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which each cock rests, by the number of lightly over the surface, taking care to keep the middle higher than the sides and ends; and to keep these latter well bound, so as to have the mass well secured together. As the storing progresses, the hay projecting from the sides should be carefully pulled out so as to make the outside faces neat and trim. Much of the fine form of the hay-rick, which one meets with on a well-conducted farm, depends upon the care with which this external trimming is done. Little need here be said as to the thatching of the stack save this, that the same care which is given to the formation of the stack in other parts should be given in this. Nothing looks worse in a rick-yard than stacks finished in a careless, slovenly manner. When the hay is stored up in a stack in the open air, the operation of stacking will be much facilitated by using the rick cover, a cloth extended between two poles, or by having-as is often the case in England-a permanent roof supported by four standards at the corners, up and down which the roof slides, so that it can be adjusted at any desired height. With the use of either one or other of these contrivances the operation of stacking is much facilitated; and the uniform condition in which it is stacked, secured by the facility given to store the hay, as it gets ready for the stack, by avoiding the necessity of keeping that which is first ready in the field till the last cut is ready also.

cocks in the field, and some notion will be obtained of the loss sustained by this bad mode of procedure. Let it then be accepted as an axiom in haymaking, as in other departments of farming it is accepted, that the moment when the produce is ready for storing, that that is the time when the storing should be proceeded with. Hay is differently stored from corn, and may either be put up in the barn completely under cover, and enclosed on all sides, or put up into stack in the rick-yard. But in either case the operation of putting up hay requires to be done with great care. If it is to be stacked, the site of the stack must be prepared specially with a view to prevent damp getting into the body of the hay. The mode usually adopted to prevent damp is by placing on the ground a number of pieces of wood, poles of trees, &c., filling up the interstices with brushwood, &c. Stones may enclose the space upon which the stack is to stand, and the space within the stone enclosure filled up with smaller stones-or the usual form of corn stack stathels may be used. In the case of either of the two first-named methods being adopted, it will be advisable to cut a trench all round the space of the stack, so as to prevent the water from the surrounding soil draining to the stack; hence also comes this other recommendation, that the site of the stack should be raised so as to be considerably higher than the surrounding soil, so as to drain from rather than to italthough this will in some measure be effected by the raised bottom of timber or stones.

The best shape for a hay stack is that of the parallelogram, in which the length is greater than the breadth; its contents can be thus easily measured, and the less breadth which it possesses as compared with its length prevents the chance of the contents getting over-heated.

In depositing the hay in one stack, care should be taken to have each layer, so to say, placed as lightly and evenly as possible. As each portion is taken from the cart, an attendant should be ready to receive, take it up, and shake it loose so as to get rid of all knots and lumps, dispersing it

VOL. I.

To prevent the contents of the stack overheating and getting scorched, special contrivances are often adopted by which a supply of air is carried to the centre of the stacks, and the heated air withdrawn from the same place, thus securing a certain degree of ventilation throughout the whole mass. Some do not approve of these appliances, inasmuch as they conceive that while carrying off the heated air from the interior of the stack, they also carry into it the damp condition of the exterior atmosphere, so that they believe it the better way not to stack till the hay is in that good condition in which it will not get overheated. But this, in our uncertain climate, cannot be always-shall we say is only now and then secured--so that, after "

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there remains so much to be said in favour of special arrangements for ventilating hay-stacks. These may consist of the ordinary form of cornstack bosses, or of some special contrivance, such as the ventilating tube of Marshall, as made by Garrett & Co. of Saxandham, Suffolk.

It is here worthy of note, however, when on the subject of the heating of hay in stack, that the slight degree of heating, which arises from the sap or moisture contained or left naturally in the hay, is not to be feared; it is, indeed, on the contrary, perhaps, to be desired, as bringing about that chemical action in parts of the fibre which will make it more nutritious at all events, more "tasty," to use a common but expressive term-to the animals which partake of it. It often happens that in adverse seasons the hay is got― and can even with the greatest care only be got-in that unsound condition, that if not to restore it to that sound condition so much to be desired, at all events to bring back or give to it some of the palatable conditions of sound hay, salt is strewed over the hay as it is placed in layers in the stack. The salting is not approved of by some, but if not overdone we believe that it is beneficial; certainly all farm stock are particularly fond of salt in their food, which, indeed, in our opinion, should always contain it. On the other

hand, the fact should not be overlooked, that salt is remarkably liable to atmospheric influences, and takes up moisture very rapidly, so that if salt, at all events too much of it, is placed in the stack, and especially if ventilating appliances be used, the moisture which the salt, so to say, attracts will bring about the very condition of the hay which it is so desirous to avoid, and to amend which, in some measure, the salt is primarily added. Hence, in the practice of some, it is considered the soundest way to put up the hay in the stack in the best condition possible, leaving such condimental additions to be made to it as may be desired at the time when it is given to the animals. But the question of what should be those condimental substances, and what are their effects upon the animals partaking of them, is by far too important a matter to be discussed at the end of a paper like the present, which after all is only indirectly connected with it, and which, therefore, for the present we put aside, to be taken up and discussed in a more appropriate paper, and at a more convenient period. There is much to be said on the subject, and, as the result of some little practical observation, we may perhaps be able to say something which has not been said before, or, if already said, worthy of being said again.

IT

RAPE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE TURNIP CROP.

T is now absolutely certain that even should we have soon a sufficient fall of rain to moisten the parched ground thoroughly, the turnip seed, which is as yet lying dormant, will do little towards producing a crop equal to the demands made upon it. At present, the appearance of the turnip fields is extremely irregular. In some cases the plants look wonderfully well; in others the seed has not started equally, and the plants have come up in patches; while in what we fear is the majority of instances, the fields present the same appearance which they did when the

seed was sown, scarcely the vestige of a turnip plant being discernible. Even those fields which have hitherto been the most promising, must speedily suffer should drought continue, as the plants will become mildewed, and stop in their growth from lack of moisture. With many it has become, therefore, a serious question, what is to be done to provide keep during winter and early spring for the stock which must be retained on their farms. No one, under present circumstances, will venture to increase the number of their stock by purchasing, unless they have unusual resources for

keep; but there is always a certain proportion which must be retained if possible, and the number of which may even be increased in some instances by the difficulty experienced in getting surplus stock disposed of.

Turnips are so essentially the sheet-anchor of the British farmer, that any detrimental causes operating upon that crop is felt throughout every department of the farm; and it is, therefore, a matter of importance to consider what crop is best suited to act as a substitute for it, and to supply, in some degree at least, a failure of it, of which there is reason to complain in all parts of the kingdom.

A Lancashire correspondent, who had spent his last Easter holidays near Brighton, writes, stating that he saw several fields in that neighbourhood with magnificent crops of rape ready for cutting. Feeling assured that as the present drought will cause our turnip crops to be very light, and that food, in consequence, will be correspondingly scarce next spring, he considers that a crop of rape ready at that time will be of great value, and he therefore asks us to give him some information as to the cultivation of rape, so as to come in for use in spring.

Our correspondent has formed a correct estimate of the value of rape, and it is to it we must look in providing a substitute for the turnip crop where the latter shall prove a failure this season.

land, provided the soil is in good condition, or fairly manured; the manures most suitable for it being precisely the same as those used in growing turnips. It may be grown either in drills or ridges, as drills are styled in some parts, or it may be sown broadcast. We prefer drills 26 to 28 inches apart, as we are thereby enabled to horse-hoe and clean the crop, which cannot be done under the broadcast system. Two or three pounds of seed will be sufficient to sow an imperial acre when the crop is grown in drills, but 10 lb. will be required if the seed is sown broadcast. When the plants are too thick they grow up without producing that luxuriance of leaf and stem which is desirable in a forage crop, and it is needful, therefore, to thin them out to 6 or 8 inches when they are too thick. The after-cultivation, so far as regards horsehoeing, is precisely the same as in the case. of drilled turnips.

As it is with the view of being substituted for turnips where the latter have failed, we consider that the best plan to follow would be to apply a light dose of guano, superphosphate, or Phospho-guano, run the plough between the drills where turnips have been sown but not germinated, so as to raise fresh earth, and then sow the seed, which will be done by the ordinary turnip-sowing machine. This application of manure will start the seed, and that which is already in the ground, as applied when the turnip seed was sown, will bring the plants on to maturity.

Although rape is extensively grown in some districts, chiefly as food for sheep, The crop is consumed by sheep in the same there are many parts of the country where manner as in the case of sheep folded on it is comparatively unknown, and, certainly, turnip. It is necessary, however, to bear in where its value is not sufficiently appreciated. mind-as we learned to our cost-that as Rape may be sown from this time until sheep are apt to become blown on rape, they the end of August or the middle of should not be put on the crop for September, and we have had a very fair the first time at least, when their stomachs. spring crop of it even when the seed are comparatively empty. It is adviswas not sown until the beginning of Octo- able to accustom them to it by degrees, and ber, but that is too late to be calculated during the time the sheep are consuming on as a general rule. If sown now, or until the crop they should have hay or straw and the middle of August, it will be ready, in salt supplied to them by way of change, most cases, by November; and when sown and as a condiment. Some scatter salt on in August and September, it will be fit for the crop before allowing the sheep a fresh. use in spring. break. This can do no harm, but the salt Rape may be grown on all kinds of arable is just as easily supplied in covered trough

much
The

A good crop of rape will yield as
food as an ordinary crop of turnips.
crop may also be cut and given to cattle
fed in the yards, and, altogether, the poor
prospects we have of a crop of turnips
renders the value of rape as a substitute,
a matter deserving serious and immediate
consideration, for unless steps are taken to

grow a crop of this kind it will be a very difficult matter to provide spring keep. We take it for granted, of course, that by-and-bye we shall have sufficient rain to moisten the ground, for unless such is the case, rape seed will not start any more than the turnip seed which is lying dormant, and, we fear, something like kiln-dried in the soil.

Ό

WARNING WORDS ON WEEDS.

three ways; first, by the seeds being naturally
distributed, either dropping from the plants,
or being scattered abroad by the winds;
secondly, by being mixed up with the seeds of
crops; and, thirdly, by the plants with ripe
seeds having been put into the manure-heap,
and spread on the land with the manure in
autumn or spring. As to the first of these,
some notion may be had as to the rapidity
with which weeds may be propagated if we
state briefly here the number of seeds which
each plant of our best known weeds bear.
Thus the corn cockle (agrostemma githago)
bears on an average 7 flowers, and each
flower 370 seeds, or 2599 seeds in all. The
chickweed (stellaria media) has 50 flowers,
each flower 10 seeds, or 500 seeds in all.
The charlock (sinapis arvensis) has 400
flowers, and each flower 10 seeds, or 4000
seeds in each plant. The groundsel (senecio
vulgaris) has 130 flowers, and 50 seeds in
each plant, or 6500 seeds in all. But there
are weeds which bear more largely than even
those named, bad as they are. Thus the
corn sow thistle (sonchus arvensis) has 190
flowers, and each 190 seeds, or giving a pro-
duct of 19,000 seeds for each plant.
this is far exceeded by the red poppy (the
"rose-a-ruby" of our forefathers), that scourge
of many a field, so abundant indeed in some
that the flowers far exceed apparently the
plants, and give a fiery red to the whole sur-
face. Each plant of this terrible weed (pa-
rhaus) bears 100 flowers, and each
500 seeds, or in the whole 50,000
Enough has been given to shew the

NE year's seeding," says the proverb, "is seven years' weeding." Those, therefore, if this is true, know what they have to expect if this year they allow the seedingthe labour of the weeding, which their worst wishers may well wish them to have, so difficult is it to perform. There is nothing perhaps so unmistakeably suggestive than the fact too well known to farmers, that while crops will be poor with all the pains that patient care bestows upon them, weeds will revel in abundance despite all attempts to get rid of them. In view of this it has been said, and there is something very suggestive in the statement, that weeds have been sent as a beneficent arrangement in order to make men industrious; and to exercise a reflex influence of a positively beneficial kind, inasmuch that the more the weeds are eradicated the finer will be the crops, which otherwise they would destroy. For it is worthy of note, that the mere getting rid of weeds exercises a most healthy influence upon the plants near which they grow, as the soil is stirred about them, and the atmospheric influences are allowed to act upon the crops. As the present period is that at which the weeds are most rampant, and at which the preventive measures against their increase may be in a great measure carried out, a few remarks on the subject may be useful now. We have spoken of the evils arising from one year's seeding; but there are some weeds which propagate chiefly by their roots, others again by their seeds. We shall paver consider the latter kind first. The seeds of flower weeds are distributed generally in one of seeds.

But

from seeding. Bad farming, indeed, is it that will allow of the weeds to grow so long without disturbance as to approach even remotely the seeding stage; but if, by neglect, they have been allowed to approach it, we would strongly counsel the farmer to spare no trouble nor expense to have the weeds pulled up; and when pulled up and collected, let him be by no means satisfied with an attempt to kill them by placing them in the dung heap. Some may have seeded, and the process of pulling up may have been so retarded that all or the majority of them may have seeded, and vain indeed is the hope that the seeds, by being mixed up with the manure, will have been killed. Even when apparently well rotted-often indeed, when lime is mixed in the heap-the vitality of the seeds remain unimpaired; and hence, when the manure is spread over the land in the autumn or spring, the seeds germinate, and of that field in which it is placed it may be said that the latter end is worse than the beginning. We remember once having bought a lot of well-rotted dung, so well rotted that all in it of vegetable growth was apparently dead; yet the growth of that same pest, the poppy, which we have alluded to, was in the following spring what the Yankees call a "caution" to see. If before this we had had any doubts as to the policy of burning all weeds so as to get their value in the form of ashes, we certainly had none ever after. We should therefore unhesitatingly counsel all weeds to be burnt: that is the only true way to deal with them: every other mode is but a compromise with principle, and, like all compromises of this kind, will only be a source of annoyance to him who adopts it. By collecting and burning weeds we turn the curse—which Scripture declares them to be—into a blessing. It is, indeed, a very singular circumstance, in connexion with weeds, the amazing vitality of their seeds. Corn and other seeds may, as they do, fail; rarely do the seeds of weeds fail to come up. A lesson of some value may be learned from this.

paramount importance of preventing weeds disseminated; we have as briefly to point out the second of these, namely, the mixing of these seeds with the seeds of crops. Shame it is to say that in some cases this mixing is purposely and systematically done by fraudulent seedsmen. The only way, therefore, to meet this dastardly evil is to deal with firstclass men; and, further, if seed purchased from others than of this stamp is doubtful in value, to have it examined by an expert, and if weed-seeds in quantity are detected, to ex pose the seller. But in many cases the seeds of weeds get mixed up with those of the crop, not with design, but through carelessness. The only way to prevent this is carefully-in harvesting-to keep back all weeds, and not to allow them to be mixed up with the crop. This, of course, may be, as it has often been, objected to as involving labour. All that need to be said in reply to this is, that if labour is grudged to gain a good end, the business-nay, any business—had better never be entered into; nevertheless, there is another way of looking at it-the cost of carefully keeping out seeds of weeds from crop seeds may be set against the loss sustained in after seasons by the number of weeds: we know pretty well how the balance will be in some cases. On the other hand, however, it may be said that farmers generally purchase their seed, and do not save it. It must be saved, however, somewhere; and where saved it is worth while to save it only, and not the seeds of weeds in addition. But where seed is purchased for crops, it is no less true that purchased along with it are the seeds of weeds; and very careless indeed are many farmers as to the condition of the seed they purchase-so careless that they act as premium-givers to those criminally disposed, by their carelessness actually inducing fraudulent seedsmen to mix seeds of a bad kind with them. All seed should be examined if possible. The following is the result of one or two examinations of this kind, from a paper by Professor Buckman, who has devoted much time to the subject of weeds :In a pint of clover seed the Professor discovered 7600 weed seeds: in a pint of cowgrass seed, 12,000; in a pint of brand clover

We have thus glanced at the first and the third of the ways in which weed seeds are

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