General view of the agriculture of the county of Northumberland ; with observations on ... its improvement / Drawn up for ... the Board of Agriculture.
- John Bailey
- Date:
- 1805
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: General view of the agriculture of the county of Northumberland ; with observations on ... its improvement / Drawn up for ... the Board of Agriculture. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![proportion of eight pounds of red clover, four pounds of white clover, and half a bushel of ray-grass per acre: to the above quantities are sometimes added three or four pounds of rib-grass and hop-medic, as the soil suits. When red clover is grown alone, ten or twelve pounds an acre are sown upon dry friable soils, and from fourteen to eighteen pounds upon strong loams or clays. They are sown In March, April, and May, upon lands fallowed the summer preceding for wheat, or turnips succeeded by barley, and ought always to be harrowed In, as well as rolled. Harrowing Is particularly necessary upon strong lands growing wheat 5 and across the ridges, is the best mode of performing the operation. We find, that where corn is drilled, and the intervals hoed, it pul- verizes the soil, and makes the finest preparation for grass-seeds of all others : where this is properly done, and harrowed after the seeds are sown, they seldom or never fail ;■ long experience having proved, that nothing re- quires a finer tilth than clover and grass-seeds. Upon the best soils, the clover and ray-grass mixed, are generally ready to depasture with fat sheep by the be- ginning of April j and from May, through the summer, will carry six or eight sheep per acre, according to the luxuriance of the crop and fertility of the soil. The se- cond and remaining years, they are depastured by the store flock. These pastures are frequently mown when the ray-grass begins to flower, which not only Increases the bottom grass, but a quantity of excellent hay is ob- tained, of considerable value. When the clovers are not depastured, but kept for hay, they are generally mown about the latter end of June; the average produce about two tons per acre: the second crop is rarely cut for hay, but depastured by cattle or sheep, chiefly the latter. NORTH UMB.] I When](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22037949_0153.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
