Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/385

Rh GRAIN CHOPS.] AGRICULTURE 359 It is also tall and stout in the straw, which is less liable to lodge than that of the common barley; and when this accident does happen, it has the valuable property of not producing aftershoots or greens. It requires about fourteen days longer than the common-early to reach maturity, but as it admits of being sown earlier than the latter sort, this is in practice no drawback to it. The Annat barley resembles the chevalier in its leading features, but is yellower in its complexion, and not quite so round in the grain. It ripens a few days earlier than the chevalier, and in our own experience is more productive. The common- early is more liable than those just noticed to suffer from over-luxuriance. It is generally used for the latest sowings on those portions of land from which the turnip crop has been longest in being removed. In the elevated or northern parts of the kingdom, four- rowed barley, usually called bere or bigg, is cultivated, as it is more hardy, and ripens earlier than the two-rowed varieties. A new variety, called Victoria bere, is said to be so productive, and to yield such a heavy sample, as to be worthy of cultivation even in lowland districts. Barley delights in a warm, friable soil, and thrives best when the seed is deposited rather deeply in a tilthy bed. Being the grain crop best adapted for succeeding turnips that have been consumed by sheep- folding, advantage must be taken of favouring weather to plough up the land in successive portions as the sheep-fold is shifted. So much of it as is ploughed before 1st February will usually get so mellowed by the weather as to be easily brought into suitable condition for receiving the seed. In Scotland the usual practice is to sow broadcast on this stale furrow, and to cover the seed by simple harrowing. A better way is first to level the surface by a stroke of the harrows, and then to form it into ribs twelve inches apart by such an implement as has been described when speaking of Tennant s grubber. Over this corrugated surface the seed is sown broadcast, and covered by another turn of the harrows. The ribbing loosens the soil, gives the seed a uniform and sufficient covering, and deposits it in rows. The only advantage of such ribbing over drilling is, that the soil is better stirred, and the seed deposited more deeply, and less crowded than is done by the ordinary drills. It is certainly of great advantage to have the seed- corn deposited in narrow lines, so far as the working of the horse-hoe is concerned ; but we are convinced that stiffer stems, larger ears, a more abundant yield, and a brighter sample, are likely to be obtained when the seed is loosely scattered in a channel three or four inches wide than when crowded into a narrow line. This grain is now sown considerably earlier than heretofore. When the soil is enriched by plentiful manuring, its temperature raised by thorough draining, and the climate and exposure favour able, it should be sown as early in March as possible, and will often do remarkably well although sown in February. This early sowing counteracts that tendency to over- luxuriance by which the crop is so often ruined in fertile soils. It is chiefly owing to this early sowing (although aided by the use of hummelling machinery) that the average weight of barley is so much greater now than it was thirty years ago. From 54 Ib to 56 Ib per bushel is now about the average weight in well-cultivated districts ; while 57 Ib and 58 Ib is by no means rare. The produce per acre ranges from 30 to 60 bushels, 36 bushels being about the average. The quantity of seed used per acre is from 2 1 to 3 bushels for broadcast sowing, and about a third less when drilled. As already remarked in regard to wheat, it is well, as the season advances, to avoid, by a fuller allowance of seed, the temptation to excessive tillering, and consequent unequal and later ripening. A good crop of barley yields about 1 ton each per acre of grain and straw. Section 3. Oats. Over a large portion of England oats are grown only as provender for horses, for which purpose they are fully ascertained to be superior to all other grains. Except, therefore, on fen-lands and recently-reclaimed muiry soils, the cultivation of oats in South Britain bears a small proportion to the other cereals. It is in Scotland, &quot; the land o cakes,&quot; that tlu s grain is most esteemed and most extensively cultivated. Considerably more than half of the annual grain crops of Scotland consists, in fact, of oats. The important item which oatmeal porridge forms in the diet of her peasantry, and of the children of her other classes, has something to do with this extensive culture of the oat ; but it arises mainly from its peculiar adaptation to her humid climate. As with the other cereals, there are very numerous varieties of the oat in cultivation. In Messrs Lawson s Synopsis of the Vegetable Products of Scotland, it is said (Div. i. p. 80), &quot; Our collection comprises nearly sixty varieties, about thirty of which are grown in Scotland; but of these not more than twelve are in general cultivation. These twelve varieties, enumerated in the order of their general cultivation, are, the Potato, Hopetoun, Sandy, Early- Angus, Late- Angus, Grey-Angus, Blainslie, Berlie, Dun, Friesland, Black Tartarian, and Barbachlaw.&quot; The first four kinds in this list are those chiefly cultivated on the best class of soils. It is to the produce of these that the highest market prices usually have reference. The weight per bushel of these sorts usually runs from 42 Ib to 46 K&amp;gt;. From 50 to 60 bushels per acre is a usual yield of oats. The two last named kinds are chiefly esteemed for their large produce, and adaptation to inferior soils; but being of coarse quality, they are chiefly used for provender. A variety which stands the winter is now frequently grown in England, for the double purpose of first yielding a sea sonable supply of green food to ewes and lambs in early spring, and afterwards producing a crop of grain. It has already been stated that in Scotland wheat does not prosper when sown after clover or pasture ; but with the oat it is quite the reverse, as it never grows better than on land newly broken up from grass. It is, accordingly, almost invariably sown at this stage of the rotation. The land is ploughed in December or January, beginning with the strongest soil, or that which has lain longest in grass, that it may have the longest exposure to the mellowing influences of wintry weather. In March or April the oats are sown broadcast on this first ploughing, and covered in by repeated harrowings. These are given lengthwise until the furrows are well broken down, for if the harrows are worked across the ridges before this is effected, they catch hold of the edges of the slices, and, partially lifting them, permit the seed-corn to fall to the bottom, where it is lost altogether. As it is only when a free tilth is obtained that the crop can be expected to prosper, care must be taken to plough early and somewhat deeply, laying the furrows over with a rectangular shoulder, to sow when the land is in that state of dryness that admits of its crumbling readily when trode upon, and then to use the harrows until they move smoothly and freely in the loose soil, two or three inches deep. The Norwegian harrow is an important auxiliary to the common ones in obtaining this result. When wild mustard and other annual weeds abound, it ia advisable to drill the crop and to use the horse-hoe. When the land is clean, the general belief in Scotland is that the largest crops are obtained by sowing broadcast. When the latter plan of sowing is adopted, from 4 to 6 bushels per acre is the quantity of seed used. The latter quantity is required in the case of the Hopetoun and other large- grained varieties. The condition of the soil as to richness and friability must also be taken into account in deter-