368

ON TItE ARABLE LAND

having dry bottoms naturally, or provided with such by judi-cious and effective draining, or, to use a generic term, allturnip soils , are in the former predicament; and these, un-der a judicious application of the drill husbandry, more espe-cially and essentially in regard to crops of turnips at properintervals, can never require the intervention of a naked fallow.The successive process for preparing the soil, and cultivat-ing the turnips in a proper manner, to be considered here-after, are to such soils a most perfect and efficient fallow, andeven a rich source of additional manure. All fertile claysand strong loams, which are adapted for the cultivation ofpulse, that is, beans and peas, or both mixed, supposing themto have been effectually cleaned from vivacious root weeds inthe first place, by means of a thoroughly wrought naked fal-low, may legitimately allow the recurrence of that fundamen-tal operation of all good husbandry on such lands, to be post-poned for some time, with much propriety and considerableprofit, by substituting a well cultivated crop of beans, or ofmixed beans and peas, upon the drilled system.

§2 .Of drilled culmiferous crops. —Wheat, rye , barley andoats, are differently circumstanced, in Scotland at least, inregard to drill husbandry, which, generally speaking, is notconsidered to be applicable to these grains. The climate is toovariable and uncertain, especially at seed time, to admit ofthe minute nicety and slow progress which the drill husban-dry necessarily requires, without considerable danger of losingthe proper season for committing these crops to the ground.The soil is not generally well adapted for this nice operation,requiring to be very equably pulverised, and completely freedfrom the obstructions of clods or stones, to admit of the readyand accurate operation of the drilling implements. The rootsof these grains, so long as any portion of the soil remains un-occupied, are also apt to continue planting out or tillering bymeans of suckers, by which the advance of the crop towardsmaturity, and consequently the season of ripening and of har-