Crossword 540

ACROSS

1. Keep eggs warm prior to hatching (8)

5. Making a hybrid (8)

11. Of the thigh (7)

12. Popular breed of cattle imported to South Africa from the US in the 1950s (7)

13. Descriptive of soil with a natural clay and sand mixture, including animal and vegetable matter (5)

14. Brought up; fostered (6)

15. More needy (6)

16. Of produce, not yet frozen or stale (5)

19. Of a service, scrapped (4)

23. A plant, Beta vulgaris, with a red or white succulent root (4)

24. Regain health (7)

25. Capital of Egypt (5)

26. Open space among trees (5)

28. Region that includes Australasia and the south-west Pacific islands (7)

30. Impervious earth in fine particles (4)

32. Cereal substance obtained from palm pith (4)

35. Ancient woody plant that produces cones but no flowers, and resembles a palm (5)

38. Ensnare (6)

39. Came into forcible contact with (6)

40. Inundated (5)

42. Equipment, usually attached to a tractor, used to apply liquids to crops (7)

43. Towards the source of a flow of water (7)

44. A form of glucose (8)

45. Thin and bony (8)

DOWN

1. Casual (8)

2. Rare chicken breed originating in Belgium (7)

3. Hardy grass whose grain is used for food and in making beer and spirits (6)

4. Work the land (4)

6. Type of grapefruit with sweet red flesh (4)

7. One of four natural divisions of the year (6)

8. Submerge (7)

9. Produce or bring to life (8)

10. Fruit of the vine (5)

17. Area of a garden designed with large stones and often waterwise plants (7)

18. Tract of tropical or subtropical level land with low vegetation (7)

20. Business that processes milk and milk products (5)

21. Number of chicks hatched at once (5)

22. Moroccan tree whose seeds yield an oil used in cosmetics and cooking (5)

23. Certain leguminous plants and their seeds that are often used as food (5)

27. Allowed contact with or entry into (8)

29. Young male domestic fowl (8)

31. Deadly disease of sheep and cattle caused by bacteria (7)

33. Scandinavian spirit made from potatoes or grain (7)

34. Attorney (6)

36. Collective name for a group of rhinos (5)

37. Solid higher alcohol, as in chole______ (6)

40. Weapons (4)

41. Dry covering or some fruits and seeds (4)