in the fame manner, be made, in times of fcarcity, with carrots, parfneps, potatoes, Jerufalem-artichokes, and many other articles, which might be raised at a trifling expence: the carrot-puddings and the potatoe-puddings, which are both frequently feen at the tables of the great, have no particular taste of the refpective roots they are made of; and this would, I dare fay, be the cafe with the bread. It is for the intereft of the community, that the food of the poor fhould be as various as poffible: whilft their chief food is bread. made of wheat-meal only, every time the crop of wheat fails, they are driven to the greateft diftrefs; whereas, had they other ready and cheap refources, this would never be the cafe. When wheat is dear, turneps or potatoes are frequently to be had at a reasonable rate; but if prejudice fteps forward, and forbids the ufe of them, of what avail is it? Sept. 27, 1763. SL Extract from a letter in the Mufeum Rufticum et Commerciale, on an improved method of breeding feedwheat. OME part of SOME my land differs greatly in its nature from the other near half my farm is a stiff deep clay; what bottom it has I know not, as I never could find it in digging my ditches, &c. the the other half is a bed of light fandy loam, with a gravelly hard bottom. This difference in the foil of my farm is on many accounts a great advantage; particularly, my wheat does not all ripen at the fame time; I have generally nearly got in that growing on my gravelly land, before that on my clay is fit to cut; and I can befides plow in all weathers, froft excepted. But, not to digrefs too much, I took it into my head that, with proper care, I could breed for my felf, on my own land, as good feed-wheat as any I could buy, if not better; and I determined within myfelf to make the experiment.' Before I made this experiment, I had reduced the quantity of feed I ufed on each acre, from four to three bufhels, which was a great faving to me. I had ftill occafion for above twenty quarters. My firft ftep was to felect ten acres of the best land I had; five from the heavy, and as many from the light part of my farm: this land was by nature rich and good; it lay on the gentle fouthern declivity of a hill, and required very little manure; it lay in two little detached fields, at fome distance one from the other. When I had prepared this land by a winter and fummer fallowing, in which time the clayey part was plowed feven times, and the light land five times, I had both fields 'fown with fome of the best wheat I could procure; that for the heavy land I got from Herefordfhire, the other from a particular friend who holds a farm in Cambridgeshire, od 93 ཚ When the feafon for fowing approached, I was mightily pleased with the appearance of my two little plots; for they refembled the beft-kept gardens, not a weed to be be feen, and the earth as fine as garden-mould, On this occafion I did not brine my feed, but had it put into a large, tub: fome water was then poured, on it, and I made a ftout labourer, with a ftiff half-worn birchenbroom, ftir it very brifkly about for near half an hour: this I imagined would wash off the fmut, if any there happened to be: the light feeds, which were very few, were fkimmed off. I let the wheat afterwards lie three hours foaking, when my man again ftirred it brifkly with the fame broom, and immediately poured the water of off. Whilft yet wet, the feed was fprinkled in the ufual manner with flaked lime, in order to prepare it for fowing. My reafon for not brining it * was, that I thought it would bring it too forward, and I rather chofe to fow it early, which is, I know, in general, a very good practice. In fowing this land, I, in fome meafure, followed Mr. Tull's directions; that is, I fowed my wheat in rows with large intervals, in the following manner. I had a furrow opened about a md from the hedge in this furrow fome feed was by a careful hand very thinly fcattered, not fowed in the common way with a fling of the arm. It took up time; fo I had two fowers to each plow. When the plowman had drawn the firft furrow, he then opened another, at about ten feet diftance from the first in the land: and the feed was in the fame manner thinly scattered in this alfo: after this, he returned to the firft furrow. and drawing another close to it covered the feed; the fame thing he did by the fecond furrow: he afterwards went two bouts without any feed being fown in the furrows; but the third bout, feed was thinly fcattered, as before, to form the fecond row of corn in each bed: another bout was made to cover the feed when the two beds were finished, the middle of the interval being left unplowed. In this manner both my little fields were fown, in double rows with intervals about five or fix feet wide betwixt the beds, and the rows about two feet afunder. The corn came up very well, and preferved a good wholesome appearance all the winter. Early in the fpring, that is, in the month of February, I made a careful man fow the fpaces betwixt the rows of corn on the heavy land with wood-afhes, and on the * It is not always neceffary to brine wheat before fowing; washing it well an. fwers the purpose of preferving it from fmut, by removing the infectious powder which is apt to lodge at the rough germ of the feed. Brining is moft neceffary at a late fowing, as it will then bring the corn forward; but it is always best omitted, unless the land is in fine tilth: if it has not been well plowed, the wheat, which had made a quick progrefs by the affiftance of the faline particles it had imbibed in the brining, receives a fatal check, not finding the circumjacent earth in a condition to fecond the operations of the falt. When any good is expected from brining wheat, the feed fhould be left from twelve to twenty-four hours in the fteep, according to its quality, as it is harder or fofter. If this is not done, the brine will be of little more fervice than plain water. N. P light land with foot there were both foon washed in by the rain, and the effects were fpeedily to be seen in the new affumed vigour of the crops, and this vigour continued till the corn was ripe. As foon as any weeds appeared, the intervals which were left an plowed at feed-time were turned up, and the paces betwixt the rows diligently hand-hoed this hand-hoeing was feveral times repeated, to keep the crop quite clear from weeds: the intervals had alfo feveral other ftirrings; but this work was chiefly done with a very light plow without either earth-board or coulter in the other little field. Every thing came very well forward; and when the wheat began to fpindle, I had the outfides of the rows well earthed-up with a plow, and the infides with a handhoe: the infides were done firft. At harveft the fields made a noble appearance, a fine wellbroke earth ftriped with rows of healthy wheat. ***The cutting this wheat was very eafily performed, it food fo ready to the reapers hands; and when it was houfed and threshed, it yielded me about four quarters on an acre, Lone with another, the first year, though I have fince had fometimes more, fometimes a little lefs. My ten acres then yield about forty quarters and I had occafion for only about twenty-two to fow my common wheat-lands: I therefore took only the firft and prime part of this crop, getting the fheaves very lightly threibed what remained made excellent bread-corne alim adı avis stad: 100; I never faw finer feed-wheat than As foon as I had got in this felect crop, I got the intervals in order for fowing with a fecond crop, in moft refpeces continuing the practice of the year before I had the like fuccefs, and might, perhaps, with equal advantage, have continued cropping the fields every year in the fame manner: but, not to depend too much on Mr. Tull, my next crop was a full crop of barley on them, which fucceeded well; and I felected two other plots of ground, of equal goodness, for my feed corn hafbandry, as I call it, 2018, fr In this manner I have now for feveral years paft managed growing my own feed; and, if any thing, my crops have fince increafed but I have again reduced the quantity from three to twa bushels of feed, for each acre of my wheat-land in common; that is, fuch as I fow in the ordinary way on fome of my rich ftrong land, I don't ufe above fix pecks, and find it anfwer very well. t Several reafons, though I deal not much in them, may be affigned for the feed-wheat, I raife in the above described manner, being fo good. In the first land that has not tafted any dung that place, I fow it on for fome years, but is, in its own nature, rich and good: to this practice I afcribe a great deal of its goodness. In the next place, as the corn does not ftand too thick, at enjoys all the benefit it can re ceive from the fun and air: by this means means it attains a perfect maturity, and is certainly improved both in bulk and quality,' The flight fpring-dreffing I give it, of foot or afhes, is of very great fervice: it warms the roots and brings the corn forward; it loofens the earth, and either itself gives nourishment to the plants, or, at leaft, puts the earth in a difpofition to afford it. Not a little is to be attributed to the frequent hooing betwixt the rows and the stirrings of the intervals; and I find one very particular and great advantage refult from fit, which is, that it is an excellent means of clearing my land of weeds for they no fooner attain a part of their growth, but they are deftroyed long before they feed, I have very little more to say at this time, except that I never thresh the heaves that are to fup-ply me with feed-corn, till juft when I want to make ufe of it. I have a notion, that the feed keeps better in the covering nature has given it, I mean the chaff, than it would do without it; and I am pretty certain it fprouts fooner in the ground, the hulk or bran of the grain being preferved in a tenderer and more yielding ftate, than it would be were it expofed to the open air alarstw.be Extract from a letter in the Mufeum Rufticum et Commerciale, on the A different uses to which the leaves of trees may be applied, THE fubje&t I propofe to write on may appear to us in England of little confequence; yet I think it may be well worth our attention when fet in a proper light. It is not my intention to treat, at this time, of leaves as organs that are neceffary to vegetation; I fhall take them under my confideration only when they become no longer neceffary to the plants of which they are parts, We fuffer our leaves to fall and rot on the ground, without making, in general, any ufe of them,` whereas, were they carefully gathered before the fall, and dried, which would be no great expence, they might, upon occafion, serve as fodder for our cattle, as manure for our land; we might make hot beds of them; they would, ferve inftead of faw-duft to preferve our wines in dry vaults; and, if I am not mistaken, oak leaves might be a very good fubftitute for the bark in tanning leather. When we intend leaves as fodder for cattle, they fhould be gathered juft before the fall, and frequently turned and dried like hay; after which, if they are kept from moisture and wet, they' may be with ease preferved through the winter. * In France they give many forts of leaves to their cattle. Their cows are very fond of the leaves and tender ftalks of the madder: this food makes them yield abundance of milk of a good quality; but it has a reddish colour, and the butter made of it, though very good, is yellow. They give allo to their cows the blades or leaves of the faffron plant; but thefe give the milk a difagreeable taftedN. This will beft anfwer in the neighbourhood of large woods and forests, where there are plenty of trees, and where of courfe the labour of gathering the leaves will be but of little value. Cows eat Cows eat thefe dried leaves with a good appetite; and there cannot be a better, nor a cheaper fodder, to fupport ewes through the hard winter's weather. Where a farmer, who has a right of commonage, breeds a large number of fheep, he will be glad of fuch a refource, in a hard winter, to fave his, hay: if the fheep have not fome dry fodder, very many of them drop in the winter. 1 I cannot fay that I have had any great experience of the ufe of leaves as a fodder; yet I know they may be fo applied, and are wholefome food: I have dried fome in fmall quantities, and given them, for feveral weeks together, both to cows and fheep; they eat them freely, and feemed to be every way in as good health as when they were fed with hay. So much for my little experience; but in France the cafe is otherwife they annually confume leaves there in large quantities as fodder for their cattle, and find them thrive well with it, On the borders of the forest of Orleans, as well as in many other provinces, this practice is highly approved of, and ftands generally recommended among the inferior farmers, who have no great plenty of other more valable fodder. I would willingly recommend this practice to fome of our Engfish farmers it is a great pity any thing fhould be thrown away that can be of the leaft ufe; and I have often, in a woody country, feen the leaves of the trees rotting on the ground in autumn; and when I have gone there the winter following, I have feen the poor fheep and half-ftarved cows crawling on, the commons, and almoft perifhing. for want of that nourishment which the leaves of the preceding autumn, if properly preferved, would have afforded them. But fuppofe even that the leaves fhould not in the winter be wanted as fodder, they will then ferve as an excellent manure, being laid to rot in alternate beds with good earth. In this manner they make a much better manure than either wheat or barley ftraw, as they abound more with vegetable fap,, raife in the earth a more uniform, and temperate fermentation; and for this reafon the effects they produce are more lasting...... Another great advantage they. poffefs as a manure is, that you are fure of not ftocking your land with weeds by the ufe of them: this cannot be faid of any of the common kinds of dung. I know too, and by experience, that they are very good for making hot beds. I fhall mention another, ufe to which the leaves of trees may be applied by the poor, if they are firit properly dried and prepared; I mean that they may ferve instead, of ftraw, flocks, or feathers, for beds, bolfters, and cushions: nothing can be cheaper for this use, and nothing can be wholesomer or eafier. I have had fome experience of it, and find that when leaves are applied to this ufe, it is beft for them to receive fome wet in the drying, whether by rain or by water thrown on them is immaterial: this makes them of a rougher contexture, and prevents 2 their |