.

The present high price and growing demand for meat will make us all look inquiringly at our straw-stacks, anxious to know whether all their value departed with the grain, or whether there be not beef or mutton latent in straw as well as in turnips.

It is a common remark on many of the best managed and most profitable farms, "How shall I manage to tread all this straw into good dung?" And on other farms differently situated, "How shall I get straw for all this stock?"

It is, however, a mistake in any case to be too anxious to "tread in" straw. Straw is not dung; it is, as litter, a medium for soaking up the liquids and solids of a farm yard, making a dry bed for cattle. Taking its market value at 17. per ton (in some neigborhoods it is twice as much), fifty tons will buy 50l. worth of guano, worth on any farm more than fifty tons of straw merely "trod into dung?”

The using of straw for the sake of getting rid of it, is a miscalculation, and

*The above conclusions are not strictly correct, or at least not applicable in all cases. 1st, although straw be not dung, yet the carbon as well as the minerals which it contains have a positive value as manure, and exert a special influence on light sandy soils. On such soils guano is a very inadequate substitute for farm yard manure. Moreover, in the case before us, 50 tons of straw must be taken to represent a large number of tons of inferior manure. On farms where a good head of stock is economically fed, it must be quite an exceptional case if there be any superfluity of straw; because, where the land is strong and the climate moist, so that a great bulk of straw per acre will be grown, there will generally be a considerable admixture of pasture with the arable land. when the land is light and the climate dry, and the farm almost exclusively arable, the yield of straw will not be great, and a considerable portion of it will be required as a substitute for hay in feeding the stock. A good farmer does not generally find that he has more straw than he can turn to good account, although, under certain circumstances he may think it better economy to sell a portion, and replace it by purchasing manure.-P. H. F.

any covenants which necessitate this by withholding permission to sell it, are surely founded in error.

I shall now turn to a more common state of things, where straw is not in excess of the ordinary requirements of the farm: first examining what appears to be the most important, because the most indispensable, of the uses of straw, viz., as litter. All the larger animals require litter of some sort. A warm, dry, and soft bed is quite indispensable for their comfort. As an expedient for saving straw, I once put twelve three-year-old oxen on boards to fatten, and found it a very cruel experiment. The animals were always in a state of distress; one of them refused to lie down, and remained standing four days, until the muscles of the thigh swelled from the unnatural tension. A comfortable layer of straw soon set all right again, and as the spaces between the boards allowed the moisture to pass into a drain, a great saving of litter was effected.*

A wish to save straw occasionally leads to a sparing use of it in the yards, always resulting, however, in the immediate discomfort of every head of stock. In fact, the best of food, and unremitting attention, will not compensate for the want of a comfortable bed. Frequent supplies of dry litter in sheds and yards are absolutely necessary. Those who are accustomed to a well stocked farmyard are aware how entirely success depends on attention to details; the omission of any of these mars all. A comfortable bed is one of the most important.

It may be asked, "Is it the proper use of straw, to be spread over the wet surface of a yard, to be soaked by rain, and then covered up by a fresh layer, and finally trodden' into indifferent dung?"

This question brings me to the subject of covered yards. The desire to spare straw led to the erection on my own farm, and on another under my direction, of sheds covering a considerable space of yard, besides cattle-boxes. It would be quitting the present subject to expatiate on the various advantages derived from these arrangements; I may observe, however, that one great advantage is the saving in straw which they effect.

With regard to live stock, I have seen them thrive as well in warm, sheltered yards, open to the sun, and well supplied with litter, as in the best appointed stalls, boxes, or covered yards. But the litter is wastefully used, the manure less valuable, and the amount of cartage greater.

The question of rain falling in a year, on a yard 50 ft. by 40 ft., at 25 inches per annum, amounts to 25,967 gallons, weighing nearly 116 tons. During heavy rain a large quantity runs off, carrying with it the soluble portions of the manure; but after making due allowance for evaporation, there will remain many tons absorbed by the straw, costing nearly 7d. per ton if carted a quarter of a

*The cocoa-nut matting used by Mr. Horsfall in his cow stalls may be found serviceable by cther farmers who, as in his ease, are situated in neighborhoods where straw is both dear and scarce. It would not, however, be used to the same advantage for steers as for cows.— P. H. F.