A G R I C U L T U R E.
1
Definition.
AGRICULTURE in general, or in the abstract, may be defined to be, The art of making the earth to produce in large quantities, and in the greatest perfection of which their nature is capable, those vegetables which are necessary to the subsistence, or useful for the accommodation, of mankind. Agriculture differs from gardening in this respect, that the gardener is chiefly occupied in rearing small quantities of the nicer and more delicate vegetables, which are rather valued as objects of luxury than as articles of food, whereas the agriculturist labours upon a larger scale, with a view to supply himself and his countrymen with the necessaries of life.
2
Is a separate art.
In civilized societies agriculture, or the cultivation of the soil, becomes a separate business or employment; and agriculturists, or the persons engaged in agriculture, receive the appellation of farmers or husbandmen.
3
Includes the rearing of cattle.
To enable the agriculturist or husbandman to conduct his business with success, it is necessary that he should not confine his attention to the mere cultivation of the soil, or the rearing of vegetables. The vegetables which are capable of affording a comfortable subsistence to the human constitution are few in number; and it has been found by experience, that they cannot be profitably sown and reproduced year after year upon the same spot of ground. Hence it becomes necessary at times to rear upon it grasses or other vegetables which are unfit for affording nourishment to man. But although men cannot eat grass, they may, nevertheless, contrive to obtain subsistence from it in an indirect manner. They may give it to cattle, whose ordinary and natural food it is; and having thus, as it were, converted the grass into the flesh of animals, they can devour these animals; and in this way, obtain a richer and more stimulating food than any vegetable production can possibly afford: It is therefore a part of the business of the husbandman to rear and to feed those animals which are used as food in the society of which he is a member, that he may be enabled at all times to derive profit from the portion of territory that he cultivates. It is also necessary towards conducting his operations with success, that he should rear and feed other animals, not as a source of human subsistence, but for the sake of the services which they are capable of affording; for it has pleased the beneficent Contriver of this world, to place upon it beings of a subordinate nature, capable of assisting mankind in their labours without being degraded by the state of servitude in which they are placed. To the cultivators of the soil, these animals, from their strength and patience of labour, are particularly useful, and
even absolutely necessary in our cold and barren climates. They must therefore be fed and lodged with the greatest care.
Hence, the employment of the husbandman is of an extensive nature, requiring much foresight, and a considerable knowledge of the relations that subsist between the most important objects in nature—the soil, the seasons, the animals, and the plants, so far as they are connected with the subsistence of mankind. It is by bringing to perfection this art that man becomes truly the lord of the universe. He subdues by his operations every part of the surface of the earth, and acquires over the animals which inhabit it, a solid right of dominion or of property, in consequence of having reared, and afforded them subsistence by his skill and his labour. He uses them indeed as food; but before he can do so, he must first bestow upon them subsistence, attend to their multiplication, and to their health and welfare. As they possess no foresight, the purpose to which they are destined, is to them no evil.
It is only in proportion to the degree in which this important art of agriculture has flourished, that nations have been, or ever can be, permanently prosperous. Every improvement that is made in it is a moral benefit conferred upon mankind; for by increasing the quantity of human food, or facilitating the production of it, one of two things must always happen: Either the number of our species will be increased, that is to say, a greater multitude of rational and intelligent beings will exist in the creation; or a greater number of those who already exist, will find leisure for the improvement of their intellectual characters by studying and carrying to perfection the sciences and arts. Thus, the strength of nations is increased in proportion to the degree in which their soil is skilfully cultivated, and their independence is secured by finding upon the spot which they inhabit all that is necessary for their subsistence.
It is a fortunate circumstance, that the art of the husbandman, which is the foundation of all others, and at all times indispensable to human existence, is in every respect conducive to the welfare of those engaged in it. The practice of it bestows health upon the body; and by the variety of occupations which it affords, it also bestows a considerable degree of reflection upon the minds of the lowest persons occupied in it; while, at the same time, it prevents their acquiring that spirit of artifice and of cunning, which in all countries is apt to degrade the character of those engaged in the inferior branches of commercial employment. Nor does it fail, in all ranks and conditions of life, to produce a more candid and liberal character than any other employment.
employment. No British husbandman has ever refused, or even hesitated to allow to be communicated to the public every branch of his art, and every improvement which he and his forefathers may have made in it; whereas, in all the branches of manufacture or of commerce, every transaction, as far as possible, is covered with a mysterious veil of secrecy, and every improvement, as far as possible, is concealed by its inventor, and sometimes undoubtedly perishes with him.
7
History.
The antiquity of this art is undoubtedly beyond that of all others; for we are informed by Scripture, that Adam was sent from the garden of Eden to till the ground; and, this being the case, he certainly must have known how to do so.—It would be ridiculous, however, to imagine that he was acquainted with all the methods of plowing, harrowing, fallowing, &c. which are now made use of; and it would be equally so to suppose, that he used such clumsy and unartful instruments as wooden hooks, horns of oxen, &c. to dig the ground, which were afterwards employed for this purpose by certain savages: but as we know nothing of the particular circumstances in which he was situated, we can know as little concerning his method of agriculture.
The prodigious length of life which the antediluvians enjoyed, must have been very favourable to the advancement of arts and sciences, especially agriculture, to which it behoved them to apply themselves in a particular manner, in order to procure their subsistence. It is probable, therefore, that, even in the antediluvian world, arts and sciences had made great progress, nay, might be farther advanced in some respects than they are at present. Of this, however, we can form no judgment, as there are no histories of those times, and the Scripture gives us but very slight hints concerning these matters.
No doubt, by the terrible catastrophe of the flood, which overwhelmed the whole world, many sciences would be entirely lost, and agriculture would suffer; as it was impossible that Noah or his children could put in practice, or perhaps know, all the different methods of cultivating the ground that were formerly used. The common methods, however, we cannot but suppose to have been known to him and his children, and by them transmitted to their posterity: so that as long as mankind continued in one body without being dispersed into different nations, the arts, agriculture especially, would necessarily advance; and that they did so, is evident from the undertaking of the tower of Babel. It is from the dispersion of mankind consequent upon the confusion of tongues, that we must date the origin of savage nations. In all societies where different arts are cultivated, there are some persons who have a kind of general knowledge of most of those practised through the whole society, while others are in a manner ignorant
every one of them. If we suppose a few people of understanding to separate from the rest, and become the founders of a nation, it will probably be a civilized one, and the arts will begin to flourish from its very origin; but, if a nation is founded by others whose intellects are in a manner callous to ever human science (and of this kind there are many in the most learned countries), the little knowledge or memory of arts that were among the original founders will be lost, and such a people will continue in a state of barbarism for many
Vol. I. Part I.
ages, unless the arts be brought to them from other nations.
From this, or similar causes, all nations of equal antiquity have not been equally savage, nor is there any solid reason for concluding that all nations were originally unskilled in agriculture; though as we know not the original instruments of husbandry used by mankind when living in one society, we cannot fix the date of the improvements in this art. Different nations have always been in a different state of civilization; and agriculture, as well as other arts, has always been in different degrees of improvement among different nations at the same time.
From the earliest accounts of the eastern nations, we have reason to think, that agriculture has at all times been under stood by them in considerable perfection; seeing they were always supplied not only with the necessaries, but the greatest luxuries of life.
As soon as the descendants of Abraham were settled in Palestine, they generally became husbandmen, from the chiefs of the tribe of Judah to the lowest branch of the family of Benjamin. High birth or rank did not at that time make any distinction, for agriculture was considered as the most honourable of all employments; witness the illustrious examples of Gideon, Saul, and David.
The Chaldeans, who inhabited the country where agriculture had its birth, carried that valuable art to a degree of excellence unknown in former times. They cultivated their lands with great assiduity, and seem to have found out some means of restoring fertility to an exhausted soil, by having plentiful harvests in succession; on which account they were not obliged, as their predecessors had been, to change their situations, in order to obtain a sufficiency for themselves and their numerous flocks and herds.
The Egyptians, who, from the natural fertility of their country by the overflowing of the Nile, raised every year vast quantities of corn, were so sensible of the blessings resulting from agriculture, that they ascribed the invention of that art to Osiris. They also regarded Isis, their second deity, as the discoverer of the use of wheat and barley, which before grew wild in the fields, and were not applied by that people to the purposes of food. Their superstitious gratitude was carried so far, as to worship those animals which were employed in tillage; and even the produce of their lands, as leeks, onions, &c.
The divine honours paid to Bacchus in India were derived from the same source, he being considered in that country as the inventor of planting vineyards, and the other arts attendant upon agriculture.
It is also related of the ancient Persians, on the most respectable authority, that their kings laid aside their grandeur once every month to eat with husbandmen. This is a striking instance of the high estimation in which they held agriculture; for at that time arts were practised among that people in great perfection, particularly those of weaving, needle-work, and embroidery. The precepts of their religion taught by their ancient magi, or priests, included the practice of agriculture. The saint among them was obliged to work out his salvation by pursuing all the labours of agriculture: And it was a maxim of the Zendavestra, that he who sows the ground with care and diligence, acquires a greater
O o degree
degree of religious merit, than he could have gained by the repetition of ten thousand prayers.
The Phœnicians, so well known in Scripture by the name of Philistines, were also remarkable for their attention to, and skill in agriculture. But finding themselves too much disturbed and confined by the incursions and conquests of the Israelites, they spread themselves throughout the greatest part of the Mediterranean islands, and carried with them their knowledge in the arts of cultivation.
Mago, a famous general of the Carthaginians, is said to have written no less than 28 books on the subject; which Columella tells us were translated into Latin by the express order of the Roman senate. We are informed by the ancient writers, that Ceres was born in Sicily, where she first invented the arts of tillage and of sowing corn. For this essential service, she was, agreeably to the superstition of those ages, deified and worshipped as the goddess of plenty. The truth of this is, that in the time of Ceres, the island, through her endeavours and the industry of the people, became very fruitful in corn; and agriculture was there esteemed so honourable an employment, that even their kings did not disdain to practise it with their own hands.
But time, which at first gave birth to arts, often caused them to be forgotten when they were removed from the place of their origin. The descendants of Noah, who settled in Europe, doubtless carried their knowledge of agriculture with them into the regions which they successively occupied. But those who took possession of Greece were such an uncivilized race, that they fed on roots, herbs, and acorns, after the manner of beasts. Pelasgus had taught them the culture of the oak, and the use of acorns as food; for which service, we are told, divine honours were paid him by the people.
The Athenians, who were the first people that acquired any tincture of politeness, taught the use of corn to the rest of the Greeks. They also instructed them how to cultivate the ground, and to prepare it for the reception of the seed. This art, we are told, was taught them by Triptolemus. The Greeks soon perceived that bread was more wholesome, and its taste more delicate, than that of acorns and the wild roots of the fields; accordingly they thanked the gods for such an unexpected and beneficial present, and honoured their benefactor.
As the arts of cultivation increased, and the blessings they afforded became generally experienced, the people soon preferred them to whatever the ravages of conquest, and the cruel depredations of savage life, could procure. And accordingly we find, that the Athenian kings, thinking it more glorious to govern a small state wisely, than to aggrandize themselves, and enlarge the extent of their dominions by foreign conquests, withdrew their subjects from war, and mostly employed them in cultivating the earth. Thus, by continued application, they brought agriculture to a considerable degree of perfection, and soon reduced it to an art.
Hesiod was the first we know of among the Greeks who wrote on this interesting subject. According to the custom of the Oriental authors, he wrote in poetry, and embellished his poem with luxuriant description
and sublime imagery. He calls his poem Works and Days, because agriculture requires exact observations on times and seasons.
Xenophon has also, in his Oeconomicus, remarked, that agriculture is the nursing mother of the arts. For, says he, "where agriculture succeeds prosperously, there the arts thrive; but where the earth necessarily lies uncultivated, there the other arts are destroyed."
Other eminent Greek writers upon agriculture were, Democritus of Abdera, Socrates, Archytas Tarentinus, Aristotle, and Theophrastus, from whom the art received considerable improvements.
The ancient Romans esteemed agriculture so honourable an employment, that the most illustrious senators of the empire, in the intervals of public concerns, applied themselves to this profession; and such was the simplicity of those ages, that they assumed no appearance of magnificence and splendour, or of majesty, but when they appeared in public. At their return from the toils of war, the taking of cities, and the subduing of hostile nations, their greatest generals were impatient till they were again employed in the arts of cultivation.
Regulus, when in Africa, requested of the senate to be recalled, lest his farm might suffer, for want of proper cultivation, in his absence; and the senate wrote him for answer, that it should be taken care of at the public expence, while he continued to lead their armies.
Cato the censor, after having governed extensive provinces, and subdued many warlike nations, did not think it below his dignity to write a Treatise on Agriculture. This work (as we are told by Servius) he dedicated to his own son, it being the first Latin treatise written on this important subject; and it has been handed down to us in all its purity, in the manner that Cato wrote it.
Varro composed a treatise on the same subject, and on a more regular plan. This work is embellished with all the Greek and Latin erudition of that learned author, who died 28 years before the commencement of the Christian æra. Virgil who lived about the same time, has, in his Georgics, adorned this subject with the language of the Muses, and finely illustrated the precepts and rules of husbandry left by Hesiod, Mago, and Varro.
Columella, who flourished in the reign of the emperor Claudius, wrote 12 books on husbandry, replete with important instruction.
From this period to that of the reign of Constantine Paganus, husbandry continued in a declining state; but that wise emperor caused a large collection of the most useful precepts relating to agriculture to be extracted from the best writers, and published them under the title of Geoponics. It has been asserted, that he made this collection with his own hand; and the truth of the assertion is not improbable, as it is well known, that after he had conquered the Saracens and the Arabians, he not only practised and encouraged, but studied the arts of peace, fixing his principal attention on agriculture, as their best foundation.
After the death of Constantine, however, the increasing attention of the people to commerce, and the ignorance and gross superstition of the ages which succeeded, seem to have rendered agriculture an almost neglected
glected science. The irruptions of the northern nations soon abolished any improved system. These innumerable and enterprising barbarians, who overran all Europe, were originally shepherds or hunters, like the present Tartars and the savages of America. They contented themselves with possessing, without labour or trouble, those vast countries rendered deserts by their own ravages, cultivating only a very small spot near their habitations; and in this trifling husbandry only the meanest slaves were employed: so that the art itself, which formerly was thought worthy of the study of kings, was now looked upon as mean and ignoble; a prejudice which is scarcely effaced at present, or at least but very lately.—During this period, therefore, we find no vestiges of any thing tolerably written on the subject. No new attempts were made to revive it, or to improve it, till the year 1478, when Crescenzio published an excellent performance on the subject at Florence. This roused the slumbering attention of his countrymen, several of whom soon followed his example. Among these, Tatti, Steffano Augustino Gallo, Sanfivino, Lauro, and Tarello, deserve particular notice.
At what time agriculture was introduced into Britain, is uncertain. When Julius Cæsar first invaded this island, it was not wholly unknown. That conqueror was of opinion, that agriculture was first introduced by some of those colonies from Gaul which had settled in the southern parts of Britain, about 100 years before the Roman invasion*.
* Cæsar de
Bell. Gall.
lib. v. c. 12.
It is not to be expected that we can now be acquainted with many of the practices of these ancient husbandmen. It appears, however, that they were not unacquainted with the use of manures, particularly marl. This we have on the authority of Pliny†, who tells us, that it was peculiar to the people of Gaul and of Britain; that its effects continued 80 years; and that no man was ever known to marl his field twice, &c.—It is highly probable, too, that lime was at this time also used as a manure in Britain, it being certainly made use of in Gaul for this purpose at the time of Julius Cæsar's invasion.
† Plin.
Nat. Hist.
lib. xvii.
cap. 6.
The establishment of the Romans in Britain produced great improvements in agriculture, inasmuch that prodigious quantities of corn were annually exported from the island; but when the Roman power began to decline, this, like all the other arts, declined also, and was almost totally destroyed by the departure of that people. The unhappy Britons were now exposed to frequent incursions of the Scots and Picts, who destroyed the fruits of their labours, and interrupted them in the exercise of their art. After the arrival of the Saxons in the year 449, they were involved in such long wars, and underwent so many calamities, that the husbandmen gradually lost much of their skill, and were at last driven from those parts of their country which were most proper for cultivation.
After the Britons retired into Wales, though it appears from the laws made relative to this art, that agriculture was thought worthy of the attention of the legislature, yet their instruments appear to have been very unartful. It was enacted that no man should undertake to guide a plough who could not make one; and that the driver should make the ropes of twisted willows, with which it was drawn. It was usual for six or eight persons to form themselves into a society for fitting out
one of these ploughs, providing it with oxen and every thing necessary for ploughing; and many minute and curious laws were made for the regulation of such societies. If any person laid dung on a field with the consent of the proprietor, he was by law allowed the use of that land for one year. If the dung was carried out in a cart in great abundance, he was to have the use of the land for three years. Whoever cut down a wood, and converted the ground into arable, with the consent of the owner, was to have the use of it for five years. If any one sold his cattle, for one year, upon a piece of ground belonging to another, with the owner's consent, he was allowed the use of that field for four years.
Thus, though the Britons had in a great measure lost the knowledge of agriculture, they appear to have been very assiduous in giving encouragement to such as would attempt a revival of it; but, among the Anglo-Saxons, things were not at present in so good a state. These restless and haughty warriors, having contracted a distaste and contempt for agriculture, were at pains to enact laws to prevent its being followed by any other than women and slaves. When they first arrived in Britain, they had no occasion for this art, being supplied by the natives with all the necessaries of life. After the commencement of hostilities, the Saxons subsisted chiefly by plunder: but having driven out or extirpated most of the ancient Britons, and divided their lands among themselves, they found themselves in danger of starving, there being now no enemy to plunder: and therefore they were obliged to apply to agriculture.
The Saxon princes and great men, who, in the division of the lands, had received the greatest shares, are said to have subdivided their estates into two parts, which were called the in-lands and the out-lands. The in-lands were those which lay most contiguous to the mansion-house of their owner, which he kept in his own possession, and cultivated by his slaves, under the direction of a bailiff, for the purpose of raising provisions for the family. The out-lands were those at a greater distance from the house, and were let to the eorls, or farmers of those times, at very moderate rents. By the laws of Ina king of the West Saxons, who reigned in the end of the seventh and beginning of the eighth century, a farm consisting of ten hides, or plough-lands, was to pay the following rent: "Ten caiks of honey; three hundred loaves of bread; twelve caiks of strong ale; thirty caiks of small ale; two oxen; ten wadders; ten geese; twenty hens; ten cheeses; one caik of butter; five salmon; twenty pounds of forage; and one hundred cels." From this low rent, the imperfection of agriculture at that time is easily discoverable; but it is still more so from the low prices at which land was then sold. In the ancient history of the church of Ely, published by Dr Gale, there are accounts of many purchases of lands by Ædelwold the founder of that church, and by other benefactors, in the reign of Edgar the Peaceable, in the tenth century. By a comparison of these accounts it appears, that the ordinary price of an acre of the best land in that part of England, in those times, was no more than 16 Saxon pennies, or about four shillings of our money: a very trifling price, even in comparison with that of other commodities at the same time: for, by
comparing other accounts, it appears, that four sheep were then equal in value to an acre of the best land, and one horse of the same value with three acres. The frequent and deplorable famines which afflicted England about this time, are further instances of the wretched state of agriculture. In 1043, a quarter of wheat fold for 60 Saxon pennies (15 of our shillings), at that time equal in value to seven or eight pounds of our money now.
The invasion of the Normans, in 1066, contributed very much to the improvement of agriculture; for, by that event, many thousands of husbandmen from Flanders, France, and Normandy, settled in Britain, obtained estates or farms, and cultivated them after the manner of their country. The implements of husbandry, used at this time, were of the same kind with those employed at present; but some of them were less perfect in their construction. The plough, for example, had but one stilt or handle, which the ploughman guided with one hand, having in his other hand an instrument which served both for cleaning and mending the plough, as well as for breaking the clods. The Norman plough had two wheels; and in the light soil of Normandy was commonly drawn by one or two oxen; but, in England, a greater number was often necessary. In Wales, the person who conducted the oxen in the plough walked backwards. Their carts, harrows, scythes, sickles, and flails, from the figures of them still remaining, appear to have been nearly of the same construction with those that are now used. In Wales, they did not use a sickle for reaping their corns, but an instrument like the blade of a knife, with a wooden handle at each end.—Their chief manure next to dung, seems still to have been marl. Summer fallowing of lands designed for wheat, and ploughing them several times, appear to have been frequent practices of the English farmers in this period.
We are, after all, very much in the dark with respect to the state and progress of agriculture in Great Britain previous to the fourteenth century. That it was pretty generally practised, especially in the eastern, south, and midland parts of England, is certain; but of the mode, and the success, we are left almost totally ignorant. In the latter end of the fifteenth century, however, it seems to have been cultivated as a science, and received very great improvement.
At this time our countryman Fitzherbert, judge of the common-pleas, shone forth with distinguished eminence in the practical parts of husbandry. He appears to have been the first Englishman who studied the nature of soils and the laws of vegetation with philosophical attention. On these he formed a theory confirmed by experiments, and rendered the study pleasing as well as profitable, by realizing the principles of the ancients, to the honour and advantage of his country. Accordingly, he published two treatises on this subject: the first, entitled The Book of Husbandry, appeared in 1534; and the second, called The Book of Surveying and Improvements, in 1539. These books, being written at a time when philosophy and science were but just emerging from that gloom in which they had long been buried, were doubtless replete with many errors; but they contained the rudiments of true knowledge, and revived the study and love of an art, the advantages of which were obvious to men of the least reflection. We there-
fore find that Fitzherbert's books on agriculture soon raised a spirit of emulation in his countrymen; and many treatises of the same kind successively appeared, which time has however deprived us of, or at least they are become so very scarce as only to be found in the libraries of the curious.
About the year 1600, France made some considerable efforts to revive the arts of husbandry, as appears from several large works, particularly Les Moyens de devenir Riches; and the Cosmopolite, by Bernard de Palissy, a poor porter, who seems to have been placed by fortune in a station for which nature never intended him; Le Theatre d'Agriculture, by Desferres; and L'Agriculture et Maison Rustique, by Messrs Etienne, Liebault, &c.
Nearly in the same period, the skillful practice of husbandry became more prevalent among this people and the Flemings than the publishing of books on the subject. Their intention seemed to be that of carrying on a private lucrative employment, without infringing their neighbours. Whoever therefore became desirous of copying their method of agriculture, was obliged to visit that country, and make his own remarks on their practice.
The principal idea they had of husbandry was, by keeping the lands clean and in fine tilth, to make a farm resemble a garden as nearly as possible.
Such an excellent principle, at first setting out, led them of course to undertake the culture of small farms only, which they kept free from weeds, continually turning the ground, and manuring it plentifully and judiciously. When they had by this method brought the soil to a proper degree of cleanliness, health, and sweetness, they chiefly cultivated the more delicate grasses, as the surest means of obtaining a certain profit upon a small estate, without the expence of keeping many draught horses and servants. A few years experience was sufficient to convince them, that ten acres of the best vegetables for feeding cattle, properly cultivated, would maintain a larger flock of grazing animals than forty acres of common farm grass on land badly cultivated. They also found, that the best vegetables for this purpose were lucerne, sainfoin, trefoil of most kinds, field-turnips, &c.
The grand political secret of their husbandry, therefore, consisted in letting farms on improvement. They are said also to have discovered nine sorts of manure; but what they all were, we are not particularly informed. We find, however, that marl was one of them; the use and virtues of which appear also to have been well known in this kingdom two hundred years ago, although it was afterwards much neglected. They were the first people among the moderns who ploughed in green crops for the sake of fertilizing the soil; and who confined their sheep at night in large sheds built on purpose, the floors of which were covered with sand or virgin earth, &c. which the shepherd carted away each morning to the compost dunghill.
In England, during the civil wars, though the operations and improvements in husbandry suffered some temporary checks, there flourished several excellent writers on the subject, and the art itself received considerable encouragement. Sir Hugh Platt was one of the most ingenious husbandmen of the age in which he lived; yet so great was his modesty, that all his works, except
except his Paradise of Flora, seem to be posthumous. He held a correspondence with most of the lovers and patrons of agriculture and gardening in England; and such was the justice and modesty of his temper, that he always named the author of every discovery communicated to him. Perhaps no man in any age discovered, or at least brought into use, so many new kinds of manure. This will be evident to those who read his account of the compost and covered dunghills, and his judicious observations on the fertilizing qualities lodged in salt, street dirt, and the fallage of streets in great cities, clay, fullers earth, moorish earths, dunghills made in layers, fern, hair, calcination of all vegetables, malt dust, willow tree earth, soapers ashes, urine, marl, and broken pottherds.
Gabriel Plattes may be said to have been an original genius in husbandry. He began his observations at an earlier period, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and continued them down to the Commonwealth. But notwithstanding the great merit of this writer, and the essential service he had rendered his country by his writings, the public ungratefully suffered him to starve and perish in the streets of London; nor had he a shirt on his back when he died.
Samuel Hartlib, a celebrated writer on agriculture in the last century, was highly esteemed and beloved by Milton, and other great men of his time. In the preface to his work entitled his Legacy, he laments that no public director of husbandry was established in England by authority; and that we had not adopted the Flemish method of letting farms upon improvement. This remark of Hartlib's procured him a pension of 100l. a-year from Cromwell; and the writer afterwards, the better to fulfil the intention of his benefactor, procured Dr Beatt's excellent annotation on the Legacy, with other valuable papers from his numerous correspondents.
The time in which Hartlib flourished seems to have been an era when the English husbandry rose to great perfection, compared with that of former ages; for the preceding wars had impoverished the country gentlemen, and of course made them indolent. They found the cultivation of their own lands to be the most profitable station they could fill. But this wise turn was not of long continuance. At the Restoration, they generally became infected with that intoxication and love of pleasure which succeeded. All their industry and knowledge were exchanged for neglect and dissipation; and husbandry descended almost entirely into the hands of common farmers.
Evelyn was the first writer who inspired his countrymen with a desire of reviving the study of agriculture; and he was followed by the famous Jethro Tull. The former, by his admirable treatises on earth and on planting, and the latter, by showing the superior advantages of the drill husbandry, excited numbers to bring their theory to the test of fair experiment.
Many valuable and capital improvements have since that period been made in English husbandry: and these great men have been succeeded by a variety of writers, many of whom have done essential service, by enlightening the minds of their countrymen, and exciting them to emulation.
About the middle of the last century, Ireland began to make a considerable figure in the art of husbandry.
It must indeed be confessed, that the Irish had very strong prejudices in favour of a wretched method of agriculture, till Blyth opened their eyes by his excellent writings. Since that time, a spirit of improvement has more or less been promoted, and in many instances carried on with great zeal, by the nobility, clergy, and gentry of that kingdom. In proof of this, it will be sufficient to observe, that the Transactions of the Dublin Society for encouraging Husbandry are now cited by all foreigners in their memoirs relating to that subject. And the observations of that discerning and judicious writer, Arthur Young, Esq. in his Tour through that kingdom, show, that in many respects improvements there have of late years made a progress nearly as rapid as in England.
After the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, most of the nations of Europe, by a sort of tacit consent, applied themselves to the study of agriculture, and continued to do so, more or less, amidst the universal confusion that succeeded.
The French found, by repeated experience, that they could never maintain a long war, or procure a tolerable peace, unless they could raise corn enough to support themselves in such a manner as not to be obliged to submit to harsh terms on the one hand, or to perish by famine on the other. This occasioned the king to give public encouragement to agriculture, and even to be present at the making of several experiments. The great, and the rich of various ranks and stations, followed his example; and even the ladies were candidates for a share of fame in this public-spirited and commendable undertaking.
During the hurry and distress of France in the war of 1756, considerable attention was paid to agriculture. Prize questions were annually proposed in their rural academies, particularly those of Lyons and Bourdeaux; and many judicious observations were made by the Society for improving agriculture in Brittany.
After the conclusion of that war in 1763, matters were carried on there with great vigour. The university of Amiens made various proposals for the advancement of husbandry; and the marquis de Tourbillon (a writer who proceeded chiefly on experience) had the principal direction of a georgical society established at Tours.
The society at Rouen also deserves notice; nor did the king and his ministers think it unworthy their attention. There soon existed about fifteen societies in France, established by royal approbation, for the promoting of agriculture; and these had twenty co-operating societies belonging to them.
About this time vigorous exertions began to be made in Russia to introduce the most approved system of husbandry which had taken place in other parts of Europe. The late empress sent several gentlemen into Britain and other countries to study agriculture, and gave it all possible encouragement in her own dominions.
The art of agriculture has also been for many years publicly taught in the Swedish, Danish, and German universities, where the professors may render effectual service to their respective countries, if they understand the practical as well as the speculative part, and can converse with as much advantage with the farmer as with Virgil and Columella.
Even Italy has not been totally inactive. The Neapolitans of this age have condescended to recur to the first rudiments of revived husbandry, and begun to study anew the Agricultural System of Crescenzo, first published in 1478. The people of Bergamo have pursued the same plan, and given a new edition of the Ricordo d'Agricoltura de Tarello, first published in 1577. The duchy of Tuscany has imbibed the same spirit of improvement. A private gentleman, above 40 years since, left his whole fortune to endow an academy of agriculture. The first ecclesiastic in the duchy was president of this society, and many of the chief nobility were members.
His Sardinian majesty also sent persons to learn the different modes of practice in foreign countries; and made some spirited attempts to establish a better method of agriculture among his subjects.
In Poland, also, M. de Bieluski, grand marshal of the crown, made many successful attempts to introduce the new husbandry among his countrymen; and procured the best instruments for that purpose from France, England, and other parts of Europe.
The Hollanders are the only people now in Europe who seem to look upon agriculture with indifference. Except the single collateral instance of draining their fens and morasses, they have scarcely paid any attention to it; and even this seems to have proceeded more from the motive of self-preservation, than any love of, or disposition to, husbandry.
In the year 1759, a few ingenious and public-spirited men at Berne in Switzerland established a society for the advancement of agriculture and rural economics. In that society were many men of great weight in the republic, and most of them persons of a true cast for making improvements in husbandry, being enabled to join the practice with the theory.
Nor must we here omit to mention, that the justly celebrated Linnaeus and his disciples have performed great things in the north of Europe, particularly in discovering new kinds of profitable and well-tasted food for cattle. About the same time, Sweden bestowed successful labours on a soil which had before been looked upon as cold, barren, and incapable of melioration. Of this the Stockholm Memoirs will be a lasting monument.
Denmark, and many of the courts in Germany, followed the same example. Woollen manufactures were encouraged, and his Danish majesty sent three persons into Arabia Felix to make remarks, and bring over such plants and trees as would be useful in husbandry, building, and rural affairs.
The duchy of Wirtemberg, also, a country by no means unfertile, but even friendly to corn and pasturage, has contributed its assistance towards the improvement of agriculture, having more than 50 years since published 14 economical relations at Stuttgart.
Neither must we forget the very assiduous attention of the learned in Leipzig and Hanover to this important object. During the rage and devastation of a long war, they cultivated the arts of peace; witness the Journal d'Agriculture printed at Leipzig, and the Recueil d'Hanover printed in that city.
Even Spain, constitutionally and habitually inactive on such occasions, in spite of all their natural indolence, and the prejudices of bigotry, invited Linnaeus,
with the offer of a large pension, to superintend a college founded for the purpose of making new inquiries into the history of nature and the art of agriculture.
Among the Japanese, agriculture is in great repute; and among the Chinese it is distinguished and encouraged by the court beyond all other sciences. The emperor of China yearly, at the beginning of spring, goes to plough in person, attended by all the princes and grandees of the empire. The ceremony is performed with great solemnity; and is accompanied with a sacrifice, which the emperor, as high-priest, offers to Chang-Ti, to ensure a plentiful crop in favour of his people.
But, without any improper partiality to our own country, we are fully justified in asserting, that Britain alone exceeds all modern nations in husbandry; and from the spirit which for the last twenty years has animated many of our nobility and gentry, to become the liberal patrons of improvement, there is reason to hope that this most useful of arts will, in a few years, be carried to a greater pitch of perfection than it has ever yet attained in any age or country.—The Royal Society, the Bath Society, and the Society of Arts, &c. in particular, have been significantly useful in this respect; and the other associations, which are now established in many parts of the kingdom, co-operate with them in forwarding their laudable design.
It is not, however, to the exertion of public societies, excellent and honourable as they are, that all our modern improvements in agriculture owe their origin. To the natural genius of the people have been added the theory and practice of all nations in ancient and modern times. This accumulated mass of knowledge has been arranged, divided, and subdivided; and after passing the test of practical experiments, the essential and most valuable parts of it have been preserved, improved, and amply diffused in the works of Lord Kames, Mr Young, Stillingfleet, Dr Hunter, Anderson, Dickson, Ellis, Randal, Lisle, Marshal, Mortimer, Duhamel, Bradley, Kent, Mills, and a few other writers upon this great art of rendering mankind happy, wealthy, and powerful.
We also remark with much satisfaction, that the British government has of late years thought fit to render the improvement of agriculture an object of public attention and encouragement, by the institution of a board of agriculture.—About the year 1790, Sir John Sinclair, Bart. invited the clergy of the church of Scotland to transmit to him descriptions of the state of their different parishes, with a view to the publication of what is called a Statistical Account of Scotland. The whole members of this body having readily complied with his request, a work in 20 volumes octavo was compiled from the materials afforded by them, containing an account of the agriculture, manufactures, and population of the country. The same gentleman, about that period, was also active in obtaining the institution of a private society, called The British Wool Society, which was very successful in calling the attention of the public to the improvement of that important article of national growth and manufacture. By these patriotic exertions, having acquired a considerable share of popularity, he was encouraged on 15th May 1793, to make a motion in the house of commons, of which he
he was a member, for an address to the crown, recommending the institution of a board of agriculture. The chancellor of the exchequer, Mr Pitt, on perceiving that the proposal was acceptable to the majority of the house, gave it a decided support, and on the 17th May, to which the debate had been adjourned, the motion was carried for an address to his majesty to institute such a board, at an expence not exceeding 3000l.—In consequence of this application, a charter passed the great seal, incorporating the members of administration for the time, with the archbishops of Canterbury and York, and all their successors in office, together with certain other noblemen and gentlemen, into a board or society, by the name of the Board or Society for the encouragement of Agriculture and internal improvement, under the patronage of the crown; with power to the members to elect office-bearers and successors to themselves: and in the mean time Sir John Sinclair was appointed to be the first president, to continue in office till 25th March following; Sir John Caul, Bart. was appointed to be the first treasurer, and Edward Young,
Esq. so well known for his agricultural publications, was appointed secretary.
The regular sittings of the board did not commence Com-9 till 23d January 1794, since which time it has conti-10 menced of its fit-11 tings. It has continued to exert a very considerable degree of activity in establishing an extensive foreign correspondence, and in procuring and publishing every kind of useful domestic agricultural intelligence, some specimens of which we shall afterwards have occasion to notice. This board, soon after its institution, also employed persons of known reputation to prepare agricultural surveys of every county in the island of Great Britain.—Many of these surveys have been published, and form treatises upon this important art, which, for extent of intelligence and ability of execution, have not been exceeded in any age or country. The board has also obtained parliamentary rewards to some individuals for important discoveries, and has offered premiums for essays or treatises upon subjects connected with the purpose of its institution, which have produced a great variety of valuable and ingenious disquisitions.
THEORY OF AGRICULTURE.
IN an art that is so necessary to mankind, and that has been so universally practised, it might perhaps be expected, that the principles upon which its operations depend, would have been by this time completely and accurately investigated, and consequently that a correct theory of agriculture could easily be exhibited. This, however, is by no means the case; and it is not a little singular, that, in this most useful of all arts, the theory should still be more defective than in almost any science with which we are acquainted. It is fortunate, however, for the human race, that in most cases, or at least in all important arts, they succeed better in practice than in speculation. During many ages, various artists were accustomed to extract the most ordinary, but most useful metals, from the state of ore or earth in which nature produces them, and to reduce them back from their metallic form and lustre, to a state of ore or earth again. These artists were unacquainted with the principles upon which the success of their operations depended; and it is only within these few years that some ingenious chemists have successfully investigated the nature of these processes, and have explained what they have called the oxygenation and disoxygenation of metals. The same thing has happened in agriculture. Men have often cultivated the ground well, while they have speculated ill concerning the mode of doing so.
Various reasons render it still more difficult to form a complete theory of agriculture, than of chemistry, mechanics, or other arts. In agriculture, an experiment cannot be made in an instant, or even in an hour, or in a day or two. A whole season must pass away before a single experiment can be performed, and after all, as in other arts, the inquirer after truth may be misled by some unobserved circumstances. Some fact, quite foreign to the experiment itself, arising out of the peculiar state of the soil, or of the train of seasons, may produce plentiful crops for a year or two, though, in ordinary circumstances, no such effect would follow; and the ingenious contriver of the experiment, who thought he had made an important discovery, may af-
terwards derive from it only disappointment and mortification. But human life is too short to admit of a very great variety of agricultural experiments to be performed by the same individual. After a few seasons, he must leave his place to be occupied by a new inquirer, possessed of a different character and of different views. Unfortunately, till of late years, it was not usual for husbandmen to publish, and thus to immortalize and diffuse over whole nations, the result of their private experience and reflections. Scattered over the face of great countries, and having little intercourse with foreigners, or even with each other, they knew little of what was done by men engaged in the same profession, though at no great distance.—In this way, the benefit of local discoveries was not communicated to the world at large, nor was an opportunity afforded of eradicating local prejudices and erroneous practices. As the state of this valuable profession is now rapidly altering in these respects, there is little doubt that we are fast approaching towards a period at which it will be possible to exhibit a clear and correct theory of agriculture, or to arrange under a few simple heads the rules or principles upon which the practice of the art depends.—What we are now to offer, is not to be considered as perfect, nor even as possessing any nearer approximation towards a perfect theory of the husbandman's art; but merely, such a general statement of its principles as results from the degree of information hitherto collected upon the subject.
A theory, or general view of the principles of agriculture seems necessarily to resolve itself into the two following investigations: 1st, To inquire among the great variety of vegetables that exist in nature, what particular plants ought to be regarded as most worthy of cultivation: and 2dly, To consider the best mode of cultivating with success the plants thus selected.
With regard to the first of these divisions of the subject, or the vegetables that ought to be chosen as most valuable and worthy of cultivation, it may be observed, that the value of a plant is of two kinds, absolute, or relative; and the value of vegetables is absolute and relative.
10
The theory of agriculture is defective.
11
Difficulty of forming it.
12
What it ought to contain.
13
The value of vegetables is absolute and relative.
relative: The absolute value of a plant depends upon its fitness to afford subsistence to the human species, whereas its relative value consists of the tendency which the cultivation of it will have to enrich a particular husbandman, or class of husbandmen, either because their lands are well adapted for its growth, or because there is a ready market for it in the vicinity, where it bears a high price.
Concerning the absolute value of plants, or their tendency to afford subsistence to mankind, it is to be observed, that some plants are directly useful or valuable, because they are immediately consumed as food by man, such as wheat, oats, or potatoes; whereas mankind derive subsistence from another class of plants, only in an indirect manner, by giving them to cattle, and afterwards eating the flesh of these cattle, as happens with regard to grass and straw of all kinds.
SECT. I. Of Vegetables to be cultivated as Food for Man.
Some vegetables afford subsistence to the human species by means of the fruit that grows upon them, which hangs, and is brought to maturity in the air, at the summit of their stems. Other vegetables derive their value from producing roots which come to maturity in the bosom of the soil, and are dug from thence to be consumed by mankind.
Of fruit-bearing vegetables, those called trees, which rise aloft with a strong trunk, are the most permanent and remarkable. It is said that a spot of ground, occupied by some kinds of trees such as chestnuts or dates, is capable of producing a very great portion of food, useful for the support of the human species. One advantage attending the cultivation of such vegetables, would be that, after the trees are planted, and secured by fences for a few years against animals, they would for ever after, or at least for many years, continue to grow and flourish without care or labour. It does not appear, however, that in any nation of ancient or modern times, forests of fruit-bearing trees have been reared with a view to afford subsistence to the community. For this two reasons may be assigned. In the first place, a considerable number of years must elapse, before such plants could arrive at maturity, and fulfil the purpose of their destination. Of whatever use therefore they might be to future ages, it is evident that they could afford little benefit to the generation which planted them. But in a question about subsistence, mankind are usually under the necessity of considering their own immediate wants, and hence they have been led to the cultivation of such plants, as afford the most speedy reward for the efforts of their industry. Another reason for preferring the culture of small annual plants, to the greater and more permanent productions of nature, would arise, in the early ages of the world, from the turbulent state of society and the frequency of wars. A community that should depend for its subsistence upon the fruit of forest trees, might be ruined for half a century by the inroad of an enemy. An example of this was exhibited in the war between Great Britain, and her North American colonies. When the parent state hired the savages on the western frontier, to join her party and to make inroads upon the colonists, the latter retaliated upon the savages in the following manner. Several of the colonies united
in sending an expedition against the Indians. The bodies of militia employed upon this expedition, were surprised to find small corn fields around a considerable number of the Indian hamlets. They were not satisfied however with destroying the huts of the natives, and these incipient efforts of savage industry; but they anxiously fought out and destroyed every fruit-bearing tree that they found in their progress of almost a thousand miles, thereby rendering the wilderness utterly uninhabitable to a people destitute of agriculture, and who could not always depend for subsistence upon their success in hunting. From this example we see that the frequent wars arising from the barbarous character of ancient nations, would compel them to seek subsistence, not from the fruit of forest trees, but from grain which speedily arrives at maturity, and which when destroyed can soon be renewed. Thus war becomes a less wasteful scourge to the human race, and communities are enabled speedily to recover from the devastation which it produces. Had the nations of Europe depended for subsistence, upon any fruits which could not be speedily restored when destroyed, it is evident, that, in the late sanguinary conflict, the greater number of them must have been irretrievably ruined.
Hence it appears that the cultivation of plants of annual growth, as a source of subsistence, is favourable to the permanence of civilization in the world; and that before nations can venture to rely for their subsistence upon the fruit of plants of slower growth, their character must have arrived at a degree of moral amelioration far superior to what it has ever been known to possess.
Of annual plants cultivated for fruit, wheat has always been accounted the most valuable. This has probably arisen from the extreme facility with which the flour of it undergoes a process of fermentation, which renders it capable of becoming a more light and agreeable kind of bread than the flour of any other grain. This quality is believed to arise from a quantity of a substance contained in wheat that is of the same nature with the gluten, or glue, that is prepared from animal bodies. In other respects, however, it does not appear that wheat is more valuable than some other kinds of grain; by means of long boiling a given weight of barley, or even of oats, will render a quantity of water as thick or full of mucilage as can be done by the same weight of wheat.
It may not be improper here to remark, that, in modern times, an author of no mean reputation, has arisen, who endeavours to prove that wheat ought not to be cultivated, nor bread to be eaten. This is M. Linguet, who has written a treatise expressly upon the subject; and, ridiculous as the assertion may seem, it has been thought worthy of a formal refutation by Dr Tissot.— One of M. Linguet's arguments is, that wheat impoverishes the ground on which it grows: but in opposition to this, Dr Tissot argues, that corn is more easily cultivated than grass; and that consequently in the country he speaks of (Switzerland), the best fields are appropriated to hay, and the worst to corn. "If there are some districts of very poor land (says he) almost entirely sown with corn, they are not poor because they produce only corn, but because they are not fit to produce any thing else. Their soil is so bad, that they can grow but very little fodder: consequently they maintain only such cattle as are absolutely necessary for labour;
Vegetables labour; and those are ill fed, and frequently perish. Vegetables
Food for
Man.
They have but little manure, and their crops are small; for large crops of all sorts can only be expected from lands naturally rich or strongly manured. Thus the poverty of the inhabitants is only owing to their possessing an ungrateful soil. What proves evidently that it is the natural soil which is in the fault, and not the corn which impoverishes it, is, that where there is meadow and arable land, the price of the meadow land is much more considerable than that of the arable. In most parts of this country the proportion is nearly ten to one; and there are even some meadows, for one part of which they would give 30 of field lands; and some of vines, for which 100 of arable would be given. Those districts where the soil will produce nothing but corn, are poor; but in those which furnish fodder, and also fine crops of grain, the inhabitants are wealthy and happy, unless they are oppressed by taxes."
M. Linguet draws another objection from the length of time required to cultivate wheat: but Tissot, by another calculation, shows, that 48 days work throughout the year would cultivate more wheat than is sufficient for a family of six persons. The time necessary for cultivation of arable land also does not increase in proportion to its extent; but in case more is cultivated than is requisite for the subsistence of the family, a trade is formed, which might be increased to an unlimited extent. He then compares the time requisite for the cultivation of vines, which are recommended by M. Linguet, and finds it to be much longer than that required for wheat. "I know very well (says he) that the one requires cattle, and the other does not: but these cattle, far from being expensive, will, if properly managed, increase the gain of the farmer: therefore they must not be looked upon as any expense. Corn is subject to many accidents, but vines are subject to many more: those which the vines suffer, sometimes spoil the vintage for several years; whereas those which happen to arable land, only spoil the crop for the season; and as the expense of cultivating vines, for which only manual labour can be employed, is much more considerable, therefore the vigner (or person who cultivates vines), who engages more largely than the farmer, will consequently be a much greater loser if unsuccessful.—Hay is also subject to frequent and very disagreeable accidents; the securing it is sometimes very difficult; and, when it is badly made, it is very hurtful to cattle.—A single fact will be sufficient to prove the casualties to which hay is subject; viz. that it varies in price as much as grain. Accidents of hay mows taking fire are but too frequent: and this is not to be feared in corn mows."
The other objections of M. Linguet to wheat appear to be quite frivolous; so that concerning the cultivation of this grain, Dr. Tissot draws the following conclusions: "It appears then, from what has been said, that wheat is not a commodity that is impoverishing in itself; and that this grain will grow indifferently at least in lands and situations which are unfavourable to other plants. This grain is likewise adapted to most climates; and if there are districts almost entirely sown with wheat, and yet poor, it is the fault of the soil, and not of this useful grain."
But the most extraordinary argument perhaps ever thought of on this subject is M. Linguet's assertion, Vol. I. Part I.
that the use of wheat, or bread made from it, is detrimental to population; and that the countries where this grain is cultivated are poor and thinly inhabited, whereas those which abound with vineyards and pasture lands are rich and populous. But this, in Dr. Tissot's opinion, shows only that one soil is more rich than another, and that a fertile soil will maintain most inhabitants. "No person (says he) is more capable of assigning the cause of the subjection of the Roman empire to the northern powers, than M. Linguet; but he cannot surely be serious when he says, that they were enabled to conquer them because those northern countries produced no corn, and that population decreased since the introduction of grain. I shall make three observations on this passage: First, The armies of Gustavus Adolphus, Charles XII. and the king of Prussia, whose food was bread, would be as formidable against the Italians of those times, who eat less than was eaten in the days of Scipio, as their ancestors were 1400 years ago against the Romans: and M. Linguet must certainly know, that those Greeks who subsisted on bread, those Romans who eat nothing but bread and vegetables in pottage, subdued all the known world, among whom were many nations who ate less bread than themselves. A Roman soldier's allowance of bread was much greater than what soldiers have at present; and by the use of this food they had much more strength than our modern soldiers can boast of. The allowance to a Roman soldier was 64 pounds of wheat per month; and this he was strictly forbidden either to sell or exchange. Their soldiers had very seldom any cheese, bacon, or pulse; so that wheat was almost their only food, and the proportion was double what is allowed soldiers in our days. They ate it in bread, in flour-milk, and in thin cakes; and they were not subject to epidemic or putrid disorders, which is too much the case with our modern armies. We may easily judge, from the weight of their accoutrements, that the Roman soldiers were not possessed of less personal strength than those who compose the armies at this day; they were not less brave, nor did their food render them in any way unhealthy: on the contrary, where there is such difficulty in procuring a supply of good animal food to an army, as is often the case in modern times, it is probable that reducing them to the simple diet of a Roman soldier would be the most proper method of preventing epidemic diseases among them. Secondly, It is very doubtful whether those countries were more populous formerly than they are at this time; it is even probable that they were less so. Lastly, The people of these northern countries were not without wheat; it was the basis of their food and drink: without quoting other authors who attest it, suffice it to say, that Tacitus affirms it," &c.
In this last particular, however, our author appears to be mistaken; but whatever may be in this, we apprehend that few of our readers will entertain any doubt concerning the wholesomeness of wheat, or the propriety of making it into bread after once it is cultivated.
After wheat, oats have in our country been considered as of very great importance. It is a hardy and beautiful plant; grows with little cultivation, and is particularly well suited for lands newly brought in from a state of nature, upon which it was always used as the first crop, till the introduction of the turnip husbandry. Oats a valuable grain.
Vegetables
Food for
Man.
bandy. The meal of it is usually very coarsely ground, and mixed with a considerable quantity of the inner covering of the grain. Hence it has always a considerable degree of roughness, and is harsh, and unsuited to very delicate constitutions; but this very harshness, from its stimulant effect, producing a feeling of warmth in the stomach, renders it more grateful to persons much exposed to the open air, and accustomed to hard labour, who account it a hearty kind of food. Essentially, and in its intrinsic qualities, this grain differs little from some others.
21
Barley valuable from its easy conversion to a farcinine substance.
Barley is chiefly valued in consequence of the facility with which it produces a great quantity of farcinine matter by the process of vegetation or malting, which fits it for the preparation of vinous or spirituous liquors. Pease are also sometimes used when grinded into meal as an article of human food; but on account of their viscous and indigestible quality, they can never become valuable in that point of view, unless to persons engaged in the open air, in the most active and severe kinds of labour.
22
Different kinds of grain are not essentially different.
In other respects, however, it does not appear that there is much difference in point of quality or wholesomeness between the various kinds of grain cultivated in different countries. They are all capable of affording nourishment to the human constitution, and of preserving it in health and vigour: When grinded into meal, they require little farther preparation, and are easily made into bread, or otherwise prepared for immediate consumption, by being mixed according to the fancy or taste of different nations, with a small quantity of water, or any other liquid.
23
Roots used as human food.
Of the roots which are used to afford subsistence to man, the potato has hitherto been the principal. The rest, consisting chiefly of carrots, turnips, and parsnips, are never used as a sole nutriment, being rather adopted for the purpose of giving variety and relish to other food, and chiefly to butchers meat. The potato, however, is in some measure an exception to this general rule. It contains a large quantity of starch, which does not seem inferior to the starch prepared from wheat, so far at least as that ingredient is to be regarded as contributing to the nourishing qualities of the grain. Its taste resembles, more nearly than any other root, the taste of bread; and accordingly it is daily beginning to be more extensively used, and to form a larger portion of the food of the poor. The celebrated Dr Adam Smith long since remarked its tendency to produce a strong and handsome race of people, as demonstrated by its effect upon the common people of Ireland, who have for a considerable length of time in a great measure subsisted upon it.
24
They produce more food on the same extent of soil than grain.
It is to be observed concerning all the roots now mentioned, that a crop of them always contains a much larger quantity of human food than a crop of any kind of grain upon the same extent of ground. A Scots acre of good land, which will not produce more than 1280 pounds weight of oatmeal, will easily produce 20,000 pounds weight of potatoes, and will sometimes in favourable seasons produce 30,000 or 35,000 pounds weight of that valuable root. Supposing one pound of oatmeal to contain as much nourishment as four pounds of potatoes, still it is evident, that, where an extent of territory employed in the production of oats can only support one million of people, the same terri-
tory employed in the cultivation of potatoes will support fifteen millions of persons.
Potatoes, however, and all the other roots, have hitherto possessed these radical defects: The carriage of them is extremely expensive, in consequence of their weight, arising from the vast quantity of moisture they contain. Hence they can only be cultivated in abundance in the vicinity of great towns, or where they are meant to be consumed upon the farm as the food of their cattle.
Roots are also incapable of long preservation. In the winter they are destroyed by frost, and in summer by heat, which causes them to vegetate or to corrupt; both of which changes render them unfit to be used as food.
These roots are also much more bulky than grain in proportion to the quantity of nourishment contained in them. Hence they are rendered less fit to be consumed by persons engaged in sedentary professions. Such persons accordingly seldom fail to find them injurious to the stomach, by their bulkiness, and their tendency to injure the powers of digestion, by producing flatulencies and other unpleasant consequences.
On the whole, the difference between these succulent roots and the grain of corn plants seems to amount to this, that, although they are both formed of similar substances, the potato being analogous to wheat, and the carrot and parsnip to rye, or rather to barley, after it has been converted into malt, yet, as the roots are formed in the bosom of the soil, and are of a loose and watery texture, their formation requires from nature a lighter effort than the bringing to perfection the small grains which are produced in the air at the top of corn plants. She therefore compensates by an abundant crop the diminished quality of her work.
Hence it has appeared an important problem in economics, to devise a plan by which the succulent roots may be deprived of their superfluous moisture, that thus human art may perform for them what nature has not accomplished; and that they may be rendered completely equal in value to grain in point of quality, while in quantity they are so superior. With this view different processes have been adopted.
Potatoes have been grated down in their raw state, and repeatedly washed with water: the result of which operation is, that the starch contained in them is obtained with great labour; but the rest of the root is lost; and this operation cannot be applied to other kinds of roots with success.
Another mode of accomplishing the object was devised a few years ago by M. Grenet, Grenet's and published in the Journal of the Lycœum of Arts mode of Paris. It is performed in this manner: The potatoes must first be boiled by the heat of the steam of boiling water, without touching the water itself. They are then stripped of their skin, and allowed to cool, and made use of in the following way:—A white iron tube of two inches diameter, and eight inches in length, open at the one end and close at the other, is everywhere perforated with small holes, and a round piece of wood is prepared, which easily goes into the tube, but which at the same time fills it. Things being thus in readiness, a quantity of the potatoes, boiled as already mentioned, is put into the tube till it is full. They are then forcibly rammed down with the round piece of wood or piston; the consequence of which operation
Vegetables operation is, that they are forced through the little holes in the sides of the tube, and come out in the shape of worms. They are received upon linen cloths, covered with unized paper, and dried in the heat of the sun, or in a warm room. The small pieces must be stirred from time to time; and it is said, that in less than 12 hours, the preparation dries so as to be capable of being preserved.
The defect of this process evidently is, that it is a petty operation, which can only proceed slowly, and upon a diminutive scale. It is therefore unlikely to be adopted in the great operations of an extensive agriculture, as a mode of preparing or preserving human food.
At the beginning of the present year 1802, another process for accomplishing this important object was contrived by Robert Forsyth, Esq. advocate. Of this process, which has been communicated to the Board of Agriculture, we are authorized to give the following account:
The whole difficulty of discovering a process, with the view to render succulent roots as easily preserved and transported, and therefore in every respect as valuable as grain, seems to arise from our not having the command of such a degree of steady and vigorous, but moderate heat, as will deprive them of their moisture, while at the same time they are prevented from being burnt or scorched in the way that coffee-beans are treated before being ground. This requisite degree of heat may be obtained in a very cheap and easy manner, by making use of the steam of boiling water, which never can burn any vegetable substance. Upon this principle, Mr Forsyth's process is founded, and is conducted in the following manner:
1st, Let a quantity of potatoes, or carrots, or parsnips, &c. be washed, and then cut or chopped into very small pieces.
2dly, Lay them upon a metallic plate, and dry them with the heat of steam transmitted through the metal. They are then in a state analogous to grain, and seem capable of being preserved for any length of time.
3dly, Reduce them into flour or meal, by grinding in any mill, or with any instrument capable of grinding grain.
The meal or flour thus prepared has no tendency to attract moisture from the atmosphere, and may be preserved during any length of time, if closely pressed or packed. Without this precaution, Mr Forsyth has preserved it for six months, when it had been coarsely ground in a coffee mill.
The drying process is not tedious. As potatoes contain a great quantity of starch or gummy matter, the pieces of them, while drying, are apt to adhere to each other; they must therefore be frequently turned or stirred during that part of the operation. When dry, they are almost as hard as barley, and taste somewhat like the skin of a roasted potato.
Carrots and parsnips contain less gummy matter. They require less attention while drying, and do not become so hard. They may be ground with ease. Their flour is very sweet to the taste. Its smell is fragrant, and though the taste of the roots cannot be said to be altered, it is rendered rich and agreeable by the concentration produced by the process. This is more particularly the case with regard to the par-
nips. Their meal, when coarsely ground, and exposed to the air for a month or two, loses its grateful smell, but the taste continues unchanged. The taste is communicated very rapidly to lukewarm water, by pouring it upon the meal, so that it may probably prove of some value when subjected to the vinous fermentation; and it seems not improbable, that if sugar is ever to be produced in abundance from plants of European growth, it must be by preparing them according to this process.
Mr Forsyth performed his experiments with a steam apparatus, which, with some alterations, may prove not unsuitable, when erected upon a great scale.
A, Plate XII, A shallow vessel, of white iron, 1 foot square, and 2 inches in depth, for containing substances to be dried.
B, a small round vessel, in which water is kept boiling by a lamp, C, with three wicks.
D, a tube, by which the steam passes into E, which contains the drying vessel A, and is closely soldered all round to the bottom of it.
F, a tube, by which the water formed by the condensed steam, flows from the steam vessel, E, back into the boiler B, entering at the bottom of the boiler.
G, a crooked tube, by which the superfluous steam escapes into the open air. It is crooked, that it may retard the passage of the steam when the vessel is at work, which forces it to deposit more of its heat on the bottom of the drying vessel A.
H, a tube by which the boiler B is filled with hot water.
I, a tube passing up through the centre of the boiler, and serving as a chimney to the lamp C. It does not communicate with the water in the boiler.
K shows the figure of the cover of the drying vessel A. The cover has a groove or gutter LL, passing round its lower edge. The vapour which rises from the roots when drying, condenses on touching the cover, and flows down to the gutter, from which it escapes in the state of water, by a hole left for that purpose at each corner. The cover is only used for the neatness requisite in making experiments.
The whole is supported by four moveable feet, attached to the corners of the drying vessel A, but not appearing in the figure. Every part of it is made of white iron or tinned plate.
Instead of the lamp C, a small iron pan filled with pieces of burning charcoal, was sometimes used to keep the water boiling, and a still more convenient plan was at times adopted during the winter season. It consisted of resting the bottom of the boiler B, upon the front of the grate of the chamber, while a fire was burning, the rest of the instrument being at the same time supported by a rope attached to the back of a chair, to a nail or peg in the wall for hanging a picture, or to any other convenient support. When used in this last manner, however, the instrument has this defect, that the water in the tube H boils over at times into the fire, which might be avoided, by placing the tube on the opposite side of the boiler.
Upon the above contrivance it may be remarked, that a kiln formed of a large metallic plate, heated by the steam of boiling water, may prove valuable in many processes. In particular, it will probably be found
found useful for drying malt, with a view to prevent the ale formed of it from having a brown colour. It may also, perhaps, be used with success for drying wheat that is intended to be sown, to prevent the future crop from suffering by mildew, as will be afterwards mentioned; and it affords a ready and cheap mode of drying not only roots, but all vegetable productions, without burning them, or altering their taste or other essential properties.
SECT. II. Of the most proper kinds of Vegetables to be raised for the purposes of feeding Cattle.
THOUGH this must be an article of the utmost consequence to every farmer, we do not find that it has been much considered. Mr Anderson seems to have been the first writer on agriculture who hath properly attended to this subject; and what he hath wrote upon it, is rather a catalogue of desiderata, than any thing else: and indeed the desiderata on this subject are so many and so great, that we must acknowledge ourselves very unable to fill them up. To attain to a competent knowledge in this respect, the following things must be taken into consideration. (1.) The wholesomeness of the food for cattle, with regard to health and strength, or fatness. (2.) The quantity that any extent of ground is capable of yielding. (3.) The quantity necessary to feed the different kinds of cattle. (4.) The labour of cultivation; and, (5.) The soil they require to bring them to perfection, and the effect they have upon it.
With regard to the wholesomeness, it is plain, that as the natural food of wild cattle is the green succulent plants they meet with all the year round, food of this kind, could it be had, must be preferable to hay; and accordingly we find that cattle will always prefer succulent vegetables where they can get them. To find plants of this kind, and having proper qualities in other respects, we must search among those which continue green all the year round, or come to their greatest perfection in the winter time. Of these, cabbages bid fair for holding the first place; both as being very succulent, and a very large quantity of them growing upon a small space of ground. In Mr Young's Six Months Tour, we have an account of the produce of cabbages in many different places, and on a variety of soils. The produce by Mr Crow at Keelin, on a clay soil, was, on an average of six years, 35 tons per acre; by Mr Smelt at the Leases, on a sandy gravel, 18 tons per acre; by Mr Scroop at Danby, on an average of six years, 37 tons per acre: and the general average of all the accounts given by Mr Young, is 36 tons per acre.
Cabbages, however, have the great inconveniency of sometimes imparting a disagreeable flavour to the milk of cows fed with them, and even to the flesh of other cattle. This, it is said, may be prevented by carefully picking off the decayed and withered leaves: and very probably this is the case; for no vegetable inclines more to putrefaction than this; and therefore particular care ought to be taken to pull off all the leaves that have any symptoms of decay. Dr Priestley found that air was rendered noxious by a cabbage leaf remaining in it for one night, though the leaf did not show any symptom of putrefaction.—For milk cows,
probably, the cabbages might be rendered more proper food by boiling them.
The culture of the turnip-rooted cabbage has lately been much practised, and greatly recommended, particularly for the purpose of a late spring feed; and seems rooted cabbage indeed to be a most important article in the farming economy, as will be shown in its proper place.
Turnips likewise produce very bulky crops, though far inferior to those of cabbages. According to Mr Young's calculations, the finest soil does not produce above five tons of turnips per acre; which is indeed a very great disproportion: but possibly such a quantity of turnips may not be consumed by cattle as of cabbages; an ox, of 80 stone weight, ate 210 lb. of cabbages in 24 hours, besides seven pounds of hay.
Carrots are found to be an excellent food for cattle of all kinds, and are greatly relished by them. In a rich sand, according to Mr Young's account, the produce of this root was 200 bushels per acre. In a finer soil, it was 640 bushels per acre. A lean hog was fattened by carrots in ten days time: he ate 196 lb.; and his fat was very fine, white, firm, and did not boil away in the dressing. They were preferred to turnips by the cattle; which having tasted the carrots, soon became so fond of them, as difficult to be made to eat the turnips at all. It is probable, indeed, that carrots will make a more wholesome food for cattle than either cabbages or turnips, as they are strongly antiseptic; inasmuch as to be used in poetics for correcting the fumes of cancers. It is probably owing to this, that the milk of cows fed on carrots is never found to have any bad taste. Six horses kept on them through the winter without oats, performed their work as usual, and looked equally well. This may be looked upon as a proof of their salubrity as a food; and it certainly can be no detriment to a farmer to be so much versant in medical matters, as to know the impropriety of giving putrescent food to his cattle. It is well known what a prodigious difference there is in the health of the human species when fed on putrid meats, in comparison of what they enjoy when supplied with food of a contrary nature; and why may there not be a difference in the health of beasts, as well as of men, when in similar circumstances?—It is also very probable, that as carrots are more solid than cabbages or turnips, they will go much farther in feeding cattle than either of them. The above-mentioned example of the hog seems some kind of confirmation of this: he being fed, for ten days together, with 21 lb. less weight of carrots, than what an ox devoured of cabbages and hay in one day. There is a great disproportion, it must be owned, between the bulk of an ox and that of a hog; but we can scarce think that an ox will eat as much at a time as ten hogs. At Parington in Yorkshire, 20 work horses, four bullocks, and six milk cows, were fed on the carrots that grew on three acres; from the end of September till the beginning of May; and the animals never tasted any other food but a little hay. The milk was excellent, and 30 hogs were fattened upon what was left by the cattle.
Potatoes likewise appear to be a very palatable food for all kinds of cattle; and not only oxen, hogs, &c. are easily fed by them, but even poultry. The cheapness of potatoes compared with other kinds of food for cattle, cannot well be known, as, besides the advantage
Food or of the crop, they improve the ground more than any other known vegetable. According to a correspondent of the Bath Society, "roaling pork is never so moist and delicate as when fed with potatoes, and killed from the barn doors without any confinement. For bacon and hams, two bushels of pea-meal should be well incorporated with four bushels of boiled potatoes, which quantity will fat a hog of twelve stone, (fourteen pounds to the stone). Cows are particularly fond of them: half a bushel at night, and the same proportion in the morning, with a small quantity of hay, is sufficient to keep three cows in full milk; they will yield as much and as sweet butter as the best grass. In fattening cattle, I allow them all they will eat: a beast of about 35 stone will require a bushel per day, but will fatten one-third sooner than on turnips. The potatoes should be clean washed, and not given until they are dry. They do not require boiling for any purpose but fattening hogs for bacon, or poultry; the latter eat them greedily. I prefer the champion potato to any sort I ever cultivated. They do not answer so well for horses and colts as I expected (at least they have not with me), though some other gentlemen have approved of them as substitutes for oats."
The above-mentioned vegetables have all of them the property of meliorating, rather than exhausting the soil; and this is certainly a very valuable qualification: but carrots and cabbages will not thrive except in soils that are already well cultivated; while potatoes and turnips may be used as the first crops of a soil with great advantage. In this respect, they are greatly superior to the others; as it may be disagreeable to take up the best grounds of a farm with plants designed only for food to cattle.
Buck-wheat (Polygonum saroprum) has been lately recommended as an useful article in the present as well as other respects. It has been chiefly applied to the feeding of hogs, and esteemed equal in value to barley; it is much more easily ground than barley, as a malt-mill will grind it completely. Horses are very fond of the grain; poultry of all sorts are speedily fattened by it; and the blossom of the plant affords food for bees at a very opportune season of the year, when the meadows and trees are mostly stripped of their flowers. Probably the grain may hereafter be even found a material article in distillation, should a sufficient quantity be raised with that view. From the success of some experiments detailed in the Bath Society Papers, and for which a premium was bestowed, it has been inferred, that this article ought in numerous cases to supersede the practice of summer-fallowing.
Whins have lately been recommended as a very proper food for cattle, especially horses; and are recommended by Mr Anderson in a particular manner. They have this advantage that they require no culture, and grow on the very worst soil; but they are troublesome to cut, and require to be bruised in a mill constructed for this purpose; neither is the ground at all meliorated by letting whins grow upon it for any length of time. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, however, as whins continue green all the year round, and when bruised will afford an excellent succulent food, which seems possessed of strongly invigorating qualities, they may be looked upon as the cheapest winter food that can possibly be given to cattle.—According to the cal-
culations of Mr Eddison of Gateford, a single acre, well cropped with whins, will winter six horses: at three or four years growth, the whole crop should be taken, cut close to the ground, and carried to the mill; in which the whins are to be bruised, and then given to the horses. Four acres ought to be planted, that one may be used each year, at the proper age to be cut; and he reckons the labour of one man sufficient for providing food to this number of horses. He says they all prefer the whins to hay, or even to corn.
The herb called burnet hath likewise been recommended as proper food for cattle, on account of its being an evergreen; and further recommended, by growing almost as fast in winter as in summer. Of this herb, however, we have very various accounts. In a letter addressed by Sir James Caldwell, F. R. S. to the Dublin Society, the culture of this plant is strongly recommended on the authority of one Bartholomew Rocque, farmer at Waltham-Green, a village about three miles south-west of London.
What gave occasion to the recommendation of this plant, was, that about the year 1760, Mr Wych, chairman of the committee of Agriculture of the London Society for the encouragement of arts, manufactures, and commerce, came to Rocque (who was become very eminent by the premiums he had received from the society), and told him, he had been thinking, that as there are many animals which subsist wholly upon the fruits of the earth, there must certainly be some plant or herb fit for them that naturally vegetates in winter; otherwise we must believe the Creator, infinitely wise and good, to have made creatures without providing for their subsistence; and that if there had been no such plants or herbs, many species of animals would have perished before we took them out of the hands of nature, and provided for them dry meat at a season, when, indigenous plants having been indiscriminately excluded, under the name of weeds, from cultivated fields and places set apart for natural grass, green or fresh meat was no longer to be found.
Rocque allowed the force of this reasoning; but said, the knowledge of a grass, or artificial pasture, that would vegetate in winter, and produce green fodder for cattle, was lost; at least, that he knew of no such plant.—Mr Wych, however, knowing how very great the advantage would be of discovering a green fodder for winter and early in the spring, wrote to Bern, and also to some considerable places in Sweden, stating the same argument, and asking the same question. His answers to these letters were the same that had been given by Rocque. They owned there must be such plant, but declared they did not know it.
Mr Wych then applied again to Rocque; and desired him to search for the plant so much desired, and so certainly existing. Rocque set about this search with great assiduity; and finding that a pimpernel, called burnet, was of very speedy growth, and grew nearly as fast in winter as in summer, he took a handful of it and carried it into his stable, where there were five horses; every one of which ate of it with the greatest eagerness, snatching it even without first smelling it. Upon the success of this experiment he went to London, and bought all the burnet feed he could get, amounting to no more than eight pounds, it having been only used in salads; and he paid for it at the rate of
Cattle.
of 45. a pound. Six of the eight pounds of feed he sowed upon half an acre of ground, in March, in the year 1761, with a quarter of a peck of spring wheat, both by hand. The feed being very bad, it came up but thin. However, he sowed the other two pounds in the beginning of June, upon about six rood of ground: this he mowed in the beginning of August; and at Michaelmas he planted off the plants on about 20 rood of ground, giving each plant a foot every way, and taking care not to bury the heart. These plants bore two crops of feed the year following; the first about the middle of June, the second about the middle of September; but the June crop was the best. The year after, it grew very rank and produced two crops of feed, both very good. As it ought not to be cut after September, he let it stand till the next year; when it sheltered itself, and grew very well during all the winter, except when there was a hard frost; and even during the frost it continued green, though it was not perceived to grow. In the March following it covered the ground very well, and was fit to receive cattle.
If the winter is not remarkably severe, the burnet, though cut in September, will be 18 inches long in March; and it may be fed from the beginning of February till May: if the cattle are taken off in May, there will be a good crop of feed in the beginning of July. Five weeks after the cattle are taken off, it may be removed, if that is preferred to its standing for feed. It grows at the rate of an inch a-day, and is made into hay like other grass. It may be mown three times in one summer, and should be cut just before it begins to flower. Six rood of ground has produced 1150 pounds at the first cutting of the third year after it was sowed; and, in autumn 1763, Roque sold no less than 300 bushels of the feed.
According to Roque, the soil in which burnet flourishes best, is a dry gravel; the longest drought never hurts it: and Sir James Caldwell asserts, that he saw a very vigorous and exuberant plant of this kind, growing from between two bricks in a wall in Roque's ground, without any communication with the soil; for he had cut away all the fibres of the root that had stretched downward, and penetrated the earth, long before.
Burnet was found equally fit for feeding cows, sheep, and horses; but the sheep must not be suffered to crop it too close. Though no feed was left among the hay, yet it proved nourishing food; and Roque kept a horse upon nothing else, who, at the time of writing the account, was in good heart, and looked well. He affirmed also, that it cured horses of the distemper called the grease, and that by its means he cured one which was thought incurable; but says, it is only the first crop which has this effect.
Burnet rec-
koned an
improper
food by Mr
Miller and
Mr Ander-
son.
This is the substance of Sir James Caldwell's letter to the Dublin Society, at least as to what regards the culture of burnet; and it might reasonably be expected, that a plant, whose use was recommended to the public with so much parade, would soon have come into universal esteem. We were surprised, therefore, on looking into Mr Miller's Dictionary, to find the following words, under the article Poterium:—"This plant has of late been recommended by persons of little skill, to be sown as a winter pabulum for cattle: but whoever will give themselves the trouble to examine
the grounds where it naturally grows will find the plants left uneaten by the cattle, when the grass about them has been cropped to the roots; besides, in wet winters, and in strong land, the plants are of short duration, and therefore very unfit for that purpose; nor is the produce sufficient to tempt any person of skill to engage in its culture; therefore I wish those persons to make trial of it in small quantities, before they embark largely in these new schemes."—Mr Anderson, too, in his Essays on Agriculture, mentions the produce of burnet being so small, as not to be worth cultivating.
Upon the authority of Mr Roque, likewise, the white beet is recommended as a most excellent food for cows; that it vegetates during the whole winter, consequently is very forward in the spring; and that the most profitable way of feeding cows is to mow this herb, and give it to them green all the summer. It grew in Roque's garden, during a very great drought, no less than four feet high, from the 30th of May to the 3d of July; which is no more than one month and four days. In summer it grows more than an inch a-day; and is best sown in March: a bushel is enough for an acre, and will not cost more than ten shillings. It thrives best in a rich, deep, light soil: the stalks are very thick and succulent; the cows should therefore eat them green.
Another species of beet (Beta cicula), the Mangel Root of Wurzel, or Root of Scarcity, as it has been called, has been lately extolled as food both for man and cattle; but, after all, seems only to deserve attention in the latter view. It is a biennial plant; the root is large and fleshy, sometimes a foot in diameter. It rises above the ground several inches, is thickest at the top, tapering gradually downward. The roots are of various colours, white, yellow, and red; but these last are always of a much paler colour than beetrave. It is good fodder for cows, and does not communicate any taste to the milk. It produces great abundance of leaves in summer, which may be cut three or four times without injuring the plant. The leaves are more palatable to cattle than most other garden plants, and are found to be very wholesome. The farmers in those parts of Germany where it is chiefly cultivated, we are told, prefer this species of beet, for feeding cattle, to cabbages, principally because they are not so liable to be hurt by worms or insects; but they think they are not so nourishing as turnips, potatoes, or carrots, and that cattle are not nearly so soon fattened by this root as by carrots, parsnips, or cabbages. It has even been asserted, that this root affords less nourishment than any of those that have been commonly employed for feeding cattle. This does not correspond with the pompous accounts with which the public has been entertained. Upon the whole, however, it is a plant which seems to deserve the attention of our farmers; as on some soils, and in particular circumstances, it may prove a very useful article for the above purposes.
In Mr Anderson's Essays, we find it recommended to make trial of some kinds of grasses, which probably would not only answer for fresh fodder during the winter, but might also be cut for hay in summer. This is particularly the case with that species called sheep's scese grass. "I had, says he, a small patch of this grass in winter 1773; which, having been cut in the month
month of August or September preceding, was sowed from that period, and had advanced before winter to the length of five or six inches; forming the closest pile that could be imagined. And although we had about six weeks of very intense frost, with snow; and about other six weeks, immediately succeeding that, of exceeding keen frost every night, with frequent thaws in the day time, without any snow, during which time almost every green thing was destroyed; yet this little patch continued all along to retain as fine a verdure as any meadow in the month of May; hardly a point of a leaf having been withered by the uncommon severity of the weather. And as this grass begins to vegetate very early in the spring, I leave the reader to judge what might be the value of a field of grass of this kind in these circumstances."
50
Purple fescue.
Of another kind of grass, called purple fescue, Mr. Anderson gives the following character: "It retained its verdure much better than rye-grass during the winter season; but it had more of its points killed by the weather than the former. It likewise rises in the spring, at least as early as rye-grass."
This ingenious farmer has also made experiments on the culture of these and several other kinds of grasses; which being very well worthy of attention, we shall here insert.
1. Purple fescue grass. "Although this grass is very often found in old pastures, yet, as it has but few flower-stalks, and as it is greedily eaten by all domestic animals, these are seldom suffered to appear; so that it usually remains there unperceived. But it seems to be better able to endure the peculiar acrimony of the dung of dogs than almost any other plant; and is therefore often to be met with in dog hills, as I call the little hills by road sides where dogs usually piss and dung; and as it is allowed to grow there undisturbed, the farmer may have an opportunity of examining the plant, and becoming acquainted with its appearance."
"The leaves are long and small, and appear to be roundish, something like a wire; but, upon examination, they are found not to be tubulated like a reed or rush; the sides of the leaf being only folded together from the middle rib, exactly like the strong bent-grass on the sea shore. The flower-stalk is small, and branches out in the head, a little resembling the wild oat; only the grains are much smaller, and the ear does not spread full open, but lies bending a little to one side. The stalks are often spotted with reddish freckles, and the tops of the roots are usually tinged with the same colour; from whence it has probably obtained its distinctive name of fescua rubra, or red (purple) fescue."
"It is often to be met with in old garden walks; and, as its leaves advance very quickly after cutting, it may usually be discovered above the other grasses, about a week or fortnight after the walks are cut. Nor do they seem to advance only at one season, and then stop and decay, like the rye-grass; but continue to advance during the whole of the summer, even where they are not cut; so that they sometimes attain a very great length. Last season (1774), I measured a leaf of this grass, that sprung up in a neglected corner, which was four feet and four inches in length, although not thicker than a small wire. It is unnece-
fary to add, that these leaves naturally trail upon the ground, unless where they meet with some accidental support; and, that if any quantity of it is suffered to grow for a whole season, without being eaten down or cut, the roots of the leaves are almost rotted, by the overshadowing of the tops of the other leaves, before the end of the season."
51
Food for Cattle.
This is the appearance and condition of the plant in its native situation: as it is seldom that it is discovered but in pretty old pastures, and as in that state it carries only a very few feed-stalks, it was with some difficulty that I could collect a small handful of the feed, which I carefully sowed in a small patch of garden mould, to try if it could be easily cultivated. It came up as quickly as any other kind of grass, but was at first as small as hairs: the leaves, however, advanced apace; and were, before autumn, when the grain with which they had been sowed was cut down, about 16 or 18 inches in length; but having been sown very thin, it was necessary to pick out some other kinds of grass that came up amongst it, lest it might have been choked by them. Early next spring it advanced with prodigious vigour, and the tufts that were formed from every feed became exceeding large; so that it quickly filled the whole ground. But now the leaves were almost as broad as those of common rye-grass, and the two sides only inclined a little towards one another from the mid-rib, without any appearance of roundness. In due time a great many feed-stalks sprung out, which attained very nearly to the height of four feet, and produced seeds in abundance; which may be as easily sowed as those of common rye-grass."
"The prodigious difference between this plant in its native and cultivated state amazed me; but it was with a good deal of satisfaction that I found there would be no difficulty in procuring feeds from it, which I had much doubted of at first. It would seem, that nature hath endowed this plant with a strong generative power during its youth, which it gradually loses as it advances in age (for the difference perceived in this case could not be attributed to the richness of the soil); and that, on the contrary, when it was old, the leaves advanced with an additional vigour, in proportion to the declining strength of the flower-stalks: for the leaves of the young plants seldom exceed two feet, whereas numbers of the old leaves were near four feet in length."
"From these peculiarities in the growth of this plant, it would seem to promise to be of great use to the farmer; as he could reap from a field of it, for the first two or three years, as great a weight of hay as he could obtain from any of the culmiferous grasses (those bearing a long jointed stalk); and, if he meant afterwards to pasture it, he would suffer no inconveniences from the flower-stalks; and the succulent leaves that continue to vegetate during the whole summer, would at all times furnish his cattle with abundance of wholesome food. It has also been remarked, that this grass rises as early in the spring as rye-grass; and continues green for the greatest part of winter, which the other does not. It is moreover an abiding plant, as it seems never to wear out of the ground where it has once been established. On all which accounts, it appears to me highly to merit the attention of the farmer; and well."
well deserves to have its several qualities, and the culture that best agrees with it, ascertained by accurate experiments.
2. "Sheep's fescue grass, or fesuca ovina, is much praised by the Swedish naturalists for its singular value as a pasture-grass for sheep; this animal being represented as fonder of it than of any other grass, and fattening upon it more quickly than on any other kind of food whatever. And indeed, the general appearance of the plant, and its peculiar manner of growth, seems very much to favour the accounts that have been given us of it.
"This plant is of the same family with the former, and agrees with it in several respects; although they may be easily distinguished from one another. Its leaves, like the former, in its natural state, are always rounded, but much smaller; being little bigger than large horse hairs, or swine-bristles, and seldom exceed six or seven inches in length. But these spring out of the root in tufts, so close upon one another, that they resemble, in this respect, a close hair brush more than any thing else I know: so that it would seem naturally adapted to form that thick short pile of grass in which sheep are known chiefly to delight. Its flower-stalks are numerous, and sometimes attain the height of two feet; but are more usually about 12 or 15 inches high.
"Upon gathering the seeds of this plant, and sowing them as the former, it was found that they sprung up as quickly as any other kind of grass; but the leaves are at first no bigger than a human hair. From each side springs up one or two of these hair-like filaments, that in a short time send out new offsets, so as quickly to form a sort of tuft, which grows larger and larger, till it at length attains a very large size, or till all the intervals are closed up, and then it forms the closest pile of grass that it is possible to imagine. In April and May it pushed forth an innumerable quantity of flower-stalks, that afforded an immense quantity of hay; it being so close throughout, that the scythe could scarcely penetrate it. This was allowed to stand till the seeds ripened; but the bottoms of the stalks were quite blanching, and almost rotted for want of air before that time.
"This was the appearance that it made the first year after it was sowed: but I have reason to think, that, after a few years, it likewise produces fewer feed-stalks, and a greater quantity of leaves, than at first. But however that may be, it is certain, that if these are eat down in the spring, it does not, like rye-grass, perish in a continued tendency to run to seed; but is at once determined to push forth a quantity of leaves without almost any stalks at all: and as all domestic animals, but more especially sheep, are extremely fond of this grass, if they have liberty to pasture where it grows, they bite it so close as never to suffer almost a single feed-stalk to escape them; so that the botanist will often search in vain for it, when he is treading upon it with his feet. The best way to discover it in any pasture, is to search for it in winter, when the tufts of it may be easily distinguished from every other kind of grass, by their extraordinary closeness, and the deep green colour of the leaves.
54
White foal most proper.
"It seems to grow in almost any soil; altho' it is imagined that it would flourish best in a light sandy soil, as
it can evidently live with less moisture than almost any other kind of grass; being often seen to remain in the fods that have been employed in coping for stone dykes, after all the other grasses that grew in them have disappeared. It is likewise found in poor barren soils, where hardly any other plant can be made to grow at all; and on the surface of dry worn-out peat moor, where no moisture remains sufficient to support any other plant whatever: but in neither of these situations does it thrive; as it is there only a weak and unsightly plant, very unlike what it is when it has the good fortune to be established upon a good soil; although it is seldom met with in this last state than in the former.
"I will not here repeat what has been already said about the particular property that this plant possesses of continuing all winter; nor point out the benefits that the farmer may reap from this valuable quality.—He need not, however, expect to find any verdure in winter on such plants as grow upon the loose mossy soil above-mentioned; for, as the frost in winter always hoves up the surface of this soil, the roots of the plants are so lacerated thereby, as to make it, for some time, in the spring, to all appearance dead. Nor will he often perceive much verdure in winter upon those plants that grow upon poor hungry soils, which cannot afford abundant nourishment to keep them in a proper state of vegetation at all times: but such plants as grow on earthen dykes, which usually begin to vegetate with vigour when the autumnal rains come on, for the most part retain their verdure at that season almost as well as if they were in good garden-mould.
"I have been very particular in regard to this plant; because, in as far as my observations have yet gone, it promises on many accounts to make a most valuable acquisition to the farmer, and therefore justly demands a very particular share of his attention."
55
3. The holcus lanatus, or creeping soft-grass of Hudson.
This is considered by our author as one of the most valuable kinds of meadow-grasses; its pile being exceedingly close, soft, and succulent. It delights much in moisture, and is seldom found on dry ground, unless the soil is exceeding rich. It is often found on those patches near springs, over which the water frequently flows; and may be known by the uncommon softness and succulence of the blade, the lively light green colour of the leaves, and the matted texture of its roots. But, notwithstanding the softness of its first leaves, when the feed-stalks advance, they are rough to the touch, so that the plant then assumes a very different appearance from what we would have expected. The ear is branched out into a great number of fine ramifications somewhat like the oat, but much smaller.—This kind of grass, however, would not be easily cultivated, on account of a kind of soft membrane that makes the seeds adhere to the stalk, and to one another, after they are separated from it, as if they were intermixed with cobweb, so that it is difficult to get them separated from the stalk, or to spread readily in sowing. It spreads, however, so fast by its running roots, that a small quantity sowed very thin, would be sufficient to stock a large field in a short time.
These are the kinds of grasses, properly so called, which have not as yet been cultivated, that Mr Anderson thinks the most likely to be of value; but, besides these, he recommends the following of the vesp tribe.
1. Milk-vetch,
1. Milk-vetch, liquorice-vetch, or milkwort. This plant, in some respects, very much resembles the common white clover: from the top of the root a great number of shoots come out in the spring, spreading along the surface of the ground every way around it; from which arise a great many clusters of bright yellow flowers, exactly resembling those of the common broom. These are succeeded by hard round pods, filled with small kidney-shaped seeds. From a supposed resemblance of a cluster of these pods to the fingers of an open hand, the plant has been sometimes called ladies-fingers. By others it is called crow-toes, from a fancied resemblance of the pods to the toes of a bird. Others, from the appearance of the blossom, and the part where the plant is found, have called it feal, improperly fell-broom. It is found plentifully almost everywhere in old grass fields; but as every species of domestic animals eat it, almost in preference to any other plant, it is seldom allowed to come to the flower in pasture grounds, unless where they have been accidentally saved from the cattle for some time; so that it is only about the borders of corn fields, or the sides of inclosures to which cattle have not access, that we have an opportunity of observing it. As it has been imagined that the cows which feed on the pastures, where this plant abounds, yield a quantity of rich milk, the plant has, from that circumstance, obtained its most proper English name of milk-vetch.
One of the greatest recommendations of this plant is, that it grows in poor barren ground, where almost no other plant can live. It has been observed in ground so poor, that even heath, or ling (erica communis), would scarcely grow; and upon bare obdurate clays, where no other plant could be made to vegetate; inasmuch that the surface remained entirely uncovered, unless where a plant of this kind chanced to be established; yet, even in these unfavourable circumstances, it flourished with an uncommon degree of luxuriance, and yielded as tender and succulent, though not such abundant shoots, as if reared in the richest manured fields. In dry barren sands, also, where almost no other plant could be made to live, it has been found to send out such a number of healthy shoots all round, as to cover the earth with the closest and most beautiful carpet that can be desired.
The stalks of the milk-vetch are weak and slender, so that they spread upon the surface of the ground, unless they are supported by some other vegetable. In ordinary soils they do not grow to a great length, nor produce many flowers; but in richer fields the stalks grow to a much greater length, branch out a good deal, but carry few or no flowers or seeds. From these qualities our author did not attempt at first to cultivate it with any other view than that of pasture; and, with this intention, sowed it with his ordinary hay seeds, expecting no material benefit from it till he desisted from cutting his field. In this, however, he was agreeably disappointed; the milk-vetch growing the first season as tall as his great clover, and forming exceeding fine hay; being scarce distinguishable from lucerne, but by the slenderness of the stalk, and proportional smallness of the leaf.
Another recommendation to this plant is, that it is perennial. It is several years after it is sowed before it attains to its full perfection; but, when once established, it is a most valuable plant.
blissed, it probably remains for a great number of years in full vigour, and produces annually a great quantity of fodder. In autumn 1773, Mr Anderson cut the stalk from an old plant that grew on a very indifferent soil; and, after having thoroughly dried it, he found that it weighed 14 ounces and a half.
The stalks of this plant die down entirely in winter, and do not come up in the spring till the same time that clover begins to advance; nor does it advance very fast, even in summer, when once cut down or eaten over: so that it seems much inferior to the above-mentioned grasses; but might be of use to cover the worst parts of a farm, on which no other vegetable could thrive.
2. The common yellow vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis), or everlasting tarr, grows with great luxuriance in stiff clay soils, and continues to yield annually a great weight of fodder, of the very best quality, for any length of time. This is equally fit for pasture or hay; and grows with equal vigour in the end of summer as in the beginning of it; so would admit being pastured upon in the spring, till the middle, or even the end of May, without endangering the loss of the crop of hay. This is an advantage which no other plant except clover possesses; but clover is equally unfit for early pasture or for hay. Sainfoin is the only plant whose qualities approach to it in this respect, and the yellow vetchling will grow in such soils as are utterly unfit for producing sainfoin.—It is also a perennial plant, and increases so fast by its running roots, that a small quantity of the feed would produce a sufficient number of plants to fill a whole field in a very short time. If a small patch of good ground is sowed with the seeds of this plant in rows, about a foot distance from one another, and the intervals kept clear of weeds for that season, the roots will spread so much as to fill up the whole patch next year; when the stalks may be cut for green fodder or hay. And if that patch were dug over in the spring following, and the roots taken out, it would furnish a great quantity of plants, which might be planted at two or three feet distance from one another, where they would probably overspread the whole field in a short time.
3. The common blue tarr seems more likely than the blue tarr, former to produce a more flourishing kind of hay, as it abounds much more in seeds; but as the stalks come up more thinly from the root, and branch more above, it does not appear to be so well adapted for a pasture grass as the other. The leaves of this plant are much smaller, and more divided, than those of the other; the stalks are likewise smaller, and grow to a much greater length. Though it produces a great quantity of seeds, yet the small birds are so fond of them, that, unless the field were carefully guarded, few of them would be allowed to ripen.
4. The vicia sepium, purple everlasting, or bush-vetch. Our author gives the preference to this plant beyond all others of the same tribe for pasture. The roots of it spread on every side a little below the surface of the ground, from which, in the spring, many stems arise quite close by one another; and as these have a broad tufted top covered with many leaves, it forms as close a pile as could be desired. It grows very quickly after being cut or cropped, but does not arrive at any great height; so that it seems more proper for pasture than making
making hay; although, upon a good soil, it will grow sufficiently high for that purpose; but the stalks grow so close upon one another, that there is great danger of having it rotted at the root, if the season should prove damp. It seems to thrive best in a clay soil.
Besides these, there are a variety of others of the same class, which he thinks might be useful to the farmer. The common garden everlasting pea, cultivated as a flowering plant, he conjectures, would yield a prodigious weight of hay upon an acre; as it grows to the height of ten or twelve feet, having very strong stalks, that could support themselves without rotting till they attained a great height.
One other plant, hitherto unnoticed, is recommended by our author to the attention of the farmer; it is the common yarrow (Achillea millefolium), or hundred-leaved grass. Concerning this plant, he remarks, that in almost every fine old pasture, a great proportion of the growing vegetables with which the field is covered consists of it; but the animals which feed there are so fond of the yarrow, as never to allow one feed-stalk of it to come to perfection. Hence these feed-stalks are never found but in neglected corners, or by the sides of roads; and are so disagreeable to cattle, that they are never tasted; and thus it has been erroneously thought that the whole plant was refused by them.—The leaves of this plant have a great tendency to grow very thick upon one another, and are therefore peculiarly adapted for pasture. It arrives at its greatest perfection in rich fields that are naturally fit for producing a large and succulent crop of grass. It grows also upon clays; and is among the first plants that strike root in any barren clay that has been lately dug from any considerable depth; so that this plant, and thistles, are usually the first that appear on the banks of deep ditches formed in a clayey soil. All animals delight to eat it; but, from the dry aromatic taste it possesses, it would seem peculiarly favourable to the constitution of sheep. It seems altogether unfit for hay.
Besides these plants, which are natives of our own country, there are others which, though natives of a foreign climate, are found to thrive very well in Britain; and have been raised with such success by individuals, as highly to merit the attention of every farmer. Among these the first place is claimed by lucerne.
This is the plant called medica by the ancients, because it came originally from Media, and on the culture of which they bestowed such great care and pains. It hath a perennial root, and annual stalks, which, in a good soil, rise to three feet, or sometimes more in height; its leaves grow at a joint like those of clover; the flowers, which appear in June, are purple; and its pods are of a screw-like shape, containing seeds which ripen in September. All sorts of domestic cattle are fond of this plant, especially when allowed to eat it green, and black cattle may be fed very well with the hay made from it; but an excess of this food is said to be very dangerous.
Lucerne has the property of growing very quickly after it is cut down, inasmuch that Mr Rocque has mowed it five times in a season, and Mr Anderson at farms he has cut it no less than six times. It is, however, not very easily cultivated; in consequence of which it sometimes does not succeed.
Another grass was brought from Virginia, where it
is a native, and sown by Rocque in 1763. This grass is called timothy, from its being brought from New-York to Carolina by one Timothy Hanson. It grows best in a wet soil; but will thrive in almost any. If it is sown in August, it will be fit for cutting in the latter end of May or beginning of June. Horses are very fond of it, and will leave lucerne to eat it. It is also preferred by black cattle and sheep; for a square piece of land having been divided into four equal parts, and one part sowed with lucerne, another with sainfoin, a third with clover, and the fourth with timothy, some horses, black cattle, and sheep, were turned into it, when the plants were all in a condition for pasture; and the timothy was eaten quite bare, before the clover, lucerne, or sainfoin, was touched.
One valuable property of this grass is, that its roots are so strong and interwoven with one another, that they render the wettest and softest land, on which a horse could not find footing, firm enough to bear the heaviest cart. With the view of improving boggy lands, therefore, so as to prevent their being poached with the feet of cattle, Mr Anderson recommends the cultivation of this kind of grass, from which he has little expectation in other respects.
On this subject, of the kind of plants most proper to be raised for feeding cattle, one general question ought not to pass unnoticed concerning the propriety of feeding them upon roots and plants cultivated by the aid of the plough, or upon leaving them to derive their subsistence from lands allowed to remain continually in pasture. The advantages of the latter practice are set forth by Thomas Davis, Esq; of Longleat, in the following words. "Experience sufficiently evinces the extreme difficulty of persuading tenants that they get more (generally speaking) by feeding their lands, than by ploughing them; yet it requires very few arguments to convince a landlord, that, in cold wet land especially, the less ploughed land you have, the less you put it in the tenant's power to ruin your estate. That a tenant of 60l. per annum on a dairy farm will get money, while a corn farm of the same size will starve its occupier (though perhaps the former gives 15s. per acre for his land, and the latter only 10s.), is self-evident. The plough is a friend of everybody's, though its advantages are very far from being particularly and locally felt; corn being an article that will bear keeping till the whim or caprice, or supposed advantage of its possessor, call it forth. But the produce of the cow is far otherwise. Cheese must necessarily be sold at a certain period: it is a ponderous article; and one-twelfth, or at least one-fifteenth of its value, is often paid for carrying it to a fair 50 miles off; and the butter and skimmed milk find their way no great distance from home, as is evident by the price of butter varying frequently one-third in 20 or 30 miles. Every inhabitant of Bath must be sensible, that butter and cheese have risen one-third or more in price within 20 years. Is not this owing to the great encouragement given to the plough and to grazing, at a time when, on account of the increased demand for milk, cream, butter, and cheese, every exertion on behalf of the dairy should have been encouraged?" &c.
In some remarks on this letter by Mr Billingsley, the same superiority of dairy farms to the arable kind is asserted in the most positive terms. "Perhaps (says he)
Food for Cattle. he) there cannot be a stronger proof of the inferiority of the plough with respect to profit, than the superior punctuality of the dairy farmer in the payment of his rent. This observation, I believe, most stewards who superintend manors devoted partly to corn and partly to dairy farms, will verify; at least I have never met with one who controverts it. But perhaps the advocate for the plough will desire me not to confound the abuse of a thing with its intrinsic excellence; and say, that the generality of corn farmers are most egregious slovens; that lands devoted to the plough are not confined to such a mediocrity of profit as 20s. per acre; that the produce of artificial grasses (without which a well managed arable farm cannot exist), far exceeds that of natural grass both in respect of quantity and nutrition: that the straw yard is a most convenient receptacle for the cow when freed from the pail. These, and many other reasons, may be adduced to show the propriety of walking in the middle path, and of judiciously blending arable with pasture, in the proportion perhaps of three of the latter to one of the former."
On these letters we shall only remark, that for the good of mankind we hope the opinions they contain will never come into general practice; as thus the price of bread must be raised so high, that the lower classes of people would be entirely deprived of it. In the Bath Papers, vol. v. p. 43. we have a method proposed by Mr Wimpey of improving small arable farms in such a manner as to make them yield as much milk, butter, and cheese, as those which are kept continually in pasture. He agrees with the maxim already mentioned, that small arable farms do not afford the occupier so good a maintenance as dairy farms of the same value; and that the possessor of a dairy farm will do well and save money, while the former, with much toil and trouble, is starving himself and family. Notwithstanding this, he maintains, that there is an essential difference between ground that is naturally arable, and such as is by nature adapted for pasture. Land which is naturally arable, according to him, can by no means be converted into pasture of any duration. "Such as, from a wild state of nature, overrun with furze, fern, bushes and brambles, has been rendered fertile by means of the plough, must be kept in that improved state by its frequent use; otherwise it would soon revert to that wild barren state which was its original condition. A farm, therefore, which consists wholly, or almost so, of land that is properly arable, must ever continue arable; for it is not practicable to render it in any degree fertile but by means of the plough, or to keep it long in that state even when it is made so." He is of opinion, however, that by raising crops proper for feeding cattle, the possessor of an arable farm may raise as great a number of horned cattle as one who has a pasture farm; the only question is, whether he can be reimbursed of his expenses by the produce? "To ascertain this fact (says he), we must inquire what may be the average expenses of keeping a milch cow on a dairy farm for any given time. It is said, upon very good authority, that the expense is generally from 3l. to 3l. 10s. per annum. Two acres and a half of pasture fit for this use is sufficient to keep a cow the whole year through, and such land is valued at from 25s. to 30s. per acre.
At 25s. the keeping of each cow would amount to 3l. 2s. 6d. per annum. A dairy farm, therefore, consisting of 48 acres, at 25s. per annum, would amount to 60l. rent; and the number of cows that might be kept on such a farm would be about 20. In the next place, with regard to the expense of keeping a cow upon food raised in arable land as a succedaneum for grass, we are assured by unquestionable authority, that a bushel of potatoes, given half at night and half in the morning, with a small allowance of hay, is sufficient to keep three cows a day; by which allowance their milk will be as rich and as good as in the summer months when the cows are in pasture. An acre of land, properly cultivated with potatoes, will yield 337 bushels; and the total expense of cultivation, rent and tithe included, will not exceed 6l. 13s. If three cows eat seven bushels per week, then they would eat 364 bushels in a year; and 20 cows would consume 2433 bushels." So that, according to this calculation, seven acres and a quarter would nearly maintain as many cows as on the pasture farm could be maintained by 48 acres. If then the cultivation of one acre of ground costs 6l. 13s. the cultivation of seven acres and a quarter will cost about 48l. We have seen, however, that the rent of a dairy farm capable of maintaining 20 milch cows, is not less than 60l. so that the calculation is thus entirely in favour of the arable farm; seven or eight acres of the arable farm being superior by 12l. in value, when cultivated with potatoes, to 48 acres of meadow or pasture ground. "It must indeed be observed (adds our author), that in this statement no allowance is made for the small quantity of hay given to the cows with the potatoes. It must be noted also, that the account of cultivation is charged with 40s. an acre for manure, and some expense for ploughing, which of right is chargeable to the crop of wheat that is to follow. Now, if we deduct 40s. an acre from the expense of cultivating the potatoes, it reduces the sum to 4l. 13s. and the whole expense upon seven acres and a quarter is thus less than 34l. and consequently the keeping of 20 cows is little more than half to the occupier of the arable farm what it is to the occupier of the grazing farm. If this conclusion be fairly drawn, and the calculation free from errors, it is matter of the greatest importance, especially to the little arable farmer. It plainly raises him from a state of acknowledged inferiority to one greatly superior."
Our author next proceeds to obviate an objection, Objection "that the whole of his reasoning must be indecisive, as answering only to potatoes." In opposition to this, he adds an experiment made on a pretty large scale by Mr Vagg; from which it appears, that cabbages, when raised upon arable ground, are nearly as much superior to a natural crop as potatoes are. Twelve acres were employed in this experiment, and those of an indifferent quality. The rent was 30s. per acre, and the whole expense of culture and carting off the crop amounted only to 11. 14s. so that all the cost of the twelve acres was 38l. 9s. From the produce were Number of fed 45 oxen and upwards of 60 sheep; and he was cattle fed assured that they improved as fast upon it as they do from 12 acres of cabbages. "Now (says Mr Wimpey), if instead of 60 sheep we reckon 15 oxen, or that four sheep are equal to about one
Profit from one ox, in which we cannot err much; then 60 oxen were kept well for three months, or, which is the same thing, 15 for a whole year, for 381. 9s. 4d. which is not quite 31. more than the keeping of 20 cows would cost in potatoes. Turnips, turnip-rooted cabbage, carrots, parsnips, and some other articles, by many experiments often repeated, have been found quite adequate to the same valuable purposes; at least so far as to be more lucrative than meadow or pasture. Clover and rye-grass are omitted, as having been long in general practice; but are in common very short of the advantages which may be derived from the cultivation of the other articles recommended." Sainfoin is greatly recommended: but our author acknowledges that it makes but a miserable appearance the first year, though afterwards he is of opinion that one acre of sainfoin is equal to two of middling pasture ground; for which reason he accuses the farmer of intolerable indolence who does not cultivate so useful a plant. On this subject, however, we must remember, that the culture of sainfoin is clogged with the loss of one if not two crops; which may sometimes be inconvenient, though afterwards it remains in perfection for no less than 20 years. The most advantageous method of raising it he supposes to be after potatoes. Thus it will thrive even upon very poor ground; as the culture and manure necessary for the potatoes both pulverize the soil and enrich it to a sufficient degree.
68 Feeding of cattle not brought to perfection. We shall afterwards have an opportunity of attending to this subject when we come to consider the subject of feeding cattle. In the mean time, it may be remarked, that this branch of the art of the husbandman, has by no means hitherto been carried to its highest perfection in this country; and that in proportion as it is improved, and cattle are more carefully fed, the value of the plough will appear more conspicuous.
SECT. III. Of the comparative Profit to be derived from the Cultivation of different Vegetables.
69 Circumstances that will always be under the necessity of regarding himself as the servant of the community, and must endeavour to rear the vegetables that are in greatest demand, and that will enable him to derive the greatest profit from the portion of territory which he occupies. The product of some soils and situations is so fixed by nature, that it is in vain for human art or industry to alter her destination. In our own and in many other countries, there are extensive tracts of lofty and rugged mountains, from which the art of agriculture seems to be for ever banished. Such situations belong exclusively to the shepherd and his flock, to the utter exclusion of the plough. Even on some arable lands it may be found fruitless to attempt to rear many of the more valuable vegetable productions. In many bleak and unsheltered fields of the higher country of Scotland, in which turnips and oats are cultivated with tolerable success, it would be in vain to expect regular crops of wheat; and though potatoes are found to prosper in a sandy, or even a mossy soil, it would be in vain to expect them to produce an equally valuable crop upon a stiff clay, in which the roots cannot swell or expand to a
proper size. In forming a plan of agriculture, there-
fore, the husbandman must not overlook the peculiar nature of the soil that has fallen to his lot, or its physical relation to the nature of certain vegetables, as he can only hope for success by adapting the one of these to the other.
The husbandman must also have a special regard to the state of the market to which his commodities are to be brought. It is in vain for him to cultivate large quantities of roots, such as potatoes or carrots, at a distance from great towns, which alone can afford a market for them, unless he intend to consume them upon his own farm by feeding cattle. In a part of the country, however, in which great breweries are established, if his soil is fit for the purpose, he may safely venture to rear large quantities of barley; as he cannot in such a situation be at any time destitute of a market. Hence we can perceive, that it is the state of the market which must at all times regulate the enterprises of the agriculturist, and the kind of crops which he is to bring forward. Thus also we see the mode in which agriculture may be most successfully encouraged by a nation. Let an abundant market be provided for the produce of the soil, and that produce will infallibly be augmented. In this way, it is evident that the consumption of grain, by means of distilleries or breweries, is highly favourable to the production of it in great quantities. They are even favourable to the existence of plenty, or of abundance of bread for the use of the people. In good seasons, by affording a ready market, they give activity to the husbandman, and in bad seasons their operations can be arrested by law, and the superfluous quantity of grain which was meant to be consumed by them, can be converted into human food. Thus they operate in some measure like a great public granary, in which provisions should be kept against an accidental scarcity.
It may sometimes happen, that by the character of the age in which he lives, and the state of the market which it produces, a husbandman may find himself most profitably employed, when rearing a kind of food which is by no means the most advantageous to the population of his country. This takes place, when he is employed in preparing butchers meat instead of bread; that is, when he finds it more profitable to rear upon his lands vegetables which can only be consumed by cattle, and thus contribute only in an indirect manner to the sustenance of the human species, than to cultivate those vegetable productions which are suited to the human stomach, and which therefore directly and immediately afford subsistence to man. According to Archdeacon Hillop's comparative statement, lately published, the weight of food from an acre of arable land, on the average of three years, a fallow year being included, is nine and a half times greater than from an acre of feeding stock; and, according to the calculations of the Rev. Dr. Walker, at Collington, professor of natural history at Edinburgh, a Scots acre of land in pasture, fed with sheep, produces only 120 pounds weight of meat, whereas the same land will yield 1280 pounds of oat meal, or above ten times as much. Let it even be supposed, then, that one pound of mutton contains in itself as much substantial nourishment for the human constitution, as
Profit from two pounds weight of oat meal; still it will follow, that land cultivated for the production of oats, will support a population five times greater in number, than can be supported by the same land when used for the pasture of sheep; and, where one million of people are found to exist upon a territory occupied in the one way, between five and six millions of people might exist upon the same land if it were cultivated for raising grain, and if the inhabitants would consent to use it as their food. Were any contrivance adopted, of the nature of those already mentioned, for converting the succulent roots of potatoes, carrots, &c. into dry meal or flour; the same proportional difference of population would continue to exist, between nations in which that kind of flour should be consumed as human food, and in which it should be used for feeding cattle: For a man always commits an enormous waste of food, who, instead of eating grain himself, gives it to an inferior animal, in the expectation of afterwards receiving an equivalent, by devouring the flesh of that animal.
71
Population
greater
where men
live on ve-
getable
food.
Accordingly, it seems impossible for any nation to reach a very extensive degree of population, unless the people at large consent to subsist chiefly, or altogether, upon vegetable food. In China, where the practice of polygamy renders the families of rich men very numerous, and where the equal distribution of the property among the children of the same family prevents the accumulation of great wealth by individuals, almost all persons have found it convenient or necessary to relinquish the ordinary use of butchers meat, and to have recourse to vegetable food. It is only in consequence of this circumstance, that the enormous population of that empire is supported. The quantity of butchers meat consumed in a country will, therefore, always in spite of every agricultural improvement, set bounds to its population. A nation of hunters and shepherds, who live upon wild animals, or upon flocks and herds, must always be few in number. By agriculture, the numbers of these animals may indeed be increased; but the men who can find subsistence by consuming them, will always be five or six times fewer in number, than might live upon the same territory, were the cattle expelled, and the lands occupied in rearing food to be immediately used by man.
72
Circum-
stances that
lead hu-
bandmen to
prefer pas-
turage to
the rearing
of grain.
With these general considerations, however, the practical agriculturist, or husbandman, may have nothing to do. To succeed in his profession, he must accommodate himself to the public taste, or to the state of the market around him; and must consider what commodity, whether grain or butchers meat, will there bring the best reward for his labour. He may even find the state of the market affected by other circumstances, than the mere taste of the public for butchers meat, in preference to vegetable food; although that must always be of great importance among a luxurious people. Conquering nations, who extend their political dominion over distant regions, never fail to draw to their native country a very great portion of the wealth of the vanquished states. The victorious nation never fails, in such cases, to contain a great number of wealthy individuals, whose revenue is not derived from the cultivation of their native soil, or from any branch of manufacture or of commercial industry carried on by them upon it; but which consists
of money drawn from the remote provinces of the em-
pire, in consequence of estates possessed, or fortunes
acquired there, in the service of government. The
requirement of such circumstances naturally is, that these
wealthy individuals not only live at home in a luxurious
manner, and increase to an immense extent the con-
sumption of butchers meat by themselves and their nu-
merous retinues; but for the sake of ostentation, and
as the only means of employing their wealth, they
maintain great numbers of carriages and of riding
horses. To support such establishments, they them-
selves not only convert large tracts of territory from
arable into pasture lands; but even the whole hus-
bandmen of the country are induced to do the same,
to derive a profit from supplying them with butchers
meat, and with food for their pleasure horses. In the
mean time, the grain that may be wanted for the con-
sumption of the people, whether rich or poor, being a
commodity which is easily preserved and transported, must
be bought from foreign nations, by a portion of the su-
perfluous wealth of the state; and thus a rich and prosper-
ous people may come to depend upon foreigners for a
morsel of bread; and when these foreign nations hap-
pen to experience an unfortunate season, this wealthy
people may suffer all the horrors of famine upon a fer-
tile soil, and in the midst of overflowing treasures.
Such was the state of Italy under the ancient Ro-
mans. Every part of it was adorned with the parks
and villas and gardens of the nobles, who derived their
revenues from the remote parts of the empire. This
feast of dominion exhibited a picture of boundless splen-
dour and magnificence. But the soil was entirely
occupied in the service of ostentation or of luxury;
and Italy, one of the most fertile corn countries in Eu-
rope, depended for grain upon Egypt, and the western
provinces of Africa that border upon the Mediter-
ranean. Such also, though perhaps in an inferior degree,
seems to be the present state of Great Britain. It has
acquired vast and fertile and populous provinces, with-
in the torrid zone in the east, from which individuals
are annually transporting home immense treasures ob-
tained in the public service. In the west, also, within
the same torrid zone, by a great expence of treasure
and of human lives, the cultivation of certain valuable
commodities has been established; and from estates sit-
uated there, individuals residing at home now derive
great revenues. The principles which regulate human
affairs are unalterable; and in every age the same causes
are attended with the same consequences. What oc-
curred in ancient Italy, took place among us soon as the
possession of distant territories had leisure to display its
natural effects. Britain formerly not only produced a
abundance of grain, for the support of its own inhabitants,
but it possessed a considerable surplus for exportation.
After the acquisition of foreign possessions, this surplus
produce gradually ceased to exist; and it appears from
documents, which the legislature has acknowledged to
afford authentic and complete evidence of the truth of
the fact, that, for twenty years past, notwithstanding all
our agricultural improvements, and the waste lands that
have been brought under the plow, the produce of grain
is annually becoming more and more unequal to the
consumption; and this decrease appears in some measure
to keep pace with the increasing value of our distant
possessions. In the mean time, we are annually coming
under
Principles of under the necessity of purchasing larger and larger
Cultivation. supplies of grain, from the foreign states of Europe or
of North America; and thus these nations, without un-
dergoing the imputation of usurpation, and without en-
countering the hazard of an unfriendly climate, have
been enabled through the medium of our luxury to ob-
tain a share of the riches of Hindostan, and of the pro-
fits of our West India cultivation. In the mean time
their agriculture is encouraged, while we are made to
depend upon them for the necessaries of life. After all,
it appears unreasonable, and would perhaps be improper,
to regret a state of affairs, which is the result of na-
tional aggrandisement, and of the superiority and suc-
cessful enterprises of our countrymen. Still, however,
it is obviously to be wished, that, so far as agriculture
is concerned, we could be restored to the state of inde-
pendency which our ancestors enjoyed, when they were
able, from their own soil, to supply themselves with the
necessaries of life: such a state is sometimes necessary
to the independent existence of a community, and is at
all times conducive to its welfare. It can only how-
ever be produced by means of agriculture. Therefore,
Ye generous Britons, venerate the Plough,
And o'er your hills and long withdrawing vales,
Let autumn spread her treasures to the sun;
So with superior boon may your rich soil,
Exuberant, nature's better blessings pour
O'er every land, the naked nations clothe,
And be th' exhaustless granary of a world!
THOMSON.
SECT. IV. General Principles of Cultivation.
It is not our intention here to enter into a minute
disquisition, concerning the nature of vegetables, or
the different substances with which they may be con-
nected, in their growth or in their decay. Such inves-
tigations, in a proper arrangement of the sciences, ought
to be left to chemistry; but even that science, so far as
vegetable substances are concerned, is still in such a
state of imperfection, that a detail of the experiments
and opinions of philosophical chemists, concerning ve-
getables, would as yet afford but a very trifling portion
of useful information to the husbandman. We shall
therefore content ourselves with here stating such gen-
eral remarks, as appear necessarily connected with the
important art of which we are now treating.
A vegetable is not to be regarded merely as a piece
of matter, or as a mixture of certain material substan-
ces. It is an organized being, possessed of life, which
it derived from another similar organized being that
existed previous to itself; and this former organized
and living being derived its constitution from a parent
stem, which grew out of a still older plant, up to an
antiquity of which we have no knowledge. A vege-
table, in this manner, not only has a birth, but it also
has a growth, which is supported by food that it takes
in and conveys by peculiar organs to the particular
parts for which it is destined. When it has arrived at
maturity, or reached the perfection of its form and
constitution, a vegetable like an animal begins to de-
cay, and finally dies, and, by a process of putrefaction,
is converted into a kind of earth.
To the life of vegetables, in the same manner as to
the life of animals, the presence of atmospheric air is
necessary. They also require a certain moderate de-
gree of heat; without which their growth cannot pro-
ceed, although a great degree of it is utterly fatal even
to their texture. That they require moisture, is equal-
ly obvious; as appears from the ordinary effect of rain,
or of the continued want of it, upon fields and plants.
They require likewise to be inserted in the earth, or
in some way connected with a collection of its partic-
les; for although some plants, particularly the bul-
bous-rooted kinds, vegetate in pure water and air alone,
it appears that they acquire little addition of solid sub-
stance, and that neither they, nor any of the other
larger plants, reach perfection, or produce seed, un-
less planted in the earth, or supplied with a portion
of it.
As all soils are by no means equally adapted for sup-
porting vegetables, or bringing them to maturity, it
is necessary for the husbandman to attend to their na-
ture, and the modes in which they may be altered or
ameliorated for his use. Independent of these hard
concretions, which obtain the name of stones or rocks,
it is to be observed, that the looser and more divisible
earth which covers most part of the surface of the globe,
and receives the appellation of the soil, may, upon the
whole, and with sufficient accuracy for practical pur-
poses, be divided into four kinds, which are in general
mixed with each other, but which receive their name,
in ordinary language, from the kind that predominates,
or is most abundant. These are sand, clay, chalk,
and garden mould. Of these, sand and clay are in some
measure the opposites of each other, while chalk forms a
kind of medium between them. Sand allows water to
filter rapidly through it, and speedily becomes dry, while
clay is extremely tenacious of moisture; but a mixture
of chalk renders sand considerably more tenacious of
water, while it renders clay more loose, and easily pe-
netrated. None of these soils are valuable for the pur-
poses of agriculture.—Sand does not sufficiently re-
tain water for the use of vegetables; nor does clay suf-
fer their roots to expand with freedom in quest of nou-
rishment. Chalk, or, as it is usually called, a calcare-
ous soil, is not of itself adapted for raising useful plants;
for, although it may not have the mechanical defects
of sand and clay, yet, it is found by experience to be
of little value to them, either in consequence of its ten-
dency to destroy their texture by its corrosive quality,
that is, by having too much chemical affinity with the
materials of which they consist, or from its not con-
taining within itself the proper materials necessary to
them as food.
The fourth kind of soil we have denominated garden
mould; because it is in its highest perfection when it
approaches nearest to the rich black earth which re-
ceives that appellation. This is the most proper of all
kinds of soil for rearing the whole of those vegetables
which are accounted valuable in our climate. In pro-
per circumstances, that is, with a moderate degree of
heat and of moisture, it never fails to send forth and to
bring to perfection an abundant crop. In proportion
to the degree in which any soil consists of this black
mould, its value increases. If, therefore, a husband-
man could cover the portion of territory allotted to him
with a tolerable depth of this kind of soil, nothing more
would be necessary to the success of his enterprises, as
he
Principles of Cultivation. Principles of Cultivation.
could rear whatever vegetables he thought fit, in perfection, and in great profusion. It is to be observed, however, that this kind of mould or soil cannot be relied upon as permanent. If crops of grain should be taken from it year after year, it would soon lose its fertile qualities, and become unfit for the purposes of a prosperous agriculture. Here then is the remarkable difference between this kind of soil and the three others that were formerly mentioned, sand, clay, and chalk. Whatever properties these possess are unperishing, and can only be altered or modified by the operation of a fierce heat. Unfortunately, however, in their pure state, as already mentioned, they are of little value to the husbandman; and it is only in proportion to the degree in which they are mixed with the dark coloured or garden mould, that they become adapted to his purposes: but as the qualities of this mould are of a transitory nature, it is of the utmost importance, and ought indeed to form the great basis of every theory of agriculture, to explain how they may be preserved in existence, or restored when lost.
To understand this subject correctly, it is necessary to consider the nature and origin of this fertile mould. It is evidently not one of those original substances which form a part of the great mass of the solid globe of the earth, but appears to be the result of the operations and of the destruction of living and organized beings that have existed upon it. "Were a naked rock, says Mr Headrick, in an essay which we shall afterwards have occasion to mention, suddenly thrown up from the sea or from the bowels of the earth, the first plants which nature would place upon it, would be the various species of liebens, and such as can subsist wholly upon what they imbibe from the air, without needing a soil in which to push their roots. These plants serve the double purpose of clothing the rock, and thus preventing the fine particles that are dissolved by air and moisture from being washed away, and, from their growth and dissolution, of accumulating vegetable soil for the sustenance of more succulent plants. The rock is thus gradually made to acquire such a depth of soil, that it becomes able to sustain not only grasses and shrubs, but may become a receptacle for the oak itself." The progress here stated is correct; but some circumstances must be added to it, to render it practically useful to the husbandman. It is to be observed then, that animal substances, after they have ceased to form a part of a living body, have a tendency to proceed rapidly into a state of putrefactive fermentation, by which the greatest part of their mass is rendered volatile. When animal substances are mingled with vegetables, they speedily communicate their own fermentation or putrefaction to the vegetables, which by means of it are decomposed, fall to pieces, and are transformed into that kind of black earth, which we have called garden mould, and which forms the most fertile of all soils for the production of vegetables. It is by this process then, that is, by the fermentation of vegetable by means of animal substances, that the surface of this globe has been fertilized, or a black and rich mould produced upon it, as we daily see taking place in a variety of situations. No sooner do the small lichens or mosses cover the face of the naked rock, or gravel, or clay, than a variety of species of small animals appear, and feed upon them. As the
plants and animals die in succession, their substances mingle and give rise to the putrefaction already mentioned, which is productive of a small portion of soil. A new race of plants of greater strength and bulk rises upon the ruins of the first, and supports larger animals, all destined in their turn to perish and to increase the quantity of fertile soil. More valuable grasses soon supplant the original small and coarse vegetables, and the spot assumes the appearance of a rich verdure. New species of animals also begin to inhabit it: snails and worms abound; and by their remains contribute to the dissolution of the roots of plants, which everywhere penetrate the new soil, and to the decomposition of the items which periodically fall down. When the soil has acquired sufficient depth, it is sheltered by shrubs; and, lastly, by forest trees, under the shade of which the larger animals exist. The trees shed their leaves every season, and every season consequently gives an additional layer or stratum of fertile mould to the soil: and thus while the forest endures, the fertility of the territory on which it stands continues to be augmented by its spoils, and by the bodies of the animals which repair to it for shelter.
This process, by which nature gives fertility to the earth, or creates the rich mould on which vegetables flourish, ought to be imitated by the husbandman; and, in fact, it has been imitated in consequence of a knowledge that is derived from experience and from practice, rather than from the general speculations of science. The imitation of nature upon this point constitutes the art of producing manures, which will be afterwards considered. The principle upon which it proceeds, rests upon this foundation, which is known to be true in fact, that the fermentation of animal and vegetable substances produces that kind of dark rich mould which forms the most fertile soil.
In what way, or by what peculiar operation, this kind of mould or soil becomes so highly conducive and subservient to the growth of plants, is a point of more difficult research, and is fortunately of less importance to be known to the practical agriculturist. It may be observed, however, that this mould possesses, in an eminent degree, all the requisites necessary to the success of vegetation. It retains moisture, which is so necessary to that process, without, at the same time, keeping hold of it with that retentiveness which, in clay, has the effect of injuring the roots of the plants. As this mould consists of the remains both of animal and vegetable life, it necessarily contains an immense variety of ingredients which have different degrees of chemical affinity to each other. By the operation of these affinities in bringing the different substances into new combinations, a great quantity of heat must be continually produced or evolved, as occurs in so many chemical processes. By this heat the roots of the plants will be nourished, especially when assisted by the heat which they themselves throw out or produce when germinating. Thus, by the kind of soil now mentioned, or by the aid of manure, the defects of a cold and ungenial climate may, in some measure, be rectified, and the seeds and roots of vegetables may be supplied with due and seasonable warmth. It is also probable, that what is called the exhausted state of a soil, in consequence of much plowing, and many crops having been harvested from it, may chiefly arise from this circumstance, soils that.
Principle of that all the chemical affinities having at last operated, Cultivation every particle of the soil remains at rest, and no more heat is produced by the activity of its parts.
That plants growing in fertile mould, like that now mentioned, derive nourishment or food from it, cannot be doubted, since we see, that when taken out of it, or placed in another but less favourable soil, they speedily go into decay. What the particular substances are, however, which they take from it, has not been discovered. But it appears from the minuteness of the extreme fibres of the roots of plants, that the food taken in by them must be soluble in water, or in a liquid state when taken in by them. Accordingly, their food is actually found to ascend through their organs in a liquid form. Of this liquor or sap there are two kinds, the ascending and the descending. The ascending sap is that which rises in the spring; and by cutting a short way through the bark into the wood of many trees, large quantities of it may be drawn off, without injury to their health or growth. This sap ascends to the leaves, and there undergoes some change by the action of the air; for the leaves of vegetables appear to perform to them an office similar to that which is accomplished in animals by the organ called the lungs. From the leaves the sap, thus changed, descends to every part of the plant, and contributes to its growth by becoming a part of its substance. It would seem, however, that the liquors which circulate in plants, not only undergo a change at the leaves, but also at their first entrance by the vessels of the roots; for if several different kinds of trees are ingrafted upon the same common stock, each of them is able to derive the sap peculiar to itself from the sap of the common stock. Thus also the chemists have informed us, that vinegar, called by them the acetous acid, is found variously combined in the ascending sap of various trees; but it has never yet been discovered, that vinegar exists in any perceptible quantity in vegetable mould. That substance, therefore, must be formed by the root, by bringing together the ingredients of that acid which it finds and selects in the earth.
When any plant, whether great or small, is put into a close vessel, and strongly heated, allowing only the smoke to escape, the residue is in all cases of the same nature, and is called charcoal, or by the chemists carbon. Of this carbonaceous matter a considerable quantity is always found in rich garden mould, derived no doubt from the remains of vegetable substances of which that mould was originally formed. This carbonaceous matter, however, or charcoal, being insoluble in water, cannot in its ordinary state enter into the vessels of growing vegetables; but, as it is rendered soluble by a variety of combinations, it is no doubt found out in such a state by the fibres of growing roots, and conveyed upwards in the juice. But as all vegetable mould, and the charcoal or carbonaceous matter which it contains, is the result of the ruins of vegetation, and as the lichens or vegetables of the coarsest and simplest kind, which originally grow upon the naked stone, have no other nourishment than water and atmospheric air, it is probable, that out of these materials they are capable of forming the charcoal, which constitutes the basis of their form, and of the constitution of every other vegetable. It is true, that the chemists still regard carbon or charcoal as a simple and
uncompounded substance; and they have not found it Principle of Cultivation in water, nor in atmospheric air, unless in the most minute degree, resulting probably from the combustion of fires and the breathing of animals in inhabited countries. But although chemists have not hitherto been able to find charcoal in the three simple substances, oxygen, hydrogen, and azote, of which atmospheric air and water are composed, it seems evident, that the mighty Chemist who contrived this world and the constitution of vegetables, finds no difficulty in forming it of those materials by means of their organization. Hence we rather think, that water and air must constitute the original food of the simplest and coarsest kind of plants; but if this idea be true, it is to be regarded as a fact that is more curious in speculation than useful in practice: for it is certain, that the more valuable and larger vegetables, which it is the business of the husbandman to cultivate, cannot be reared to perfection without the aid of vegetable mould. Though they may possess, therefore, the power of deriving a portion of their solid substance, or of the carbonaceous matter which they contain, from common air and water, they cannot obtain the whole by this means, and require the aid of the remains of former vegetation. It is thus that one system is seen to pervade every part of nature, as through all her works are the food of animated beings only enjoys life in consequence of the destruction of another. Thus the carnivorous animals consume those that live upon vegetables; and thus, in like manner, one species of vegetables only subsists upon the ruins, and is fed by the substance, of a former generation of plants.
Besides animal substances, there are some minerals that have a tendency to accomplish the decomposition of vegetables, and thereby to reduce them into a state of mould, possessing in a great degree the qualities of the garden mould that is produced by the fermentation of the remains of animals and vegetables, the formation of which has now been described. Of the minerals that have this tendency, lime is the chief, and indeed the one commonly in use, either pure or when combined with clay under the form of marl. To the effect of lime, therefore, we shall now call the attention of the reader.
Where the ground has been suffered to remain uncultivated for many ages, producing all that time succulent plants which are easily putrefied, and trees, the leaves of which likewise contribute to enrich the ground by their falling off and mixing with it, the soil will in a manner be totally made up of pure vegetable earth, and be the richest, when cultivated, that can be imagined. This was the case with the lands of America. They had remained uncultivated perhaps since the creation, and were endowed with an extraordinary degree of fertility; nevertheless we are assured by one who went to America in order to purchase lands there, that such grounds as had been long cultivated, were so much exhausted, as to be much worse than the generality of cultivated grounds in this country. Here, then, we have an example of one species of poor soil; namely, of poor soil one that has been formerly very rich, but has been destroyed, by repeated cropping, of the greatest part of the vegetable food it contained. The farmer who is in possession of such ground, would no doubt willingly restore it to its former state; the present question is, What
Principles of Cultivation. What must be done in order to obtain this end? We have mentioned several kinds of manures which long practice has recommended as serviceable for improving ground: we shall suppose the farmer tries lime or chalk; for, as we have already seen, their operations upon the soil must be precisely the same. This substance, being of a septic nature, will act upon such parts of the soil as are not putrefied, or but imperfectly so; in consequence of which, the farmer will reap a better crop than formerly. The septic nature of the lime is not altered by any length of time. In ploughing the ground, the lime is more and more perfectly mixed with it, and gradually exerts its power on every putrescible matter it touches. As long as any matter of this kind remains, the farmer will reap good crops; but when the putrescible matter is all exhausted, the ground then becomes perfectly barren; and the caustic qualities of the lime are most unjustly blamed for burning the ground, and reducing it to a caput mortuum; while it is plain the lime has only done its office, and made the soil yield all that it was capable of yielding.
50
A species of poor soil
ameliorated
by lime.
When ground has been long uncultivated, producing all the time plants, not succulent, but such as are very difficultly dissolved, and in a manner incapable of putrefaction; there the soil will be excessively barren, and yield very scanty crops, though cultivated with the greatest care. Of this kind are those lands covered with heath, which are found to be the most barren of any, and the most difficultly brought to yield good crops. In this case lime will be as serviceable as it was detrimental in the other: for by its septic qualities, it will continually reduce more and more of the soil to a putrid state; and thus there will be a constant succession of better and better crops, by the continued use of lime when the quantity first laid on has exerted all its force. By a continued use of this manure, the ground will be gradually brought nearer and nearer to the nature of garden mould; and, no doubt, by proper care, might be made as good as any: but it will be as great a mistake to imagine, that, by the use of lime, this kind of soil may be rendered perpetually fertile, as to think that the other was naturally so; for though lime enriches this soil, it does so, not by adding vegetable food to it, but by preparing what it already contains; and when all is properly prepared, it must as certainly be exhausted as in the other case.
51
Poor soils,
how restored.
Here, then, we have examples of two kinds of poor soils; one of which is totally destroyed, the other greatly improved, by lime, and which therefore require very different manures; lime being more proper for the last than dung; while dung, being more proper to restore an exhausted soil than lime, ought only to be used for the first. Besides dunging land which has been exhausted by long cropping, it is of great service to let it lie fallow for some time: for to this it owed its original fertility; and what gave the fertility originally, cannot fail to restore it in some degree.
By attending to the distinction between the reasons for the poverty of the two soils just now mentioned, we will always be able to judge with certainty in what cases lime is to be used, and when dung is proper. The mere poverty of a soil is not a criterion whereby we can judge; we must consider what hath made it poor. If it is naturally so, we may almost infallibly conclude, that
it will become better by being manured with lime. If Principles of Cultivation. it is artificially poor, or exhausted by continual cropping, we may conclude that lime will entirely destroy it.—We apprehend, that it is this natural kind of poverty only which Mr Anderson says, in his Essays on Agriculture, may be remedied by lime; for we can scarce think that experience would direct any person to put lime upon land already exhausted. His words are,
52
"Calcareous matters act as powerfully upon land that is naturally poor, as upon land that is more richly impregnated with those substances that tend to produce a luxuriant vegetation."
Writers on agriculture have long been in the custom of dividing manures into two classes, viz. Enriching manures, or those that tended directly to render the soil more prolific, however sterile it may be; among the foremost of which was dung: Exciting manures, or those that were supposed to have a tendency to render the soil more prolific, merely by acting upon those enriching manures that had been formerly in the soil, and giving them a new stimulus, so as to enable them to operate anew upon that soil which they had formerly fertilized. In which class of stimulating manures, lime was always allowed to hold the foremost place.
"In consequence of this theory, it would follow, that lime could only be of use as a manure when applied to rich soils—and when applied to poor soils, would produce hardly any, or even perhaps hurtful, effects."
"I will frankly acknowledge, that I myself was so far imposed upon by the beauty of this theory, as to be hurried along with the general current of mankind, in the firm persuasion of the truth of this observation, and for many years did not sufficiently advert to those facts that were daily occurring to contradict this theory.—I am now, however, firmly convinced, from repeated observations, that lime, and other calcareous manures, produce a much greater proportional improvement upon poor soils than such as are richer;—and that lime alone, upon a poor soil, will, in many cases, produce a much greater and more lasting degree of fertility than dung."
Thus far Mr Anderson's experience is exactly conformable to the theory we have laid down, and what ought to happen according to our principles. He mentions, however, some facts which seem very strongly to militate against it; and indeed he himself seems to proceed upon a theory altogether different.
53
"Calcareous matter alone (says he) is not capable of rearing plants to perfection;—mould is necessary to be mixed with it in certain proportions, before it can form a proper soil. It remains, however, to be determined, what is the due proportion of these ingredients for forming a proper soil."
"We know that neither chalk, nor marl, nor lime, can be made to nourish plants alone; and soils are sometimes found that abound with the two first of these to a faulty degree. But the proportion of calcareous matter in these is so much larger than could ever be produced by art, where the soil was naturally destitute of these substances, that there seems to be no danger of erring on that side. Probably it would be much easier to correct the defects of those soils in which calcareous mat-
Principles of Cultivation. superabound, by driving earth upon them as a manure, than is generally imagined; as a very small proportion of it sometimes affords a very perfect soil. I shall illustrate my meaning by a few examples.
84
Examples of soil perpetually fertile.
“ Near Sandside, in the county of Caithness, there is a pretty extensive plain on the sea coast, endowed with a most singular degree of fertility. In all seasons it produces a most luxuriant herbage, although it never got any manure since the creation; and has been from time immemorial subjected to the following course of crops.
“ 1. Bear, after once ploughing from grass, usually a good crop.
“ 2. Bear, after once ploughing, a better crop than the first.
“ 3. Bear, after once ploughing, a crop equal to the first.
“ 4. 5. and 6. Natural grass, as close and rich as could be imagined, might be cut, if the possessor so inclined, and would yield an extraordinary crop of hay each year.
“ After this the same course of cropping is renewed. The soil that admits of this singular mode of farming, appears to be a pure incoherent sand, destitute of the smallest particle of vegetable mould; but, upon examination, it is found to consist almost entirely of broken shells: the fine mould here bears such a small proportion to the calcareous matter, as to be scarce perceptible, and yet it forms the most fertile soil that ever I yet met with.
“ I have seen many other links (downs) upon the sea shore, which produced the most luxuriant herbage, and the closest and sweetest pile of grass, where they consisted of shelly sand; which, without doubt, derive their extraordinary fertility from that cause.
“ A very remarkable plain is found in the island of Jir-eye, one of the Hebrides. It has been long employed as a common: so that it has never been disturbed by the plough, and affords annually the most luxuriant crop of herbage, consisting of white clover and other valuable pasture grass, that can be met with anywhere. The soil consists of a very pure shelly sand.
“ From these examples, I think it is evident, that a very small proportion of vegetable mould is sufficient to render calcareous matter a very rich soil. Perhaps, however, a larger proportion may be necessary when it is mixed with clay than with sand; as poor chalky soils seem to be of the nature of that composition.”
To these examples brought by Mr Anderson, we may add some of the same kind mentioned by Lord Kames. His lordship having endeavoured to establish the theory of water being the only food of plants, though he himself frequently deviates from that theory, yet thinks it possible, upon such a principle, to make a soil perpetually fertile.
“ To recruit (says he), with vegetable food, a soil impoverished by cropping, has hitherto been held the only object of agriculture. But here opens a grander object, worthy to employ our keenest industry, that of making a soil perpetually fertile. Such soils actually exist; and why should it be thought, that imitation here is above the reach of art? Many are the instances of nature being imitated with success. Let us not despair while any hope remains; for invention never was exercised upon a subject of greater utility. The
attempt may suggest proper experiments: it may open Principles of new views: and if we fail in equalling nature, may we Cultivation. not, however, hope to approach it? A soil perpetually fertile must be endowed with a power to retain moisture sufficient for its plants, and at the same time must be of a nature that does not harden by moisture. Calcareous earth promises to answer both ends: it prevents a soil from being hardened by water; and it may probably also invigorate its retentive quality. A field that got a sufficient dose of clay marl, carried above 30 successive rich crops, without either dung or fallow. Doth not a soil so meliorated draw near to one perpetually fertile? Near the east side of Rife, the coast for a mile inward is covered with sea sand, a foot deep or so; which is extremely fertile, by a mixture of sea shells reduced to powder by attrition. The powdered shells, being the same with shell marl, make the sand retentive of moisture; and yet no quantity of moisture will unite the sand into a solid body. A soil so mixed seems to be not far distant from one perpetually fertile. These, it is true, are but faint essays; but what will not perseverance accomplish in a good cause?”
Having thus, in a manner, positively determined with Mr Anderson, that no dose of calcareous matter can possibly be too great, we cannot help owning ourselves surprised on finding his lordship expressing himself as follows: “ An overdose of shell marl, laid perhaps an inch, and an inch and an half, or two inches thick, produces, for a time, large crops: but at last it renders the soil a caput mortuum, capable of bearing neither corn nor grass; of which there are too many instances in Scotland. The same probably would follow from an overdose of clay marl, stone marl, or pounded limestone.” To account for this, he is obliged to make a supposition directly contrary to his former one; namely, that calcareous matter renders the soil incapable of retaining water. This phenomenon, however, we think is solved upon the principles above laid down, in a satisfactory manner, and without the least inconsistency.
As to rendering soils perpetually fertile, we cannot help thinking the attempt altogether chimerical and vain. There is not one example in nature of a soil Perpetual perpetually fertile, where it has no supply but from the fertility of air and the rain which falls upon it. The above recited examples can by no means be admitted as proofs of perpetual fertility. We know, that the grass on the banks of a river is much more luxuriant than what grows at a distance: the reason is, that the water is attracted by the earth, and communicates its fertilizing qualities to it; but was the river to be dried up, the grass would soon become like the rest. Why should not the ocean have the same power of fertilizing plains near its shores, that rivers have of fertilizing small spots near their banks? We see, however, that it hath not: for the sea shores are generally sandy and barren. The reason of this is, that the waters of the ocean contain a quantity of loose acid*; and this acid is poisonous to plants: but abstracting this acid part, we hesitate not to affirm, that sea water is more fertilizing than river water. It is impossible to know how far the waters of the ocean penetrate under ground through a sandy soil. Where they meet with nothing to absorb their acid, there the ground is quite barren; but in passing through an immense quantity of broken shells, the calcareous matter, we are very certain, will absorb all the acid; *See Water.
Principles of acid; and thus the soil will be continually benefited by Cultivation. its vicinity to the ocean. All the above fields, therefore, are evidently supplied with nourishment from the ocean: for if the salt water has sufficient efficacy to render fields which are in its neighbourhood barren, why should it not render them fertile when the cause of barrenness is removed from its waters?
After all, the field in Caithness, mentioned by Mr Anderson, seems to have been perpetually fertile only in grass; for though the second year it carried a better crop of bear than it did the first, yet the third year the crop was worse than the second, and only equal to the first. Had it been ploughed a fourth time, the crop would probably have been worse than the first. Ground is not near so much exhausted by grass as corn, even though the crop be cut and carried off; and still less if it only feeds cattle, and is manured by their dung; which appears to have been the case with this field. Lord Kames, indeed, mentions fields in Scotland, that, past memory, have carried successive crops of wheat, pease, barley, oats, without a fallow, and without a manure; and particularizes one on the river Carron, of nine or ten acres, which had carried 103 crops of oats without intermission and without manure: but as we are not acquainted with any such fields, nor know any thing about their particular situation, we can form no judgment concerning them.
Besides the two kinds of soils above mentioned, there are others, the principal ingredient of which is clay or sand. The first of these is apt to be hardened by the heat of the sun, so that the vegetables can scarce penetrate it in such a manner as to receive proper nourishment. The second, if it is not situated so as to receive a great deal of moisture, is very apt to be parched up in summer, and the crop destroyed; nor has it sufficient adhesion to support plants that have few roots and grow high. From these opposite qualities, it is evident that these two soils would be a proper manure for one another: the clay would give a sufficient degree of firmness to the sand, and the sand would break the too great tenacity of the clay. According to Dr Home's experiments, however, sand is the worst manure for clay that can be used. He recommends marl most. To reduce clay ground as near as possible to the form of pure vegetable mould, it must first be pulverized. This is most effectually performed by ploughing and harrowing; but care must be taken not to plough it whilst too wet, otherwise it will concrete into hard clots which can scarcely be broken. After it is pulverized, however, some means must be taken to keep it from concretizing again into the same hard masses as before. According to Lord Kames, though clay, after pulverization, will concrete into as hard a mass as before, if mixed with water; yet if mixed with dunghill juice, it will not concrete any more. Lime also breaks its tenacity, and is very useful as a manure for this kind of soil.
Fertility of the earth. The conclusion we wish the practical farmer to draw from our theory is, That there is a certain limit to the limit.
fertility of the earth, both as to duration and to do- Vegetables gree, at any particular time: that the nearer any soil proper to be raised for approaches to the nature of pure garden mould, the nearer it is to the most perfect degree of fertility; but that there are no hopes of keeping it perpetually in such a state, or in any degree of approximation to it, but by constant and regular manuring with dung. Lime, chalk, marl, &c. may be proper to bring it near to this state, but are absolutely unfit to keep it continually so. They may indeed for several years produce large crops; but the more they increase the fertility for some years, the sooner will they bring on an absolute barrenness; while regular manuring with plenty of dung will always ensure the keeping up the soil in good condition, without any occasion for fallow. What we have said concerning the use of lime, &c. applies likewise to the practice of frequent ploughing, though in a less degree. This tends to meliorate ground that is naturally poor, by giving an opportunity to the vegetable parts to putrefy; but when that is done, it tends to exhaust, though not so much as lime. A judicious farmer will constantly strive to keep his lands always in good condition, rather than to make them suddenly much better; lest a few years should convince him that he was in reality doing almost irreparable mischief, while he fancied himself making improvements. As for the ridiculous notions of stimulating the ground by saline manures, we hope they will never enter the brain of any rational practitioner of agriculture.
SECT. V. Of the different kinds of Vegetables proper to be raised with a view to the Melioration of Soil.
THE methods of meliorating soils, which we have mentioned above, consisting of tedious and laborious operations that yield no return at first, it is natural for a farmer to wish for some method of meliorating his ground, and reaping crops at the same time. One very considerable step towards the melioration of ground is its pulverization. This is accomplished by repeated ploughings (A), as already mentioned; especially if performed in autumn, that the ground may be exposed to the winter's frost; but these ploughings yield no crop as long as the field is not sown. By planting in the field, however, those vegetables whose roots swell to a considerable bulk, the ground must constantly be acted upon by the swelling of their roots in all directions: and thus the growing of the crop itself may be equal, or superior, in efficacy to several ploughings, at the same time that the farmer enjoys the benefit of it. The plant most remarkable for the swelling of its roots is the potatoe; and by none is the ground meliorated more, or even so much. They are not, however, equally proper for all soils. In clay they do not thrive, nor are palatable; but in hard gravelly or sandy soils, they grow to a large size, and are of an excellent quality. Turnips likewise contribute to meliorate the ground, R r 2
(A) This, however, must be understood with some limitation: for it appears from experience, that many light and thin soils receive detriment rather than advantage from frequent ploughings; particularly in summer, when the sun exhales the nutritive particles in great abundance.
Of Destroying Weeds. ground, by the swelling of their roots, though not so much as potatoes. They have this advantage, however, that they will thrive in almost any soil. In clay ground, peas and beans thrive exceedingly well, and therefore are proper in this kind of soil as a preparatory for other kinds of grain. These push their roots deep into the ground, and cover it with their leaves more than other crops; so that the sun has not so much access as when it is covered with other kinds of grain. Wherever any of these kinds of vegetables are raised, it is observable, that more or less blackness is communicated to the soil: an evident sign of its melioration; this being the colour of the true vegetable mould, or loamy soil, as it is called.
Besides the above-mentioned plants, carrots, parsnips, cabbages, and all those vegetables which sink their roots deep in the ground, answer the same purpose of loosening and pulverizing the earth: but as they will not thrive but on ground already well cultivated, they cannot be raised to any advantage for the purpose of meliorating a poor soil.
It hath been customary in many places, particularly in England, to sow turnip, peas, buck-wheat, &c. and then to plough them down for manuring the land. This being similar to that operation of nature by which she renders the uncultivated soils so exceedingly fertile, cannot fail of being attended with singular advantages; and might be looked upon as preferable even to driving dung on the land to fatten it, was it not attended with the entire loss of a crop for that year.
In addition to this, it may be proper to remark, that an idea has been entertained with regard to the succession of vegetables to each other, which ought not to be overlooked, as at some future period it may lead to important consequences. It has been supposed, that the roots of plants, or at least of some plants, possess a power of throwing out, as excrementitious, a part of the substances which they have taken in, but which are no longer necessary for their subsistence or growth. It is undoubted, at least, that while by some plants the soil seems to be rendered altogether unfit for the production of certain others, it is rendered by different plants extremely well adapted to their growth. Thus wheat succeeds uncommonly well after drilled beans; and these two vegetables have even been repeated for a great number of years in rotation, without any deficiency or failure of crop.
SECT. VI. Of Destroying Weeds.
WHAT we have already said regarding the cultivation of the soil, respects only the fitting it for producing all kinds of vegetables indiscriminately. Experience, however, shows, that the ground is naturally much more disposed to produce and nourish some kinds of vegetables than others; and those which the earth seems most to delight in, are commonly such as are of very little use to man; but if neglected, will increase to such a degree, as entirely to destroy the plants intended to be raised, or at least hinder them from coming to perfection, by depriving them of nourishment. The clearing the ground of weeds, therefore, is an article no less necessary in agriculture, than the disposing it to produce vegetables of any kind in plenty.
The weeds may be divided, according to the time of their duration, into annual, or such as spring from a seed, and die the same year; and perennial, that is, such as are propagated by the seeds, and last for a number of years. The first kind are the least noxious, and most easily destroyed. For this purpose it will be annual and sufficient to let them spring up till near the time of ripening their seed, and then plough them down before it comes to maturity. It is also of service to destroy such weeds as grow in borders or neglected corners, and frequently scatter their seeds to a great distance; such as the thistle, dandelion, rag-weed, &c. for these are sufficient to propagate their species through a deal of ground; as their seeds are carried about with the wind to very considerable distances. A farmer ought also to take care, that the small seeds of weeds, separated from corn in winnowing, be not sown again upon the ground; for this certainly happens when they are thrown upon a dunghill; because, being the natural offspring of the earth, they are not easily destroyed. The best method of preventing any mischief from this cause, would be to burn them.
Perennial weeds cannot be effectually destroyed, but by removing the roots from the ground, which is often a matter of some difficulty. Many of these roots strike so deep in the ground, that they can scarcely be got out. The only method that can be depended upon in this case, is frequent ploughing, to render the ground as tender as possible; and harrowing with a particular kind of harrow, which shall hereafter be described, in order to collect these pernicious roots. When collected, they ought to be dried and burnt, as the only effectual method of ensuring their doing no further mischief.
There is a particular species of weed, peculiar only to grass lands, of a soft spongy nature, called fog, which it is found very difficult to exterminate. Where the land can be conveniently tilled, this weed may be destroyed by covering it with a crop of peas, potatoes, &c. or, passing a heavy roller over the ground will be of great service; for fog owes its origin to too great a laxity of the soil, and will not grow on firm ground.
Besides these kinds of weeds which are of an herbaceous nature, there are others which are woody, and grow to a very considerable size; such as broom, furze, &c. and whins, and thorns. Broom is an evergreen shrub, that thrives best in a sandy soil; and there it grows so vigorously, as scarcely to admit any grass under it. It propagates by seed which grows in pods; and these, when fully ripe, break with violence, scattering the seeds all around. Thus, a field which is overgrown with broom, besides the old plants, always contains an infinite number of young ones: so that though the old plants die when cut over, a fresh crop constantly springs up. It may, however, be destroyed by frequent ploughing and harrowing, in the same manner as other perennial weeds are; for it does not for some time carry any seed, and the frequent ploughing encourages the vegetation of all those seeds that are already in the ground, which cannot fail of being destroyed by frequent repetitions of the operation. Another method of destroying broom, is by pasturing the field where it grows with sheep. A few of the old bushes may be left as a shelter, and these will be in a good measure prevented from
90 Some vegetables seem to enrich the soil.
91 Broom, furze, &c. grow to a very considerable size; such as broom, furze, &c. and whins, and thorns. Broom is an evergreen shrub, that thrives best in a sandy soil; and there it grows so vigorously, as scarcely to admit any grass under it. It propagates by seed which grows in pods; and these, when fully ripe, break with violence, scattering the seeds all around. Thus, a field which is overgrown with broom, besides the old plants, always contains an infinite number of young ones: so that though the old plants die when cut over, a fresh crop constantly springs up. It may, however, be destroyed by frequent ploughing and harrowing, in the same manner as other perennial weeds are; for it does not for some time carry any seed, and the frequent ploughing encourages the vegetation of all those seeds that are already in the ground, which cannot fail of being destroyed by frequent repetitions of the operation. Another method of destroying broom, is by pasturing the field where it grows with sheep. A few of the old bushes may be left as a shelter, and these will be in a good measure prevented from
Diseases of from spreading by the cropping of the sheep. These Plants. animals are very fond of broom, and greedily devour every young shoot; so that if any remain after the first year, there will not be a vestige the second. If this method of extirpating broom is equally effectual with that of frequent ploughing, it is certainly much more profitable, as there is no food more nourishing to sheep than young broom. Broom, however, is said to have a singular effect upon sheep: it makes them drunk so effectually, that when heated with a little driving, they tumble over, and lie without motion.
The whin is a fine evergreen shrub, carrying a sweet-sinelling flower all the year round. It propagates both by seed and by its roots, which spread sometimes to the distance of 10 or 12 feet; and hence, when once established, it is with difficulty extirpated. The best method is to set fire to the whins in frosty weather; for frost has the effect to wither whins, and make them burn readily. The stumps must then be cut over with a hatchet; and when the ground is well softened by rain, it may be ploughed up, and the roots taken out by a harrow adapted to that purpose. If the field is soon laid down to grass, the whins will again spring up in great abundance from the seeds, and small parts of the roots left in the ground. In this case, pasturing with sheep is an effectual remedy; as they are no less fond of young whins than of young broom; and if there are a sufficient number, they will not leave a single plant above ground. But if grass is not immediately wanted, the most effectual method of clearing a field of whins, is by reiterated ploughings.
The thorn, or bramble, spreads its roots very wide, and at the same time sinks them deep in the earth. Though cut in the winter, it rises, and comes to such perfection as to carry fruit in summer. It can only be extirpated by ploughing up the ground, and collecting the roots.
24 Shrubs are destroyed by flooding the land. One effectual plan, which, as will afterwards appear, is practicable in many more situations than it has hitherto been applied to, for destroying these and all other woody shrubs and plants, together with a great number of weeds that are of no value upon pasture grounds, consists of flooding the land, by directing over it a stream of water. By means of such a device, all whins and other shrubs are completely rotted and destroyed.
SECT. VII. Of the Diseases of Plants.
As some of the most valuable kinds of vegetables are liable to suffer much by diseases peculiar to themselves, it is of much importance to the husbandman to be aware of this circumstance, and to adopt every known mode of protecting his crop against them. 95 At the same time, as the principles of vegetable life are by no means well understood, the causes and the cure of the most serious diseases affecting plants still remain under a great degree of obscurity, and the most experienced and intelligent husbandmen express great uncertainty respecting the measures to be adopted for preventing their appearance. Hence it appears most proper to introduce the consideration of them in this place before we proceed to the practical part of the subject; and as wheat is accounted the most valuable
kind of grain, we shall begin with the diseases to Diseases of which it is exposed. Plants.
Wheat chiefly suffers from two diseases, the blight and the mildew. Of the blight in wheat we shall 66 give an account upon the authority of an essay by which Robert Somerville, Esq; surgeon, 1st Battalion, 8th wheat is Fencible Regiment, inserted in the communications to the Board of Agriculture*, giving a statement of the Vol. II. nature and appearance of the blight which occasioned 27 the failure of the crop in 1795.—When the crop had Blight in just shaken the flowers, and the grains were beginning 1795. to form, most of them seemingly in a healthy manner, it was observed that many of the blades and stalks were rather of a dirty green colour, and in two weeks thereafter there appeared upon them great numbers of small red insects. As the season advanced, these insects not only increased in size, but became more numerous, and in almost every field the grain began to manifest unequivocal symptoms of disease, which were so formidable, that in many instances a total loss was dreaded, and in not a few cases, one half of the crop was actually destroyed. The minute symptoms of the blight were these:
1st, In the very early stages of the disease, and before the ear was affected, the blades and stalks were marked with black and rusty spots. These spots seemed to be occasioned by a glutinous substance deposited upon them, easily soluble in water, and which could be readily washed off by rubbing the stalks with a wet cloth. Some spots, however, were white, and these seemed to be owing to wounds or punctures made by vermin; the leaf having, to a certain extent, in consequence of these, withered and become white. As the season advanced, the black and rusty-coloured spots became larger and more numerous: and when the grain began to ripen, not only the blades but the straw were almost entirely coloured with black spots.
2d, After the crop had begun to shoot, and was in the ear, many of the heads were entirely empty. Where the stalk was green, and to appearance tolerably healthy, but the ear at the same time withered and without grain, the misfortune seemed to have arisen from an injury done to the neck of the ear, at the place of its junction with the stalk. There the outer rind was destroyed all round, which must have cut off the circulation between the ear and the stalk, as happens in trees that have had their bark destroyed all round.
3d, Many of the ears were entirely empty in the upper part, while the lower half was well filled. In these cases, the injury seemed owing to the rind being destroyed about the middle of the ear, at that place which separated the full from the empty part, and was similar to the injury done in the preceding case where the whole ear was destroyed.
4th, In very many cases the ears had a plump well-filled pickle and an empty husk alternately. In these the injury seemed owing to a wound inflicted at the bottom of the empty grains, where they are joined to the stalk, and which had taken place while they were in flower, preventing them from making any farther progress.
5th, Many ears, though not entirely empty, contained only small shrivelled grains, or what are called hungry
hungry pickles. These seemed to have escaped any accident till they had made some progress in filling, after which they became stationary and ripened prematurely. On examination they were found to be injured at the place where they were joined to the stalk, in the same manner as was already mentioned, in the case of those that had empty heads or ears. Like these also the whole ear was in some cases ill filled. In others only half of it was in that state, and in a very great number the ears consisted of a well and ill filled grain alternately. Without a single exception, the whole of the ill filled or hungry grains, were wounded at the place of their insertion into the ear.
6th, A number of ears, though well filled, were upon opening the husks found almost entirely covered with black and rusty spots, nearly resembling those already described, and like them also they were easily rubbed or washed off. The downy part of many of these grains, when examined carefully with a good glass, appeared to contain several small white transparent globes, resembling the eggs of insects.
7th, In many fields, especially such as had been fallowed and well manured for the wheat crop, a great number of plants were entirely withered from top to bottom. The decay, in most of these cases, took place when the wheat was beginning to shoot. No injury was visible in these cases upon the blade or stalk, but on examining the roots, a worm was found at every one of them.
Lastly, As the crop began to whiten, the dark or rusty spots on the straw and ears became more numerous, and appeared more conspicuous. In place of putting on a white or yellow appearance, the whole crop looked as if it had been sprinkled with soot.
The whole of these symptoms appeared to arise from the attack of an insect, and from the injuries and depredation which it committed upon the plants. This insect when first distinguishable by the eye, was of a red colour, and so soft as to be killed by the slightest pressure. As it increased in size the colour gradually changed to a dirty black, at which it became stationary. During its growth it lost its soft texture, and in proportion as its colour darkened it became hard, and as it were covered with a crust or shell upon the back. It is said to be not uncommon, and to be met with at all times, even in the best fields of wheat, though its numbers are infinitely increased in late wet seasons. From its eggs appearing to lodge upon the well-filled ears of the grain, it might be considered as in danger of being propagated to the succeeding crop. On this account our author hazards some conjectures upon the best means of preventing future danger from it. One of these consists of the use of lime mixed up with all manure, with a view to prevent insects from being generated in it. It is also suggested that the manure, by means of which slugs and worms are chiefly supposed to be produced, ought not to be plowed into the ground in autumn, but applied as a top dressing in the spring; because it is understood that manure, exposed to the sun and air, has much less tendency to foster insects, than when it is covered up in the earth.
Another disease, which is much more destructive to wheat, and much more frequently met with, is the mildew. It is of two kinds, the black and the red. In both cases it consists of a quantity of seemingly coarse pow-
der attached to the grain in the ear, or loosely surrounding it; in consequence of which it is evidently prevented from filling or arriving at perfection. The black kind of mildew is by far the most frequent and the most pernicious. It is most generally known in England by the name of smut, and in Scotland by that of the black, both of which are sufficiently expressive. Concerning the cause of this disease various opinions have been entertained. Dr Home, in his Principles of Agriculture and Vegetation, ascribes it to an over luxuriance of growth. He is of opinion, that too great an abundance of juices in a vegetable will produce diseases similar to those occasioned by repletion in animal bodies, viz. flagrations, corruptions, varices, cariosites, &c. along with the too great luxuriance we have just now mentioned, which he expresses by "too great an abundance of water shoots." Hence he is induced to class the smut among diseases arising from this cause, it being a corruption happening most in rainy seasons and to weak grain. Like other contagious diseases, he tells us, the smut may be communicated from the infected to healthful grain. As a preventive he recommends steeping the seed in a strong pickle of sea salt. Besides the effect which this has upon the grain itself, it is useful for separating the good from the bad; the best seed falling to the bottom, and the faulty swimming on the top of the liquor.
Independent of this notion of an over luxuriance of growth, it may be observed, that two opinions have chiefly been supported by persons who have speculated on this subject. One opinion is, that the mildew consists of a great multitude of parasitical plants adhering to the grains of wheat, living upon it, and thereby consuming its substance. Another opinion is, that it consists of great numbers of insects and of eggs of insects, whose form is too small to be distinguishable by the naked eye. The first of these opinions has been adopted by the celebrated Italian writer Fontana, and the other by certain writers of our own country.
Fontana endeavours to refute the hypothesis, that the dust of the mildew consists of animal eggs, by the following experiment. He closely confined the grains of the mildew between two glass plates, in such a manner as necessarily to break the supposed eggs. He then, with an accurate microscope, observed them while crushed in succession. No liquid or glutinous juice proceeded from them, though great force was used in crushing them; but they appeared wholly to consist of tough resisting substances altogether unlike real animal eggs: their being fastened to the stalk or leaves of the grain, appeared also to militate against such a supposition. From a variety of microscopic observations, he is of opinion, that the powder of the black mildew or smut consists of a great multitude of small plants attached to the grain by a slender fibre. These parasitical plants, though extremely small, he thinks sufficiently regular. With regard to the red mildew he admits, that it appears to be composed of an immense multitude of minute eggs. After a variety of experiments and observations, however, he thought he discovered, that these apparent eggs are in truth the heads or fruit of very fine threads fixed on the ear of corn; that these threads or stems are exceedingly fine and transparent, which gives the appearance of eggs to their outward extremities. These stems or tails
Diseases of plants are represented by him, as infinitely finer than those of the black mildew; and their heads, which resemble eggs, may be separated from them by the slightest shock. From all his observations he concludes, that both the black and the red mildew consist of real plants, though, perhaps, of an imperfect kind; and that they ensue and waste the crop by absorbing the nutritive juices of the plant. He observes, that, if a heavy rain speedily fall on an extensive mildew, washing the leaves and stalks affected, it presently disappears with hardly any damage to the corn; because the small plants having hardly taken root are easily dispersed before any mischief is done. He thinks, that the damage occasioned by this disease may sometimes be moderated or diminished by cutting down the grain before it is fully ripe. In this case, he says, that the crop will be less than it ought to be; but still it will be considerably greater than if the customary time of harvest is waited for, when the disease will have leisure to produce greater mischief.
In our own country, and particularly by Mr Sommerville, in the essay already quoted, the smut in wheat has been regarded as consisting of a great variety of insects. He also founds his opinion upon microscopic observations, and apprehends that from them he has clearly ascertained the existence of the insects; and he thinks that it is communicated to other grain by contact, in consequence of the passage of the insects. Hence he endeavours to explain the utility of steeping the seed in pickles before it is sown, with a view to the destruction of such insects.
107 Pickles to prevent smut or mildew. It is to be remarked, that in all countries a great variety of these pickles has been contrived, with a view to prevent the existence of smut in wheat, some of which we shall now mention. One of the most common is the salt pickle, consisting of a solution of common salt in water, of such strength as that an egg will swim in it. To the wheat, after it has been washed in this pickle, and the light grains removed, some new slaked lime is added, and carefully mixed with it with a wooden shovel, till it attain a sufficient degree of dryness, in which state it is committed to the earth. A pickle consisting of very stale urine has also been recommended to be used for washing wheat that is meant to be used as seed. It is attended with this disadvantage, however, that if the urine is very stale, and if any length of time is suffered to elapse, in consequence of rain or other accidents, before the grain is sown, its vegetative power is said to be greatly injured by the corrosive quality of the volatile alkali with which such urine abounds. This is more particularly the case when quicklime is added to the urine; as the alkali is then brought into a caustic state.
Another pickle has been proposed to the Board of Agriculture by an Italian physician, J. B. Scandella. It is prepared and used in the following manner:—Take of nitre, three pounds; alum, one pound; vitriol, six ounces; verdegis, three ounces; wood-ashes, well sifted, six pounds: Boil the whole in a copper with five pails of water for an hour, then remove them from the fire, and pour them into a large vessel; then add sixteen pails of water, in which half a bushel of quicklime has been previously dissolved; mix the whole intimately, and allow them to stand till they are quite cold. In this steep two bushels and a half of
wheat are to be plunged, and left for about six hours, stirring it up frequently with a wooden shovel, and skimming off what rises to the surface; the wheat is then to be withdrawn, and spread out till it is dry enough for sowing. The process is thus to be continued until the whole quantity of seed intended to be sown is pickled. The above steep is generally sufficient for preparing about twenty-four bushels of wheat.
Another pickle has been recommended, consisting of a decoction in water of Barbadoes aloes, tobacco, and hellebore powder. A committee of the Royal Society of Agriculture at Paris, in 1786, recommended the following pickle for the same purpose, contrived by M. Tillet:—Pour upon 50 pounds of wood-ashes, 900 pints of water; stir it well for three days, and then draw off. Wash the black wheat in so many clear waters as not at last to dirty it. Heat the lye, so as just to bear the hand in it; flake in the hot lye one pound of lime to every seven or eight pints of it. Into the preparation dip the seed in baskets many times. For want of wood-ashes use potash, seven or eight pounds for 100 pints of water.
In addition to these it may be remarked, that a solution of arsenic in water is made use of in some countries of England, as a pickle in which they wash or steep the grain previous to its being sown, for the purpose of protecting the future crop against smut.
The most complete set of experiments, however, which we have met with upon the subject, was made by Arthur Young, Esq. at present secretary to the Board of Agriculture. December 7. 1787, he sowed 14 beds with the same seed wheat as black with the dew. smut as any he ever saw.
- 1. Sown dry, nothing done to it.
- 2. Washed well in clean water.
- 3. Washed in lime-water.
- 4. Washed in a lye of wood-ashes.
- 5. Washed in an arsenic and salt mixture.
- 6. Steeped in lime-water four hours.
- 7. Ditto in the lye four hours.
- 8. Ditto in the arsenic four hours.
- 9. Ditto in lime-water 12 hours.
- 10. Ditto in the lye 12 hours.
- 11. Ditto in the arsenic 12 hours.
- 12. Ditto in the lime-water 24 hours.
- 13. Ditto in the lye 24 hours.
- 14. Ditto in the arsenic 24 hours.
| Nº 1. Had | 377 smutty ears. |
| 2. Ditto | 325 |
| 3. Ditto | 43 |
| 4. Ditto | 31 |
| 5. Ditto | 28 |
| 6. Ditto | 12 |
| 7. Ditto | 3 |
| 8. Ditto | 1 |
| 9. Ditto | 6 |
| 10. Ditto | 0 |
| 11. Ditto | 4 |
| 12. Ditto | 0 |
| 13. Ditto | 0 |
| 14. Ditto | 5 |
A proposal has also been made, to destroy by means of
Plants.
of heat the insects which are supposed to propagate the disease called smut from the feed wheat to the future crop. The following directions for that purpose are extracted from the Agricultural Survey of the County of Clackmannan, by J. F. Erskine, of Marr, Esq. "Let the wheat be laid upon the kiln, about three or four inches thick: the kiln to be heated middling strong with blind coal; the wheat to continue on the kiln for 24 hours, but turned frequently. After taking it off the kiln, it must be allowed 24 hours to cool; during which time it must be frequently turned; then put it through the fanners once or twice. After the wheat has lain a few hours on the kiln, and the fire begins to have effect, a great number of very small worms, formerly undiscovered by the eye, appear on the top of the grain, and are soon destroyed by the heat. These come from blacked wheat, or other corns, that could not be suspected to be indifferent; or may lie in or on good wheat; which worms continuing, (when not thus killed) might consume the corn after it is thrown into the earth, thereby checking the growth entirely, or preventing it from having the strength it otherwise would have to bring forth a strong productive stalk. This practice is said to have been brought from Ireland, and is recommended as preferable to pickling. It might perhaps be performed with greater success by the use of a kiln heated by the steam of boiling water, in the way already mentioned, as such a kiln would instantly afford a fixed and known degree of heat, which could in no case be exceeded."
After all, however, both from the reason of the thing, and from the concurring opinion of the most experienced and intelligent farmers, we think ourselves authorized to say, that the husbandman will act imprudently if he place entire and complete confidence in any one of the remedies above mentioned. His safest and best plan for procuring crops of wheat free from smut is this: In the first place, he ought to procure feed from a situation in which the grain has risen absolutely free from this disease. He ought next to exert the greatest care in cleaning out, in the most anxious manner, his whole barns and their floors, and every place within doors into which his grain may come, and in which diseased grain has formerly been kept: with this view it may probably be necessary to whitewash the walls with a mixture of quicklime and water, which will prove an effectual remedy. After having adopted these precautions, it may still be necessary, with a view to secure a sound and full crop, to plunge the feed into a strong pickle of salt and water, with a view to float the lighter grains, which ought to be skimmed off and laid aside for poultry, to which they may be given after being washed in fresh water. No future change of feed will be necessary. Of the farmers who have adopted this judicious mode of proceeding, there is no instance recorded of any one whose crop has suffered by smut; on the contrary, they have usually derived a considerable profit from becoming the furnishers of grain for feed to all their neighbours.
The want of nourishment in plants may be easily known by their decay; in which case, the only remedy is, to supply them with food, according to the methods we have already directed, or to remove from their neighbourhood such other plants as may draw off the nourishment from those we wish to cultivate.—In the
Diseases pec-
uliar to
saffron.
Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences for 1728, Mr Du Hamel mentions a disease, which he calls le mort, that attacks saffron in the spring. It is owing to another plant, a species of trefoil, fixing some violet-coloured threads, which are its roots, to the roots of the saffron, and sucking out its juice. This disease is prevented by digging a trench, which saves all the unaffected.
The bad qualities, and unequal distribution of the juices of plants, are the occasion of so few of the diseases to which vegetables in this country are subject, that we forbear to mention them at present. Most of the diseases of our plants are owing to external accidents, particularly to the depredations of insects.—The insects by which the greatest devastations are committed in this country are, snails, caterpillars, grubs, and flies. The snails and caterpillars feed on the leaves and young shoots; by which means they often totally destroy the vegetable. Where the plants are of easy access, these vermine may be destroyed by sprinkling the vegetable with lime-water; for quicklime is a mortal poison to creatures of this kind, and throws them into the greatest agonies the moment they are touched with it. On trees, however, where this method cannot so well be followed, fumigation is the most proper; and, for this purpose, nothing is better than the smoke of vegetables not perfectly dry. In some cases the eggs of these destroying creatures may be observed, and ought without doubt immediately to be taken away. On the fruit trees, as apples, pears, medlars, on some forest trees, the oak and dwarf maple especially, and the white and black thorn in hedges, a kind of little tufts are to be observed, resembling at first sight withered leaves twisted by a cobweb, about the uppermost twigs or branches. These contain a vast number of little black eggs, that in the spring produce swarms of caterpillars which devour every thing. To prevent this, all the twigs on which these cobwebs appear should be taken off and burnt as soon as possible. This ought to be done before the end of March, that none of the eggs be allowed sufficient time for hatching.
The grubs are a kind of worms which destroy the corn by feeding upon its roots; they are transformed every fourth year into the beetles called cock-chasers, may-bugs, &c. they are very destructive when in their vermicular state, and cannot then be destroyed because they go deep into the ground. When become beetles, they conceal themselves under the leaves of trees, where they seem asleep till near sunset, when they take their flight. It is only now that they can be destroyed, and that by a very laborious method; namely, by spreading pack-sheets below the trees in the daytime when the beetles are in their torpid state, then shaking them off and burning them. Some time ago they made such devastations in the county of Norfolk, that several farmers were entirely ruined by them; one gathered 80 bushels of these insects from the trees which grew on his farm. It is said, that in 1574 there fell such a multitude of these insects into the river Severn, that they stopped and clogged the wheels of the water-mills.
Turnips, when young, are apt to be totally destroyed by a multitude of little black flies, from thence called the turnip-fly. As a preventive of these, some advise the feed to be mixed with brimstone; but this
Diseases of this is improper, as brimstone is found to be poisonous to vegetables. The best method seems to be the fumigation of the fields with smoke of half-dried vegetables. For this purpose weeds will answer as well as any. This fumigation must no doubt be often repeated, in order to drive away the innumerable multitudes of these insects which are capable of destroying a large field of turnips.
Some have supposed that the fly is either engendered in new dung, or enticed by it; and have therefore advised the manure to be laid on in the autumn preceding, by which it loses all its noxious qualities, while its nutritive ones are retained, notwithstanding these might be supposed liable in some degree to be exhaled by the sun. This method is said to have been ascertained by experiments; and it is added, that another material advantage accruing from autumn manuring for turnips is, that all the seeds contained in the dung, and which of course are carried on the land with it, vegetate almost immediately, are mostly killed by the severity of the winter, and the few that remain seldom avoid destruction from the ploughshare.
Various remedies against the turnip-fly. The following method of sowing has also been recommended as a preventive of the fly:—"About Midsummer, take the first opportunity when it rains, or there is an apparent certainty of rain approaching, to sow your turnip seed; if about the full moon, the better. In this case, neither harrow, brush, nor roll, after sowing. The natural heat of the ground at that season, and the consequent fermentation occasioned by copious rain, will give an astonishingly quick vegetation to the seed, which in a few days will be up and out of all danger from the fly. At all events, sow not till it rains; it is better to wait a month, or even longer, for rain, than to sow (merely for the sake of sowing about the usual time) when the ground is parched with heat. By the scorching of the sun, the oil and vegetative quality of the seed are exhausted; and the few weak plants that come up will be destroyed by the fly before they can attain strength to put forth their rough leaves. The fly infests the ground abundantly in dry hot weather, but does no injury in rain. The falling rain will sufficiently wash the turnip seed into the ground without harrowing it in; which, instead of merely covering, too often buries this small seed at so great a depth, as never afterwards to get above ground."
The following remedies are also recommended as having often proved successful:—A small quantity of foot sown over the land at their first appearance. Branches of elder, with the leaves bruised, drawn in a gate over them. Muck mixed with the seed before it is sown. And sulphur burnt under it, after moistening it with water in which tobacco has been steeped.
But showers on the plants, as soon as they appear above ground, are esteemed the best preservatives. They enfeeble and kill the fly, and hasten the plants into the rough leaf, in which state they are out of danger.
The sweet smell of the turnip has been thought to attract the fly; upon which supposition, the remedy appeared to consist in overpowering that smell by one which is strong, fetid, and disagreeable. Hence it has been recommended, that upon an acre of turnips sown in the usual way, a peck or more of dry foot be thrown
after the ground is finished, and in as regular a way as the sows the feed.
Some time ago an insect, called the corn butterfly, committed such ravages while in its vermicular state, in France, that upwards of 200 parishes were ruined by it; and the ministry offered a reward to the discoverer of an effectual remedy against this destroying worm. The cure which was at last discovered was, to heat the corn in an oven so much as not to destroy its vegetative power, but sufficiently to destroy the small worms which made their nest in the substance of the grain, and at last ate out the substance so completely, that nothing could be got from the husk even by boiling it in water. It is certain, that though insects can bear a great deal of cold, they are easily destroyed by a slight degree of heat; nor is the vegetative power of corn easily destroyed, even when kept for a long time in a pretty strong heat. This method must therefore be very effectual for destroying all kinds of insects with which grain is apt to be infected: but care must be taken not to apply too great a heat; and the adjusting of the precise degree necessary to destroy the insect, without hurting the corn, will be attended with some difficulty.
The curled disease in potatoes has long been a subject of investigation and experiment among farmers; and the knowledge of its cause and cure seems yet to remain a desideratum. The Agricultural Society at Manchester, a few years ago, offered a premium for discovering by actual experiment the cause of the disease in question; and a great variety of letters were, in consequence, addressed to them upon the subject. As these contain many interesting observations both on the disease itself and the best methods hitherto adopted for preventing it, the following abstract of them may not improperly be introduced in this place.
I. According to the writer of the first letter, this disease is caused by an insect produced by frost or bad keeping before setting; and the newest kinds, such as have been raised within these nine or ten years, are most apt to curl, because they will not stand to be kept in winter and spring before setting, as the old kinds will. In autumn 1776, he got up a bed of potatoes to lay by in winter, leaving plenty in the ground as regular as possible; and, before the severity of winter came on, covered part of the bed with straw and peat-haulm, and left the other part of the bed uncovered. That part of the bed which was covered was quite free from curled ones; but the uncovered part produced a great many curled, owing, as the writer says, to frost and severity of the weather.
II. This writer had about a quarter of an acre of potatoes, well manured with cow and horse dung, and took the greatest care in picking the fine smooth-skinned potatoes for sets; yet nine out of ten parts were curled. He attributes the cause of this disease to a white grub or insect, which he found near the root, about half an inch long, with eight or ten legs, its head brown and hard; as upon examining a number of the curled roots, he found them all bitten, chiefly from the surface to the root, which of course stopped the progress of the sap, and threw the leaf into a curl. The uncured roots were not bitten. He tried a few experiments as follow:—First, he put foot to the insects in the rows
for two days; and after that, he put lime to them for the same time, but they still kept lively; next he put a little salt, which destroyed them in a few hours. From which he infers, that if coarse salt were put into the ground at the time the land is preparing for potatoes, it would effectually cure this distemper.
III. In this letter, the cause of the disease is attributed to the method of earthing the stems while in cultivation; and the branch, striking root into the new earthed-up soil, it is said, produces potatoes of such a nature as the year following to cause the disease complained of.
To prevent the disease, it is recommended to take the sets from those potatoes that have not bred any from the branch covered; or, otherwise, to dig the part the sets are to be raised from.
IV. According to this writer, the disorder proceeds from potatoes being in old-tilled or worn-out ground; for though these potatoes may look tolerably well, yet their sets will mostly, if not all, produce curled potatoes.
Hence he is convinced, that no sets ought to be used from old-tilled or couch-grass land; and that, in order to have good sets, they should be procured from land that was purposely fallowed for them; from fresh ley land, where they are not curled; or from ley land that was burnt last spring. He directs to plant them on virgin mould, and the potatoes will have no curled ones amongst them; and to keep them for winter, from any other kind.
To avoid the uncertainty of getting good sets, he recommends crabs to be gathered from potatoes growing this year on fresh land free from curl, and the next spring to sow them on fresh ley land; and continue to plant their sets on fresh ley land yearly, which he is convinced will prevent the curl.
All the good potatoes he saw this year, either on fresh ley land or on old-tilled land, were raised from sets that grew upon fresh ley land last year; and where he has seen curled potatoes, he found, upon inquiry, the potato sets grew upon old-tilled and worn-out land last year. He gives as a general reason for the disorder, that the land is oftener cropped than it had used to be, much more corn being now raised than formerly.
V. In 1772, this writer planted some potatoes by accident full nine inches deep: when taken up, many of the plants were rotted, and a few curled. He kept the whole produce for feed, and planted two acres with it in 1773, not quite six inches deep. The crop was amazingly great; and he did not observe any curled plants among them. In 1774, many of these were planted in different soils; yet they were so infected with the curled disease, that not one in twenty escaped. In 1775, the complaint of this disease became general. In 1776, it occurred to him that the good crop of 1773 was owing to the accidental deep setting of 1772; and that the reason why the same seed became curled in 1774, was their being set so near the surface in 1773; and attributes the disease to the practice of ebb-setting. In 1777, he took some potatoes from a crop that was curled the year before, and after cutting the sets, left them in a dry room for a month. Half were planted in ground dug fourteen days before; the other half, having been steeped in a brine made of whistler's ashes for two hours, were also planted in the
same land at the same time. The steeped ones came up ten days before the others, and hardly any missed or were cured. The unsteeped ones generally failed, and those few that came up were mostly curled.
He therefore advised as a remedy, 1. That the potatoes intended for next year's sets be planted nine inches deep. 2. That they remain in the ground as long as the season will permit. 3. That these sets be well defended from frost till the beginning of March. 4. That the sets be cut a fortnight before planting. 5. That they be steeped, as above, two hours in brine or lye. 6. That the dung be put over the sets. And, 7. That fresh sets be got every year from sandy soils near the coast, or on the shore.
P. S. At planting, the hard dry sets should be cast aside, for they will probably be curled. Curled potatoes always proceed from sets which do not rot or putrefy in the ground.
VI. This writer had five drills of the old red potatoes, and four of the winter whites, growing at the same time in the same field. The drills were prepared exactly alike. Among the red not one was curled; the winter whites were nearly all curled. He says he has found by experience, that the red never curl.
VII. Two of the writer's neighbours had their sets out of one heap of potatoes. They both set with the plough, the one early, and the other late, in the season. Most of those early set proved curled, and most of those set late smooth; the latter on clay land.
A few roods of land were also planted with small potatoes, which had lain spread on a chamber floor all the winter and spring till the middle of May. They were soft and withered; they proved smooth and a good crop. Middle-sized potatoes, withered and soft, which had been kept in a large dry cellar, and the sprouts of which had been broken off three times, produced also a smooth good crop.
Hence he was led to think a superfluity of sap, occasioned by the feed being unripe, might cause the disease. To be satisfied in this, he asked the farmer whether he had set any of the same potatoes this year, and what was the nature of his land? He told him "he had; that they had been set on his farm fourteen years without ever curling; that his soil was a poor whitish sand, of little depth; that he let those he designed for keeping grow till they were fully ripe."
Hence he concludes, the only sure way to prevent the curl is, to let potatoes intended for feed stand till they are fully ripe, and to keep them dry all winter.
VIII. This writer set a quantity of the red potatoes, without having a curled one amongst them. His method is, when the sets are cut, to pick out such as are reddish in the inside. On digging them up at Michaelmas, he mixes none of the curled feed among the others. The curled are easily distinguished, by their stalks withering two months before the rest of the crop.
The cause of the curled disease he attributes to potatoes being of late years produced from feed instead of roots, as formerly. Such will not stand good more than two or three years, use what method you please. Last spring, he set the old red and white ruffles, and had not a curled potatoe amongst them.
On the lime-stone land about Denbigh, in North Wales,
Diseases of Wales, they have no curled potatoes. If this be owing to the nature of that land, perhaps lime might prevent the disease.
IX. According to this writer, all sorts of grain wear out and turn wild if sown too long on the same land; the same will hold good in all sorts of pulse, peas, beans, and (as he conceives) potatoes. It generally happens, that those who have most curled potatoes plant very small sets.
Eleven years ago he bought a parcel of fresh sets, of the golden-dun kind, and has used them without change to the present year, without any being curled. This he principally attributes to his having always planted good large sets.
About four years since, he thought of changing his sets, as his potatoes were too smooth, too round, and much diminished in size. But the curl at that time beginning to be very alarming, he continued his sets till part of his crop missing last year, he was obliged to buy new sets this spring, which, being small, were curled like other people's.
He allows, that the curl has frequently happened to persons who have used large potatoes for sets; for, as all roots are not equally affected, some curled ones may be mixed with the rest.
To prevent the evil, cut your sets from clear and middle-sized potatoes, gathered from places as clear of the curl as possible; preserve them as usual till spring. If any are harder, or grah more in cutting than usual, cast them aside. He would also recommend the raising a fresh sort from the crab produced on the sorts least affected, which in Lancashire are the long-duns.
X. Set potatoes with the sprits broke off, and they will (says the writer of this letter) be curled ones; if set with the sprits on, they will not be curled. Again, take a potatoe which is sprit, and cut a set off with two sprits: break one sprit off, and let the other stay on, and set it; the former will be curled, and the latter will not.
When you have holed your potatoes, take them out before they are sprit, and lay them dry until you have set or sown them, and you will have no curled potatoes.
XI. This writer was at the expence of procuring sets at fifty miles distance, and where this disease was not known. The first year's trial was successful; the year following he procured sets from the same place, but one-fifth of his crop was infected. By way of experiment, he planted sets from roots which had been infected the year before, and some of these produced healthy plants, free from all infection.
As every effect must have a cause, he supposed it might be some insect, which, living on the leaves, gave them that curled and sickly appearance, as is the case in the leaves of many shrubs and trees. But whether the insect is lodged in the old sets, and to be destroyed at the time of planting, or, proceeding from some external cause, can only be destroyed afterwards, he is not yet certain, although he has made the following experiments.
On a piece of ground that had not been dug for 20 years, he planted four rows of sets, which he knew to be perfectly clear; the drills were two feet distant, the sets one foot distant in each drill. He then planted on the same ground four rows with sets from curled
potatoes, at equal distances; in each row were about 20 sets.
Lot 1st, The curled sets.
| No 1. Without manure, | No 3. In foot, |
| 2. In salt, | 4. In quicklime. |
Lot 2d, The clear sets.
| No 1. Without manure, | No 3. In foot, |
| 2. In salt, | 4. In quicklime. |
Those planted in salt and foot in both lots were destroyed. In Lot 1st, No 1. and 4. all curled. Lot 2d No 1. and 4. quite clear.
This experiment was made on a supposition that the insect lodged in the set, and must be destroyed on planting. But of that he is not fully satisfied. He repeated salt, foot, and quicklime, on the branches of several curled potatoes. Salt destroyed all he touched with it. Lime and foot had, he thought, a partial effect on the plants. After some time, they appeared almost as healthy as the rest. Thus, although he had done little towards the cure, he flatters himself he has pointed out the cause, the insects on the curled plants being not only very numerous, but visible to the naked eye.
XII. This writer ascribes the cause of the disease to the frost, and bad keeping in winter and spring before setting. They are liable to be damaged by frost after they are set; but this may be prevented by covering. If it be asked, why frost did not injure them formerly? he answers, it is only the new kinds which are apt to curl. To this may be added, that less care is now taken of the seed than formerly. To prevent the latter, let them remain in the ground covered with haum or litter till the time they are wanted for setting: and, in case no frost touches them afterwards, they will be free from the disease.
XIII. This writer says, the red potato was as generally planted as the winter white and the Lincolnshire kidney are now. The first, being a later potato, did not sprout so early as the others. The white sprout very early, and therefore should first be moved out of the place where they have been preserved in the winter. Instead of that, they are often let remain till their roots and sprouts are matted together. On separating them, these sprouts are generally rubbed off, and they are laid by till the ground is ready; during which interval they sprout a second time: but these second sprouts, being weak and languid, will shrink, sicken, and die; and the fruit at the roots will be small, hard, ill-shaped, and of a brown colour.
Now, if putting off the sprouts once or more, before the sets are put in the ground, be the cause (as he verily believes it is) of the curled disease, an easy remedy is at hand. When the potatoes intended for sets are dug up, lay them in a west aspect as dry as possible: in such a situation they will not sprout so soon. The best time for removing most sorts, is the first fine day after the 24th of February. Cut them into sets as soon as possible, and let them remain covered with dry sand till the ground is prepared, which should be a winter fallow. Lay the sets in without breaking off any of the sprouts, for the second will not be so vigorous. This accounts for one sprout out of three from the same set being curled. The two stems not curled rose from two later eyes, and were first sprouts.
Diseases of Plants. The sprout curled was a second, the first having been rubbed off.
XIV. This writer says, that last spring one of his neighbours cut and set, in the usual way of drilling, some loads of the largest potatoes he could procure; and more than half of them proved curled. Being a few sets short of the quantity wanted, he planted some very small potatoes which he had laid by for the pigs. These being fully ripe and solid, there was not a curled plant among them. He apprehends, the others being curled was owing to their not being fully ripe. A crop of potatoes, set this year in rows on ground that had borne a crop of them last year, were mostly curled; but many plants came up from seed left in the ground last season, and there was not a curled one among them.
XV. Of late years, this writer says, great improvements have been made in setting potatoes and cutting the sets. The ground is dressed cleaner and dunged stronger. Many people, in drilling, wrap up the sets entirely in the dung; by which means, though their potatoes are larger, the disease seems to be increased. They also cut their sets out of the richest and largest potatoes, which is perhaps another cause of this evil. In cold countries, where they set their own seed, which has grown on poor land, with less dung, they have no curled plants. On the contrary, when they bought rich and large potatoes for seed, they have been curled in great quantities. He believes, the richness and largeness of the seed to be the cause of the evil; for he does not remember to have seen a curled stem which did not spring from a set of a large potato.
XVI. This writer apprehends the curled disease in potatoes to proceed from a defect in the planta seminalis, or feed plant; and from comparing curled ones with others, there appeared to be a want of, or inability in, the powers of expanding or unfolding the parts of the former; which, from this defect, forms shrivelled, starved, curled stems. On examining some of the sets at the time of getting the crop, he found them hard and undecayed; so hard, indeed, that some of them would not be soft with long boiling. This led him to think, that some manures might have the same effect on them as tanners' coze has on leather, and so harden them, that the embryo plant could not come forth with ease; but a closer examination taught him otherwise, and that they grow equally in all manures.
Some have thought that the fermentation is occasioned by too great quantities being heaped together; but the writer has seen an instance, wherein a single potato, preserved by itself, when set, produced stems of the curled kind. He thinks the most consistent and rational opinion is, that the disease is occasioned by the potatoes being taken from the ground before the stamens, or miniature plant, is properly matured and ripened.
For let it be observed, that the potato, being a native of a warmer climate, has there more sun, and a longer continuance in the ground, than in its present exotic state; consequently it has not the same natural causes here to mature the feed plant as in its native state. We ought, therefore, to give all the opportunities our climate will admit for nature to complete
her work, and fit the stamens for the next state of vegetation, especially in those intended for seed. But if the potato be taken up before the feed-plant be fully matured, or the air and sap vessels have acquired a proper degree of firmness or hardness, it must, when thus robbed of further nutrition, shrivel up; and when the vessels, in this immature state, come to act again in the second state of vegetation, they may produce plants which are curled.
If it be asked, why are they more common now than formerly? he answers, that before the present mode of setting them took place, people covered them, while in the ground, with straw, to protect them from frost.
If it be asked, why one set produces both curled and smooth stems? he answers, we suppose every eye to contain a planta seminalis; that all the embryos, or feed plants, contained in one potato, are nourished by one root; and that, as in ears of corn, some of these feed plants may be nourished before others.
One of his neighbours, last year, set two rows of potatoes, which proving all curled, he did not take them up; and this year there is not a curled one among them. Such potatoes, therefore, as are designed for seed, should be preserved as long in the ground as possible.
XVII. This writer advises such sets to be planted as grow in moss land; and, he says, there will not be a single curled one the first year. This is affirmed by the inhabitants of two townships, where they grow amazing quantities. A medical gentleman sowed last year two bushels of sets from one of the above places, and had not one curled; but on sowing them again this year, he had a few.
Notwithstanding there seems to be a diversity of opinions in the above writers, occasioned by the different appearances of their crops, and the seemingly contrary effects of the means used to prevent or cure the disease, we conceive that the following general propositions may be fairly drawn from the whole. 1. That some kinds of potatoes are (ceteris paribus) much more liable to be affected by the disease than the rest; and that the old-red, the golden-dun, and the long-dun, are the most free from it.—2. That the disease is occasioned by one or more of the following causes, either singly or combined: 1st. By frost, either before or after the sets are planted: 2d. From planting sets out of large unripe potatoes: 3d. From planting too near the surface, and in old worn-out ground: 4th. From the first shoots of the sets being broken off before planting; by which means there is an incapacity in the planta seminalis to send forth others sufficiently vigorous to expand so fully as they ought.—3. That the most successful methods of preventing the disease, are cutting the sets from smooth middle-sized potatoes, that were fully ripe, and had been kept dry after they were taken out of the ground; and without rubbing off their first shoots, planting them pretty deep in fresh earth, with a mixture of quicklime, or on limestone land.
A correspondent of the Bath Society is convinced, that, whatever may be its cause, the fault itself is inherent in the feed; and has communicated the following method of avoiding it: "I made a hot-bed in the following manner (which method I have used ever since):
Diseases of Plants. I laid horse hung, &c. (as is generally used in making hot-beds), about 18 inches thick; over which I spread a layer of fine rich mould about four or five inches thick: upon the top of this mould I laid, in different divisions, a certain number of potatoes of various sorts, some of my own growth, and others bought from different parts, and covered these lightly over with more mould; they soon came up. I then observed which was free from the blight or curl; for if there were not more than one defective in forty or fifty, I concluded I might set of that sort with safety. This method I have now practised near twelve years, and never lost my crop, or any part thereof worth mentioning; whilst my neighbours, who followed the old method, were frequently disappointed in their crops; and to the best of my knowledge, all those of my neighbours who have of late been persuaded to take the trouble of using the same means as myself, have never failed of success to their utmost wishes in one instance; nor do I ever think it will fail, if duly attended to; the fault being some hidden cause in the seed unknown at present, and I believe incurable by any means, at least which have yet come to my knowledge. My reason for planting my hot-beds so soon is, that if the frost hinder the first experiment, or they all prove bad, I may have time to make a second or third, if necessary, with different sorts of seed, before the proper season arrives for planting in the fields and grounds appointed for the great and general crops.2
Farmer's Mag. In addition to the interesting information upon this subject, which has been obtained by means of these societies, various other speculations about the cause and cure of this disease have of late been introduced to the notice of the public. In particular it has been strongly urged, that the disease is almost always occasioned by insects. It is said, that on looking at the roots of such potatoes as grow up curled, it will usually be found, that the bearing plant is devoured and excavated by snails, centipedes, or beetles. Sometimes also, though more rarely, the curl is supposed to arise from the leaves themselves being infected with minute animalcula. Hence, in rich soils in the neighbourhood of cities and well manured gardens, the potatoes are most subject to the curl, because such insects as devour the seed abound most in these soils. The insects are thought to prefer one potato to another. They will hardly touch a yam. A potato from a late part of the country, which has been hardly ripened, the vermin do not seem to like; but a potato that has been somewhat sweetened or mellowed by the frost, is supposed to be greedily devoured by them.
Traveller. See, for Encouragement of Arts, vol. viii. An ingenious notion concerning the cause of the disease has been suggested from attending to the history of the plant in this country. The potato plant was introduced into the island of Great Britain from a climate much warmer than ours, as early as the reign of Queen Elizabeth; but it is a singular circumstance, that the curled disease did not make its appearance till within less than 40 years ago. Indeed, the disease is said to have first occurred in the year 1764, in the very district of Lancashire where potatoes had been first cultivated. It is also said, that the Surinam potato and some other kinds which have been more recently introduced into our climate, have never yet exhibited any symptom of the curl. It is further said,
Diseases of Plants. that till within these 40 years the potato plant never brought its seeds to maturity in this country, though the roots were in full perfection. That the Surinam potato and others lately introduced do not as yet produce perfect seeds at the top of their stem; and that potatoes, which have been cultivated for a length of time in bleak and mountainous situations, are still in the same state, and do not bring their seeds to maturity. Hence it is endeavoured to be inferred, that there exists a connexion in the nature of the plant between this disease and the state of maturity to which the seed is brought. It is supposed, that the plant is unfit at once to afford mature and perfect seed at the summit of its stem, and also roots capable of propagating it in perfection. From these premises it is suggested, that, to prevent the curl, it will be necessary to procure seed potatoes from mountainous situations into which the disease has not yet come, because the plant has never produced perfect fruit at the summit of its stem; or an attempt may be made to procure more perfect seed from the ordinary kind of potatoes, by destroying the flowers, which may have the effect to prevent the plant from being exhausted by bringing to maturity both fruit at its summit and roots at its bottom. Lastly, It has been supposed, upon these principles, that the disease may be prevented by rearing potatoes from the seed produced at the summit of the stem; the mode of practising which will afterwards be explained.
In the mean time, it may be observed, that the subject has been farther discussed, in a less speculative manner, by an anonymous correspondent of the Board of Agriculture*. This gentleman does not consider the curl as a specific disease, but as an accidental debility of those plants in which it occurs; that we are not, therefore, to seek for a cure or preventive in a change of seed alone, as many have all along done, but in complete attention to all that experience shows to be necessary to an accurate culture, and to their perfect growth. In this way alone, he thinks, there is reason to expect that this very useful article of human food may be cultivated with the same success as before its dreadful enemy the curl made such havoc in our crops, as of late years it certainly has done. He describes the disease as occurring, in Mid-Lothian, most frequently from the following causes: 1st, From planting potatoes on soils altogether unfit for them. Being unable to penetrate a stiff soil, potatoes require a light, pervious, or open mould. For a long period after potatoes first appeared in the country, this circumstance was carefully attended to. They were planted entirely with the spade, in the lightest spots upon every farm. Hence, the plants rose vigorous, and no curl was seen; but on farmers wishing to extend the culture of potatoes, they were tempted to plant them on every soil, without regard to its nature, or tendency to produce this crop. 2dly, Imperfect culture is described as a frequent cause of curling. A crop of potatoes is commonly strong, abundant, and free from curl, in proportion to the previous culture given to the soil, and the care taken to keep it clean after they are planted. Hence, it frequently happens, that while a farmer who cultivates this root in a negligent manner, and upon a great scale, by means of the plough, finds his crop deficient in consequence of this disease, his cottars and servants, to whose use he allots.
Diseases of allots small portions of potato ground, which they cultivate with the spade, obtain crops free from curl, and often double in quantity to his, in proportion to the extent of ground which they occupy. 3dly, Small roots, or too small a portion cut off along with the eye, that is to serve for seed, appears to be a cause of curl. In the case of grain, it seldom happens, unless in very fine seasons, that small seed produces a large crop; and it is thought that something similar may occur in the case of potatoes. As the young plant must always derive its earliest nourishment from the root, out of which it springs, before it is capable of seeking its food in the surrounding soil, those plants, whose early growth is best supported and fostered, must be expected to reach the greatest perfection. To subject these ideas to the test of experiment, 64 sets were planted; 16 of which were full grown potatoes, 16 from small roots, in which no curl appeared when in the field, 16 from roots raised from the seeds two years before, and 16 from roots of plants strongly curled. They were all planted in the same manner, in a light soil, in parallel furrows, with a moderate quantity of dung, and covered to the depth of three inches. Of those taken from large potatoes, none were curled, and the plants were strong and healthy. Some good plants appeared in each of the other rows, but nearly a half of the whole were curled. The proportion of curled plants was rather greatest in those raised from the seed. 4thly, Sets taken from roots that have sprouted early, and from which the germs have been rubbed, are said never to fail to produce curl. 5thly, Too much, as well as too little dung, appears to have an influence in producing curl; the first probably by corrupting the germ of the young plant, the latter by not being sufficient to produce vigorous plants. Hence, attention ought to be paid to the regular spreading of dung, which ought not to be thrown about in a careless and slovenly manner, which allows some plants to have none, while others are covered with it to the depth of several inches. 6thly, Too deep, as well as too shallow planting, gives rise to the curl. To ascertain the proper depth, 12 were planted at 18 inches deep; the same number at the depth of 16 inches, and of 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 inches; and 12 were so lightly covered, that they were not, perhaps, at the depth of one inch. The sets were all from large roots, of the same crop, cut as nearly as possible of the same size. They were all planted at the same time, in the first week of April, in a light dry soil, and they all got the same quantity of dung. The plants at the depth of 1 and 2 inches appeared first; but they were weak, and some of them curled. Those at 3, 4, and 5 inches, were all strong, and free from curl. At 6 and 7 inches, they were also healthy, and free from curl, but they were three weeks later in getting above the ground than those that were thinly covered, and the plants were neither so strong, nor the roots so large. Those planted at the depth of 8 inches rose still later, and were all weak.—Nine out of the 12 were curled. Of those planted at 10 inches deep, only four appeared; and they were so weak, that they soon withered and died. Of those deeper planted, none ever appeared. On digging them up at the end of two months, those at 16 and 18 inches deep were found unchanged; while some of those at the depth of 12 and 14 inches, had put forth some feeble
germs not exceeding the length of an inch. Those planted at 3 and 4 inches were evidently the strongest during the whole season, and their roots largest. Hence, to procure an early, abundant, and healthy crop, 3 inches appears to be the best depth for planting potatoes. 7thly, Whatever injures the new sets or the germs afterwards may produce curl: such as the trampling of horse feet at the time of planting; their being partially covered with stones or hard clods of earth; deep harrowing, when the young shoots are advancing; and grubs, snails, or insects attacking the germs at first, or the stems afterwards. Hence, 8thly, The curl was produced to an uncommon degree upon a field of stiff land, by pailing a roller over it, about a fortnight after planting. 9thly, The state of the weather when the crop is young may produce the curl. Rain alone will not do so, if it be not allowed to lodge; but a long continuance of dry weather, especially with cold winds, when the shoots first appear, is apt to produce this disease, and also hoar-frost in this early state of the crop. Hence, it is thought, that the three first weeks of April answer best for planting potatoes in the south of Scotland and north of England, as they do not, in that case, appear till the middle or end of May. From all these remarks it is concluded, that though with the best management the curl can never be completely banished from our fields, yet with due attention to the leading points above mentioned, it may be prevented from being attended with any serious mischief.
As no information upon this interesting subject ought to be overlooked, we think it necessary to state, that the following plan for preventing the curl in potatoes has very recently been laid before the public, by an anonymous correspondent of the publishers of the Farmer's Magazine, who asserts, that he has adopted it with complete success. It consists of using for seed what are called potato-beans. These beans are a dark brown excrement, larger than a horse bean, which grows near the ground, on the halm or thaw, generally, it is supposed, where it has been broken or wounded. They are shaped like potatoes, and have a number of eyes, from one of which grow two small leaves. It is said, that eight or ten years ago, several of these potato beans were planted merely to try if they would grow, and that they produced a great number of common sized potatoes, but of a bad quality. These potatoes, however, being cut and planted next year, produced potatoes of an excellent quality, and in great plenty. Since that time, a number of beans have always been planted sufficient to produce enough of potatoes for next year's seed. They are planted at the same distance, and treated in every respect in the same manner with common sets; and their produce is equally plentiful. No other change of seed has ever been necessary.
SECT. VIII. Of the Obstacles to Agricultural Improvement.
BEFORE proceeding to the practical part of the subject, it may be proper to take notice of some of the political, moral and political circumstances which resist the progress of the art of agriculture, and which ought not to be overlooked by persons engaged, or who have an intention to engage in it.
Obstacles to Agriculture. One of the first and most obvious obstacles to the improvement of this or of any other art consists of the ignorance of its practitioners, or of its being carried on by persons of an illiterate and unintelligent character, who are unable to take a comprehensive view of the principles of their profession, or who have not sufficient curiosity to inquire after the best modes of practice, or understanding to discern the value of any new practices that are explained to them. It ought never to be forgotten, that the art of the husbandman is an intricate and extensive one, and that one of the chief circumstances which has hitherto prevented its improvement has arisen, as already mentioned, from the secluded situation of persons engaged in it. They are scattered over the face of the country, instead of being collected together like other artists in towns, so as to be enabled to derive aid from each other's experience. Fortunately this difficulty is passing away, in consequence of the diffusion of agricultural knowledge, by means of the great number of publications upon that subject which are gradually introducing themselves into the remotest corners of the country. Persons receiving a liberal education, particularly at the university of Edinburgh, have now also an easier opportunity than formerly of acquiring a knowledge of the principles of this art, in consequence of the establishment of a professorship of agriculture, which has been endowed by a private gentleman, Mr Pultney. Even with all these advantages, however, aided as they are by the exertions of the Board of Agriculture, it can never be expected that this art can reach its ultimate degree of perfection, unless a considerable number of the persons engaged in it are men of intelligent characters and good education, who will call in the improvements which are making in other sciences as well as in this art in distant countries, to the assistance of their personal experience.
A second obstacle to agricultural improvement consists of the poverty of the husbandman, or of his want of capital, to enable him fully and completely to labour the soil, and provide materials for its amelioration. Complaints have often been made with little reason, of the obliuinity of farmers, and of the tenacious manner in which they adhere to old practices, though demonstrated to be improper: But a poor man cannot afford to make experiments, or to hazard the loss of a crop for the chance of obtaining a more valuable one by some untried practice. In consequence of want of capital, large portions of territory remain in some parts of the country in a state of nature, and consequently unproductive, both to the occupier and to the proprietor. Both landlords and tenants, therefore, ought to know, that a man who engages in agriculture without a sufficient capital takes up a bad trade, in which something may be lost by both parties by the deterioration both of the soil and of the stock upon it, but from which neither the public nor themselves can derive profit.
A third obstacle to agricultural improvement sometimes arises from the possessor of the soil not having a sufficient interest in it. In barbarous nations, lands are often possessed by communities as an undivided property, without any individual member having an exclusive right to a particular spot. In such cases, the worst kind of agriculture must always prevail, for the same reason that public affairs are always worse man-
aged than the affairs of private persons, who find their industry stimulated not merely by a sense of duty, but by the influence of avarice, and of all the other selfish passions. Considerable portions of territory in England still remain withheld from the exertions of an improving agriculture by this state of property. But, even where the interest which the cultivator has in the soil is exclusive, it may still be too limited. Where a landlord is prevented by an entail, or other family settlement, or by narrow prejudices and a short-sighted policy, from granting leases of a proper endurance, it is never likely that the soil can be well cultivated. Every outgoing farmer will endeavour, during the last years of his lease, to do as little for the land as possible, and to take from it all that he can possibly obtain. The first years of every new lease will therefore be spent by every new farmer in repairing the damage done by his predecessor. Scarcely, however, has he accomplished this object, than he himself, if his lease be short, must set about procuring indemnity for the money he has laid out in ameliorating the soil, by scourging it in his turn, or by taking from it as heavy crops as possible, and by bestowing upon it little or no expense.
Under the same head of a want of proper interest in the soil, may be enumerated the payment of tithes, of which in England every farmer so grievously complains. Whatever money the husbandman may there lay out in improvements, is not expended for himself; as the proprietor of the tithes is entitled to draw a share of the whole additional increase, and thus becomes a partner in the profits of the enterprise, without running any risk of loss by its failure. The odium of this tax, is said to induce great numbers of husbandmen to continue their lands in pasture, to the no small detriment of the public, from the comparative unproductiveness of human food, which attends that mode of occupying the soil. Fortunately in Scotland this evil hath been removed, by the wisdom of our forefathers, as every landlord possesses the privilege of obtaining his tithes to be fixed at a settled rate of payment for ever; and, in many cases, of having his lands altogether disburdened, upon payment of a very moderate price.
The progress of the art of agriculture in Europe was long retarded by the want of respectability which attended it, when engaged in as a profession or trade from which profit was to be derived. In the feudal times, the military profession was the only employment in which a layman of liberal education could respectably engage. Agriculture, the only art which is absolutely necessary to the existence of man, was regarded with contempt, and left in the hands of the meanest of the people. Even the most ordinary mechanics were considered as superior to persons whose employment it was; because the mechanic, residing in a town, and usually under the protection of the prince, was safe from the dominion and the insults of the petty chieftains that ruled in every part of the open country. The state of affairs is now greatly altered in this respect: More enlightened views, and a better state of society, have restored to the profession of agriculture the respectability which naturally belongs to it. It must be acknowledged, however, that the recent improvements which have taken place in the art, have contributed not a little to this change in the sentiments of mankind concerning
Obstacles to Agriculture. cerning the persons occupied in it. It is now found, that a man may become rich by agriculture, and that there are few better ways in which a prudent and industrious man can lay out a moderate capital. In a commercial age, the path that leads to wealth is always respected and accounted honourable, and accordingly it is now not unusual for the sons of British noblemen and gentlemen, of extensive fortunes, to become apprentices to farmers.
The last obstacle to agricultural improvements, of which we shall take notice, arises in some countries from the want of judicious legislation, or proper arrangements made by the public in its favour. The produce of the art of the husbandman, and the manures of which his lands have occasion, are all bulky commodities which cannot be transported without labour and expence. Unless care is taken, therefore, to prepare and
maintain good roads throughout the country, the profits of agriculture must always be subjected to such deductions as will greatly retard its prosperity. In the same manner, if the state, from any narrow policy, shall prevent the husbandman from bringing his goods to the best market, by exportation or otherwise, it is impossible that his art can flourish. In former times, nations were afraid to permit the exportation of grain, even in seasons of plenty, lest they should be left without food, not considering that the surest mode of producing abundance of any commodity consists in offering, at all times, a good price for it. This error is now rectified in most nations; and at all events, in the present state of affairs, the British husbandman has no reason to complain, as the grain reared in this country is, even in the best seasons, underflooded to be inadequate to afford subsistence to its inhabitants.
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
THE practice of agriculture naturally divides itself into three parts; 1st, The cultivation of vegetable food for men and animals; 2dly, The cultivation of vegetables, such as flax and hemp, which are more properly articles of commerce; and 3dly, The
rearing and management of animals. To these we shall add, as connected with all the branches of agriculture, a short description of the most useful modes of fencing and enclosing lands for cattle and other objects of husbandry.
PART I. OF THE CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLE FOOD.
WE shall consider this branch of the subject under four divisions. In the first we shall present to the reader a statement of the most useful instruments of agriculture: 2dly, We shall state the mode of preparing land for cropping, by removing the physical obstructions to agriculture, and reducing the soil into a proper state; 3dly, We shall explain the culture of particular plants, and the practices of husbandry connected with it; and, lastly, We shall state the principles and operations of the horsehoeing, or drill husbandry.
SECT I. Instruments of Husbandry.
THE instruments employed in agriculture are various; as the plough, the harrow, the roller, &c. which are again diversified by various constructions adapted to particular uses.
I. OF PLOUGHS.
The plough, is a machine for turning up the soil by the action of cattle, contrived to save the time, labour, and expence, which, without this instrument, must have been employed in digging the ground, and fitting it for receiving all sorts of seed.
Amidst all the varieties which can occur in the manner of ploughing the ground, arising from difference of soil, local habits, and other causes, there is still a sameness in the task which gives a certain uniformity to the chief parts of the instrument, and should therefore furnish principles for its construction. There is not, perhaps, any invention of man that more highly merits our utmost endeavours to bring it to perfection; but it has been too much neglected by those persons who study
machines, and has been considered as a rude tool, unworthy of their attention. Any thing appears to them sufficient for the clumsy task of turning up the ground; and they cannot imagine that there can be any nicety in a business which is successfully performed by the ignorant peasant. Others acknowledge the value of the machine, and the difficulty of the subject; but they think that difficulty insuperable, because the operation is so complicated, and the resistances to be overcome so uncertain, or so little understood, that we cannot discover any unequivocal principle, and must look for improvement only from experience or chance.
But these opinions are ill founded. The difficulty is indeed great, and it is neither from the ignorant farmer nor the rude artist that we can expect improvement. It requires the serious consideration of the most accomplished mechanician; but from him we may expect improvement. We have many data: we know and may pretty distinctly what preparation will fit the ground for being the proper receptacle for the seed, and for supporting and nourishing the plants; and though it is, perhaps, impossible to bring it into this state by the operation of any instrument of the plough kind, we know that some ploughs prodigiously excel others in reducing the stiff ground to that uniform crumbling state in which it can be left by the spade. The imperfections of their performance, or what yet remains to be done to bring the ground into this state, is distinctly understood. It seems, then, a determinate problem (to use the language of mathematicians), because the operation depends on the invariable laws of mechanical nature.
It will therefore be very proper under this article, to ascertain, if possible, what a plough in general ought to perform.
Instruments to be, by describing distinctly its task. This will surely point out a general form, the chief features of which must be found under every variety that can arise from particular circumstances.
The plough performs its task, not by digging, but by being pulled along. We do not aim at immediately reducing the ground to that friable and uniform state into which we can bring it by the spade; but we will to bring it into such a state that the ordinary operations of the season will complete the task.
For this purpose, a slice or sod must be cut off from the firm land. This must be shovet to one side, that the plough and the ploughman may proceed in their labour; and the sod must be turned over, so that the grass and stubble may be buried and rot, and that fresh soil may be brought to the surface; and all must be left in such a loose and open condition, that it may quickly crumble down by the influence of the weather, without baking into lumps, or retaining water. The first office is performed by the coulter, which makes a perpendicular cut in the ground. The point of the fock follows this, and its edge gets under the sod, and lifts it up. While lifting it up, it also heels it over, away from the firm land. The mouldboard comes last, and pushes it aside, and gradually turns it over as far as is required.
Plate VI.
122
General form of the plough.
The general form of the body of a plough is that of a wedge, or very blunt chisel, AFEDBC, (fig. 1.), having the lower corner D of its edge considerably more advanced than the upper corner B; the edge BD and the whole back AFDB is the same perpendicular plane; the bottom FDB approaches to a triangular form, acute at D, and square at F; the surface BCED is of a complicated shape, generally hollow, because the angle ABC is always greater than FDE; this consequence will be easily seen by the mathematician. The back is usually called the LAND SIDE by the ploughmen, and the base FDE is called the SOLE, and FE the HEEL, and BCED the MOULDBOARD. Lastly, The angle AFE is generally square, or a right angle, so that the sole has level both as to length and breadth.
123
Advantages of this form.
By comparing this form with attention, the reader will perceive that if this wedge is pulled or pushed along in the direction FD, keeping the edge BD always in the perpendicular cut which has been previously made by the coulter, the point D will both raise the earth and shove it to one side and twist it over; and, when the point has advanced from F to D, the sod, which formerly rested on the triangle DFE, will be forced up along the surface BCED, the line DF rising into the position Df, and the line EF into the position Ef.—Had the bottom of this furrow been covered with a bit of cloth, this cloth would be lying on the mouldboard, in the position DfE: the slice, thus deranged from its former situation, will have a shape something like that represented in fig. 2.
In as much as the wedge raises the earth, the earth presses down the wedge; and as the wedge pushes the earth to the right hand, the earth presses the wedge to the left; and in this manner the plough is strongly pressed, both to the bottom of the furrow by its sole, and also to the firm land by its back or land side. In short, it is strongly squeezed into the angle formed along the line FD (fig. 1.) by the perpendicular plane
VOL. I. Part I.
ab DF and the horizontal plane FDE; and in this Instruments of Husbandry. manner the furrow becomes a firm groove, directing the motion of the plough, and giving it a resisting support, by which it can perform all parts of its task. We beg our readers to keep this circumstance constantly in mind. It evidently suggests a fundamental maxim in the construction, namely, to make the land A fundamental side of the plough an exact plane, and to make the sole, if not plane, at least straight from point to heel. Any projection would tear up the supporting planes, destruction of the directing groove, and expend force in doing a plough-mischief.
This wedge is seldom made of one piece. To give it the necessary width for removing the earth would require a huge block of timber. It is therefore usually framed of several pieces, which we shall only mention in order to have the language of the art. Fig. 3. represents the land side of a plough, such as are made by James Small at Rosebank, near Foord, Mid Lothian. The base of it, CM, is a piece of hard wood, pointed before at C to receive a hollow shoeing of iron CO, called the SOCK, and tapering a little towards the hinder end, M, called the HEEL. This piece is called the HEAD of the plough. Into its fore part, just before the hind fock, is mortised a sloping post, AL, called the SHEATH, the front of which is worked sharp, forming the edge of the wedge. Nearer the heel there is mortised another piece, PQ, sloping far back, called the STILT, serving for a handle to the ploughman. The upper end of the sheath is mortised into the long BEAM RH, which projects forward, almost horizontally, and is mortised behind into the stilt. To the fore end of the beam are the cattle attached. The whole of this side of the wedge is fashioned into one plain surface, and the intervals between the pieces are filled up with boards, and commonly covered with iron plates. The COULTER, WFE, is firmly fixed by its shank, W, into the beam, takes forward at an angle of 45° with the horizon, and has its point E about six inches before the point of the fock. It is brought into the same vertical plane with the land side of the plough, by giving it a knee outward immediately below the beam, and then kneeling it again downward. It is further supported on this side by an iron stay FH, which turns on a pin at F, passes through an eye-bolt I on the side of the beam, and has a nut screwed on it immediately above. When screwed to its proper slope, it is firmly wedged behind and before the shank.—Fig. 3. N° 2. represents the same plough viewed from above. ST is the right hand or small stilt fixed to the inside of the mouldboard LV.
Fig. 4. represents the bottom of the wedge. CM is the head, covered at the point by the fock. Just behind the fock there is mortised into the side of the head a smaller piece DE, called the WRETH, making an angle of 16° with the land side of the head, and its outside edge is in the same straight line with the side of the fock. From the point to the heel of the head is about 33 inches, and the extreme breadth of the heel is about nine. The side of the wedge, called the furrow side, is formed by the mouldboard, which is either made of a block or plank of wood, or of a thick iron plate.
The fock drawn in this figure is called a SPEAR-SOCK, and is chiefly used in coarse or stony ground, which
Instruments which requires great force to break it up. Another form of the sock is represented in the next figure 4. No 2. This is called a FEATHER SOCK, and has a cutting edge CF on its furrow side, extending back about ten inches, and to the right hand or furrow side about six. The use of this is to cut the sod below, and detach it from the ground, as the coulter detaches it from the unploughed land. This is of great use when the ground is bound together by knotted roots, but it is evident that it cannot be used to advantage in very stony ground. In general, the feather sock is only fit for ground which has been under tolerable culture; but it greatly facilitates the labour of separating the sod. It may reasonably be asked, why the feather is not much broader, so as to cut the whole breadth of the furrow? This is sometimes done. But we must recollect that the sod is not only to be pushed aside, but also to be turned over. If it were completely detached by the feather, and chanced at any time to break on the back of the sock, it would only be pushed aside; but by leaving a little of the sod uncut, it is held fast below while it is shoved aside above, which cannot fail to twist it round. As the wrist advances, it easily destroys the remaining connection, which in general is very flight and crumbling.
127 Proper breadth of the sole. The breadth of the sole at the heel determines the width of the furrow. Nine inches will give enough of room for a horse or man to walk in. A greater breadth is of no use, and it expends force in pushing the earth aside. It is a mistake to suppose that a broad sole gives more room for the turned slice to stand on; for whatever is the breadth of the furrow, the successive slices will be left at their former distances, because each is shoved aside at the same distance. When the breadth of a slice exceeds its depth, and it is turned on its side, it will now stand on a narrow base, but higher than before, and therefore will stand looser, which the farmers desire. But in this case it generally falls on its back before it has been far enough removed, and is then pushed aside, and left with the grassy side down, which is not approved of. On the other hand, when the depth considerably exceeds the breadth, the sods, now turned on their sides, must be squeezed home to the ploughed land, which breaks them and tosses them up, making rough work. In wet clay soil, this is also apt to knead them together. On the whole, it is best to have the breadth and depth nearly equal. But all this is workmanship, and has no dependence on the width of the sole behind.
128 It should be level. We have already said that the sole is generally level from right to left at the heel. This was not the case formerly, but the wrist was considerably raised behind. It resulted from this form, that the furrow was always shallower on the right side, or there was left a low ridge of unstirred earth between the furrows. This circumstance alone was a bad practice; for one great aim of ploughing is the renewal of the superficial soil. In this way of ribbing the furrows, the sod tumbles over as soon as it is pushed to the top of the rib on the right of the rut made by the plough; the firmest parts of it
fall undermost, and the rest crumbles above it, making the work appear neat; whereas it is extremely unequal, and what most needs the influence of the weather to crumble it down is sheltered from it. Add to these circumstances, that the hollow is a receptacle for water, with a surface which can retain it, having been consolidated by the pressure of the plough. For all these reasons, therefore, it seems advisable to form the furrow with a flat or level bottom, and therefore to keep the heel of the wrist as low as the heel of the head. For the same reason it is proper to hold the plough with the land side perpendicular, and not to heel it over to that side, as is frequently done, producing the same ribbed furrow as an ill formed sole.
129 There is great variety of opinions about the length of the plough. If considered merely as a pointed instrument, or even as a cutting instrument acting obliquely on a given length of sod, there can be no doubt but that it will be more powerful as it is longer: that is, it will require less force to pull it through the ground. But it must also shove the earth aside, and if we double its length we cause it to act on twice as much earth at once; for when the plough has entered as far as the heel, the whole furrow side is acting together in pushing the earth to the side. Now it is found, that the force necessary for pulling a mass of earth horizontally along the rough ground is nearly equal to its weight. It would seem, therefore, that nothing is to be gained by making the base of the plough of a great length, except a greater facility in making the first penetration, and this is chiefly performed by the coulter and sock; and a great length renders the plough heavy and cumbersome; and, by causing it to act long on the sod, tends to knead and cake it.
130 Nothing very precise can be offered on this subject. Some sensible advantage is derived by making the plough taper, especially forward, where it acts as a boring and cutting instrument; and for this purpose it is convenient to give the coulter a slope of 45 degrees. (This has also the advantage of throwing up the stones the coulter and roots, which it would otherwise drive before it through the firm ground.) And for the same reason the edge of the feather has a great slope, it being 10 inches long and only six inches broad. But if we pursue this advantage too far, we expose ourselves to another risk. It is sometimes necessary to heel over the plough to the right in order to get over some obstruction. In doing this, the coulter is necessarily raised for a moment, and the flanking cut now made by the feather becomes the directing groove for the plough. When the feather has a very long slope, this groove has force enough to guide the whole plough; and it is almost impossible for the ploughman to prevent it from running out of the ground to the land side (A). The feather, therefore, should not exceed ten or twelve inches in length.
But to return to the length of the plough, from which this observation has diverted us a little, we must add, that a long plough has a great advantage in the steadiness of its motion, having a much more extensive support
(A) This is often felt with the excellent plough described by Mr Arbuthnot of Surry, in the Transactions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. London.
Instruments support both on the land side and below, and being therefore less affected by its inequalities. Accordingly they are now made considerably longer than formerly; and 33 inches has been assumed as a proportion to 9 inches of breadth, in conformity to the most approved ploughs now in use.
131 The mouldboard. We come now to treat of the mouldboard. This is the most delicate part of the plough, and is to be seen in the greatest variety in the works of different artists, each of whom has a nostrum of great value in his own opinion. It is here indeed that the chief resistances are exerted and must be overcome; and a judicious form of this part of the plough may diminish them considerably, while it performs the work in the best manner. Without pretending to say that the different resistances are susceptible of an accurate determination, we can still draw sufficient information from palpable rules of mechanics to direct us to what would be nearly the best possible form for a mouldboard. The task to be performed is to raise, push aside, and turn over to a certain degree, a slice already cut off from the firm ground. As we cannot provide for every inequality of the cohesion or tenacity of the earth, our safest way is to consider it as uniform: the weight of it is always so. As we cannot provide for every proportion between the tenacity and the weight, we must take an average or medium proportion which is not far from that of equality. Conceiving the slice at first as only tenacious, and without weight, it is an easy problem to determine the form which shall give it the intended twist and removal with the smallest force. In like manner we can proceed with a slice that has weight without tenacity. It is equally easy to combine both in any proportion; and it is easiest of all to make this combination on the supposition of equality of weight and cohesion. Supposing the slice like a brick, we know that it requires the greatest force to begin to raise it on one edge, and that the strain becomes less as it rises, till its centre of gravity is perpendicularly above the supporting angle. It requires no force to raise it further; for on pushing it beyond this position, it would fall over of itself, unless withheld by the tenacity of what is not yet raised. But on considering the form or plan of the fock, we find that while the weight of the fock resists most strongly, there is less of it in this situation actually rising, and this nearly in the same proportion with the labour of raising it; and we see that after the fock has attained that position in which it is ready to fall over, it has reached the wider part of the wref, and is now pushed aside, which requires nearly the same force as to raise it: and this continues to the end of the operation.
When we take all these circumstances into consideration, it appears probable, that the compound resistance does not change much from first to last. If this be really the case, it is an undoubted maxim that the whole operation should proceed equably: if it does not, there must be some part of the fock that makes a resistance greater than the medium; and as the resistances in all this class of motions increase nearly as the squares of the velocities with which they are overcome, it is demonstrable that we shall lose power if we render them unequal.
132 How to be formed. Hence we deduce this maxim, That as the plough advances through equal spaces, the twist and the lateral sliding of the fock should increase by equal degrees. And
this determines a priori the form of the mouldboard. This principle occurred to Mr James Small, a plough-maker in Berwickshire, and he published a treatise on the subject in 1784. He has given several methods for constructing mouldboards, which he supposes are in conformity to his principle; but being merely a country artist, and unacquainted with science, his rules do not produce mouldboards having this property of equal operation, although they do not deviate far from it. His book is a very useful and instructive performance, and level to the capacity of those for whom it is intended; and we have here availed ourselves of the author's information on many points.
The high character which Small's ploughs have maintained for 25 years is a strong argument for the truth of the maxim. We shall therefore give such instructions as will enable any intelligent workman to construct such a mouldboard without any risk of failure; and if future theory or experience should discover any error in the principles from which this maxim is deduced, by showing that either the weight, the tenacity, or the lateral resistance, is exerted according to a different law from what has been assumed, the directions to be given are of such a nature that they adapt themselves with precision to these changes of principle, and will still produce a perfect and efficacious plough. Our readers will readily acknowledge that this is gaining a great point; because at present the instrument is constructed very much at random, and by a guess of the eye.
Let us now return to the wedge formerly made use of for illustrating the action of the plough. Suppose it placed in a furrow already ploughed, and that the space before the line FE (fig. 1.), which is square from the line of motion FD, is covered with a piece of cloth or carpet, and that the point of the wedge enters upon it at F, and advances to D. It will evidently raise the cloth, which will now cover the side of the wedge, forming the triangle fDE. The line fD is what formerly lay in the angle along the line FD, and fE formerly lay on FE. It is this line FE therefore that we are to raise, shove aside, and twist round, by equal degrees, while the plough advances through equal spaces.
Now, if the length DF of the plough-wedge, reckoned from the point of the fock to the heel, be 33 inches, and the breadth FE behind be 9 inches, the angle DEF or DEf will be nearly . The construction of the furrow side of the plough is therefore reduced to this very simple problem, "To make the angle DEf turn equably round the axis DE, while the angular point I advances equably from D to E."
This will be done by means of the following very simple tool or instrument. Let IHK (fig. 5.) be a piece of hard wood, such as oak, a foot long, three inches broad, and an inch thick. Plant on this another piece BHFC of the same breadth, four inches long, and half an inch thick. This will leave beyond it a flat 8 inches long. We shall call this the stock of the instrument. Let ABC be a piece of clean oak half an inch thick, 20 inches long, and three inches broad at the end BC. Let this be fashioned like the style of a funnel, having its angle ABC . Let it have a part BCE square, to the extent of four inches from C, and the rest EA worked into the form of a straight slender rod: 133 Description of an instrument for this purpose. 134 Let
Instruments of Husbandry. Let EFG be a semicircle of clean plane tree or of metal four inches radius: fasten this by small screws to the square part of the file CE, so that its centre may be at C. Let this semicircle be divided into 180 degrees, and numbered from G along the arch GFE, so that 0° may be at G, and 180° at E. Let this file and semicircle turn round the line BC by means of small hinges. This instrument may be called the mouldboard gage, or protractor. When the file is folded down on the stock BIK, the point G will be at F; and when it is raised up to any angle, the degrees will be pointed out on the semicircle by the straight edge CF.
Nothing can be more obvious than the manner of employing this instrument once we have determined the most proper position for the sod when the work is completed. Now it seems to be the opinion of the most intelligent farmers, that the best position of the sod is that represented in fig. 6.
Fig. 6. represents a section of the ground and the working parts of the plough, as viewed by a person standing straight before it. ABDC is the unploughed ground, and WB the coulter, kneed in Small's manner. FGKB is the section of the plough (or rather of the whole space through which the plough has passed, for no part of the plough has this section). HOFE is the section of a slice, pushed aside and turned over, so as to lean on the next. HE is that side of the slice which formerly lay on KB. EF is the side cut off by the coulter; and FO is the upper or grassy side. The lower corners are supposed to be a little bruised inwards, as must generally happen.
The sod is pushed 9 inches to the right hand, and it leans with its grassy side on the preceding furrow, in an angle of about 50 degrees. In this position the grass is turned down so as to rot; and there is a hollow left below to allow the rain water to run freely off, and to receive the earth as it crumbles down by the weather: and if the harrow is dragged across these ridges, it distributes along the surface the mould which was formerly at the bottom. The sod has got a twist of 130 degrees: but it is evident, that after it has been turned 90 degrees, or even a little before this, it is ready to fall over of itself. It is sufficient therefore that it be turned 90 degrees when the heel of the wrest has reached it, and the remainder of the twist is given to it by the wing or flap of the mouldboard. This, then, dictates to us the manner of applying the instrument.
Divide the edge DE (fig. 7.) of the wrest, or of a lath nailed on it, into 90 equal parts, and continue the divisions backwards to G in the same line to 130. Number the divisions backwards from the point of the sock; then place the protractor on the edge of the wrest, with the point B of fig. 5. at the 90th division (fig. 7.); that is, just at the heel, with the stock under the wrest, and the file raised to 90°, and press it home to the joint, so that the stock may be square to the edge, and then the file will be in the position suiting that part of the mouldboard. In like manner slide the stock forward to the 80th division, and lower the file to 80°, and it will have the position which suits that part of the mouldboard. In the same way slide it forward to 70, 60, 50, &c. and lower the file to 70°, 60°, 50°, &c. and we shall have the position for these several parts of the mouldboard; and thus it may be formed to the very
point of the sock, because the straight edge of the wrest instruments may be continued so far. A block of wood may be hewed to fit these several positions of the protractor file; and thus, when placed with its straight edge on the outer line of the wrest, and cut away behind in the land-side plane, will be the exact shape of the plough-wedge. It would rise up indeed into a tall piece of singular shape, gradually tapering down to the point of the sock; but when cut off parallel to the ground, at the height of about 12 inches, it will form the mouldboard, the front or edge of the sheath, and the whole back of the sock except the feather, which is an extraneous piece. The wing or flap of the mouldboard is formed in the same manner, by sliding the stock of the protractor to 100, 110, 120, 130, and opening the file to 100°, 110°, 120°, 130°. This will extend the top of the mouldboard to about 22 or 23 inches; but the lower part of the wing must be cut away, because it would push the sod too far aside after it has got the proper twist. The form of this part should be such as would exactly apply itself to a plank set at the heel of the wrest, parallel to the land-side of the head, and leaning outward 40 degrees. This will be very nearly the case, if it be made a sweep similar to the edge of the sheath. Fig. 8. is a resemblance of the surface of the mouldboard; A D being the edge of the sheath, E the heel of the wrest, and LBC the wing or flap. When cut through in a perpendicular direction, the section is hollow; if cut horizontally it is convex; and if in the direction CE, making an angle of 74° with ED, it is straight. If the protractor be set on it at D, and gradually slidden backwards, the mouldboard will gradually open the file, and the file will skim its whole surface without any vacancy between them.
This form is given to the mouldboard on the authority of the supposition that the sum of the resistances arising from weight and tenacity remains pretty constant in its whole length. This cannot be affirmed with confidence in any case, and is by no means true in all. In stiff clay soils the effects of tenacity prevail, and in light or crumbling soils the weight is the chief resistance. The advantage of this mode of construction is, that it can be adapted to any soil. If the difficulty of cutting and raising the sod is much greater than that of throwing it aside and turning it over, we have only to make the rise and twist more gentle towards the point of the sock, and more rapid as we advance; and it is easy to do this according to any law of acceleration that we please. Thus, instead of dividing the edge of the wrest DE (fig. 9.) continued to G into 130 parts, draw a line Gg perpendicular to it, and draw some curve line Dg convex towards DG, and divide this into equal parts in the points 10, 20, 30, 40, &c.; and then draw perpendiculars to the wrest edge, cutting it in 10, 20, 30, 40, &c. and apply the protractor to these points. It is evident that the divisions of the wrest line are bigger at D, and grow gradually less towards G; and therefore, because each has 10° more twist than the preceding, the twist will be more rapid as it approaches the end of the mouldboard. This curve may be chosen so as to produce any law of acceleration. On the contrary, we produce a retarded or diminished twist by making the curve concave towards DG, as represented by the dotted curve.
The mathematical reader will observe, that this construction
Instruments of Husbandry. struction aims at regulating the twist round the line of the wrist ED. This does not produce precisely the same regulation round the line FD, which is the line of the plough's motion, and of the sod's position before it is ploughed over. The difference, however, is not worth attending to in a matter so little susceptible of precision. But the twist round the line FD may be regulated according to any law by this instrument with equal facility. Instead of placing the stock of the protractor square with the edge of the wrist, it may be placed square with the land side of the plough. To do this, draw a line BL (fig. 5. No 2.) across the stock from the point B, making the angle LBC 16°, and put a brass pin at L, making a hole in the style that it may not be prevented from the folding down. Then, in using the instrument, let the points B and L rest against the edge of the wrist, and proceed as directed.
A still greater variety of forms, and accommodation to particular views, with the same general dependence on principle, will be procured by giving the rod BA a motion round B in the plane of the file, so as to form a file of a variable angle.
A tool may even be constructed in which the rod BA might be a cutting knife: and the whole may be led along by a screw, while this knife turns round according to any law, and would gradually pare away the mouldboard to the proper form.
Thus have we reduced the fashioning the operative part of the plough to a rule which is certain. We do not mean by this, that a mouldboard made according to the maxim now given will make the best possible plough; but we have given a rule by which this part of the plough can be made unequivocally of a certain quality by every workman, whatever this quality may be, and this without being obliged to copy. No description of any curve mouldboard to be met with in books has this advantage; and we say that this rule is capable of any systematic variation, either with respect to the width of furrow, or the quantity or variation of its twist. We have therefore put it in the power of any intelligent person to make such gradual and progressive changes as may serve to bring this most useful of all instruments to perfection. The angle of the head and wrist, and the curve for dividing the wrist-line, can always be expressed in writing, and the improvements communicated to the public at large.
After this description of the working parts of a plough, and directions for giving it the most effective form, it will not be improper to consider a little its mode of action, with the view of attaining a more distinct conception of what is done by the ploughman and the cattle, and to direct him in his procedure.
Returning again to the wedge (fig. 1.), we see that it is pressed down at the point D, and as far back along the mouldboard as its surface continues to look upward, that is, all the way to the heel of the wrist. Behind this, the perpendicular sections of the mouldboard overhang, and look downward; and here, while pressing down the sod, the plough is pressed upwards. These two pressures tend to twist the plough round a transverse line somewhere between the heel and the point. The plough therefore tends to rise at the heel, and to run its point deeper into the ground. Upon the whole, the pressure downwards is much greater than the upward
pressure. It is exerted over a much greater space, and is greater in most parts of that space. Behind, very little downward pressure is necessary, the sod being ready to fall down of itself, and only requiring a gentle touch to lay it in a proper position.
In like manner the plough is pressed backward by the resistance made to the coulter and sock, and part of the resistance made to the sloping side of the mouldboard: and it is pressed to the left by the other part of the pressure on the sock and mouldboard.
All these pressures must be balanced by the joint action of the cattle, the resistance of the bottom, and the resistance of the firm ground on the left hand or land-side.
It is the action of the cattle, exerted on that point to which they are attached, which produces all these pressures. It is demonstrated by the principles of mechanics, that this force must not only be equal to the mean or compound force of these resisting pressures, but must also be in the opposite direction.
It is further demonstrated, that if a body be dragged through any resisting substance by a force acting on any point G, and in any direction whatever GH, and really moves uniformly in that direction, the force exerted exactly balances the resistances which it excites, both as to quantity and direction: And if the body advances without turning round the point by which it is dragged, the resistances on one side of this point are in equilibrium with those on the opposite side.
And, lastly, it is demonstrated, that when this equilibrium is obtained, it is indifferent to what point in the line GH the force is applied. Therefore, in fig. 3. No 1. the force acting in the direction HO may either be applied to the point of the beam H, or to the point N of the coulter, or to the point O of the sock.
When therefore a plough advances steadily, requiring no effort of the ploughman to direct it, if the line of draught OM (fig. 10.) be produced backwards to the point G of the mouldboard, that point is the place round which all the resistances balance each other. This point may be called the centre of resistance and the centre of action.
It would be of importance to determine this point by principle; but this can hardly be done with precision even in a plough of a known form: and it is impossible to do it in general for all ploughs, because it is different in each. It even varies in any plough by every variation of the proportion between the weight and the cohesion of the sod. We see how it can be found experimentally in any given uniform sod, viz. by producing backwards the line of draught. Then, if the draught rope, instead of being fixed to the muzzle of the beam, were fixed to this point, and if it were pulled in the same direction, the plough would continue to perform its work without any assistance from the ploughman, while the sod continued uniform. But the smallest inequality of sod would derange the plough so as to make it go entirely out of its path. Should the resistances between G and D prevail, the plough would go deeper, which would increase the resistances on that side where they already exceed, and the plough would run still deeper. Should the resistances behind G prevail, the heel would be pressed down, and the point would rise, which would still farther destroy the equilibrium, and, producing a greater deviation from the
Instruments of Husbandry. the right path, would quickly throw the plough out of the ground.
For these reasons we must not think of attaching the draught to the centre of resistance; but must contrive a point of draught, such as shall restore the plough to its proper position when it has been driven out of it by any obstruction.
137 Muzzle of the beam. The muzzle or end of the beam is a point which will completely suit our purpose. For suppose that the resistance on the back of the fock has prevailed, and the plough MNFD (fig. 10.) has taken the position m n f d represented by the dotted lines, the draught line GMO is brought down into the position g m o, diverging a little from GMO, and meeting the mouldboard in a point g considerably before G. By this means the resistances on the hinder side of g are increased, and those before it are diminished, and the plough quickly regains its former position.
138 The point of draught. From these observations it is plain, that whatever is the situation of the centre of resistance, the point of draught may be so chosen that the action of the cattle shall be directly opposed to the resistance of the ground, and that moreover the plough shall have no tendency either to go deeper or to run out. This is the use of the apparatus at the point of the beam called the muzzle, represented at H (fig. 3.) It turns round a bolt i through the beam, and can be stopped at any height by another pin k put through the holes in the arch Im. A figure is given of the muzzle immediately below, as it appears when looking down on it. The eye to which the draught rope is hooked is spread out horizontally, as shown by HK, and has several notches O in it, to either of which the hook can be applied. This serves to counteract any occasional tendency which the plough may have to the right or left.
139 Of the plough in trim. When the plough goes on steadily, without any effort of the ploughman, it is said to be in trim, and to swim fair; the pressure before and behind the centre of action being in equilibrio with each other. In order to learn whether a plough will be in this manner under management, hook the draught rope as high as possible. In this state the plough should have a continual tendency to rise at the heel, and even to run a little into the ground. Then hook the rope as low as possible. The plough should now press hard on the furrow with the heel, and have some tendency to run out of the ground. If both these are observed, the plough is properly constructed in this respect; if not, it must be altered, either by changing the position of the fock or that of the beam. Lowering the end of the beam will correct the tendency of the plough to go deeper; the raising the point of the fock will also have the same effect. But it is of considerable importance not to take the point of the fock out of the plane of the sod, and it is much better to make the alteration by the beam. The slope of the coulter has a considerable effect, but it cannot be placed very far from the inclination of 45° without the risk of choking the plough by driving the roots and stones before it. It is of great consequence to have the coulter fit exactly in the direction of the plough's motion: if it is in any other direction, it will powerfully twist the plough into its own track. As it must be fixed in the middle of the beam's thickness to have strength, it is removed a little from the plane of the land side, and it was the usual practice to point
it to the left below to compensate for this; but this by no means removes the disposition to twist, and it exposes to the risk of catching a stone between its point and that of the fock, which must now be driven forward through the firm ground at a great expence of labour to the cattle. Mr Small has very ingeniously remedied this by giving the coulter a short knee to the left immediately below the beam, and thus pointing it downwards in the plumb of the land side. See fig. 6.
It is not without its use to know the absolute force necessary for tilling the ground. This has been frequently measured with a spring steelyard. One of Small's ploughs, worked by two horses, and employed in breaking up stiff land which had been ploughed before winter, and much consolidated by the rains, required a force of 360 lbs. avoirdupois; and we may state this as the ordinary rate of such work; but moderately firm sod, under good culture, requires at a medium 320 lbs.
As we wish to embrace every opportunity of rendering this work useful to the public, we shall conclude this article with an account of a plough which has just now been recommended to public notice by the Scots Highland Society as extremely proper for a hilly country. The inventor, the Rev. Alexander Campbell minister at Kilcalmonell in Argyleshire, was honoured with the society's gold medal, value 251.
140 The Ar- gyleshire plough. A, the fock (fig. 11.); the land-side of which supplies the place of the coulter, and the sole of it serves for a feather; it is 18 inches long, and is made of a plate of iron 12 inches broad when finished, and somewhat under half an inch thick.—B, the head; to be made of iron in a triangular form, 4 inches broad by 2 inches at the thickest part. There are 5 inches of the head fixed in the fock.—C, the beam, 4 inches thick by 5 inches deep, gradually tapered thinner; the length 6 feet.—E, the sheath, must be of the same thickness with the beam above and the head below, and is five inches broad. An iron screw-bolt connects the beam and head behind the sheath.—F, the handles are so made that the slope of the mouldboard, which is fixed to one of them, may be the longer and more gradual. They are 5 feet 8 inches long, and 2 feet 4 inches afunder at the ends.—G, the mouldboard, consists of 7 rounded sticks 2 inches in diameter; the cover of them is in the plane of the sole, the rest in succession close to each other above it. This makes the mouldboard 14 inches broad. To prevent any earth from getting over the mouldboard, a thin dale 4 or 5 inches broad is fixed above it. The mouldboard, landside, and sole of the plough, are clad with iron.—The length is 20 inches: this added to 18 inches, the length of the fock, makes the length from point to heel 3 feet 2 inches.—The muzzle or bridle OPH is also of a more convenient and better construction than those commonly in use. By means of the screw pins at L and M different degrees of land may be given to the plough; the iron rod LH being thereby moved sideways in the socket LN, and up and down by OP. The rod is 30 inches long, one broad, and half an inch thick. It is hooked into a screwbolt at H. Two inches of the rod project at N, in the form of an eye, before the muzzle, to receive the hook of the crostree.
The advantages of this plough are said to be: It is not so liable to be interrupted or turned out of its course by
Instruments by stones, roots, &c. as other ploughs are; nor does it dip so deep as to be liable to be broken by large stones or flags. The motion of the muzzle is also thought an improvement. Another advantage it has over other ploughs is, its not being so liable to be choked up by stubble, &c. This we understand to be its chief excellency, and an object much desired in the construction of the plough. Upon the whole, we are informed that this plough is lighter, less expensive, and less liable to go out of trim than the ordinary plough, and that with it two horses can plough land which require four with any other plough.
141 Objections to its construction.
Such are said to be the advantages of this construction; but we cannot help expressing our apprehension that the uniting the coulter and feather at the point, of the fock will expose the plough to great risks of being put out of order. When the upright edge strikes a stone obliquely, especially on the land-side, it must be violently twisted round the point of the head; and, having but a moderate thickness at this part, may be broken or permanently twisted. The plough will then be continually running out of its direction: and we apprehend that this defect cannot be amended without taking off the fock and putting it in the fire. When a coulter is bent by the same cause, the ploughman can either rectify it by altering the wedging, or he can straighten it in the field; and it must be observed, that the plough opposes much less resistance to the derangement of this sort of coulter than of the common one. In the common coulter the strain does not so much tend to twist the plough round the line of its motion, as to press it wholly to landward. The resistance to this is great; but a very moderate force will twist it round its line of motion. In either case, if the blow be given in that point of the coulter where the draught line crosses it, there will be no twist of the whole plough, but the point of the plough will be forced horizontally to or from the land. When the blow is out of this line, the strain tends to twist the beam or the plough. Experience will determine which of the two is the most hazardous. These ploughs were made by Thomas Lindsay, Abbeyhill, Edinburgh, and models are to be seen in the hall of the Highland Society.
142 Scots plough.
The plough constructed in the following manner is still the most common and the most generally understood in Scotland; and, if properly made, is the best for answering all purposes, when only one is used; though others are, perhaps, more proper on some particular occasions.
143 Description of the Scots plough.
The parts of which this plough is composed, are, the head, the beam, the sheath, the wref, the mouldboard, the two handles, the two rungs, the fock, and the coulter; the two last are made of iron, and all the rest of wood.
Plate VII. Fig. 1.
The HEAD is designed for opening the ground below. The length of the head from A to B is about 20 inches, and the breadth from A to D above five inches; C is the point upon which the fock is driven, and the length from B to C is about six inches; a is the mortise into which the larger handle is fixed, and b is the mortise into which the sheath is fixed.
The head is that part of the plough which goes in the ground; therefore the shorter and narrower it is, the friction will be the less, and the plough more easily drawn; but the longer the head is, the plough goes
more readily, and is not so easily put out of its direction by any obstructions that occur. Twenty inches is considered as a mean length; and five inches as the most convenient breadth.
The SHEATH, E, is driven into the mortise b, and thus fixed to the head A B. It is not perpendicular to the head, but placed obliquely, so as to make the angle formed by the lines A B and E B about 60 degrees. The sheath is about 13 inches long, besides what is driven into the mortise b (fig. 1.); about three inches broad, and one inch thick.
The sheath is fixed to the mouldboard, as in fig. 11. Fig. 3. E, in the same manner as the wref is fixed to the head in fig. 7.
The MOULDBOARD is designed to turn over the earth of the furrow made by the plough; and it is obvious, that, according to the position of the sheath, the mouldboard will turn over the earth of the furrow more or less suddenly. Besides, when it forms a less angle with the head than 60 degrees, the plough is in great danger of being choked, as the farmers term it.
The larger HANDLE, F A, is fixed to the head, by Fig. 3. driving it into the mortise a (fig. 1.) It is placed in the same plane with the head; and its length from A F is about five feet four inches, and its diameter at the place where it is fixed to the beam is about two inches and a half, and tapers a little to the top F. About ten inches from A, there is a curve in the handle, which, when F is raised to its proper height, makes the lower part of it nearly parallel to the sheath E B. This curve is designed to strengthen the handle. The proper position of the handle is, when the top F is about three feet two inches higher than the bottom of the head A B.
The longer the handles, the plough is the more easily managed, because the levers are more distant from the centre of motion. The higher the top of the handles, the plough is more easily raised out of the ground, provided they be no higher than the lower part of a man's breast.
The BEAM, is fixed to the larger handle and the sheath, all of which are placed in the same plane with the head. The length of it, from H to I, is about six feet; its diameter is about four inches. When the plough is in the ground, the beam should be just high enough not to be incommoded by any thing on the surface.
The position of the beam depends on the number of cattle in the plough. When two horses are yoked, the beam should be placed in such a manner as to make the perpendicular distance betwixt the bolt-hole of the beam and the plane of the head about twenty-one inches; when four horses are yoked, two a-breadth, this distance should only be about eighteen inches.
The SOCK, B P, is fixed to the end of the head, Fig. 5. and is about two feet long. In fitting the fock to the head, the point ought to be turned a little to the land or left side; because otherwise it is apt to come out of the land altogether. When turned to the left, it likewise takes off more land; when turned upwards, the plough goes shallow; and when downwards, it goes deeper.
The COULTER, is fixed to the beam, and is about Fig. 6. two feet ten inches long, two inches and a half broad, sharp at the point and before, and thick on the back, like
Instruments like a knife. It is fixed and directed by wedges, so as to make the point of it equal to, or rather a little before, the point of the fock, and upon a line with the left side of the head. This oblique position enables it to throw roots, &c. out of the land, which requires less force than cutting or pushing them forward.
Fig. 7. The WREST, BD, is fixed to the head, and is about 26 inches long, two broad, and one thick. It is fixed to the head at B, in such a manner as to make the angle contained between the lines AB and BD about 25 degrees. The wrest is seldom or never placed in the same plane with the head, but gradually raised from the place where it is fixed to it; that is, from B to K, as in fig. 8. The position of the wrest determines the nature of the furrow. When the wrest is wide and low set, the furrow is wide; and when it is narrow and high set, the furrow is narrow.
Fig. 9. represents the two HANDLES, fixed together by the two rungs. The larger handle has already been described; the lesser one is a few inches shorter, and does not require to be quite so strong. The distance of the handles at the little rung depends on the position of the wrest. Their distance at M and P is about two feet six inches. The lesser handle is fixed to the mouldboard at M, fig. 10. and to the wrest KB, at L.
Fig. 11. represents the plough complete, by joining together figures 6. and 10. in the sheath EB. The wrest BK is supposed to make an angle with the head AB as in fig. 7. and the handles joined together as in fig. 9.
After having given such a particular description of all the parts and proportions of the Scots plough, it will easily appear how it separates, raises, and turns over the earth of the furrow. If it had no coulter, the earth would open above the middle of the fock, and in a line before the sheath; but as the coulter opens the earth in a line with the left side of the head, if the soil has any cohesion, the earth of the furrow will be wholly raised from the left side, and, as the fock moves forward, will be thrown on the right side of the sheath, and by the casting out of the mouldboard, or the raising of the wrest, will be turned over.
Fig. 12. The BANDLE, or MUZZLE, is another article belonging to the plough. It is fixed to the end of the beam, and the cattle are yoked by it. The muzzle commonly used is a curved piece of iron, fixed to the beam by a bolt through it. ABC is the muzzle, AC the bolt by which it is fixed to the beam; D is the swingle-tree or cross-tree, to which the traces are fixed; and B is a hook or cleek, as it is commonly called, which joins the muzzle and swingle-tree.
Fig. 13. Some use another kind of muzzle, ABCD. It is fixed to the beam by two bolts, and has notches by which the cleek of the swingle-tree may be fixed either to the right or the left of the beam. There are also different holes for the hind bolt to pass through, by which the draught may be fixed either above or below the beam. AD is the fore bolt upon which the muzzle turns; on BC are four notches, betwixt any two of which the cleek of the swingle-tree may be fixed. When the cleek is fixed at B, the plough is turned towards the firm land, and takes off a broader furrow; and when fixed at C, it is turned towards the ploughed land, and takes off a narrower furrow. E and F are the holes on each side through which the hindmost
bolt passes. When the bolt is put through the highest of these holes being thereby brought to the middle of the beam, the fore part of the muzzle is raised above the beam, and the plough is made to go deeper, and when put through the lowest two, the fore part of the muzzle is sunk below the beam, and the plough is made to go shallower. This muzzle may be so constructed as to have the same play with the common one. A is the end of the beam; B a plate of iron sunk into it, and, with a similar one in the other side, is rivetted into it by bolts; C is the muzzle fixed to these plates of iron by the bolt D, which bolt may be put through any of the holes EE. From the construction of this muzzle it is plain, that it has the same play with the common one, and that by it the land of the plough may be altered at pleasure.
Fig. 16. Of all forms, that of the Scots plough is the fittest for breaking up stiff and rough land, especially where stones abound; and no less fit for strong clays hardened by drought. The length of its head gives it a firm hold of the ground; its weight prevents it from being thrown out by stones; the length of the handles gives the ploughman great command to direct its motion; and by the length of its head, and of its mouldboard, it lays the furrow-slice cleverly over. This plough was contrived during the infancy of agriculture, and was well contrived: in the soils above described it has not an equal.
But in tender soil it is improper, because it adds greatly to the expence of ploughing, without any counterbalancing benefit. The length of the head and mouldboard increases the friction, and consequently it requires a greater number of oxen or horses than are necessary in a shorter plough. There is another particular in its form that resists the draught: the mouldboard makes an angle with the fock, instead of making a line with it gently curving backward. There is an objection against it no less solid, that it does not stir the ground perfectly: the hinder part of the wrest rises a foot above the sole of the head: and the earth that lies immediately below that hinder part, is left unstirred. This is ribbing land below the surface, similar to what is done by ignorant farmers on the surface.
These defects must be submitted to in a soil that requires a strong heavy plough; but may be avoided in a cultivated soil by a plough differently constructed. Of all the ploughs fitted for a cultivated soil free of stones, that already mentioned, which was introduced into Scotland about 20 years ago, by James Small in Blackadder Mount, Berwickshire, is the best. It is now in great request; and with reason, as it avoids all the defects of the Scots plough. The shortness of its head and of its mouldboard lessen the friction greatly: from the point of the fock to the back part of the head it is only 30 inches; and the whole length, from the point of the beam to the end of the handles, between eight and nine feet. The fock and mouldboard make one line gently curving; and consequently gather no earth. Instead of a wrest, the under edge of the mouldboard is one plain with the sole of the head; which makes a wide furrow, without leaving any part unstirred. It is of late commonly termed the chain-plough, because it is drawn by an iron chain fixed to the back part of the beam immediately before the coulter. This has two advantages: first, by means of
means of a muzzle, it makes the plough go deep or shallow; and, next, it stresses the beam less than if fixed to the point, and therefore a stender beam is sufficient.
As we have already sufficiently explained the speculative principles upon which this plough is formed, we shall only remark, that it is proper for loams, for carle clays, and, in general, for every sort of tender soil free of stones. It is even proper for opening up pasture ground, where the soil has been formerly well cultivated.
147
Of the fock.
Plate VII. A spiked fock is used in the Scots plough. The difference between it and the feathered fock will be best understood by comparing their figures. Fig. 14. is the common fock, and fig. 15. the feathered one.
From the construction of the feathered fock, it is obvious, that it must meet with greater resistance than the common fock. However, when the plough takes off the earth of the furrow broader than that part of the fock which goes upon the head, it is more easily drawn than the plough with the common fock; for the earth which the common fock leaves to be opened by the wrist, is more easily opened by the feather of the other fock. In ley, the feathered fock makes the plough go more easily, because the roots of the grass, which go beyond the reach of the plough, are more easily cut by the feather than they can be torn asunder by the common fock. The feathered fock is also of great use in cutting and destroying root weeds. The common fock, however, answers much better in strong land.
It is proper here to add, that in fitting the feathered fock to the head, the point of it should be turned a little from the land, or a little to the right hand.
148
Ignorance of farmers in Scotland but a few years ago. If we look back 40 years, ploughs of different constructions did not enter even into a dream. The Scots plough was universally used, and no other was known. There was no less ignorance as to the number of cattle necessary for this plough. In the south of Scotland, six oxen and two horses were universal; and in the north, 10 oxen, sometimes 12. The first attempt to lessen the number of oxen was in Berwickshire. The low part of that county abounds with stone and clay marl, the most subitential of all manures, which had been long used by one or two gentlemen. About 30 years ago it acquired reputation, and spread rapidly. As two horses and two oxen were employed in every marl cart; the farmer, in summer fallowing, and in preparing land for marl, was confined to four oxen and two horses. And as that manure afforded plenty of succulent straw for oxen, the farmer was surprised to find that four oxen did better now than six formerly. Marling, however, a laborious work, proceeded slowly, till people were taught by a noted farmer in that country, what industry can perform by means of power properly applied. It was reckoned a mighty task to marl five or six acres in a year. That gentleman, by having plenty of red clover for his working cattle, accomplished the marling of 50 acres in a summer, and once of 54. Having so much occasion for oxen, he tried with success two oxen and two horses in a plough; and that practice became general in Berwickshire.
Now here appears with lustre the advantage of the chain-plough. The great friction occasioned in the Scots plough by a long head, and by the angle it
makes with the mouldboard, necessarily requires two oxen and two horses, whatever the soil be. The friction is so much less in the chain-plough, that two good horses are found sufficient in every soil that is proper for it. Besides, the reducing the draught to a couple of horses has another advantage, that of rendering a chain-plough unnecessary. This saving on every plough, where two horses and two oxen were formerly used, will, by the strictest computation, be 151. sterling yearly; and where four horses were used, no less than 201. sterling. There is now scarce to be seen in the low country of Berwickshire, or in the Lothians, a plough with more than two horses; which undoubtedly in time will become general. We know but of one further improvement, that of using two oxen instead of two horses. That draught has been employed with success in several places; and the saving is so great, that it must force its way everywhere, providing only a breed of oxen with a quick step could be obtained. It may be confidently affirmed, no soil stirred in a proper season, can ever require more than two horses and two oxen in a plough, even the stiffest clay. In all other soils, two good horses, or two good oxen abreast, may be relied on for every operation of the chain-plough.
A chain-plough of a smaller size than ordinary, drawn by a single horse, is of all the most proper for horse-hoeing, supposing the land to be mellow, which it ought to be for that operation. It is sufficient for making furrows to receive the dung, for ploughing the drills after dunging, and for hoeing the crop.
150
A small single-horse plough recommended for various purposes. A still smaller plough of the same kind may be recommended for a kitchen garden. It can be reduced to the smallest size, by being made of iron; and where the land is properly dressed for a kitchen garden, an iron plough of the smallest size drawn by a horse will save much spade-work. In Scotland, forty years ago, a kitchen garden was an article of luxury merely, because at that time there could be no cheaper food than oatmeal. At present, the farmer maintains his servants at double expence, as the price of oatmeal is doubled; and yet he has no notion of a kitchen garden more than he had thirty years ago. He never thinks, that living partly on cabbage, kail, turnip, carrot, would save much oatmeal: nor does he ever think, that change of food is more wholesome, than vegetables alone, or oatmeal alone. We need not recommend potatoes, which in scanty crops of corn have proved a great blessing: without them, the labouring poor would frequently have been reduced to a starving condition. Would the farmer but cultivate his kitchen garden with as much industry as he bestows on his potato crop, he needed never fear want; and he can cultivate it with the iron plough at a very small expence. It may be held by a boy of 12 or 13; and would be a proper education for a ploughman. But it is the landlord who ought to give a beginning to the improvement. A very small expence would enclose an acre for a kitchen garden to each of his tenants; and it would excite their industry, to bellow an iron plough on those who do best.
Nor is this the only case where a single horse plough may be profitably employed. It is sufficient for seed-furrowing barley, where the land is light and well dressed.
Instruments dressed. It may be used in the second or third ploughing of fallow, to encourage annual weeds, which are destroyed in subsequent ploughings.
151
The Rotheram plough is a machine of very simple construction, and easily worked. AB is the beam, CD the sheath, EBD the main handle, FR the smaller handle, GH the coulter, KI the fock or share, NP the bridle, S the fly-band, and ML a piece of wood in place of a head. The whole of this plough should be made of ash or elm; the irons should be steeld and well tempered; and that part of the plough which is under ground in tilling should be covered with plates of iron. The difference between this and the common plough seems to consist in the bridle at the end of the beam, by which the ploughman can give the plough more or less land by notches at N, or make it cut deeper or shallower by the holes at P; in the coulter or share, which are so made and set as to cut off the new furrow without tearing; and in the mouldboard, which is so shaped at first to raise a little, and then gradually turn over, the new cut furrow with very little resistance. But the greatest advantage attending it, is its being so easy of draught, that it will do double the work of any common plough.
152
The Paring Plough. Plate IX. fig. 4.
The paring plough is an instrument used in several parts of England for paring off the surface of the ground, in order to its being burnt. Mr Bradley has given the following description of a very simple instrument of this kind: From A to A (fig. 15.) is the plough-beam, about seven feet long, mortified and pined into the block B, which is of clean timber without knots. CC are the sheaths or standards, made flat on the inside, to close equally with the paring plate, and fastened to it with a bolt and key on each side, as at D. E is the paring plate of iron laid with steel, about four inches wide, and from 12 to 18 inches long. This plate must be made to cut on the sides, which are bolted to the standards as well as at the bottom part. FF are two iron braces to keep the standards from giving way: these standards must be mortified near their outsides and through the block. GG are the plough handles, which must be fixed slopeways between the beam and the standards. The pan holes in the beam, the use of which is to make this plough cut more or less deep, by fixing the wheels nearer to or farther from the paring plate, should not be above two inches asunder.
153
The Four-coulter Plough. Plate IX.
Fig. 1. represents the four-coulter plough of Mr Tull. Its beam is ten feet four inches long, whereas that of the common plough is but eight. The beam is straight in the common plough, but in this it is straight only from a to b, and thence arched; so that the line let down perpendicularly from the corner at a, to the even surface on which the plough stands, would be 11 inches; and if another line were let down from the turning of the beam at b to the same surface, it would be one foot eight inches and a half; and a third line let down to the surface from the bottom of the beam at that part which bears upon the pillow, will show the beam to be two feet ten inches high in that part. At the distance of three feet two inches from the end of the beam a, at the plough-tail, the first coulter, or that next the share, is let through; and at 13 inches from this, a second coulter is let through: a third at the same distance from that; and, finally, the fourth
at the same distance from the third, that is, 13 inches, Instruments of Husbandry.
The crookedness of the upper part of the beam of this plough is contrived to avoid the too great length of the three foremost coulters, which would be too much if the beam was straight all the way; and they would be apt to bend and be displaced, unless they were very heavy and clumsy. Ash is the best wood to make the beam of, it being sufficiently strong, and yet light. The sheath in this plough is to be seven inches broad. The fixing of the share in this, as well as in the common plough, is the nicest part, and requires the utmost art of the maker; for the well-going of the plough wholly depends upon the placing this. Supposing the axis of the beam, and the left side of the share, to be both horizontal, they must never be set parallel to each other; for if they are, the tail of the share bearing against the trench as much as the point, would cause the point to incline to the right hand, and it would be carried out of the ground into the furrow. If the point of the share should be set so, that its side should make an angle on the right side of the axis of the beam, this inconvenience would be much greater; and if its point should incline much to the left, and make too large an angle on that side with the axis of the beam, the plough would run quite to the left hand; and if the holder, to prevent its running quite out of the ground, turns the upper part of his plough towards the left hand, the pin of the share will rise up, and cut the furrow diagonally, leaving it half unploughed. To avoid this and several other inconveniences, the straight side of the share must make an angle upon the left side of the beam; but that must be so very acute a one, that the tail of the share may only press less against the side of the trench than the point does. This angle is shown by the pricked lines at the bottom of fig. 9. where ef is supposed to be the axis of the beam let down to the surface, and gf parallel to the left side of the share: and it is the subtense eg that determines the inclination which the point of the share must have towards the left hand. This subtense, says Mr Tull, at the fore-end of an eight-feet beam, should never be more than one inch and a half, and whether the beam be long or short, the subtense must be the same.
The great thing to be taken care of, is the placing the four coulters; which must be so set, that the four imaginary places described by their four edges, as the plough moves forward, may be all parallel to each other, or very nearly so; for if any one of them should be very much inclined to, or should recede much from, either of the other, then they would not enter the ground together. In order to place them thus, the beam must be carefully pierced in a proper manner. The second coulter-hole must be two inches and a half more on the right hand than the first, the third must be as much more to the right of the second, and the fourth the same measure to the right hand of the third; and this two inches and a half must be carefully measured from the centre of one hole to the centre of the other. Each of these holes is a mortise of an inch and a quarter wide, and three inches and a half long at the top, and three inches at the bottom. The two opposite sides of this hole are parallel to the top and bottom, but the back is oblique, and determines the obliquity
Instruments of Husbandry. obliquity of the standing of the coulter, which is wedged tight up to the poll. The coulter is two feet eight inches long before it is worn; the handle takes up sixteen inches of this length, and is allowed thus long, that the coulter may be driven down as the point wears away. As to the wheels, the left hand wheel is 20 inches diameter, and that on the right hand two feet three inches, and the distance at which they are set from each other is two feet 5½ inches.
2. The PATENT SWARD-CUTTER.
The different parts of this instrument are represented by N° 1. 2. 3. of fig. 6. AA, &c. a square frame three feet four inches from the fore to the hind part, by four feet three inches, the breadth of the machine within side; the timber (when of fir) four inches square, placed on two wheels; BB three feet diameter, a little more or less (the old fore-wheels of a chaise may answer the purpose), to support the hind part of the machine.
CC, &c. are six strong pieces of wood, called bulls, three feet long, five inches and a half broad, the thickness six inches at E, and tapering to three inches at F. Into these bulls are fixed the cutting wheels, which are iron, 13 inches diameter, ¼ths of an inch thick at the centre, about an inch diameter, for piercing holes to fix the iron axles in; from that they are to be of such thickness, as allow the edges to be well steered. The wheels are fixed by two bolts going through the bulls, with eyes on one end for the axles of the wheels to run in, and nuts and screws on the other to make them very firm by being sunk in the bulls, to prevent their interfering with the weights LL, &c. resting on them.
GG, &c. are hollow pieces of wood, called thorles, each 3½ inches long, which enclose the bolt MM, and keep the bulls CC, &c. at their proper distances, but may be made longer or shorter at pleasure, according as the sward requires to be cut in larger or smaller pieces. They are in two pieces bound together, and jointed by a strap of leather or cord, which allows them to be readily changed when the cutting wheels require to be kept at more or less distance.
The iron bolt MM goes through two pieces of wood or iron PP, seven inches long, clear of the wood, supported by iron stays fixed to the frame, and through all the bulls. It requires to be strong, as the draught of the horses terminates there.
HH, N° 2. and 3. a cylinder or segment of wood, seven inches diameter, called a rocking tree, which goes across the frame, and moves on the pivots fixed into it, one at each end, supported by an iron bolt or piece of wood mortified into the frame, eight inches high, as appears in N° 2. and 3. to which six chains or ropes are fixed by hooks, at different distances, as you want your cuts, nine, eight, seven, or six inches from one another, and are joined to the end of each bull in which the cutting wheels run; so that when the rocking tree is turned about by the lever I, fixed in the middle of it, all the bulls, with their cutting wheels, are raised out of the ground at once, as in N° 3. by which means the machine may be turned, or moved from place to place with great ease, without any danger of straining the wheels.
LLL, &c. N° 1. 2. 3. are weights of freestone,
26 inches long and six inches broad; the under one of four inches thick, the upper one three inches thick; weighing about 64lb. the under, and 48 the upper; each of them having two holes, through which iron spikes, firmly fixed in the bulls, pass, in order to keep them steady.
When the ground is easily cut, the under stone may answer; when more difficult, the other stone may be added; so that every wheel may have seven stone weight upon it, which has been found sufficient for the stiffest land and toughest sward the machine has ever been tried on. Cast iron weights will answer fully better, but are more expensive.
The lever I, N° 2. 3. which ought to be five feet long, must have a sliding rope on it; fixed to the back part of the frame; so that when the cutting wheels are all taken out of the ground three or four inches, by the rocking tree's being turned partly round by the lever, the rope may be fixed to it by a loop over the pin R, N° 3. (it ought to be placed three feet four inches from the extremity of the lever I.) Thus all the cutting wheels are kept out of the ground till the machine is turned; and then by moving the loop off the pin, it slips back towards the frame, and the lever is gently let back to its place, as in N° 2. by which the cutting wheels are put into their former posture, by the weights fixed on the bulls in which they run. The levers may be made of good tough ash.
PP, N° 1. a small bolt of iron, with a hook on one end of it (one is sufficient), to strengthen the bolt MM to be hooked on the centre of it, and joined to the frame by a nut and screw.
The grooves in which the cutting wheels run, may be covered below at the hinder part with a plate of thin black iron, 6 inches long, 3 inches broad, having a slit in it where the wheels run, to prevent (if found necessary) any grass, weeds, or small stones, from filling the grooves, and clogging the wheels.
To the frame N° 1. are fixed (for a double-horse sward-cutter) three shafts, as in a waggon, of such length, strength, and distance from one another, as any workman may think proper.
For a single-horse sward-cutter (which has only four cutting wheels), a pair of shafts are used, and may make the two sides of the frame without any joinings. The width of the frame, in proportion to the double-horse sward-cutter, is as four to six.
It is recommended for a double-horse sward-cutter to have eight bulls and wheels, in order that when it is used to reduce hard cloddy summer-fallow, or land for barley, before the last furrow, or even after it, the whole weight (42 stone) employed in cutting the stiffest land and toughest sward, may be applied to the 8 bulls then at 6 inches from one another. The 64lb. weights to be applied to six of the bulls, and two of the 48lb. weights to each of the additional bulls, which is a sufficient weight for the purpose, and will effectually prevent a clod of more than six inches breadth from escaping being broke into pieces.
In the same manner, a single-horse sward-cutter may have six bulls for the above-mentioned purpose; the 28 stone belonging to it divided thus: The 64lb. weights to four of the bulls, and two of the 48lb. weights to each of the additional bulls.
That the machine may come as cheap as possible to the
Instruments the public, the inventor is of opinion, that the expence of the two wheels and the iron axle (which is considerable) may be saved, by joining strongly to the frame at S, N° 3, a piece of wood with a little curve at the extremity of it, resembling the foot of a sledge formerly much used in Scotland to carry in the corn from the field; the part of it resting on the ground being kept 18 inches (the half diameter of the wheels) from the frame by a strong support of wood.
As the two outer bulls next the frame are apt to get under it, so as to prevent the cutting wheels from being taken out of the ground, a thin slip of iron fixed to the inside of the frame, nearly opposite to the back end of the bulls, of convenient length, will be found necessary.
The original intention of this machine was to prepare old grass ground for the plough, by cutting it across the ridges, in the beginning of or during winter, when the ground is soft, in order to answer all the purposes that Mr Tull proposed by his four-coulters plough above described, and so strongly recommended by him for bringing into tilth grass ground that has been long rested. This the sward-cutter has been found to do much more effectually and expeditiously: For Mr Tull's machine cuts the sward in the same direction with the plough; and is liable, from every obstruction any of the coulters meet with, to be thrown out of its work altogether, or the instrument broken; to which the sward-cutter, consisting of four, six, or more cutting wheels, is never liable, from these being entirely independent of one another, cutting the ground across the ridges before ploughing, and rendering that operation easier to two horses than it would be to three, without its being cut. The furrow being cut across, falls finely from the plough in squares of any size required, not under six inches, in place of long slips of tough sward seldom and imperfectly broke by the four-coulters plough.
This instrument is very fit for preparing ground for burnbating, as it will save much hard labour.
It may be properly used in cross-cutting clover of one or two years standing, to prepare the ground for wheat, if the land is stiff and moist enough.
It may be applied to cutting and cross-cutting pasture ground, intended to have manure of any kind put upon it to meliorate the grass. In this it will far exceed the scarificator mentioned in one of Mr Young's tours; as that instrument is liable, as well as the four-coulters plough, to be thrown out of its work when meeting with a stone or other interruption. This the sward-cutter is proof against, which is looked on as its greatest excellence.
In preparing for barley, the sward-cutter excels a roller of any kind in reducing the large hard clods in clay land, occasioned by a sudden drought, after its being ploughed too wet; and it is likewise very proper for reducing such clay land when under a summer-fallow. In this operation, the sward-cutter is greatly to be preferred to the cutting-roller, likewise mentioned by Mr Young in one of his tours; for the wheels of the latter being all dependent one on another, when one is thrown out by a stone, three or four must share the same fate. Besides, the cutting-roller has but seven wheels in six feet; whereas the sward-cutter has six in four feet three inches, at nine inches
distant; and, if necessary, may have them so near as Instruments of Husbandry.
After old grass ground is cut across with the sward-cutter and ploughed, it has a very uncommon and worklike appearance, from each square turned over by the plough being raised up an inch or two at the side last moved by the earthboard; so that the field when finished, is all prettily waved, and resembles a piece of water when blown on by a gentle breeze. By this means a very great deal of the land's surface is exposed to the frost and other influences of the air, which cannot fail to have a good effect on it.
Two horses are sufficient for the draught of a double-horse sward-cutter, and one horse for a single-horse one. One man manages the machine and drives the horses. He begins his operation by first measuring off 20 or 30 paces from the machine, less or more as he inclines, and there fixes a pole. He then cuts the field cross, as near at right angles with the ridges as he can. When the cutting wheels are past the last furrow about a yard or so, and the machine is upon the utmost ridge of the field on which it must turn, he must stop the horses; then take hold of the lever I, N° 2, and by pulling it to him he raises the cutting wheels out of the ground, which are kept so by the loop of the rope being put over the pin R, in the lever I, N° 3, till the machine is turned and brought to its proper place, which is done by measuring off the same distance formerly done on the opposite side of the field. When the cutting wheels are exactly over the utmost furrow, then, on the horses being stopped, the rope is slipped off the pin R, and the lever returned to its former place, as represented N° 2, which allows the weights L, I, &c. to force the cutting wheels into the ground again. He then goes on until the interval betwixt the first and second stroke of the machine is all cut. In this manner the field is to be finished, after which you may begin to plough when you please. (N. B. There must be a pole at each side of the field.)
It is of no consequence whether the land to be sward-cut is in crooked ridges or straight, in flat ridges or in very high raised ones. Be the surface ever uneven, the cutting wheels, being all independent of one another, are forced by their weights into every furrow or hollow.
One sward-cutter will cut as much in one day as six ploughs will plough.
The land may lie several months in winter after being sward-cut, when there is no vegetation to make the cuts grow together again before it is ploughed; but the sooner it is ploughed after cutting the better, that it may have the benefit of all the winter's frost, which makes it harrow better at feed time.
When the ground is harrowed, the harrows ought to go with the waves which appear after ploughing, not against them, as by that means they are less apt to tear up the furrows all cut into squares. This, however, need only be attended to the two first times of harrowing, as they are called.
Any common wright and smith may make the instrument. It is very strong, very simple, and easily managed and moved from place to place; and, if put under cover, will last many years.
It was invented some time ago by the Honourable Robert Sandilands; and is represented in the Plate as
Instruments it has been lately improved by him, the price being at the same time reduced from 15l. or 16l. to 5l. or 6l.
3. The CULTIVATOR.
155
The cultivator described.
This instrument was invented by Mr William Lester of Northampton; and that gentleman received, from the Society for the encouragement of Arts, the society's silver medal. The purpose of this instrument is to pulverize tenacious soils that have been once plowed, in a much more complete and rapid manner than can be accomplished by any other instrument. It is thus described, Plate XII.—A, the beam; BB, the handles; CC, a cross bar of a semicircular form containing a number of holes, which allow the two bars DD to be placed nearer or further from each other.
DD are two strong bars moveable at one end upon a pivot E, and extending from thence in a triangular form to the cross bar C. In these bars are square holes, which allow the shares F placed therein to be fixed to any height required.
The seven shares marked F, are shaped at their lower extremities like small trowels; the upper parts of them are square iron bars.
GGG are three iron wheels on which the machine is moved; they may be raised or lowered at pleasure.
H, the iron hook to which the swingle-tree and horses are to be fixed.
When the machine is first employed on the land, the bars DD are expanded as much as possible. As the soil is more loosened, they are brought nearer to the centre; the shares then occupy a less space, and the soil will consequently be better pulverized.
In working on a rough fallow, therefore, the cultivator should be set for its greatest expansion, and contracted in proportion as the clods are reduced. The inventor declares himself confident that one man, a boy, and six horses, will move as much land in a day, and as effectually, as six ploughs, meaning land in a fallow state that has been previously plowed. It is requisite in some states of the soil to alter the breadth of the shares, but of this it is presumed that every farmer will be a proper judge. By the expansion and contraction of the cultivator, the points of the shares are in a small degree moved out of the direct line; but this is said to be so trifling as to prove no impediment to its working.
A certificate from Mr William Shaw of Cottenham, near Northampton, states, that he had used Mr Lester's cultivator, upon a turnip fallow in summer 1800; and that he believes it to be a very useful implement for cultivating the land in a fallow state by its working or scuffling off seven acres per day with six horses. He adds, that from its property of contracting and expanding, it is calculated to work the same land in a rough or fine state, by which means it unites the principles of two implements in one, and by the index on the axis it may be worked at any depth if required.
4. The BRAKE.
156
Brake described, Plate VIII. fig. 2.
The brake is a large and weighty harrow, the purpose of which is to reduce a stubborn soil, where an ordinary harrow makes little impression. It consists of four square bulls, each side five inches, and six feet and a half in length. The teeth are 17 inches long, bending forward like a scythe. Four of them are inserted
into each bull, fixed above with a screw-nut, having 12 inches free below, with a heel close to the under part of the bull, to prevent it from being pulled back by stones. The nut above makes it easy to be taken out for sharpening. This brake requires four horses or four oxen. One of a lesser size will not fully answer the purpose: one of a larger size will require six oxen; in which case the work may be performed at less expense with the plough.
157
This instrument may be applied to great advantage in the following circumstances. In the following strong clay that requires frequent ploughings, a braking between every ploughing will pulverize the soil, and render the subsequent ploughings more easy. In the month of March or April, when strong ground is ploughed for barley, especially if bound with couch-grass, a cross-braking is preferable to a cross-ploughing, and is done at half the expense. When ground is ploughed from the state of nature, and after a competent time is cross-ploughed, the brake is applied with great success, immediately after the cross-ploughing, to reduce the whole to proper tilt.
Let it be observed, that a brake with a greater number of teeth than above mentioned, is improper for ground that is bound together by the roots of plants, which is always the case of ground new broken up from its natural state. The brake is soon choked, and can do no execution till freed from the earth it holds. A less number of teeth would be deficient in pulverizing the soil.
4. The HARROW.
Harrows are commonly considered as of no use but to cover the seed; but they have another use scarce less essential, which is to prepare land for the seed. This is an article of importance for producing a good crop. But how imperfectly either of these purposes is performed by the common harrow, will appear from the following account of it.
158
The harrow commonly used is of different forms. The first we shall mention has two bulls, four feet long and 18 inches asunder, with four wooden teeth in each. A second has three bulls, and 12 wooden teeth. A third has four bulls, and 20 teeth of wood or iron, 10, 11, or 12 inches asunder. Now, in fine mould, the last may be sufficient for covering the seed; but none of them are sufficient to prepare for the seed any ground that requires subduing. The only tolerable form is that with iron teeth; and the bare description of its imperfections will show the necessity of a more perfect form. In the first place, this harrow is by far too light for ground new taken up from the state of nature, for clays hardened with spring drought, or for other stubborn soils: it floats on the surface; and after frequent returns in the same track, nothing is done effectually. In the next place, the teeth are too thick set, by which the harrow is apt to be choked, especially where the earth is bound with roots, which is commonly the case. At the same time, the lightness and number of teeth keep the harrow upon the surface, and prevent one of its capital purposes, that of dividing the soil: nor will fewer teeth answer for covering the seed properly. In the third place, the teeth are too short for reducing a coarse soil to proper tilt; and yet it would be in vain to make them longer, because the
Instrument of Husbandry.
the harrow is too light for going deep into the ground. Further, the common harrows are so ill constructed, as to ride at every turn one upon another. Much time is lost in disengaging them. Lastly, it is equally unfit for extirpating weeds. The ground is frequently so bound with coach-grass, as to make the furrow-like stand upright, as when old ley is ploughed: notwithstanding much labour, the grass roots keep the field, and gain the victory.
159
Improved
harrow.
Plate VIII.
Fig. 3.
A little reflection, even without experience, will make it evident, that the same harrows, whatever be the form, can never answer all the different purposes of harrowing, nor can operate equally in all different soils, rough or smooth, firm or loose. The following, therefore, have been recommended; which are of three different forms, adapted for different purposes. They are all of the same weight, drawn each by two horses. Birch is the best wood for them, because it is cheap, and not apt to split. The first is composed of four bulls, each four feet ten inches long, three and a quarter inches broad and three and a half deep; the interval between the bulls is three fourths inches; so that the breadth of the whole harrow is four feet. The bulls are connected by four sheths, which go thro' each bull, and are fixed by timber nails driven through both. In each bull five teeth are inserted, ten inches free under the bull, and ten inches afunder. They are of the same form with those of the brake, and inserted into the wood in the same manner. Each of these teeth is three pounds weight: and where the harrow is made of birch, the weight of the whole is six stone 14 pounds, Dutch. An erect bridle is fixed at a corner of the harrow, three inches high, with four notches for drawing higher or lower. To this bridle a double tree is fixed for two horses drawing abreast, as in a plough. And to strengthen the harrow, a flat rod of iron is nailed upon the harrow from corner to corner in the line of the draught.
Fig. 4.
The second harrow consists of two parts, connected together by a crank or hinge in the middle, and two chains of equal length, one at each end, which keep the two parts always parallel, and at the same distance from each other. The crank is so contrived, as to allow the two parts to ply to the ground like two unconnected harrows; but neither of them to rise above the other, more than if they were a single harrow without a joint. In a word, they may form an angle downward, but not upward. Thus they have the effect of two harrows in curved ground, and of one weighty harrow in a plain. This harrow is composed of six bulls, each four feet long, three inches broad, and three and a half deep. The interval between the bulls is nine and a half inches; which makes the breadth of the whole harrow, including the length of the crank, to be five feet five inches. Each bull has five teeth, nine inches free under the wood, and ten inches afunder. The weight of each tooth is two pounds; the rest as in the former.
Fig. 5.
The third consists also of two parts, connected together like that last mentioned. It has eight bulls, each four feet long, two and a half inches broad, and three deep. The interval between the bulls is eight inches; and the breadth of the whole harrow, including the length of the crank, is six feet four inches. In each bull are inserted five teeth, seven inches free
under the wood, and ten and an half inches afunder, Instruments of Husbandry. each tooth weighing one pound. The rest as in the two former harrows.
These harrows are a considerable improvement. They ply to curved ground like two unconnected harrows; and when drawn in one plane, they are in effect one of these harrows of double weight, which makes the teeth pierce deep into the ground. The imperfection of common harrows, mentioned above, will suggest the advantages of the set of harrows here recommended. The first is proper for harrowing land that has long lain after ploughing, as where oats are sown on a winter furrow, and in general for harrowing stiff land: it pierces deep into the soil by its long teeth, and divides it minutely. The second is intended for covering the seed: its long teeth lays the seed deeper than the common harrow can do; which is no slight advantage. By placing the seed considerably under the surface, the young plants are, on the one hand, protected from too much heat, and, on the other, have sufficiency of moisture. At the same time, the seed is so well covered that none of it is lost. Seed slightly covered by the common harrows wants moisture, and is burnt up by the sun; beside, that a proportion of it is left upon the surface uncovered. The third harrow supplies what may be deficient in the second, by smoothing the surface, and covering the seed more accurately. The three harrows make the ground finer and finer, as heckles do lint; or, to use a different comparison, the first harrow makes the bed, the second lays the seed in it, the third smooths the clothes. They have another advantage not inferior to any mentioned: they mix manure with the soil more intimately than can be done by common harrows; and upon such intimate mixture depends greatly the effect of manure, as has already been explained. To conclude, these harrows are contrived to answer an established principle in agriculture. That fertility depends greatly on pulverizing the soil, and on an intimate mixture of manure with it, whether dung, lime, marl, or any other.
The Chain and Screw Harrow. Fig. 8. is the plan of a harrow also invented by Mr Sandilands, and to which he has given the name of the chain and screw harrow. Its properties are, that if your ridges be high, and you wish to harrow them from one end to the other, by lengthening the chain (which the screw commands), the harrow, when drawn along, forms an angle, downwards, and misses none of the curve of the ridge, so far as it extends (which may be nine feet, the distance from A to B. The extent, in the contrary direction, is five feet six inches). When the crowns of the ridges have got what is thought a sufficient harrowing lengthwise, you shorten the chain by the screw, which forms an angle upwards; the harrow is then drawn by the horses, one on each side of the furrow; which completely harrows it, and the side of the ridges, if 18 feet broad.
When you want to harrow even ground or high ridges across with the screw, you can bring the harrow to be horizontal, so as to work as a solid harrow without a joint.
The teeth are formed and fixed in the common manner, square, not in the fashion of coulter; and are nine or ten inches below the wood, and of such strength as it is thought the land requires. The teeth cut, or rather
161
Instruments that tear, the ground at every four inches without variation, though seemingly placed irregularly; and this without any risk of choking, except sometimes at the extreme angles, where the teeth are necessarily near each other; but which may be cleaned with the greatest ease, by raising them a little from the ground. The figures 1, 2, &c. point out where the 12 teeth on each side of the harrow are placed.
Where a strong brake-harrow is not necessary, by making the teeth shorter and lighter you may have 48 teeth, which will tear the ground at every two inches, cover the feed well, and make a fine mould.
It is recommended, that harrows for every purpose, and of any size, be made on the above principle; by which no tooth can ever follow the track of another, and all of them will be kept constantly acting.
5. The ROLLER.
162
The roller. The roller is an instrument of capital use in husbandry, though, till of late years, scarcely known in ordinary practice; and where introduced, it is commonly so light as to have very little effect.
Rollers are of different kinds; stone, cast-iron, wood. Each of these has its advantages. We would recommend the last, constructed in the following manner: Take the body of a tree, six feet ten inches long, the larger the better, made as near a perfect cylinder as possible. Surround this cylinder with three rows of fillies, one row in the middle, and one at each end. Line these fillies with planks of wood equally long with the roller, and so narrow as to ply into a circle. Bind them fast together with iron rings. Beech wood is the best, being hard and tough. The roller, thus mounted, ought to have a diameter of three feet ten inches. It has a double pair of shafts for two horses abreast. These are sufficient in level ground; in ground not level, four horses may be necessary. The roller without the shafts ought to weight 200 stone Dutch; and the large diameter makes this great weight easy to be drawn.
163
Season for rolling. Rolling wheat in the month of April is an important article in loose soil; as the winter rains pressing down the soil leave many roots in the air. Barley ought to be rolled immediately after the seed is sown; especially where grass feeds are sown with it. The best time for rolling a gravelly soil, is as soon as the mould is so dry as to bear the roller without clinging to it. A clay soil ought neither to be tilled, harrowed, nor rolled, till the field be perfectly dry. And as rolling a clay soil is chiefly intended for smoothing the surface, a dry season may be patiently waited for, even till the crop be three inches high. There is the greater reason for this precaution, because much rain immediately after rolling is apt to cake the surface when drought follows. Oats in a light soil may be rolled immediately after the seed is sown, unless the ground be so wet as to cling to the roller. In a clay soil, delay rolling till the grain be above ground. The proper time for sowing grass feeds in an oat field, is when the grain is three inches high; and rolling should immediately succeed, whatever the soil be. Flax ought to be rolled immediately after sowing. This should never be neglected; for it makes the feed push equally, and prevents after-growth; the bad effect of which is visible in every step of the process for dressing flax. The
first year's crop of sown grasses ought to be rolled as early the next spring as the ground will bear the horses. It fixes all the roots precisely as in the case of wheat. Rolling the second and third crops in loose soil is an useful work; though not so essential as rolling the first crop.
164
In the first place, rolling renders a loose soil more compact and solid; which encourages the growth of plants, rolling by making the earth clap close to every part of every root. Nor need we be afraid of rendering the soil too compact; for no roller that can be drawn by two or four horses will have that effect. In the next place, rolling keeps in the moisture, and hinders drought to penetrate. This effect is of great moment. In a dry season, it may make the difference of a good crop, or no crop, especially where the soil is light. In the third place, the rolling grass feeds, beside the foregoing advantages, facilitates the mowing for hay; and it is to be hoped, that the advantage of this practice will lead farmers to mow their corn also, which will increase the quantity of straw both for food and for the dung-hill.
There is a small roller for breaking clods in land intended for barley. The common way is, to break clods with a mallet; which requires many hands, and is a laborious work. This roller performs the work more effectually, and at much less expence: let a harrowing precede, which will break the clods a little; and after lying a day, or a day and a half, to dry, this roller will dissolve them into powder. This however does not supersede the use of the great roller after all the other articles are finished, in order to make the soil compact, and to keep out the summer drought. A stone roller four feet long, and fifteen inches diameter, drawn by one horse, is sufficient to break clods that are easily dissolved by pressure. The use of this roller in preparing land for barley is gaining ground daily, even among ordinary tenants, who have become sensible both of the expence and toil of using wooden mells. But in a clay soil, the clods are sometimes too firm, or too tough, to be subdued by so light a machine. In that case, a roller of the same size, but of a different construction, is necessary. It ought to be surrounded with circles of iron, six inches asunder, and seven inches deep; which will cut even the most stubborn clods, and reduce them to powder. Let not this instrument be considered as a final refinement. In a stiff clay it may make the difference of a plentiful or scanty crop.
6. The FALLOW-CLEANSING MACHINE.
165
This was invented by Mr Aaron Ogden, a smith at Athton-under-Lyne, near Manchester in Lancashire. It is intended for cleansing fallows from weeds, &c. which exhaust the riches of the soil. A, A, is the frame; B, the first roller; C, the second ditto; in which last are two cranks to move the arms D, D, which work the rake up the directors fixed on the plank E. The under side of the lower ends or shares of these directions are sharp, to cut the clods and let them come on the upper side. Each alternate heel of the share is longer than the intermediate one, that they may not have more than one-half to cut at once. At the back of the plank E are two screws to let it loose, that the directors may be set higher or lower. The shares are to penetrate the ground two or three inches, to raise the quicks till the rake I, I, fetches
Instruments
of
Husbandry.
fetches them into the cart H, where a man must be ready with a muck-hook to clear them backward when gathered. In the rake I are two teeth for every space of the directors, that stones, &c. may be gathered without damage. K, K, are two staples, by which the machine is drawn: under them at b are two hooks, placed low to raise the machine in turning, by the help of the traces; and the axle-tree of the cart should be fixed upon a pin, that it may turn like a waggon. F, F, are the triggers to throw the rake behind the roots. The long teeth at G, G, are to cleave the roller C. I, I, is the rake which gathers up the weeds into the cart H, and is drawn above the trigger F by the working of the arms D, expressed by the dotted lines at d d, i i. The triggers F, of which there is one on each side, move on the pivots a; so that when the points b of the rake I have been drawn up by the directors E to the part marked e, the trigger, giving way, permits the rake to pass; but immediately falling, the rake returns along the upper surface of the trigger marked e, e, and of course falls on the weeds when it comes to the end, a little beyond the pivot a. The reader will observe, that the boarding is taken away on one side, in the Plate, in order to give a more perfect view of the inner parts of the machine; and in fact it would perhaps be better if all the boarding, marked L, L, L, was taken away, and frame-work put in its stead. The cart H might undoubtedly also be made lighter. The wheels M, M, appear in the Plate to be made of solid wood: but there is no necessity they should be so. At N, is another view of the roller C, by which the disposition of the spikes may be easily comprehended. Suppose the circle O, described by the end of the roller N, to be divided by four straight lines into eight equal segments, as represented at P. Let the same be done at the other end of the roller, and parallel lines be drawn from one corresponding point to the other the length of the roller; mark the points with figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8; afterwards draw oblique lines, as from 1, at the end of O, to 2, at the other end, and from 2 to 3, &c. on these oblique lines the spikes are to be fixed at equal distances, in eight circles, described on the circumference of the roller. The spikes of the small roller B are fixed in the same manner, except that the diameter being smaller, there are only six instead of eight rows. R is another view of the directors, with the plank E on which they are fixed; and S is a section of a part of the plank, with one of the directors as fixed, in which may be seen the heel m, from whence to the point of the share n is a sharp cutting edge. See the same letters in figure R. At T is one of the long teeth to be seen at G; it is bent towards the roller C, which it serves to cleanse. When the end of the rake b, after rising above e, is pushed, by the motion of the arms D, D, along the upper part e, e, of the trigger F, and comes to the end beyond a; as it falls, the part of the arm marked o rests in the notch p, till it is again raised by the motion of the roller C with the rake. The roller C is to be one foot diameter, the spikes nine inches long, that they may go through the furrow (if the soil should be loose) into the hard earth, the more effectually to work the rake, which otherwise might be so overcharged as to cause the roller to drag without turning. In the rake-ends b there should
be pivots, with rollers or pullers on, to go in the Instruments of Husbandry. groove, to take off the friction; and they would likewise take the triggers more surely as the rake comes back. The rake should also be hung so far backward, that when it is fallen the arms of it may lie in the same plane or parallel with the directors, on which it comes up (which will require the frame to be two inches longer in the model). This will cause the rake to fall heavier, and drive the teeth into the roots, and bring them up without shattering. These teeth must be made of steel, very fine, and so long as to reach down to the plank on which the directors are fixed, that is to say, six inches long (the directors are also to be made six inches broad above the plank). The rake-head should also fall a little before the crank is at its extremity, which will cause the rake to pass forward to let the teeth come into the roots. The rake-teeth must drop in the same plane with the roller and wheels, or on the surface of the earth. No more space should be given from the roller C to the long teeth at G G than that the rake may just miss the spikes of the roller C and fall on the places before mentioned. As the first roller B was intended to cleanse the second C more than for any other use, it may be omitted when the machine is made in large, as Mr Ogden has lately found that the long teeth at G G answer the end alone, and this renders the machine about a sixth part shorter. Now, to suit any sort of earth, there should be to each machine three planks, with directors at different spaces to use occasionally; in the first, the spaces between the directors should be eight inches wide, in the second six, and in the third four. This will answer the same end as having so many machines.
As there may be some objections to the rake not leaving the roots when it has brought them up, Mr Ogden has several methods of cleansing it; but as he would make it as simple as possible, he chooses to let it be without them at present; but suppose it should bring some roots back again with it, it will probably lose them before it gets back to the extremity; whence they will lie light, and be of but little detriment to the others coming up. Mr Ogden would have the first machine made four feet six inches wide, the teeth divided into equal spaces, the outsides into half spaces.
7. The new-invented Patent Universal Sowing Machine.
This machine, whether made to be worked by hand, Universally drawn by a horse, or fixed to a plough, and used with sowing it, is extremely simple in the construction, and not liable to be put out of order; as there is but one movement to direct the whole, nor does it require any skill in working. It will sow wheat, barley, oats, rye, clover, cole-seed, hemp, flax, canary, rape, turnip, besides a great variety of other kinds of grain and seeds broad-cast, with an accuracy hitherto unknown. It is equally useful in the new husbandry, particularly when fixed to a plough; it will then drill a more extensive variety of grain, pulse, and seed (through every gradation, with regard to quantity, and deliver each kind with greater regularity than any drill-plough whatever. When used in this manner, it will likewise be found of the utmost service to farmers who are partial to the old husbandry, as, among many other very valuable and peculiar properties, it will not only sow in
Instrument in the broad-cast way with the most singular exactness, but save the expence of a feedman; the feed being sown (either over or under furrow at pleasure), and the land ploughed, at the same operation.
Perhaps a fair and decisive experiment for ascertaining the superior advantage of broad-casting or drilling any particular crop, was never before so practicable; as the feed may now be put in with the utmost degree of regularity, in both methods of culture, by the same machine; consequently, the feed will be sown in both cases with equal accuracy, without which it is impossible to make a just decision.
The excellence of this machine consists in spreading any given quantity of feed over any given number of acres with a mathematical exactness, which cannot be done by hand; by which a great saving may be made in feeding the ground, as well as benefiting the expected crop.
There has always been a difficulty in sowing turnip feed with any degree of exactness, both from the minuteness of the feed, and the smallness of the quantity required to be sown on an acre. Here the machine has a manifest advantage, as it may be set to sow the least quantity ever required on an acre; and with an accuracy the best feedman can never attain to.
It will also sow clover, cole, flax, and every other kind of small feed, with the utmost degree of regularity.
It will likewise broad-cast beans, peas, and tares, or drill them with the greatest exactness, particularly when constructed to be used with a plough.
Another advantage attending the use of this machine is, that the wind can have no effect on the falling of the feed.
Of the Machine when made to be used without a Plough, and to be drawn by a Horse.—It may in this case be made of different lengths at the desire of the purchaser. The upper part AAAAA, contains the hoppers from which the grain or feed descends into the spouts. The several spouts all rest upon a bar, which hangs and plays freely by two diagonal supporters BB; a trigger fixed to this bar bears a catch-wheel; this being fixed on the axle, occasions a regular and continual motion, or jogging of the spouts, quicker or slower in proportion to the pace the person sowing with it drives; and of course, if he quickens his pace, the bar will receive a greater number of strokes from the catch-wheel, and the grain or feed will feed the faster. If he drives slower, by receiving fewer strokes, the contrary must take place. In going along the side of a hill, the strength of the stroke is corrected by a spring which acts with more or less power, in proportion as the machine is more or less from a horizontal position, and counteracts the difference of gravity in the bar, so that it presses, in all situations, with a proper force against the catch-wheel. This spring is unnecessary if the land be pretty level. At the bottom of the machine is placed an apron or shelf in a sloping position; and the corn or feed, by falling thereon from the spouts above, is scattered about in every direction under the machine, and covers the ground in a most regular and uniform manner.
To sow the corn or feed in drills, there are moveable spouts (see fig. 10.), which are fixed on or taken off at pleasure, to direct the feed from the upper spout to the bottom of the furrow.
VOL. I. Part I.
The machine is regulated for sowing any particular quantity of feed on an acre by a brass slider, A, fig. 7, fixed by screws against a brass bridge on each of the spouts. The machine is prevented from feeding while turning at the ends, by only removing the lever E, fig. 2, out of the channel G, to another at H, on the right hand of it, which carries back the bar from the catch-wheel, and occasions the motion of the spouts to cease, and at the same time brings them upon a level by the action of the diagonal supporters; so that no corn or feed can fall from them.
The machine in this form is particularly useful for broad-casting clover upon barley or wheat; or for sowing any other kind of feed, where it is necessary that the land should first be harrowed exceedingly fine and even.
Manner of using the Machine, when drawn by a Horse.—Place the machine about two feet from the ends of the furrows where you intend it shall begin to sow. Fill the hoppers with feed, and drive it forwards with the outside wheel in the first furrow. When you are at the end of the length, at the opposite side of the field, lift the lever E, fig. 2, into the channel H, and the machine will instantly stop sowing. Drive it on about two feet, and then turn. Fill the hoppers again if necessary; then remove the lever back again into the channel G, and in returning, let the outside wheel of the machine go one furrow within the track which was made by it, in passing from the opposite end; as for example, if the wheel passed down the eighth furrow from the outside of the field, let it return in the seventh; and in every following length let the outside wheel always run one furrow within the track made by the same wheel: because the breadth sown is about nine inches less than the distance between the wheels.
Let the machine be kept in a perpendicular situation. If the farmer wishes to sow more or less feed on any one part of the field than the other, it is only raising the handles a little higher, or sinking them a little lower than usual, and it will occasion a sufficient alteration; and should the last turn be less in breadth than the machine, those spouts which are not wanted may be taken up from the bar, and prevented from feeding, by turning the knob above them.
Also, when the land required to be sown has what is called a vent, that is, when the sides of the field run in an oblique line to the furrows, which by this means are unequal in length; the spouts must be taken up or let down in succession by turning the knobs, as that part of the machine where they are placed arrives at the ends of the furrows. This is done while the machine is going forwards.
If the land be tolerably level, the machine may be fixed by the screw in the front, and the machine may then be used by any common harrow boy.
Method of regulating the Machine.—In each spout is fixed a bridge (see fig. 7.), with an aperture in it, B, for the grain or feed to pass through. This aperture is enlarged or contracted by a slider, A, which passes over it; and, when properly fixed for the quantity of feed designed to be sown on an acre, is fastened by means of two strong screws firmly against the bridge. This is made use of in sowing all kinds of feed, where it is required to sow from one bushel upwards on an acre. To sow one, two, three gallons, or any of the intermediate
Instruments of Husbandry. mediate quantities, as of clover, cole-feed, &c., the brass plate, fig. 6. is placed between the bridge and the slider, with the largest aperture B downwards, which aperture is enlarged or contracted by the slider as before. To sow turnips, the same plate is placed between the bridge and the slider, with its smallest aperture A downwards, and the hollow part about the same aperture inwards.
Fig. 8. is a view of the regulator, by which the apertures in the several spouts are all set exactly alike, with the utmost care, to make them feed equally. The extreme height of the largest aperture is equal to the breadth AB, and the breadth at C is equal to the height of the smallest aperture used, viz. that for turnips. The side AC is divided into 60 equal parts, and on it moves the slider or horse D; which being placed at any particular degree, according to the quantity of feed required to be sown on an acre, is fixed upon it, by a screw on the side of the slider or horse. When this is done, the end of the regulator is put through the aperture in the bridge or plate (whichever is intended to be used), and the slider against the bridge in the spout, raised by it, till it stops against the horse on the regulator; then the slider is fastened against the bridge firmly by the two screws; care being taken at the same time that it stand nearly square.
By this means the spouts (being all fixed in the same manner) will feed equally.
It is easy to conceive that the size of the apertures, and consequently the quantity of feed to be sown on an acre, may be regulated with a far greater accuracy than is required in common practice.
The spouts may be regulated with the utmost nicety, in five minutes, to sow each particular feed, for the whole season. But a little practice will enable any person, who possesses but a very moderate capacity, to make the spouts feed equally, even without using the regulator (A).
Of the Machine, when made to be used by Hand.—The difference of the machine in this case is, that it is made lighter, with but three spouts, without shafts, and is driven forwards by the handles. It hath also a bolt in front, which being pushed in by the thumb, releases the machine; so that it can then easily be placed in a perpendicular position. This alteration is necessary to keep the handles of a convenient height, in sowing up and down a hill, where the slope is considerable; and is done while the machine is turning at the end of the length. The method of regulating and using it is the same as when made to be drawn by a horse.
Of the Machine, when constructed to be used with a Plough.—This is, without doubt, the most useful application of the machine; and it can be fixed without difficulty to any kind of plough, in the same manner as to that represented in fig. 1.
The advantages arising from the use of it are great and numerous; for, beside the increase in the crop, which will be ensured by the feeds being broad-cast with a mathematical nicety, a large proportion of feed (the value of which alone, in a few months, will amount to more than the price of the machine) and the feed-man's labour will be saved. The feed may likewise be sown either under or over furrow; or one cast each way, as is practised by some farmers. The feeds also, being cast by the machine upon the fresh ploughed land, may be immediately harrowed in, before the mould has lost any part of its moisture; which in a dry season will greatly promote the crop. In drilling any kind of grain, pulse, or seed, it possesses every property that can be wished for in the best drill-plough, nor will it (as most of them do) bruise the seed, or feed irregularly. The construction of the machine is the same as the large ones, except being made with one hopper and spout instead of several, and the apron moveable instead of being fixed, as may be seen by inspecting fig. 4. The only alteration necessary to make the machine broad-cast or drill is, in the former case to place the apron B, fig. 1. at the bottom of the machine, upon the hooks FF, sloping either towards the furrows or the unploughed land, according as it is intended to sow the feed, either over or under furrow. Whenever the apron is required to be shifted, it is done in less than a second of time; as it only requires to be moved up or down with the hand, when a catch fixes it.
To prepare it for drilling, instead of the apron, place the long spout, fig. 10. upon the brackets, on the front of the machine, by the ears AA, to receive the feed from the upper spout, and fasten the lower end of it, by a small cord, to that hook upon which the apron is hung for broad-casting which is next the plough (see fig. 3.); the feed will then be directed by the long spout, to the centre of the furrow, near the heel of the plough. The spring for correcting the strength of the stroke, is necessary only when they are required to go along the side of a considerable declivity. The machine, when fixed to a plough, does not require the smallest degree of skill in using, as nothing is necessary but to keep the hopper filled, which will contain a sufficient quantity of feed to go upwards of 140 rods, before it will want refilling, when three bushels and a half
(A) Proper directions are given with each machine for using it, as also for fixing the sliders to sow any particular quantity of corn or seed on an acre, so as to enable any person to set the spouts.
The prices of the machine (exclusive of the packing cases) are as follow. If constructed to be used with a single furrow plough; the wheel, with the axle and cheeks sleeved, strap, regulator, brass-plates for broad-casting or drilling turnips, lucerne, tares, wheat, barley, &c. &c. &c. and every article necessary for fixing it included, three guineas and a half. If made with a spring (for sowing on the side of a hill, where the slope is considerable), but which is very rarely necessary, five shillings more. If made to be fixed to any double-furrow plough, four guineas and a half.
The large machine, fig. 2. when made to broad-cast seven furrows at a time and to be drawn by a horse, eight guineas and a half. If constructed to sow five furrows at a time, and to be used by hand, six guineas. These are also five shillings more if made with a spring.
Instrument half are sown on an acre. The accuracy with which it will broad-cast, may in some measure be conceived, by considering that the feed regularly descends upon the apron or shelf, and is from thence scattered upon the ground, in quantity exactly proportioned to the speed of the plough: also that each cast spreads to the third furrow: and by this means shuts upon the last. In this manner it is continually filling up till the whole field is completely covered; so that it is impossible to leave the smallest space without its proper quantity of feed.
When the plough is wanted for any other purpose, the machine, with the wheel at the heel of the plough for giving it motion, can be removed or replaced at any time in five minutes.
Fig. 11. represents the machine fixed to a double-furrow creating plough, and prepared for drilling. As this plough may not be generally known, it will not be improper to observe, that it is chiefly used for creating the land with furrows (after it has been once ploughed and harrowed); which method is necessary when the seed is to be sown broad-cast upon land that has been a clover ley, &c. because, if the feed be thrown upon the rough furrows, a considerable part of it will fall between them, and be unavoidably lost, by lying too deep buried in the earth. This mode answers extremely well, and partakes of both methods of culture; the feed, though sown broad-cast, falling chiefly into the furrows.
The machine is very useful for sowing in this manner; as the feed is broad-cast, with an inconceivable regularity, at the time the land is created. The advantages it likewise possesses for drilling all sorts of grain or seed with this plough, are too evident to need mentioning.
The machine, when constructed to be used with a double-furrow plough, is made with two upper and two long spouts for drilling, two aprons for broad-casting, and with a double hopper; but in other respects the same as when intended for a single furrow plough: it is used in all cases with the greatest ease imaginable.
The interval between the points of the two shares of a creating plough is usually ten inches; the beam about nine feet long; and the whole made of a light construction.
A more particular explanation of the figures.—Fig. 1. The machine fixed to a Kentish turn wreath plough. A, The machine. B, The apron upon which the feed falls and rebounds upon the land, in broad-casting. C, Lid to cover the hopper. D, Wheel at the heel of the plough. E, Strap. FF, Hooks, upon which the apron turns by a pivot on each side. G, Stay, to keep the machine steady. H, Lever, to prevent it from sowing.
Fig. 2. The machine constructed to be drawn by a horse. AAAA, The hoppers. BB, The diagonal supporters. CCCC, The upper spouts. D, The apron or shelf upon which the feed falls from the upper spouts. E, The lever, which carries back the bar, and prevents the machine from sowing. FF, Staples upon the handles, through which the reins pass, for the man who conducts the machine, to direct the horse by. I, Screw, to fix the machine occasionally. N. B. The knobs (by turning which each particular spout may be taken from off the bar, and thereby prevented from
feeding) are over each upper spout; but, to prevent confusion, are not lettered in the Plate.
Fig. 3. is the same machine with that in fig. 1. The dotted lines, expressing the situation of the long spout, when the apron is removed, and the machine adapted for drilling.
Fig. 4. Also the same machine, with the front laid open to show the inside. A, The catch-wheel fixed upon the axle. BB, The axle upon which the machine hangs between the handles of the plough. C, The pulley, by which the strap from the wheel at the heel of the plough turns the catch-wheel. D, the bar, upon which the upper spout rests, suspended by the diagonal supporters EE, bearing against the catch-wheel by the trigger F, and thereby kept in motion while the plough is going. G, The apron in a sloping position, upon which the corn or feed falls from the upper spout, and is scattered by rebounding upon the land. It turns upon pivots, and by this means throws the feed either towards the right hand or left at pleasure.
Fig. 5. The upper spout.
Fig. 6. The plate which is placed between the bridge and the slider, for sowing small feeds. The aperture A being downwards for sowing turnips; the larger one B downwards for sowing clover, &c.
Fig. 7. The bridge, fixed in the upper spouts. A, The slider, which contracts or enlarges the different apertures. B, The aperture in the bridge, through which the feed passes, when sowing any quantity from one bushel upwards on an acre.
Fig. 8. The regulator, made of brass. D, The slider or horse which moves upon it, and is fixed at any particular degree by a screw in its side.
Fig. 9. represents the movement in the machine fig. 2. AAAA, Cleats, between which the upper spouts rest. BB, The diagonal supporters, by which the bar with the upper spouts hang. C, The catch-wheel. DD, The axle. E, The trigger upon the bar, which bears against the catch-wheel. FF, Stays from the back of the machine, by which the bar plays.
Fig. 10. The long spout. AA, The ears by which it hangs.
SECT. II. Of preparing Land for cropping, by removing obstructions and bringing the Soil into a proper state.
I. OF REMOVING STONES.
It is of the utmost importance to have land effectually cleared of stones, before undertaking any agricultural operation upon it; for by means of them there is frequently more expence incurred in one season, by the breaking of ploughs and the injury suffered by the cattle and harness, than would remove the evil. It has also been observed that the soil round a large stone is commonly the best in the field. It may be considered as purchased at a low rate by removing the stone. At any rate, such stones must be removed before the ground can be properly cultivated. For whether a large stone occupy the surface, or lie beneath it, but within reach of the plough, a considerable space around it cannot be stirred by that instrument, and is therefore useless. Even the rest of the field where stones
Preparation of Land. Preparation stones abound must be laboured in a more slow and tedious manner, on account of the caution necessary to avoid the danger which they produce.
The stones which impede the improvement of land are, 1st, loose stones, or such as are thrown up to the surface by the plough; and, 2dly, fitfall stones, which are either upon or immediately below the surface, but are of such magnitude that they cannot be stirred by the plough. The first kind of stones may usually be easily removed by being gathered and carried off. When land is laid down for hay, such stones are often improperly thrown in heaps into the furrows, where they ever after continue to interrupt the plough, or are dragged again by the harrows over the land. Instead of proceeding in this manner, they ought to be carried wholly off the field in carts at the driest season of the year, and placed in situations in which they may be rendered useful to the farm. In this point of view, stones are sometimes of considerable value for making concealed drains, or for making and repairing the roads through a farm, and also for the repairs of some kinds of fences.
The only writer upon agriculture who has in any case objected to the propriety of clearing land of small stones, is probably Lord Kames. In some parts of the south of Scotland, and particularly in Galloway, the soil is said to be composed in a great measure of gravel, and of stones of a smooth surface, as if worn by the running of water. After being ploughed, the whole surface of every field appears to be composed of loose stones lying almost in contact with each other. Some industrious farmers, with great labour, collected and removed the stones from a few of their fields with a view to their improvement; and the result is said to have been, that the succeeding crops were wholly blighted in the tender blade, and never came to maturity. The stones upon the surface were supposed to have prevented the exhalation of the moisture from the shallow and extremely porous and open soil which they covered; and they were also supposed to have contributed to foster the young plants, by reflecting powerfully from their smooth surfaces the sun's rays in every direction around them: but when they were removed, the soil, in that bleak climate, became at once too cold and too dry for any purpose of agriculture. The farmers, therefore, who had with so much toil and cost removed the stones from part of their lands, could think of no better remedy than, with equal toil, to bring them all back again, and carefully replace them upon their fields. It is added, that the soil immediately resumed its wonted fertility. The truth of this anecdote has never been contested; and there is no doubt that it has long been current in the south of Scotland, both previous to its publication by Lord Kames, and after that period, among a class of persons who are very unlikely to have been acquainted with his writings. It is possible that the replacing the stones was the best remedy for the want of fertility in the soil which its cultivators had within their reach: but it is probable that they might have found it of more importance to have covered the surface of their land with a substantial coat of clay (sarl), or even with almost any kind of earth or clay obtained from the bogs and swamps that usually abound in these countries, providing only they could obtain a quantity of lime to add to it. In this way, possessing
land whose bottom was very pervious to moisture, they might have obtained a soil suited to every purpose of agriculture; whereas, in its present state, it must remain for ever unfit to be touched with the scythe.
With regard to large or fitfall stones which cannot be removed by any ordinary effort, they usually either appear fully above the surface or are concealed immediately under it. For the sake of discovering concealed stones, it is said to be a custom in Yorkshire, when they intend to reduce waste and rude land under the plough, in the first place, carefully to go over the whole surface with sharp prongs, which at the distance of every twelve or fourteen inches they thrust into the ground to the depth of above a foot, and wherever a stone meets the prong they mark the spot with a twig, a bit of wood, or some other object. They afterwards trace all the marks, and remove every stone before they touch the land with the plough.
Concerning the modes which have been adopted for removing large stones out of the way of the plough; one of the simplest is the following: A pit or hole is dug beside the stone, 16 or 18 inches deeper than the height or thickness of the stone. A number of men are then assembled, who tumble it into the pit. It is immediately covered up with a part of the earth that came out of the hole; and the rest of the earth is scattered over the field, or employed in bringing to a level with the rest of the soil the spot where the stone formerly lay. As the stone now remains at a greater depth than the plough can reach, it is no longer an impediment to agriculture. In performing this operation, however, the workmen must attend to the nature of the soil, and take care that the weight of the stone do not bring down the side of the pit, which might be attended with dangerous consequences. To obviate any hazard of this kind, it is always proper to have at hand a stout plank, which ought to be laid across the pit or hole, immediately under the nearest corner or edge of the stone. With this precaution, a single man may usually perform the whole operation of burying stones or pieces of rock of very great size and weight.
By the above operation, however, the stones are utterly lost; whereas they may sometimes be of considerable value for fences or other buildings. When this is the case, they must be broken to pieces before they are removed. With this view it is to be observed, that a great variety of stones have some thin veins, which being found, wedges can be driven into them by large hammers, so that they may be easily broken. For such operations spades and pick axes are necessary to clear away the earth, and a large and a small lever to turn the stones out of the ground. Hammers and wedges are also requisite, with carts, to remove the fragments from the field. In the Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. xix. p. 565. parish of Maderty, we are told that "the Rev. Mr Ramsay, the present incumbent, who occupies a piece of land full of fitfall stones, constructed a machine for the purpose of raising them. It operates on the principles of the pulley and cylinder, or wheel and axis, and has a power as one to 24; it is extremely simple, being a triangle, on two sides of which the cylinder is fixed; it can be easily wrought and carried from place to place by three men. A low four-wheeled machine of a strong construction is made to go under the arms of the triangle, to receive the
Preparation of Land. Preparation of the stone when raised up. This machine has been already of great use in clearing several fields of large stones in this place and neighbourhood.168
It is evident, that the machine here described is only valuable for getting stones out of the way in the gross and unbroken; and, accordingly, we learn that stone fences are almost unknown in the parish of Mardery.
Where stones are valuable, therefore, and the operation of breaking them with hammers and wedges is found impracticable or too laborious, it will be necessary to blast them with gunpowder. To perform this operation properly, however, considerable experience is requisite; for it is said, that a skilful workman can in most instances, by the depth and position of the bore, contrive to rend stones into three equal pieces without causing their fragments to fly about. In time of war, however, the expense of gunpowder is apt to become very great. With a view to diminish the cost of that article, it has been suggested, that it is proper to perform the operation not with gunpowder alone, but with that article of a good quality, mixed up with about one-third of its bulk of quicklime in fine powder. It is said that this composition possesses as much force as an equal quantity of pure gunpowder, and it is even alleged, that the proportion of quicklime may be increased with advantage. How the strength of gunpowder should be so much augmented by the addition of quicklime, we do not know. Perhaps it may add to the force of the explosion by undergoing a chemical decomposition of its parts, as it has of late been suspected, that this mineral is by no means a simple or uncombined body.
Where a field is very greatly overrun with concealed stones, the most effectual method of getting quit of them, and of rendering it permanently arable, consists of trenching it wholly by the spade. Nor is this always the most expensive mode of proceeding. The trenching can be done at the rate of from 31. to 42. per Scots acre, which is one-sixth larger than an English acre, allowing at the same time the stones or their price at the quarry to the labourers. In this way, the expense of ploughing the field is saved. The soil is deepened to the utmost extent of which it is capable, and can be laid out in the form most convenient for cultivation. In Dr Anderson's report of the state of agriculture in Aberdeenshire, it is said that the expense of trenching an acre to the depth of from 12 to 14 inches, where the stones are not very large and numerous, runs from 4d. to 6d. a fall, which is from 21. 13s. to 41. per Scots acre. Ground that has been formerly trenched, is sometimes done as low as 2d. per fall, or 11. 6s. 6d. per acre. Hence, in consequence of the practice of trenching ground by the spade being not unfrequent in Aberdeenshire, workmen have become expert, and by competition have rendered the price extremely moderate. It is to be wished that the same practice were more frequent in other parts of the country, as it would have a tendency to introduce a taste for the most correct and perfect of all modes of labouring the soil, and would also occupy a considerable part of the population of the country, in the most innocent and healthful of all employments, that of agriculture.
It has already been remarked, that the presence of moisture is of the utmost importance to the success of vegetation. At the same time, as must necessarily happen of drawing, with every powerful and active agent, the too great abundance of water is no less pernicious to many plants, than an entire want of it. When it stagnates upon the soil, it decomposes or rots the roots and stems of the most valuable vegetables. Even when it does not remain on a spot round the whole year, its temporary stagnation during the winter renders the land unproductive. Seasons of tillage are often lost, and in wet years the crop must always be scanty and precarious. When in grass, the land can only produce the coarsest and most hardy vegetables, which can resist the chill or cold state of the soil, or the fermentation which is often produced by sudden warmth while the water remains upon the ground. Hence arises the importance of draining, by which arable land is rendered manageable, is made to dry gradually and early in the spring, and the corn is increased in quantity and weight; and by which, in pasture lands, the grasses are made to change their colour and to lose their coarse appearance, and the finer kinds of plants are enabled to flourish. Even the climate is, by means of draining, very considerably improved. It is rendered less cold during the winter, and by diminishing in hot weather the exhalations from the soil, its salubrity both to animal and vegetable life is greatly increased. Every kind of grain comes earlier to maturity. The harvest is less precarious, and the diseases are banished which arose from a damp soil and a humid atmosphere.
The water which stagnates upon the surface of a Land is rendered wet upon it in the form of rain, or it may ascend from springs or reservoirs of water in the bowels of the earth. The rules of draining land which is rendered too wet for the purposes of agriculture are different, according to the causes which occasion the wetness. We shall first take notice of the most approved modes of draining, when the excessive moisture is occasioned by rain water stagnating upon the land; and we shall afterwards take notice of the plan of draining to be adopted, when the wetness arises from springs or water arising out of the earth.
To relieve land from rain water that is apt to stagnate upon it, two kinds of drains have been adopted, open or hollow. One of these is called open drains, from their being exposed to view in their whole length. The other kind receives the appellation of hollow drains, from their being covered, so that their existence is not apparent to a stranger, nor is any part of the land soil in consequence of their being made. Hollow draining is sometimes avoided on account of the great immediate expense with which it is attended, and in some situations it is altogether inadequate to the object in view. There are some soils that being chiefly composed of a stiff clay, drains possess so great a degree of tenacity as to retain water upon every trifling depression of their surface, till evaporation carries it off. It is in vain to attempt to drain such soils by hollow channels below ground, as the water will never be able to filtrate through the soil so as to reach the drain. In such situations, therefore,
Preparation of Land. Preparation for, open draining is the only mode that can be adopted for clearing the soil of surface water.
It also sometimes happens that on ordinary soils, hollow drains would speedily be rendered useless. This must take place where the admission of surface water cannot be avoided, and, from the figure of the adjoining lands, must be very greatly augmented in time of heavy rains. In such cases, a close or hollow drain would speedily be choked up by the sand, and soil brought down by sudden and violent torrents. In these situations, therefore, open drains can alone prove useful.
Soils formed of a tenacious clay can only be drained by being laid up properly in ridges which are high in the middle, and have furrows at each side for carrying off the water. The great art of preserving land of this description, therefore, free from superfluous moisture, consists of laying out every field in such a direction as that all the furrows between the ridges may have a gradual descent to a common ditch or drain for carrying off the water. Where at any particular spot the regularity of the descent is interrupted, cross furrows must be kept open with the same view. The ridges must also be laid up in such a form as to allow the water to descend from the summit in the middle to the furrows on each side. If the ridges, however, are too high in the centre, there will be a danger that in heavy rains the soil may be washed from the summit down into the furrows, which would produce the double evil of impoverishing the centre of every ridge, and of choking up the furrows, and rendering them unfit to drain the land.
The distinguished success of the Flemish husbandmen, and also of the farmers in the central counties of England where this kind of soil abounds, sufficiently demonstrates the practicability of preserving it in a due degree of dryness for the most valuable purposes of agriculture. In these English counties, and in Flanders, the general mode of drying land consists of ploughing it up in high and broad ridges, from 20 to 30, and even 40 feet wide, with the centre or crown three or four feet higher than the furrows. By attentively preserving the furrows in good order, and free from stagnating water, the land is kept in a dry state, and all kinds of crops flourish.
The mode of ridging and cross-furrowing the clay soil of the Carle of Gowrie, Perthshire, has been thus described by George Paterson, Esq. of Castlehunnly in that county. There are certain large common drains which pass through the district in different directions, sufficiently capacious to receive the water drained from the fields by the ditches which surround them, and of such a level as to carry it clear off, and to empty their contents into the river Tay. There are also ditches which surround every farm, or pass through them as their situation may require, but in such manner as to communicate with every field upon the farm. These ditches are made from two to four feet wide at top, and from one and a half to one foot at bottom; a shape which prevents their sides from falling in: but even then they must be cleansed and scoured every year at a considerable expence. If the fields be of an uniform level surface, the common furrows between the ridges, provided they be sufficiently deepened at their extremities, will serve to lay the grounds dry;
but, as it seldom happens that any field is so complete-
Preparation of Land. ly free of inequalities, the last operation, after it is sown and harrowed in, is to draw a furrow with the plough through every hollow in the field which lies in such a direction, that it can be guided through them, so as to make a free communication with any of the ditches which surround the farm, or with any of the furrows between the ridges which may serve as a conductor to carry the water off to the surrounding ditches. When this track is once opened with the plough, it is widened, cleared out, and so shaped with the spade, that it may run no risk of filling up. Its width is from six inches to a foot according to its depth, which must depend upon the level of the field; but the breadth of a spade at bottom is a good general rule. It frequently happens that there are inequalities in several parts of the same field which, do not extend across it, or which do not pass through it in any direction that a plough can follow; but which may extend over two ridges, or one ridge, or even part of a ridge. Such require an open communication to be made with any furrow, which may serve as a conductor to carry off the water, which is always made with the spade. All these open communications are here called gaas, and to keep them perfectly clear is a very essential object of every Carle farmer's attention.
It is the general practice in the Carle to have head-ridges, as they are called, at the two extremities of each field; that is, the ground upon which the plough turns, is laid up as a cross ridge higher in the middle and falling off at each side, so that a gaas is made in the course of the inner furrow with which the whole furrows between the longitudinal ridges communicate, and into which they pour all their surface water, which is carried off by gaas or openings cut through the head ridges, and emptied into the adjoining ditches which convey the water to the main drain. Besides all this an experienced Carle farmer takes care that his lands be carefully ploughed, and laid up equally without inequalities that can hold water, and that the ridges be gradually rounded, so that the surface water may neither lodge nor run so rapidly off as to injure the equal fertility of the field.
With regard to the general rule for making open drains, it may be observed, that their depth and wide-makingness must always in some measure be left to the judgement of each particular husbandman, that they may be varied according to the variety of soils and situations. Upon the whole, however, the width at bottom ought to be one-third of that at top, that, by being sufficiently sloped, the sides may be in no danger of falling in. The fall or declivity also should be such as may carry off the water without stagnation, and along with it any grass and other loose and light substances that may get into the ditch. At the same time, care ought to be taken to lead the drain in such a direction down any steep declivity that may occur in an oblique manner, that the water may not have too rapid a motion, as it would otherwise be apt to form inequalities in the bottom, and to wear down the sides. In moists and very soft soils drains require to be of considerable width, on account of their tendency to fill up; and their breadth at top must exceed that at the bottom in a greater degree than the proportion already mentioned. In all cases in which a ditch is intended for a drain only,
174
Rules for
making open drains.
Preparation and not to be used as a fence, none of the earth thrown out of it ought to be allowed to remain upon the sides, but should be spread abroad upon the land, or used in filling up the nearest holes. When this is not done, the utility of the drain is injured by the surface water being prevented from reaching it, and by the tendency which this weight of earth has to cause the sides to fall in; the difficulty of scouring or cleaning it is thus also much increased. If it be necessary, however, to use the ditch, and the earth thrown out of it, as a fence, a deep furrow ought to be made along the back of the mound of earth, with openings in convenient places into the ditch for transmitting to it the water collected in the furrow.
In plantations, open drains are the only kind that can be used, as the roots of the trees would be apt to choke up covered drains. In pastures, small and narrow open cuts, made with the plough or otherwise, are often extremely useful, to carry off stagnating water and a part of the rain as it falls. The only objection to them is, that they are easily sopped by the trampling of the cattle; but, on the other hand, they are easily restored. Concerning all open drains, indeed, it must be remembered, that they require to be cleaned out at least once a year; and when this process is neglected for any length of time, it becomes more difficult, and the drains lose their effect. Hence, though open drains are originally cheaper, yet, by the necessity of annual repairs, they sometimes become ultimately more expensive than covered or hollow drains, to the consideration of which we shall next proceed.
175 Nature and history of hollow drains. Hollow drains, in which the water is allowed to flow along a bed of loose stones, or other porous materials, while they are covered with a bed of earth in which the operations of the plough can proceed, bear a near resemblance to that part of the constitution of nature by which water flows in various channels along beds of porous strata in the bowels of the earth, and coming to the surface in various situations, supplies springs and the constant flow of rivulets and of the largest streams. The practice of hollow draining was known in a very remote antiquity. It is said that the present Persians are supplied by means of hollow drains with water in their most fertile fields, though they know not from whence the water is brought, and are unacquainted with the arts by which a more ingenious people in former times contrived to deprive one part of the soil of its superfluous moisture with a view to enrich another. The ancient Roman writers, Cato, Palladius, Columella, and Pliny, particularly mention the practice of hollow draining. They knew the kind of soils in which these drains are useful, and the propriety of directing them obliquely across the slope of the field. They filled them half way up with small stones, and for want of these with willow poles, or even with any coarse twigs or other similar materials twisted into a rope. They also fortified the heads of their drains with large stones, and their mouths or outlets with a regular building; and they carried the whole drain to the depth of three or four feet.
As already mentioned, hollow drains are of little value in a soil that consists of a stiff clay, and are chiefly useful where, from whatever cause the wetness may result, the soil is sufficiently porous to allow the moisture to percolate to an internal drain.
If the field proposed to be drained lie on a declivity, great care should be taken to make hollow drains in a direction sufficiently horizontal to prevent a too rapid fall of the water, which might wear the bottom uneven, and have the effect to choke, or, as it is sometimes called, to blow up the drain, whereby in certain hollow spots in the field artificial springs would be formed.
Concerning the season for executing drains, discordant opinions are entertained. Some prefer winter, others summer. Where much work is to be accomplished, a choice of seasons may not indeed be left to the husbandman. Some farmers, however, when they have the choice of time, always prefer summer for this employment, being then able to execute the cuts in a neater manner without that kneading of the soil which takes place in winter, which they think hurts the usefulness of the drain, by ever after preventing the water from easily finding its way to it; besides, that it is easier to bring the stones or other materials to the spot in summer than in winter. Others, however, prefer draining in winter, because in the case of a clay soil the labour is at that season much easier; and also because labourers are then usually most easy to be obtained.
The depth and width usually adopted for hollow draining is very various, according to the nature of the soil and the situation of the field. When the practice first came into general use, three feet is said to have been the common depth; but, for many years past, it is said that hollow drains seldom exceed 30 or 32 inches, and that more drains are of two feet, or 26 inches deep, than of any other. One general rule, however, cannot be neglected with safety, that the depth must be sufficient to prevent the materials with which the drain is filled from being affected by the feet of horses in a furrow while ploughing; twenty-four inches is perhaps too little for this purpose. A horse's foot in a furrow is usually at the depth of four inches or more. If ten inches additional be allowed for the materials employed in filling the drain, there will remain only nine or ten inches to support the foot of a horse exerting his strength in the act of ploughing, which upon a porous soil seems scarcely sufficient. What are called main drains, which are those intended to receive the water of several other drains, must always be somewhat deeper than the rest, having more water to convey. As to the wideness of hollow drains, most farmers have of late been solicitous to render them as narrow as possible, because by this means a great saving takes place of the materials used for filling them. If the stones are coupled at the bottom of the drain, that is, made to lean towards each other, so as to constitute a triangle, of which the bottom of the drain forms the base, the width need not be greater than one foot; nor perhaps is it even necessary to exceed this breadth where large stones are thrown in promiscuously. That the ditches or cuts which are meant to be converted into hollow drains may be executed with neatness and care, a point of much importance to their usefulness, it is thought prudent that the workmen should not be paid according to the extent of ground which they open, but as day labourers. This, however, is more particularly the case with regard to filling the drains, an operation in which a still greater degree of attention is necessary.
The materials used for filling drains have been various, according to the substances which different farmers have been able to obtain. Stones, however, are the most common, and also the best of all materials, on account of their permanency. If stones from quarries are to be used, and the drain formed like a conduit at the bottom, the trench must be made at the lowest part 16 inches wide, containing two side stones about six inches asunder, and the same in height, with a cap or flat stone laid over, which secures the cavity. Such hollow drains are commonly used for permanent currents of water from springs, and are more expensive than where no such steady current exists, and the stones are either thrown in promiscuously, or laid down so as to form triangular cavities. Small stones, however, ought not to be used for the bottom of a drain. Whether the stones are large or small, they ought to be very clean, having no clay or earth adhering to them, and of the most hard and permanent quality that can be procured, with as little tendency as possible to moulder or decay in consequence of alternate changes from wet to dry. They ought also to be laid in carefully, so as not to tumble down any earth, which might choke up their interstices. The whole subject, however, will be better understood by a statement of the way in which drains have been filled with success by intelligent persons.
The following directions are given by T. B. Bayley, Esq. of Hope, near Manchester: "First make the main drains down the slope or fall of the field. When the land is very wet, or has not much fall, there should in general be two of these to a statute acre; for the shorter the narrow drains are, the less liable they will be to accidents. The width of the trench for the main drains should be 30 inches at top, but the width at the bottom must be regulated by the nature and size of the materials intended to be used. If the drain is to be made of bricks, 10 inches long, 3 inches thick, and 4 inches in breadth, then the bottom of the drain must be 12 inches; but if the common sale bricks are used, then the bottom must be proportionably contracted. In both cases there must be an interstice of one inch between the bottom brick and the sides of the trench, and the vacancy must be filled up with straw, rushes, or loose mould. For the purpose of making these drains, I order my bricks to be moulded 10 inches long, 4 broad, and 3 thick; which dimensions always make the best drain."
The method which this gentleman pursues in constructing his main drains is stated by him to be the following: When the ground is soft and spongy, the bottom of the drain is laid with bricks placed across. On these, on each side, two bricks are laid flat, one upon the other, forming a drain six inches high, and four broad, which is covered with bricks laid flat.—When the bottom of the trench is found to be a firm and solid body, such as clay or marl, he formerly thought that it might not be necessary to lay the bottom with brick; but in this he has candidly acknowledged that he was quite wrong. By the runs of water, the alternate changes from wet to dry, and the access of air, these hard bottoms were rendered friable, crumbled away, and let in all the drains, and allowed them to choke up, that were not supported by a bottom laid with brick or stone. When stones are used instead of bricks, Mr. Bayley thinks that the bot-
tom of the drain should be about eight inches in width; Preparation of Land.
and in all cases the bottom of main drains ought to be sunk four inches below the level of the narrow ones, whose contents they receive, even at the point where the latter fall into them.
The main drains should be kept open or uncovered till the narrow ones are begun from them, after which they may be finished; but before the earth is returned upon the stones or bricks, it is advisable to throw in straw, rushes, or brushwood, to increase the freedom of the drain. The small narrow drains should be cut at the distance of 16 or 18 feet from each other, and should fall into the main drain at very acute angles, to prevent any stoppage. At the point where they fall in, and 8 or 10 inches above it, they should be made firm with brick or stone. These drains should be 18 inches wide at the top, and 16 at bottom.
A mode of draining clay soils wet by rain or surface water, practised by Sir Henry Fletcher, Bart. with great success, seems worthy of being here stated. The upper soil is of good quality, but being situated in a mountainous part of the country, the frequent rains kept the upper soil so full of water, that it produced only a coarse grass worth 3s. per acre. The inferior soil of clay was of great depth. The mode of draining which has been successfully practised upon it is the following: "On grass lands he digs 22 inches, or 2 feet deep; the first spadeful is of the turf, taken so deep, as where it separates from the clay, which is dug carefully out, and preserved unbroken grass side up, and laid on one side of the cut; then, with a very strong spade, 18 inches long, 6 inches wide at top, and 2 at the bottom, he digs a spadeful in the clay, which the men spread about the land, on the side of the drain opposite to where the turf was laid, as far as possible from the drain, so as none may get in again. A scoop, to clear out the fragments in the bottom, follows, which are also spread in like manner. They are then ready for filling; and in doing this, he takes three stones of a thin flat form, two of which are placed against the sides of the drain, meeting at bottom; and the third caps the other two. Thus, a hollow triangular space is left to convey the water, which is subject to no accidents that can fill it up or impede the current. Stones always sink deeper in the ground; and in the common method, this frequently causes stoppages by their being partly buried in the clay: but the triangle, when it subsides, does it regularly, and keeps its form and the passage for the water clear. One cart-load of stones, in this way, will do a considerable length of drain. They are carefully laid down by the side of the cut, with a shovel or basket, and if there are any small refuse stones left on the ground after the drain is set, they are thrown in above. The stones being thus fixed, the sods are then trimmed to the shape of the drain, and laid on them, with the grass side downwards, and none of the clay used in filling up.
The expence is a halfpenny per yard, the men earning 2s. and 6d. per day, at 10 yards distance from drain to drain. At 6 yards distance they answered well, but would not operate a cure, if more than 7 yards asunder. At this last distance, therefore, the expence of draining an English acre, at 1d. per yard, would amount to 11. 9s. 2d. the stones being not more than half a mile distant.
Not only stones and bricks, but also wood and other materials have been used for filling drains. Upon this point, Lord Petre expresses himself thus: "The drains filled with wood, and covered as usual with straw or rushes, are preferable to stones or any other kind of materials; the reason is, as the wood decays, the water continues to pass. When filled with stones, and the drains stop up, which must be expected to take place in time, the earth becomes quite solid round the stones, and as they do not decay, the filtering of the water is for ever obstructed: not so when bushes or wood are used; continual filtering and draining are then for ever to be perceived; and by repeating the operation a second time, cutting the drains transversely of the old ones, the benefit of the filterings through the rotten wood is secured, and the spewing up of old, broken, and damaged drains corrected and carried off. Moreover, as bushes form a much greater number of cavities than either stones or poles, they are less liable to stop up, and encourage filtering more than larger and more solid bodies. A load of bushes containing 120 faggots, will do about 360 rods; and a load of straw containing 120 bottles, the same: the load of bushes is generally worth about 14s. and the straw 18s. per load. I therefore calculate this expence about 12s. per acre, ditches a rod apart."
Richard Preston, Esq. of Blackmore, prefers, on twenty years experience, black thorns to every other material for filling drains. Wood is sometimes used with this view, in the following manner: Two billets are placed at opposite sides of the drain, and each is made to rest upon the opposite side to that on which its lower part stands, so as to form with each other a St. Andrew's cross. The upper part of the cross is filled with brushwood, laid longitudinally, above which straw is placed cross-ways, and the mould is thrown in over all. This kind of drain is said to have continued running in Berwickshire for 30 years, and it is recommended by the author of the Agricultural Report of the county of Caernarvon, in Wales. He says, "The completest method I have yet known, is to cut the strongest willows, or other aquatic brushwood, into lengths of about 20 inches, and place them alternately in the drain, with one end against one side of the bottom, and the other leaning against the opposite side. Having placed the strong wood in this manner, I fill the space left between them on the upper side with the small brushwood, upon which a few rushes or straw being laid, as before mentioned, the work is done. Willow, alder, asp, or beech boughs, are exceedingly durable if put into the drain green, or before the sap is dried; but if they are suffered to become dry, and then laid under ground, a rapid decay is the consequence. I have seen willow taken out of a bog, after lying there thirty years, and its bark was as fresh and happy as if it had been recently cut from the hedge; and it is well known that beech laid green in the water will continue sound for any length of time."
Another method of using wood consists of fixing at every foot distance in the drain, a stick in the form of a semicircular arch, and of laying upon these longer branches or twigs longitudinally. Thus is a curved cavity, or arch, formed beneath, capable of supporting any weight of earth. For this purpose young wood is recommended, and in particular the prunings of larch.
VOL. I. PART I.
Instead of wood or stone, in many places, it has of late become customary to fill the lowest part of drains with straw, and with that view to make use of wheat stubble as the cheapest kind of straw. On this subject, Mr. Vancouver, in his Report of the Essex husbandry, remarks, that when the soil is a very close and retentive clay, the drains should be made proportionally near to each other, shallow, and filled with straw only; it being totally unnecessary to use wood or any more durable material upon land where the sides of the drains are not likely to crumble in. He asserts that drains formed in this manner, through the tough and retentive clays, will be found in a short time after the work is finished, to afford over the straw, with which the drain was filled, an arch of sufficient strength to support the incumbent weight of the soil, and the casual traffic of the field. "In 12 or 18 months it may be observed that the straw, being of one uniform substance, is all rotted, and carried away, leaving a clear pipe through the land in every drain, into which the passage of the water may have been much facilitated, by a due attention to the filling of the drains with the most friable and porous parts of the surface the field might have afforded."
An improvement in filling hollow drains with straw, consists of twisting the straw into a rope, said to have been devised by Mr. Bedwell, of Essex. The rope of straw is formed as large as a man's arm, and is placed at the bottom of the drain. The expence of draining an English acre of land with this material in Essex, is said to stand thus:
| For cutting and raking together an acre of wheat stubble, generally sufficient for an acre of drains, | ||
|---|---|---|
| Digging eight score rods of drains, | - | L. 0 2 0 |
| Filling them up with stubble, | - | 0 13 4 |
| Extra work with the common spade, on an average a day's work for a man, | - | 0 2 8 |
| 0 1 4 | ||
| L. 0 19 4 | ||
As in some situations it is an object of great importance to save the expence of materials commonly used in filling drains, a variety of devices have with that view been adopted. One of these is of the following nature. A drain is first dug to the necessary depth, narrow at bottom. Into the trench is laid a smooth tree, or cylindrical piece of wood, 12 feet long, 6 inches diameter at the one end, and 5 at the other, having a ring fastened into the thickest end. After strewing a little sand upon the upper side of the tree, the clay or toughest part of the contents of the trench, is first thrown in upon it, and thereafter the remainder of the earth is fully trod down. By means of a rope through the ring the tree is then drawn out to within a foot or two of the small or hinder end, and the same operation is repeated till the whole drain is complete. Such a drain is said to have conducted a small run of water a considerable way under ground for more than 20 years without any sign of failure.
What is called the sod or pipe drain consists of a trench dug to a proper depth; after which a last spadeful is taken out in such a way as to leave a narrow channel, which can be covered by a sod or turf dug in grass land and laid over it, the grass side downwards. Such drains
Preparation of Land. Drains are said to continue hollow, and to discharge well for a great number of years. Mosses are said to be drained in Lancashire nearly in the same manner, by leaving shoulders about a foot and a half from the bottom of the trench, and laying across these pieces of dried peat or turf, cut into lengths of 16 inches, and 8 or 9 inches in breadth.
In Buckinghamshire, in grass lands, the sod drain is thus made: When the line of drain is marked out, a sod in form of a wedge is cut, the grass side being the narrowest, and the sods being from 12 to 18 inches in length. The drain is then cut to the depth required, but is contracted to a very narrow bottom. The sods are then set in with the grass side downwards, and pressed as far as they will go. As the figure of the drain does not suffer them to go to the bottom, a cavity is left, which serves as a water course; and the space above is filled with the earth thrown out.
Another invention for draining land is described in the agricultural report of the county of Essex. It consists of a draining wheel of cast iron, that weighs about 4 cwt. It is 4 feet in diameter, the cutting edge or extremity of the circumference of the wheel is half an inch thick, and it increases in thickness towards the centre. At 15 inches deep it will cut a drain, one half of an inch wide at the bottom, and 4 inches wide at the top. The wheel is so placed in a frame, that it may be loaded at pleasure, and made to operate to a greater or less depth, according to the resistance made by the ground. It is used, in winter, when the soil is soft; and the wheel tracks are either immediately filled with straw ropes and lightly covered over with earth, or they are left to crack wider and deeper till the ensuing summer; after which the fissures are filled with ropes of straw or of twisted twigs, and lightly covered with the most porous earth that is at hand. Thus, upon grass or ley lands, hollow drains are formed at a trifling expence, which answer extremely well. It is said that 12 acres may be fully gone over with this draining wheel in one day, so as to make cuts at all necessary distances.
On sheep pastures a still simpler mode of removing surface water is said to be practised in some places. Wherever the water is apt to stagnate, a deep furrow is turned up with a stout plough. Thereafter, a man with a spade pares off the loose soil from the inverted sod, and scatters it over the field, or casts it into hollow places. The sod thus pared and rendered thin, or brought to the thickness of about three inches, is restored to its original situation, with the grassy side uppermost, as if no furrow had been made. A pipe or opening is thus formed beneath it two or three inches deep in the bottom of the furrow, which is sufficient to discharge a considerable quantity of surface water which readily sinks into it. These furrows, indeed, are easily choked up by any pressure, or by the growth of the roots of the grass; but they are also easily restored, and no surface is lost by means of them.
Duration of Hollow drains. With regard to the duration of hollow drains, or the length of time that the water will continue to flow in them, and thereby to preserve the soil in a proper state of dryness, it must necessarily depend, in a great degree, upon the nature of the materials with which they are filled, and the care that has been taken to prevent their being choked up by any accession of soft
soil. Independent of this last circumstance, a drain filled with stones, like the channel which supplies a natural spring, may endure for ever. Wood, with which many drains have of late years been filled, perishes at certain periods according to its nature; but it does by no means follow, that the drain should lose its effect in consequence of the destruction of the wood. If the earth over it form itself into an arch, the water will still continue to flow. Accordingly, it is said, that drains filled with bushes and straw have been known to run well after 40 years.
Having thus stated the various modes that have been most successfully adopted for draining lands of a superabundant moisture caused by rain or surface water, we shall proceed to consider the way in which a soil may be drained when its undue wetness is the consequence of natural springs, or of water arising out of the bowels of the earth; and also when the soil, whether injured by spring or rain water, is so completely surrounded by higher grounds, as to prevent the possibility, at a moderate expence, of obtaining a level by which the water may be conducted away, either by open or by artificial hollow drains.
To understand the principles upon which land, rendered wet by springs, may be drained for the purposes of agriculture, it is necessary to attend to the materials of which the globe we inhabit is composed, and to the manner in which large quantities of water find their way into its bowels. The earth upon which we tread is by no means an uniform mass of matter. It consists of various layers or strata of different substances, one placed over the other. These layers or strata are seldom situated horizontally, but almost always descend towards one side or the other. One part of a stratum or layer often ascends and appears on the surface, while the other end or side of it descends obliquely to a great depth into the earth. Having done so, it frequently again bends upwards towards the surface; and indeed assumes almost all the variety of irregular forms and bearings that the imagination can conceive; sometimes suddenly breaking off and giving place to other strata or layers, and sometimes continuing at one corner while the greater part of it ceases. These strata or layers, of which the earth is composed, may be considered, with a view to the explanation of our present subject, as of two kinds. Some of them are porous, and allow water to pass through their substance, and to fill up all their cavities and interstices, such as sand, gravel, some marls, and various kinds of porous rocks. Other layers, on the contrary, do not suffer water to enter into them; such as clay, or gravel with much clay mixed with it, and rocks of a close and compact nature, without any fissures or clefts in them.
It is next to be remarked, that it is chiefly upon high mountains that water exists, or is formed, in very great abundance. Not only do they catch and break the passing clouds, which deposit upon them the greatest portion of their watery contents, but they would seem to have a power, when neither rain nor clouds appear in the sky, of condensing, attracting, or somehow forming water from the atmosphere. In the great burning deserts of Africa rain is scarcely known. The inhabitants build their houses of clods of earth or of lumps of salt. A drizzling shower, which is apt to come once in several years, endangers every dwelling; and
Preparation and two hours of heavy rain would lay a whole city in ruins; yet even there, wherever mountains exist, that is to say, naked rocks, which abound in a few districts of this wilderness, water is almost always found in their vicinity; and, in consequence of the water, spots covered with the most luxuriant verdure are seen like islands amidst the dreary tracts of moveable and unproductive sand.
The upper part of mountains is very frequently covered with a layer of gravel, or loose and open rock, into which water readily penetrates. These porous layers or strata descend gradually into the bowels of the earth, and convey along with them the water which they contain, and have received from the clouds. Under the porous stratum or layer of gravel are usually layers of clay or of solid rock, through which the water cannot pass, but along the upper part of which it flows. After descending, however, a certain length obliquely down towards the plain country, layers or strata of clay and other impervious materials usually come to be placed above the layers of porous gravel. Thus, as the water in the gravel is confined between clay above and clay or rock below, and must descend along the gravelly channel which is pervious to it, streams of water are formed in the bowels of the earth, which have their origin in high gravelly soils, and their outlets at any place in the low country, where any part of the beds of gravel or porous rock, along which they flow, happens to approach the surface, forming springs and rivulets, and, by their union or conflux, mighty rivers, which continue steadily to water the surface of earth. Hence also, in very many situations, by digging pits into the earth, we at last reach a layer of pervious gravel or rock, containing a stream of water brought, perhaps, from the summit of a distant mountain; and such pits can be used as wells for supplying water for every domestic purpose.
We have said that the upper part of the face of a mountain is often covered with a bed of porous or gravelly substances capable of taking in water. Upon the surface, at a certain distance down the hill, a bed of clay begins. The water received above into the layer of gravel continues to descend with that layer for a considerable space below the bed of clay; and thereafter the gravel suddenly stops, and the clay above unites with the clay beneath, or with some other impervious strata upon which the gravel all the way rested. In this situation, as the water contained in the gravel can proceed no farther, it hangs within the side of the hill as in a bag of clay; and a reservoir is formed of water within the earth. When this bag or natural reservoir is full, the water contained in it is pressed upwards against the clay by which it is covered. It moistens this clay, and finds its way by chinks through all its weaker parts or pores. Thus a belt of soft and spouty land is formed upon the side of the hill; the mode of draining which is very easy. If a hole is dug into the earth near the bottom of the bag or reservoir of water, so as to reach the layer of gravel, the water will instantly flow freely out, and, being no longer restrained, it will cease to press upon the layer or stratum of clay that covers it, or to force a passage through its chinks; and the soil will consequently be drained.
Let it be supposed, that the porous stratum or layer
of gravel, instead of stopping on the side of a hill, descends into the plain or level country, the water all the while passing along in its bowels; and that the gravel has a layer of clay below and another layer of clay above it. After it has reached and passed to a considerable distance along the valley, if the layer of gravel either suddenly stop and allow the layers of clay to come together, or if the gravel have too little thickness and capacity to allow the water which flows within it to pass easily along, it will necessarily, from the new supplies of water which are continually descending, be pressed upwards against the layer of clay which covers it: as in the former case, the clay will be softened, and the water will filtrate through all its weaker parts till it reach the surface, which it will keep constantly wet, and where it will stagnate in consequence of the flat and level form of the country. Over the softest places, a coarse verdure will spread, and the roots of the plants intertwining, will form flaking quagmires. In other places, the moss plants, being the only ones which can thrive in the moist and ungenial soil which is thus produced, will rapidly spring up, and a moss will be formed altogether unfit for any purpose of agriculture. To drain such a soil, it is evidently only necessary to dig a pit or hole through the upper stratum of clay into the gravel, to give a free vent or issue to the water; which having thus found an easy passage to the open air, will cease to press upon the incumbent layer of clay, or to render it moist. This clay will therefore speedily become dry and collapse; the moss plants will wither, provided the surface is properly drained; and the whole soil will become solid and fit to be cultivated.
It sometimes happens, as already noticed, that a piece of territory which lies low, is rendered extremely wet by rain and spring water coming from adjacent high grounds, and lodging upon its surface, while, at the same time, it is so completely surrounded by eminences, or land-locked, that it cannot be drained at a moderate cost; the consequence of which is, that the water stagnates, and a moss or bog is formed. The principles which we have already stated concerning the manner in which the globe is made up of various strata, indicate the way in which such a bog may be drained at a cheap rate. It is only necessary to dig a pit at the lowest part of it, down through the clay, or other impervious layer that holds up the water, till a porous stratum is reached capable of conveying away the surface water down the country below ground to the sea, or to such rivers as it may chance to be connected with.
The whole art of draining land where the wetness is occasioned by water pressing upwards from the bowels of the earth, depends upon these principles. It is an art whose importance is not yet sufficiently appreciated, because imperfectly understood, and because it has not yet been carried in practice to its full extent. It is probable, however, that at no remote period it will be held in universal estimation, on account of the command of those hidden streams that are contained in the bowels of the earth, which it will give to mankind for the purposes of an improved agriculture, and for the service of commerce in filling canals and giving motion to every kind of machinery. A dispute exists about the original discovery of this art. The celebrated land made writer upon agriculture, Dr James Anderson of Aberdeen, has written upon it. Dr James Anderson of Aberdeen, has written upon it.
Preparation of Land. Preparation deen, in his "Essays on Agriculture and Rural Affairs," published in 1775, was undoubtedly the first person who explained to the world the nature of the art of draining land rendered wet by springs, and the principles upon which it ought to proceed; having been led to the investigation many years before, by his having fortunately succeeded in draining a bog by sinking a pit in it through the clay till an opening was made into the gravel or porous stratum, from which the water rushed up vehemently. In the mean while, it had happened that Mr Joseph Elkington, possessor of a farm in England called Princethorp, in the parish of Stretton upon Dunsmore, and county of Warwick, almost as early as Dr Anderson, had accidentally discovered that land might be drained in many situations by making a small hole into the earth. Being a man of considerable natural ingenuity, though, it is said, of little literature, he had the address to take advantage of the discovery he had made, with a view to the improvement of his affairs. He therefore commenced the trade of a drainer of lands; and by the novelty of draining land by a small hole bored often at a considerable distance from the wettest part of it, and by conducting himself in a mysterious manner, he acquired great reputation, and was extensively employed. This employment he appears to have merited, as his operations were attended with very great success. After the establishment of the Board of Agriculture, its members, who appear to have been unacquainted with Dr Anderson's publication, supposed Mr Elkington to be the only discoverer and possessor of the art of draining land wet by springs in the way now mentioned; and upon their recommendation, parliament bestowed a reward of 1000l. upon him. It was surely an unfortunate circumstance, that the first premium granted upon the recommendation of this board, should have proceeded upon an error, as it undoubtedly did; for, although Mr Elkington had the merit of being the first who introduced this art extensively into practice, there is no doubt that Dr Anderson, by whom also it was discovered, was the first who explained its principles to the public, and that at a period when Mr Elkington's secret remained with himself. After all, however, it is not to be supposed that the theory of this art was absolutely unknown, although these persons appear to have been the first who proposed to apply it extensively to the purposes of agriculture. It is said that the practice is very ancient in Italy, when a well is dug, to avoid the expense of going to a great depth, by boring with an auger in the bottom of the pit, in the hope of reaching the porous stratum which contains the water. And in Germany it appears, as will be afterwards noticed, that the practice has long existed of draining landlocked bogs, by letting down the water by means of a pit through the impervious clay, to a porous substratum. We shall now proceed to state the most approved modes of draining land that is rendered wet by springs, or water ascending out of the earth; and as the Board of Agriculture instructed Mr John Johnston, land surveyor, to inspect Mr Elkington's principal drainings of this sort, and to give an account of them, we shall give all due attention to the contents of the report made out by that gentleman, which is underfoot to have been executed with much fidelity and accuracy;
though we shall also exhibit, at the same time, the practice of other intelligent persons upon the same subject.
In the practice of this art it will readily occur, that it is of the utmost importance to obtain a knowledge of the internal structure of the earth, and of the rules for manner in which its various layers or strata succeed, and are usually intermingled with each other. This object, however, can only be attained in any considerable degree of perfection by observation and experience. There are several ways, however, by which a man of sagacity and reflection may greatly abridge the difficulty of this study, so as in a short time to enable himself to practise the art of draining with considerable success. The surest way of ascertaining the inclination of the different strata, or the way in which they lie upon each other, and the direction in which they descend into the earth, consists of examining the bed of the nearest rivers, and the appearance of their banks when steep and broken, so as to lay bare the different strata of earth adjoining to them. Pits, quarries, and wells, that may have been dug in the neighbourhood, may also be examined with the same view. Rushes, small elder bushes, and other plants which grow on the wettest soils, also frequently afford symptoms of the line under which an internal reservoir of water is placed, and is pressing upwards from wanting a free passage below ground.
It is often of much importance, even in sheep countries, to drain the side of a hill, not only because wet the side of land is more unproductive than that which is properly drained, but because the superabundance of moisture is apt to introduce and to keep up among the flock that destructive and incurable disease, the rot, for which draining is an almost infallible preventive. It is cheaply executed in such situations, because the drains for collecting and leading off the water, may usually be left uncovered. Let it be supposed then, that in consequence of internal springs at a certain distance down the declivity of a hill, or upon any other descending surface, the ground becomes wet and spouty, and unwholesome for sheep, and unfit for agriculture; the best mode of proceeding with a view to drain it is this. It ought to be recollected, that the reason of the wetness is this: The rain water at the summit of the high ground is received into a porous stratum of gravel, with which it descends down the side of the hill, till it comes to be covered with a clayey soil. After descending under the covering of clay to some distance, the gravel or porous under soil suddenly ceases; the clay becomes deeper, and touches the rock or another inferior bed of clay. In this situation, the water, unable to descend farther, regorges and presses upwards upon the clayey soil which covers it, rendering it moist and swampy in every part, and oozing through all its weaker crannies. Thus it forms a belt of moist ground along the face of the hill, from which the water perhaps descends and damages every part. To drain this declivity, begin at the bottom and carry up a ditch towards the wet ground. As the object is to let out the water at the lowest point of the reservoir or natural bag in which it is contained, by making an opening into the gravel there, it will be proper, as the ditch proceeds upwards, frequently to bore holes with an auger of about two inches diameter to a considerable depth,
Preparation of Land. Preparation of Land. depth, that is, about 15 feet, though sometimes it is necessary to go to twice that depth. As long as the water is not found by boring, the ditch must be carried upwards, and new auger holes formed; when at last the auger by boring reaches the lowest part of the gravel or reservoir of water, the water will immediately rush forth with considerable violence at the hole formed by it, and will continue ever after to run without any danger of choking up. When the bottom of the reservoir of water or layer of gravel is thus found, another ditch ought to be drawn across the head of the former along the face of the hill, so as to form the figure of the letter T. In the upper ditch or drain that runs along the face of the hill, auger holes ought to be bored at short distances, to let out the whole water from the interior reservoir or stratum of gravel. The whole process will be easily understood from considering the figure 3. Care ought always to be taken in digging the upper drain along the face of the hill, to form it in such a way as that the water may descend in it towards the ditch first formed, which is intended to convey it down the hill to the nearest brook. The old practice or mode of draining ground in this situation before the use of the auger was understood, and before men had reflected upon the way in which water is often confined in the earth, consisted of digging a trench wherever the spouty land commenced. As this was not deep enough to reach the evil, that is, to penetrate to the reservoir of water, it produced only a partial remedy. Other parallel ditches of the same kind were therefore cut the whole way down the declivity, and being filled with loose stones and connected with a descending ditch, each carried off only a portion of surface water, leaving the soil still cold in consequence of the wetness of the bottom.
In performing the operation already described, some difficulties are apt to occur in consequence of the irregularities with which the strata are often placed in the earth. In boring in the ascending trench, in the first part of the operation, with a view to discover the lowest point at which the water may be let out from the internal reservoir, the operator is sometimes apt to be misled by finding water before he has come high enough to reach the place at which the porous stratum stops. This arises from its sometimes happening that at the bottom of the reservoir small leakages occur, and a portion of the water finds its way downwards through crannies in the earth to some distance from the main reservoir. When the auger in boring meets these leakages, they are apt to be mistaken for the main body of water, and the operator can only guard himself against such errors, by forming an estimate of the quantity of water which the adjoining high grounds ought to afford. If the quantity of water that follows the auger be very trifling while the extent of high ground is great, he may be assured that he has not yet reached the great cause of the wetness of the soil. It also sometimes happens that the cross drain carried along the face of the hill, may in some places be below the level of the reservoir of water, while it is upon it at other places. In this case, when the auger by boring in the cross trench brings no water, it will be necessary to bore above it, and to conduct the water that is there obtained by a small cut into the general cross trench.
It sometimes happens that hills are composed of al-
ternate strata, of rock and sand and clay, which rest horizontally or nearly so upon each other, and penetrate and form the mass of the hill. In such cases the soil above the sand or rock is often dry and productive, while the clay is wet and swampy. In this case, the highest part of the hill being generally porous, receives the rain water, which descends through it till it meets the impervious clay, which forces it to flow to the surface, which it renders wet. Having overflowed the upper clay surface, it is immediately absorbed by the next porous stratum; and descending into it in like manner, again issues at the lower side of it, and injures the surface of the next bed of clay, as it did that of the first. To drain a hill side of this description, it is necessary to make a trench along the upper side of every belt of rusty or boggy soil to receive the water from the superior porous soil, and to lead the whole water thus obtained by one or more ditches downwards to the bottom.
Where a soil is composed of intermixed varieties, with clay predominating, it is sometimes very difficult to drain, as it is apt to form itself into a variety of hollow reservoirs, each of which holds water like a cup, while, at the same time, these hollows being full of porous materials, the surface of the soil is sufficiently regular. Thus in wet seasons, patches of moist unwholesome soil are formed, not by springs for which they may be mistaken, but by rain water held up by clay in these disjointed cavities. They can only be drained by separate covered cuts, communicating in the shortest way possible with one or more main drains.
With regard to the drainage of bogs, it has already been remarked, that they are either such as can have their water carried off by a communication, at a tolerable expense, with some adjoining lower ground; or they are land-locked, so as not to admit of being drained in this way. With regard to the former, or those which can be drained by trenches for conducting the water to an adjoining low country or river, they may be rendered wet in two ways: 1st, By springs oozing out of the adjoining higher ground, in a regular line along the upper side of the wet surface, which afford water that stagnates upon the surface of the inferior ground, forming it into a bog. To render free from water a bog of this kind, nothing more is necessary than merely to drain the upper adjoining swampy ground in the way that has been already stated, and to convey away to a distance the water produced by it, in regular, open, or hollow drains. The second class of bogs rendered wet by springs, consists of those in which the many springs that appear are not confined to one regular direction along the upper side, but burst out everywhere, forming shaking quagmires, over which it is dangerous for cattle to pass. The upper part of such bogs usually consists of peat-earth. Below that is found a bed of clay, extremely wet and soft, through the crannies of which small quantities of water are continually oozing. When the lowest part of such a bog is found, or the place in which it will be most convenient to convey away the water, little more is usually necessary than to dig proper trenches, and to bore with the auger through the stratum of clay to the porous stratum containing the water. To drain an extensive bog, it will usually be necessary to dig a trench from end to end of it, with cross trenches at considerable distances, the
Preparation the bottom of the whole being frequently penetrated with of Land. the auger, so as to allow a free passage for the water to ascend; the effect of which will be, that the nature of the surrounding soft soil will speedily be altered, in consequence of the water being removed from beneath it. It will become dry and solid, and soon fit for bearing the plough. The same effect would follow although only a single perforation were made through the inferior stratum of the bog; and accordingly Mr Elkington is said sometimes to have succeeded, while he drained a bog, in raising the water from it considerably above its own level, for any purpose for which it may be required. This was done by rearing around the perforation, a building of brick, puddled around and within with clay, to the top of which the water rose, and was from thence conveyed away in pipes or otherwise.
137
Dr Anderson's rules for draining spouty land
That the whole of this important subject, of draining land rendered wet by springs, may be better understood, we shall give an account of it as described by Dr Anderson, in his Essays published in 1775, already mentioned. Supposing, says he, a descending stratum of sand or gravel should be discontinued, and that the stratum above it should be of a coherent clayey nature; in this case, the water being pent in on every side, and being accumulated in great quantities, must at length force a passage for itself in some way, and press strongly upon the upper surface, if any one part is weaker than the rest, it would burst forth, and form a spring; but if the texture of every part of this stratum were equally strong, the water would squeeze through many small crannies, and would ooze out in numberless places, so as to occasion that kind of wetness that is known by the name of a spouting clayey soil.
The cure in this case is easily effected.—For if a ditch of a considerable size is opened towards the lowermost part of the spouting ground, so deep as to penetrate through the upper stratum of clay, and reach to the gravel, the water will rise up through it at first with very great violence, which will gradually decrease as the pressure from the water behind is diminished; and when the whole of the water accumulated in the subterraneous reservoir is run off, there being no longer any pressure upon the clay above it, the whole soon becomes as dry as could be desired, and continues so ever afterwards, if the ditch is always kept open. This the doctor says he can assert from experience, having rendered some fields of this kind that were very wet quite dry by this method of treating them. The attentive observer, he adds, will readily perceive, that if any field that is wet from this cause admits of being ploughed, it will be in equal danger of being hurt by being raised into high ridges, with the other kind of damp ground before mentioned. For as the depth of earth above the reservoir would be smaller in the deep furrows than anywhere else, there would of consequence be less resistance to the water in that place, so that it would arise there in greater abundance. And if, in this case, a farmer should dig a drain in each furrow, as a considerable quantity of water would rise into them, in some cases the ground might be improved, or even quite drained thereby, especially if they should have accidentally reached the gravel in any one place; although at an expense much greater than was necessary.
"I take notice of this circumstance, says he, in some measure to prevent the prejudice that some inattentive
observers might entertain against what was said before of Preparation of Land. this method of draining, from their having accidentally seen some fields that may have been bettered by it.
"Bogs are only a variety of this last-mentioned kind of wet ground; and, therefore, ought in general to be drained after the same manner with them. Clay is a substance that strongly resists the entrance of water into it: but when it is long drenched with it, it is, in process of time, in some measure dissolved thereby; loses its original firmness of texture and consistency; and becomes a sort of semi-fluid mass, which is called a bog; and as these are sometimes covered with a strong scurf of a particular kind of grass, with very matted roots, which is strong enough to bear a small weight without breaking, although it yields very much, it is in these circumstances called a swaggle. But, whatever be the nature of the bog, it is invariably occasioned by water being forced up through a bed of clay, as just now described, and dissolving or softening, if you will, a part thereof. I say only a part; because whatever may be the depth of the bog or swaggle, it generally has a partition of solid clay between it and the reservoir of water under it, from whence it originally proceeds: for if this were not the case, and the quantity of water were considerable, it would meet with no sufficient resistance from the bog, and would issue through it with violence, and carry the whole semi-fluid mass along with it. But this would more inevitably be the case, if there was a crust at the bottom of the bog, and if the crust should ever be broken, especially if the quantity of water under it were very considerable: and as it is probable, that, in many cases of this sort, the water slowly dissolves more and more of this under crust, I make no doubt but that, in the revolution of many ages, a great many eruptions of this kind may have happened, although they may not have been deemed of importance enough to have the history of them transmitted to posterity. Of this kind, although formed of a different substance, I consider the flow of the Solway moss in Northumberland to have been; which, upon the 16th of November 1771, burst its former boundaries, and poured forth a prodigious stream of semi-fluid matter, which in a short time covered several hundred acres of very fine arable ground. Nor will any one, who is acquainted with the nature of moss,—who knows its resemblance to clay in its quality of absorbing and retaining water, and its very easy diffusibility therein, be surprised at this; as from all these properties, it is much better adapted for forming an extensive bog, and therefore in greater danger of producing an extensive devastation by an eruption of the water into it, than those that are formed of any kind of clay whatever.
"If the bog, or swampy ground, is upon a declivity, the ditch ought to be carried across the field about the place where the lowest springs arise. But if the surface of the ground is level or nearly so, so as to form soft quagmires, interspersed through the whole of the field, it will be of little consequence in what part the drain is opened; for if it is dug up so deep as to allow the water to rise in it with freedom, it will issue through that opening, and the field will be left perfectly dry.
"But as it may frequently happen that the stratum of gravel should be at a considerable depth beneath the surface
surface of the earth, and as it may be sometimes even below the level of the place into which the drain must be emptied, it might sometimes be extremely difficult to make a ditch so deep as to reach the bed of sand or gravel. But it is lucky for us that this is not absolutely necessary in the present case; as a drain of two or three feet deep, will be equally effectual with one that should go to the gravel. All that is necessary, in this case, is to sink pits in the course of the drain, at a moderate distance from one another, which go so deep as to reach the gravel; for as the water there meets with no resistance, it readily flows out at these openings, and is carried off by the drain without being forced up through the earth; so that the ground is left entirely dry ever after.
"I have likewise drained several fields in this way: and as I have generally found the appearances pretty much alike, I shall, for the information of the inexperienced reader, give a short account of them.
"If you attempt to make your pit in one of these soft quaggy places where the water is found in great abundance, you will meet with very great difficulty in forming it; for as the substance of which it is composed is soft, it will always flow into the hole as fast as you dig it; on which account I would advise, not to attempt to make the pit in the swaggle, but as near it in the solid earth as you conveniently can. However, if it is pretty firm, and of no great extent, it is sometimes practicable to make a pit in the soft bog at the driest time of the year. This I have sometimes practiced, which gave me an opportunity of observing the nature of these bogs more perfectly than I otherwise would have had. In the trials of this kind that I have made, this soft quaggy ground has seldom been above three or four feet deep; below which I have always found a stratum of hard tough clay usually mixed with stones, and so firm that nothing but a mattock or pickaxe could penetrate it: and as this is comparatively so much drier than the ground above it, an inexperienced operator is very apt to imagine that this is the bottom that he is in search of. In digging through this stratum, you will frequently meet with small springs oozing out in all directions; some of them that might fill the tube of a small quill, and others so small as to be scarce perceptible: but without regarding these, you must continue to dig on without intermission till you come to the main body of the reservoir, if I may so call it, that is contained in the rock, gravel, or sand; which you will generally find from two to four feet below the bottom of the swaggle, and which you will be in no danger of mistaking when you come to it: for, if there has been no opening made before that in the field, as soon as you break the crust immediately above the gravel or rock, the water bursts forth like a torrent, and on some occasions rises like a jet d'eau, to a considerable height above the bottom of the ditch; and continues to flow off with great impetuosity for some time, till the pent-up water being drained off, the violent boiling up begins to subside, and the strength of the current to abate; and, in a short time, it flows gently out like any ordinary spring;—allowing it to remain in this state, the quaggy earth begins to subside, and gradually becomes firmer and firmer every day; so that, in the space of a few months, those bogs which were formerly so soft as
hardly to support the weight of a small dog, become Preparation of Land. so firm that oxen and horses may tread upon them without any danger of sinking, at the very wettest season of the year. I have had a field of this nature, that, by having only one such pit as I have now described opened in it, was entirely drained to the distance of above a hundred yards around it in every direction. But as it is possible that the stratum in which the water runs may be in some places interrupted, it will be in general expedient to make several of these pits, if the field is of great extent; always carrying the drain forward through the lowermost part of the field, or as near the quag as you conveniently can; and sinking a pit wherever you may judge it will be most necessary. But if the stratum of gravel is not interrupted, there will be no violent burst of water at opening any of these after the first, as I have frequently experienced. To keep these wells from closing up after they are made, it is always expedient to fill them up with small stones immediately after they are made, which ought to rise to the height of the bottom of the drain.
"I have often imagined that the expense of digging these pits might be saved by boring a hole through this solid stratum of clay with a large wimble made on purpose; but as I never experienced this, I cannot say whether or not it would answer the desired end exactly.
"If the whole field that is to be drained consists of one extensive bog, it will require a long time before the whole work can be entirely finished, as it will be impossible to open a drain through it till one part of it is first drained and become solid ground. In a situation of this kind, the undertaker, after having opened a drain to convey the water from the lowest part of the bog, must approach as near to the swampy ground as he can, and there make his first pit; which will drain off the water from the nearest parts of the bog. When this has continued open for some time, and that part of the bog is become so solid as to admit of being worked, let him continue the ditch as far forward through it as the situation it is in will admit of, and there sink another pit; and proceed gradually forward in the same manner; making cross cuts where necessary, till the whole be finished.
"In this manner may any bog or tract of spouting ground of this nature be rendered dry at a very inconsiderable expense; and as there can be no other method of draining ground of this sort effectually, I recommend the study of it to the attention of every diligent farmer who may have occasion for it. Let him first be extremely cautious in examining all the circumstances of his particular fields, that he may be certain which of the classes above enumerated it may be ranked with; and when he is perfectly sure of that, he may proceed without fear, being morally certain of success.
We shall add the substance of a paper on this subject, for which the author received the silver medal of the Society instituted for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. That author is Mr. John Wedge of Bickenhill, near Coventry, who is Mr. Wedge's. not only a great farmer himself, but had likewise been employed by the earl of Aylesford in the management of several estates. Encouraged by his lordship's liberality, Mr. Wedge informs the society, that he had been.
been employed for some years in draining large portions of land, of which part was in the earl's occupation, and part in his own, as tenant to his lordship. The principles upon which he proceeded, as well as his mode of procedure, he states in the following terms:
In every country there are large portions of land that, in wet seasons, have always what may be called a dry surface, and other portions of land that have always a moist or wet surface; the former of these admitting all the water which falls upon them to sink freely through their pores to various depths, till falling on clay, or some other unctuous earth, whose pores will not permit it to pass through, it is there held up to a height proportioned to the quantity of water which comes upon it, and the facility with which that water is discharged. Thus, held up to various heights, it serves as a fountain to distribute its water (either by veins of sand, pebbles, or rock, according to the formation of the different under strata) on the neighbouring lands; and there forms bogs and other varieties of wet surface, on a basis that will be always found to consist of marl or clay, or some mixture thereof. The effect of water thus distributed may be divided into two classes. The first class, where the water is thrown out by a body of marl or clay, &c. upon the surface of descending ground, and in the valley (there held up by clay also) forms bogs or swamps. The second class, where the water is held up by marl or clay, as before, having above that marl or clay a stratum of sand, or pebbles, through which the water passes; and above those sands or pebbles another stratum of marl or clay, through the weakest parts of which the water, by a continual pressure from its fountain, forces a passage upwards; and thus, through the weakest parts of the marl or clay, furnishes a continual supply of water on the surface, for the formation or growth of bogs, &c. in proportion as this water is more or less abundantly supplied by its fountain or head, namely, the higher lands, into which rain-water freely passes, as before described. There are also different soils, under different circumstances, which may form a third class of land for draining; such as strong deep soils, or open light soils, having near the surface a body of marl or clay. In either of these cases, the water which falls on the surface must, for reasons which are self-evident, keep such lands, in rainy seasons, constantly wet and cold; and it should be observed, that a mixture of all the three before-described classes of wet land sometimes occurs in one field, by sudden alterations of the under strata, and thereby perplexes the operator, by requiring all the different modes of draining in the same field.
If it be admitted that bogs are thus formed and fed, their cure may be effected with certainty: The first class, by cutting through the stratum (be it sand, pebbles, or rock,) that conveys the water to the bog, and carrying off that water by a close drain to some proper place, where the level admits of its discharge: The second class, by sinking a drain to any convenient depth in the upper clay; and then digging or boring with a large auger, at a small distance on one side of this drain, through the remaining part, be it (the upper clay) ever so deep, into the under stratum of sand, pebbles, or rock, through which the water passes; which will then rush up into the drain so made, with a velocity proportioned to the height of the land or fountain
whence it is supplied. As this drain advances through the land, holes must be dug or bored, as before, every seven yards, or at such distance as the strength of the springs may require; and the whole of the water thus brought up by tapping the springs, is carried off by the drain made in the upper clay, which must be a close one, to its proper level, and there discharged.
By both these methods of draining, large tracts of land, under favourable circumstances, may be cured with one drain. The best place for fixing these drains is where the stratum that conveys the water comes nearest to the surface; and the best method of ascertaining that, is to bore or dig in different parts through the different under strata.
The third class may be easily cured by close drains, at such distances and depths as will best carry off the surface-water. It may not be improper to observe, that where the different strata or measures crop out, that is, become gradually more and more shallow in some certain direction (as is often the case, till, one after the other, they all present themselves in succession on the surface of the earth), draining may often be much more easily and better effected by crossing with the drain the different strata or measures, where the levels and other circumstances will admit.
Some of the land drained was part of a common, in the parish of Church Bickenhill, in the county of Warwick; part of it was covered with moss and ling, had a peaty surface, about six inches deep, and produced little or no grass: in all wet seasons it was filled quite to the surface, and often overflowed, with water. Some of the land was much more unfound, deeper of peat, and covered with moss, in most parts nine inches long; another part was an absolute bog in all seasons.
Having dug or bored with a large auger into several parts of the land, Mr. Wedge found peat, gravel, and sand mixed, and a quicksand almost uniformly. The quicksand in every part, after getting an inch or two into it, seemed almost as fluid as water. Judging from this, that no materials for a drain could be laid in the quicksand, but what it would immediately bury, he dug a trench almost to the quicksand, leaving gravel, &c. of sufficient strength to bear up the materials for a hollow drain; these materials were two sides and a cover of stone, with a peat-turf on the top to keep out the soil. At every seven yards forward, by the side of this drain, he dug a hole in the quicksand as deep as it would permit. From these holes the water rose freely into the hollow drain, and was by it discharged at a proper level. It may be proper to remark, that the stone made use of for this drain, and all others here mentioned, was a red sand and rag-stone, which easily split into proper sizes for the purpose, and is very durable; it cost about sixpence per ton getting, exclusive of carriage. The drain thus formed ran on the whole rather freely, and made the land dry for a few yards on each side thereof, but was far from having the effect he improperly expected; for it evidently appears that the drain could only take a very small portion of the water from so large a quicksand, which it did not penetrate more than two inches; and that it could drain only to its own depth, or, at most, to that depth in the fountain which supplied the quicksand. His purpose was then defeated; and his motive for mentioning this error cannot, he hopes, be mistaken.
He
He now did what he says he ought to have done before, that is, he examined the different strata to a greater depth, particularly on the bog, and at the upper edges thereof, and found the bog to be what has been described under the first class. He therefore determined to attempt the cure in the manner before prescribed for that class, namely, to cut through the whole of the stratum (in this instance, of quicksand), through which he found the water pass. This he effected as follows: The summer being dry, and favourable for the purpose, and having previously made his main open drain, he began his main close drain the first week in June 1791, three feet wide, on the declivity near the edge of the great bog. In the first operation he dug through the peat, the hard sand, and gravel and one spade's graft (about nine inches deep, and seven inches wide) into the quicksand the whole length of this drain, which was 73 perches, of eight yards to the perch, in length. The drain thus dug ran copiously, not less than 60 gallons per minute. In this state he left it about nine days: the effect of it was rapid, both above the drain and on the bog below. Upon examination, he now found about three inches on the top of the spade's graft, which had been made into the quicksand, perfectly dry. He then dug out these three inches of dry sand, to nearly the whole width of the drain, three feet; and at the same time dug out, as before, another spade's graft, from the top of the quicksand, as near the middle of the drain as possible. This was left to run a few days, as before, and had the same effect, namely, three or four inches more of the top of the quicksand became dry and hard. The same operation was repeated again and again with the same effect, till the purpose of getting through this quicksand was completed, so far at least as the level of the main open drain would permit. The stream of water continued increasing during the whole operation; the bog below the drain was quite dry, and the land above perfectly so. The drain which was first made, and continued running for some time during the progress of the main close drain, became gradually dry; and has not, since that drain was finished, discharged one single drop of water. Great care was necessary, in making the main close drain, to keep the stream of water in the middle of it, otherwise the current would have undermined the sides, as it sometimes had done, and caused them to fall in. For this reason it was necessary, when the dry sand was taken from the top of the quicksand, immediately to take out a spade's graft from the middle thereof, in order to divert the current from the sides.
The main close drain thus made was three feet wide at top, about nine feet deep on the average, and, beveling a little from the top, it was about one foot ten inches wide at the bottom. The stone and other materials were put into this drain in the following manner: Where the drain went through the quicksand into the stratum of clay below it, as in most places it did, the bottom, and in some instances the sides, wanted no particular security; but where it did not go quite through the quicksand, which the level of his main open drain in some places would not admit, the bottom of the drain was covered half an inch thick with ling; then peat turfs, one foot wide and three or four inches thick, were cut in convenient lengths, and placed on their edges on each side of the bottom of the drain,
forming two sides of a trough of peat; then side stones (Preparation of Land.) about eight inches high, and a stone coverer, were put in upon the ling between the peat turfs; a large peat-turf, near two feet wide and four inches thick, was then cut and firmly placed over the whole: this left in the bottom of the drain an open space, of more than six inches square, for the water to pass. The whole was then completed by filling in the upper part of the drain.
In this way the author drained for about 801. thirty acres of land, which from being of no value whatever, became worth at least 24 shillings per acre of yearly rent. He likewise hollow-drained nine acres by the method prescribed for the third class of wet land. These drains were made a few yards below that part of each field where the dry and wet land separate, about 22 inches deep, with sides and a coverer of stone, and ling on the top of it, to keep the earth from running in. The length of these drains was 880 yards, and the expence of labour and materials three halfpence per yard. The drains, in wet weather, discharge a large quantity of water; and will, he has no doubt, answer the intended purpose. Thus far relates to land in his own occupation.
Nine acres of the land in the earl of Aylesford's occupation was almost an entire pulp. This bog was of the second class, namely, water passing through a quicksand, and confined by a stratum of clay below, and another stratum of clay above it. The water thus confined, being pressed by its fountain, and forced up through the weakest parts of the clay, had formed a bog of irregular thickness on the surface, in some places six feet deep, in others not more than two. As there is a considerable fall in this land from east to west, he thought it expedient to put two drains into it; and this appears to him to have been necessary, from a consideration that both these drains continue to run in the same proportions as when first opened. The manner in which these drains were executed was, by digging through the different upper strata, and as deep into the clay as the main open drain would admit; then digging or boring through the remaining part of that clay into the quicksand, at the distance of about six yards, in a progressive manner.
The water rising rapidly through these holes into the close drains, has effected a complete cure of this land, every part of which will now bear a horse to gallop upon it. These drains discharge 3660 gallons an hour; which is much less than they did at first, as must be the case in all bogs. This land will be worth 20s. per acre. The draining cost 251. and the length of the under-ground drains is eight hundred and fourteen yards.
Mr Wedge had just finished (January 1792) draining another piece of land, about forty-three acres. As this was intended to answer two purposes, one, to drain the land, the other to give an additional supply of water to a mill-pool, and as a circumstance arose in the execution of the work which frequently happens in draining land, namely, a sudden alteration in the position of the under strata; a description thereof will not probably be thought tedious. This draining was begun at the level of a mill-pool, and continued, without any great difficulty, to the distance of about thirty-two chains, in the manner before described as a cure
Preparation for the second class of boggy land: but at or near that place the under strata altered their position; the quicksand which conveyed the water now became of twice its former thickness; and the clay, which had hitherto been above that quicksand, for some distance disappeared. From the quicksand thus becoming so much deeper, he could not, with the level of the mill-pool, cut through it; nor indeed, from the wetness of the season, would such an operation have been proper. He therefore continued a shallow drain to some distance, making side-holes into the quicksand, which ran freely; but as this could not cure the whole of the bog below, he branched out another drain (which was made by the method described for curing the second class of wet or boggy land), by sinking a close drain through the upper strata into the upper clay, and then, at a small distance on one side of this close drain, boring a hole with an auger through the remaining part of that clay into the quicksand; and at every eight yards, as this close drain advanced, still boring other holes, in the manner before described: through many of these holes the water rushed with great rapidity. The water discharged by these drains into the mill-pool is 168 gallons per minute, or 3780 hogsheds in a day; which is after the rate of 1,379,700 hogsheds in a year.
About six acres of this land were always found; about twelve acres on the north side were an absolute pulp, and the remaining twenty-six acres very unfound. The whole is now found, and will when cultivated be worth 16s. per acre. This land would have been drained at a much less expence into the main open drain; but then the water, which was much wanted for the mill, would have been lost. These close drains are in length 1452 yards, and cost 100l. of which about 30l. ought to be charged to the mill.
189
Draining of land-locked bogs. With regard to the drainage of land-locked bogs, which are often situated so much lower than the ground around them, that the cutting a main drain would cost more than the value of the land when drained; the mode of proceeding, with a view at once cheaply and effectually to relieve them from the superfluous moisture which renders them useless to agriculture, is the following: A spot in the middle or lowest part of the bog must be selected, towards which all the drains must be conducted, as radii to a common centre. When this central spot is properly cleared out to the top of the clay, or retentive substratum, which in this case must not be affected by water from below, but only by surface or rain water, a number of perforations must be made with the auger, to give an outlet downwards for the water, which will be absorbed by the porous stratum below. A conduit should be formed over the auger holes, by loose stones, placed in such a manner as to prevent their being afterwards filled up by any rubbish: or rather auger holes may not be sufficient; and it may be a preferable plan to make a large pit, or well, in the lowest part of the bog, dug through into the porous substrata. This pit ought to be filled with large stones, and the drains from the rest of the field conducted to that spot, as mentioned in the following quotation from the Agricultural Report of Hertfordshire.—“If a pit is sunk 20 or 30 feet deep in the middle of a field, through the Hertfordshire red, flinty, and impervious clay, into the chalk below; when the usual quantity of chalk is taken out, the pit
shaft is filled up with the flint taken out of the chalk Preparation of Land. and clay, and the top drainage of this part of the field is much shortened for ever afterwards, by making principal drains from the part of the field above the level of the top of the pit terminate therein, as the superabundant moisture will escape through the flints in the pit shaft to the chalk below. And if a drain is carried into a limestone quarry, it is seldom necessary to carry it further.
“In dells or hollows, of considerable extent, covered with an impervious stratum, and from which there is no natural drainage, such as the valley between Mold, the shire-town of Flintshire, and the adjoining high land, a pit about four feet diameter, and 15 feet deep, more or less, as the case may require, is sunk through the impervious superstratum, into a pervious stratum of gravel, and the rain water, and that of some adjoining springs, are carried from the surface thereby; the pit is raised round to prevent cattle from falling into it. I must here remark, that though in this, as well as in many other instances that may be given, the top water escaped through the pervious substratum, the effect might have been directly the contrary. I therefore recommend the impervious superstratum, in all such cases, to be perforated by bore-rods, as the hole made by them is easily stopped up.”
In Dr Nugent's travels through Germany, published German in 1768, a mode of draining marshes upon similar principles is described, as having been practiced in that country. He had only seen it performed on moor-lands, though it is also successful with regard to lakes. “It is the nature, says he, of moors in general, that beneath the turf or moss there is a loam which hinders the moisture from penetrating; and this indeed is what makes the marsh, and causes the luxuriant growth of the turf or moss: but this loam or clay is only a stratum, and far from being of an immense depth; under it is generally a sand, or some other slopy or loose soil.”
“Here reason readily informs us, that a middling morass may be drained by perforating the clay, and thus making way for the moisture to penetrate. In order to this, a pit is dug in the deepest part of the moor, till they come below the obstructing clay, and meet with such a spongy stratum as, in all appearance, will be sufficient to imbibe the moisture of the marsh above it. Into this pit the ebbing of the morass is conveyed through a trench, and both the trench and the pit are filled up after the first drain with large broad stones, setting them edgewise, so as to leave interstices for carrying off the water; then such stones are laid over breadthwise, and these covered with loose earth like that on the surface: when no such stones are to be had, strong piles are rammed down the sides of the trench, and broad boards laid across; and these are covered with earth to a height fit for culture. This is a matter of no great expence, the pit being as near the morass as the water will admit, and the trenches but short; then they have a drain unperceived, which leaves the surface of the trenches for the plough; and in middling marshes, especially in such moors as are only wet and damp, this method, though sometimes slow, never fails taking effect; and many tracts are thereby made serviceable to the farmer or grazier.”
The writer of the Roxburghshire Agricultural Report represents the drainage in Roxburghshire.
Preparation represents himself as having successfully adopted a similar mode of draining. In that part of the country, such of the waste lands, as are capable of being drained so as to become arable, have, at the distance of from one to six feet below the surface, a large stratum or seam of a black flaty or metallic substance, generally from 20 to 25 feet in thickness. Below this is a layer of whinstone rock of unknown depth. The black flaty or metallic substance has no chinks or fissures, and is impenetrable to water; but the whinstone rock beneath it abounds with chinks and fissures, and will swallow up any quantity of water poured into its bosom. The uppermost surface of the soil is of a light mossy nature, upon which the water stagnates in winter, so as to swell and enlarge it to a considerable degree. In the spring months, when dried by the sun and the wind, the moss becomes tolerably firm, and produces a coarse unprofitable grass, mixed with short heather; neither of which are of any value as food for sheep or cattle. In the year 1784 the writer of the Report ploughed up 20 acres of the waste lands of the above description, a part of them being situated on a level. This last part was gathered in small ridges, and ploughed pretty deep, and the stones removed. Thus it lay till midsummer 1785; but, during the spring, the sheep and cattle were frequently driven upon it to tread it to a firm consistence. At midsummer it was gathered up again; and, to get the water out of the hollows of the ridges, a pair of boring rods were obtained, which were put down through the flaty substance to the whinstone rock at sundry places. This effectually answered the purpose. The tops of the holes were kept open with baskets of loose stones over them, which were allowed to remain or removed at pleasure, as the weather proved more or less wet. In spring 1786 the land was in a condition to sow almost as early as any other part of the farm, the winter rains having found their way down into the whinstone rock through the flaty substance, and the land speedily became and continued very valuable.
192
Draining of quarries and mines.
We may here add, that the modes of draining now stated are also valuable for other purposes than those of agriculture. Quarries, for example, and marl pits may often be cleared of water, by cutting off the springs by which they are incommoded, or by letting down the water into the next porous stratum. The same may be often done, with regard to deep mines, the working of which may frequently be thus greatly facilitated. A colliery, for example, in Yorkshire had been wrought for several years, and the water was raised from it about 60 yards by a steam engine. The proprietors having bored about ten yards farther, to ascertain the thickness of a seam of coals; as soon as the boring rods were withdrawn, the water from the works, which usually ran across that place, began to sink into the holes made by the rods; and, continuing to do so, the steam engine became useless, as its pump had no longer any water to draw. It must be observed, that the situation was higher than the nearest valleys, or the level of the sea; but this example shows of what extensive importance a knowledge of the principles upon which the above modes of draining proceed may hereafter become.
3. Of rendering Mosses fit for CULTIVATION.
In many parts of the country a very serious obstruc-
tion to the cultivation of large portions of territory arises from the existence of mosses. It is, therefore, of much importance to consider their nature, and how they are to be rendered fertile.
With regard to the nature and origin of moss, the celebrated Dr Anderson, whose works we have already frequently quoted, advances this opinion, that moss is a vegetable, or an assemblage of vegetables, growing or living below, while at the top it is dead. Hence, he distinguishes moss into two kinds; quick moss, from which peats are dug, on which no vegetables grow, and in which no animals exist, while in its natural situation; and dead moss, which frequently covers the former, and upon which heath and fog and coarse grasses grow, and insects and other animals are found. Mr Head-193 rick states various objections to this opinion, some of which appear to have great force. Thus, it is observed, that the moss here supposed to be alive below the soil, has every mark of utter deadness and partial dissolution. When tossed about in a very dark night, it emits light like half rotten wood, giving rise to frequent terrors in those who live in the vicinity of peat bogs. It also seems a strange circumstance, and contrary to the whole analogy of nature, to suppose that a vegetable should grow, should form ligneous fibres, and acquire inflammability, without the influence of the sun, or contact with the air, during any period of its growth. The true history of the origin of mosses seems to be this: What are called the moss plants, amount to about three hundred in number. They are extremely hardy, and are capable of flourishing in the most cold and bleak situations, providing only they are surrounded by abundance of stagnating water. Accordingly, wherever water stagnates in a moderate quantity, they grow up, and, by spreading themselves around, they increase the stagnation. When they have arisen in this manner, with the water around them, to a considerable height, the lower part of their stems being continually soaked or macerated in water, cease to vegetate, and give forth their juices to the surrounding fluid. As the moss plants are extremely astringent, and contain large quantities of the gallic acid and tanning principle, the moss water acquires these qualities, or becomes astringent, in a great degree, and prevents any process of putrefaction from taking place, or the stems of the moss plants from suffering any proper process of rottenness, or chemical decomposition. Hence it is, that moss water has sometimes been used for tanning leather, in the same manner as the liquor of oak bark. In the mean time, while the stems of the moss plants remain in this manner dead, but prevented from rotting, or becoming the habitation of animals which cannot live in a vegetable astringent liquor, the tops of the plants that are at the surface of the water continue to grow, or new plants rise upon the summits of the dead ones, and continue their ascending progress; the whole being perhaps a sort of parasitical plants, which can grow upon each other.
In this way, a moss proceeds, rising higher and higher, till from the nature of the adjoining country, and the declivities in it, the water cannot stagnate to any greater depth. After the moss has come to this height, its farther growth is prevented, its plants, unable to live or grow without abundance of water, wither and die; the upper part of them being exposed to the action of the air, suffers an ordinary process of decomposition; like
like other vegetable remains, and is converted into a sort of soil, upon which a few plants and reptiles are sometimes found; while at a small depth, that is to say, below the surface of the stagnating water, the whole stems of the ancient moss plants continue macerated in their own liquor, and preserved from putrefaction by it.
There are, however, two general kinds of mosses; black moss, and whitish or yellow moss. The black moss is originally of a mahogany colour, but speedily becomes black upon exposure to the air. The yellowish, or foggy moss, is much less compact than the former, and retains a light or yellowish colour after it is dried. It does not appear to be in such a perfect state of maceration as the black moss, has less variety of plants, and is never so solid. It is usually produced in low warm situations, and appears to have grown rapidly; whereas, the black moss is most commonly found in cold elevated lands, and seems to have consisted of a greater number of less luxuriant plants. Thus, moss may be regarded as bearing some resemblance to timber, which is always of a compact grain, and close texture, in proportion to the severity of the climate of which it is the product, or rather in proportion to the length of time which it has taken to grow.
From what has been here stated, it will not be difficult to understand the mode in which mosses come originally to find an existence, or to cover a piece of territory in any country. When a pool of water is speedily, or in a short time, formed to a great depth, no moss appears; but when a gradual stagnation to a small depth takes place, upon any spot, especially in a cold and exposed situation, there the moss plants (being the only ones capable of subsisting on such a soil) speedily grow up, and occupy the place of every other. Though the quantity of water that originally stagnated there might not be great, it is increased by degrees, in consequence of the additional obstruction produced by the roots, stems, and leaves of the moss plants, till at last it forms a bog of very great depth.—We have already mentioned the nature and causes of the stagnation of water. It may either occur in consequence of the figure and quality of the soil making it tenaciously to retain the falling rains, or it may be the consequence of springs or reservoirs of water pent up or confined in the bowels of the earth by an incumbent mass of clay. Struggling to rise up through this clay, it will wet every part of it, and will slowly ooze through all its less adhesive parts, and will form a soil fit only for the reception of moss plants, which will there, by obstructing the departure of the moisture, which is constantly rising, in the course of years rear up the surface into a complete and perfect peat-bog.
But mosses not only arise in particular situations, in consequence of these operations of nature: They are also produced as the result of certain exertions of human industry. In almost all our mosses in this country great numbers of trees of various sorts are found. They remain, like the inferior parts or roots of moss plants, infused and macerated in the moss water, but not rotted. The trees and shrubs found at the bottom of mosses in Scotland, exhibit, perhaps, the whole variety of the native trees and shrubs. Of trees, are found the oak, the elm, the birch, the willow, the alder, and the fir. Of shrubs, we find the hazel, the dwarf willow, the gall
plant, and lastly, the heath plant. This last is of so Preparation of Land. hardy a nature, that it often continues to rise upon the moss during the whole period of its existence. Now, if it should be supposed, that at any time extensive forests of these trees were suddenly cut down by the exertions of man, they would undoubtedly produce a stagnation of water, and a bleakness of climate, that would render the situation fit only to be inhabited by moss plants, which would, therefore, speedily rise up, and form a peat-bog, in which multitudes of trees and shrubs would be found soaked in their own juice, and in the asprigent liquor resulting from the maceration of the stems of the moss plants. That in ancient times old forests were thus destroyed by the efforts of man, we have every reason to believe. Not only in this country, but also in England and Ireland, there are found in mosses vast numbers of trees standing with their stumps erect, and their roots piercing the ground in a natural posture as when growing. Many of those trees are broken or cut off near the roots, and lie along, and this usually in a north-east direction. People who have been willing to account for this, have usually resolved it into the effect of the deluge in the days of Noah; but this is a very wild conjecture, and is proved false by many unanswerable arguments. The waters of this deluge might indeed have walked together a great number of trees, and buried them under loads of earth; but then they would have lain irregularly and at random; whereas, in this case, the trees all lie lengthwise from south-west to north-east, and the roots all stand in their natural perpendicular posture, as close as the roots of trees in a forest.
Besides, these trees are not all in their natural state, but many of them have the evident marks of human workmanship upon them, some being cut down with an axe; some split, and the wedges still remaining in them; some burnt in different parts, and some bored through with holes. These things are also proved to be of a later date than the deluge, by other matters found among them, such as utensils of ancient people, and coins of the Roman emperors.
It appears from the whole, that all the trees which we find in this fossil slate, originally grew in the very places where we now find them, and have only been thrown down and buried there, not brought from elsewhere. It may appear indeed an objection to this opinion, that most of these fossil trees are of the fir kind; and that Cæsar says expressly, that no firs grew in Britain in his time: but this is easily answered by observing that these trees, though of the fir kind, yet are not the species usually called the fir, but pitch tree; and Cæsar has nowhere said that pitch trees did not grow in England. Norway and Sweden yet abound with these trees; and there are at this time whole forests of them in many parts of Scotland, and a large number of them wild upon a hill at Wareton in Staffordshire to this day.
In Hatfield marsh, where such vast numbers of the fossil trees are now found, there has evidently once been a whole forest of them growing. The last of these was found alive, and growing in that place within 70 years last past, and cut down for some common use.
It is also objected by some to the system of the firs growing where they are found fossil, that these coun-
tries
Preparation of Land. trees are all bogs and moors, whereas these sorts of trees grow only in mountainous places. But this is founded on an error; for though in Norway and Sweden, and some other cold countries, the fir kinds all grow upon barren and dry rocky mountains, yet in warmer places they are found to thrive as well on wet plains. Such are found plentifully in Pomerania, Livonia, Courland, &c. &c.; and in the west parts of New England there are vast numbers of fine stately trees of them in low grounds. The whole truth seems to be, that these trees love a sandy soil; and such as is found at the bottoms of all the mosses where these trees are found fossil. The roots of the fir kind are always found fixed in these; and those of oaks, where they are found fossil in this manner, are usually found fixed in clay: so that each kind of tree is always found rooted in the places where they stand in their proper soil; and there is no doubt to be made but that they originally grew there. When we have thus found that all the fossil trees we meet with once grew in the places where they are now buried, it is plain that in these places there were once noble forests, which have been destroyed at some time; and the question only remains how and by whom they were destroyed. This we have reason to believe, by the Roman coins found among them, was done by the people of that empire, and that at the time when they were established or establishing themselves here.
Their own historian tells us, that when their armies pursued the wild Britons, these people always sheltered themselves in the miry woods and low watery forests. Cæsar expressly says this; and observes, that Cassibelan and his Britons, after their defeat, passed the Thames, and fled into such low morasses and woods that there was no pursuing them: and we find that the Silures secured themselves in the same manner when attacked by Ostorius and Agricola. The same thing is recorded of Venatius king of the Brigantes, who fled to secure himself into the boggy forests of the midland part of this kingdom: and Herodian expressly says, that in the time of the Romans pushing their conquests in these islands, it was the custom of the Britons to secure themselves in the thick forests which grew in their boggy and wet places, and when opportunity offered, to issue out thence and fall upon the Romans. The consequence of all this was the destroying all these forests; the Romans finding themselves so plagued with parties of the natives issuing out upon them at times from the forests, that they gave orders for the cutting down and destroying all the forests in Britain which grew on boggy and wet grounds. These orders were punctually executed; and to this it is owing that at this day we can hardly be brought to believe that such forests ever grew with us as are now found buried.
The Roman histories all join in telling us, that when Suetonius Paulinus conquered Anglesea, he ordered all the woods to be cut down there, in the manner of the Roman generals in England: and Galen tells us, that the Romans, after their conquest in Britain, kept their soldiers constantly employed in cutting down forests, draining of marshes, and paving of bogs. Not only the Roman soldiers were employed in this manner, but all the native Britons made captives in the wars were obliged to assist in it: and Dion Cassius
tells us, that the emperor Severus lost no less than Preparation of Land. 50,000 men in a few years time in cutting down the woods and draining the bogs of this island. It is not to be wondered at, that such numbers executed the immense destruction which we find in these buried forests. One of the greatest subterranean treasures of wood is that near Hatfield; and it is easy to prove, that these people, to whom this havock is thus attributed, were upon the spot where these trees now lie buried. The common road of the Romans out of the south into the north, was formerly from Lindum (Lincoln) to Segelochum (Little Burrow upon Trent), and from thence to Danum (Doncaster), where they kept a standing garrison of Crispinian horse. A little off on the east, and north-east of their road, between the two last named towns, lay the borders of the greatest forest, which swarmed with wild Britons, who were continually making their sallies out, and their retreats into it again, intercepting their provisions, taking and destroying their carriages, killing their allies and passengers, and disturbing their garrisons. This at length so exasperated the Romans, that they were determined to destroy it; and to do this safely and effectually, they marched against it with a great army, and encamped on a great moor not far from Finningly: this is evident from their fortifications yet remaining.
There is a small town in the neighbourhood called Osterfield; and as the termination field seems to have been given only in remembrance of battles fought near the towns whose names ended with it, it is not improbable that a battle was fought here between all the Britons who inhabited this forest and the Roman troops under Ostorius. The Romans flew many of the Britons, and drove the rest back into this forest, which at that time overspread all this low country. On this the conquerors taking advantage of a strong south-west wind, set fire to the pitch-trees, of which this forest was principally composed; and when the greater part of the trees was thus destroyed, the Roman soldiers and captive Britons cut down the remainder, except a few large ones which they left standing as remembrances of the destruction of the rest. These single trees, however, could not stand long against the winds, and these falling into the rivers which ran through the country, interrupted their currents; and the water then overspreading the level country, made one great lake, and gave origin to the mosses or moory bogs, which were afterwards formed there, by the workings of the waters, the precipitation of earthy matter from them, and the putrefaction of rotten boughs and branches of trees, and the vast increase of water moss and other such plants which grow in prodigious abundance in all these sorts of places. Thus were these burnt and felled trees buried under a new formed spongy and watery earth, and afterwards found on the draining and digging through this earth again.
Hence it is not strange that Roman weapons and Roman coins are found among these buried trees; and hence it is that among the buried trees some are found burnt, some chopped and hewn; and hence also it is that the bodies of the trees all lie by their proper roots, and with their tops lying north-east, that is, in that direction in which a south-west wind would have blown them down: hence also it is, that some of the trees
Preparation of Land.
are found with their roots lying flat, these being not cut or burned down, but blown up by the roots afterwards when left single; and it is not wonderful, that such trees as these should have continued to grow even after their fall, and shoot up branches from their sides which might easily grow into high trees. (Phil. Trans. No 275.)
By this system it is also easily explained why the moor soil in the country is in some places two or three yards thicker than in others, or higher than it was formerly, since the growing up of peat earth or bog ground composed of moss plants is well known, and the soil added by overflowing of waters is not a little.
As the Romans were the destroyers of this great and noble forest, so they were probably also of the several other ancient forests; the ruins of which furnish us with the bog wood of Staffordshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, and other counties. But as the Romans were not much in Wales, in the Isle of Man, or in Ireland, it is not to be supposed that forests cut down by these people gave origin to the fossil wood found there; but though they did not cut down these forests, others did; and the origin of the bog wood is the same with them and with us. Holinhead informs, that Edward I. being not able to get at the Welsh because of their hiding themselves in boggy woods, gave orders at length that they should all be destroyed by fire and by the axe; and doubtless the roots and bodies of trees found in Pembrokeshire under ground, are the remains of the execution of this order. The fossil wood in the bogs of the island of Man is doubtless of the same origin, though we have not any accounts extant of the time or occasion of the forests there being destroyed; but as to the fossil trees of the bogs of Ireland, we are expressly told, that Henry II. when he conquered that country, ordered all the woods to be cut down that grew in the low parts of it, to secure his conquests, by cutting away the places of resort of rebels.
The tendency of our climate to produce in cold and damp situations moss plants, which gradually form around themselves a liquor which is the enemy of all putrefaction, may be considered as a fortunate circumstance, upon the whole, for the preservation of the health of men and animals, as well as contributing to other valuable purposes. In considering the nature of moss, "I cannot dismiss the subject (says Mr Headrick) without suggesting my admiration at the beneficence of Providence, in having provided the moss plants for the situations in which they grow: they afford an immediate supply of fuel, and are the source from which pit-coal derives its origin, though trees, and all the plants which abound in oils and carbon also contribute to the supply of pit-coal. Were the places now occupied by mosses divested of vegetables, or stored with vegetables of a different character, they would become noisome fens, which, by the emission of putrid gasses, would spread all around them pestilence and death. Mosses emit no noxious gasses, but rather, by growing at the surface, where the plants are acted upon by the sun's rays, they perpetually throw out oxygen, and thus contribute to the salubrity of the atmosphere. The only defect with which they are chargeable is, forming magazines of moisture, which by its exhalation generates cold, and spreads rheumatism and inter-
Preparation of Land.
mitting fevers among all the animals within its reach. The perpetual evaporation of this moisture not only tends to chill the moss, but it descends in hoar-frost and mildews upon all the lands that are lower in point of situation. These last mentioned disadvantages are more than amply compensated by the consideration that moss is not only an inexhaustible magazine of manure for other soils, but may be converted into a most fertile soil itself. After it is so converted, none of the defects already stated are any longer applicable to it."
This gentleman analyzed chemically some specimens of moss. He found that a small portion of Berkshire peat of great hardness exhibited, when pounded in a mortar and infused in warm water, a liquor that had some slight marks of acidity by test paper. Gypsum and sulphat of magnesia appeared to exist in it. A purified potash produced an abundant precipitation of various substances. A portion of this peat being burned, gave forth at the close of the operation a sulphureous smell and flame. The white ashes, after some days, assumed a rusty colour, from iron contained in them. Being washed, the liquor appeared to contain sulphates of lime, magnesia, alumine, and iron. Black hard peat of Swintridge moor, in Ayrshire, when burned, gave brown ashes which were attracted by the magnet. An infusion of them in water exhibited no mark of acid or of alkali, and the ingredients contained in it appeared to be the same as in the Berkshire peat. Foggy or yellow peat yielded a smaller quantity of ashes, which were white, and did not obey the magnet.
Moss water obtained by squeezing light peats contained gallic acid and tanning principle in great quantities. Quicklime appeared to be the most powerful agent in precipitating every substance from the moss water, and in rendering moss a compact and solid substance; a fact which, as will be afterwards noticed, has been successfully taken advantage of in practice.
There are two ways in which a tract of territory that is covered by moss may be reduced under the dominion of the plough, or rendered fit for the purposes of agriculture. The one consists of altogether removing the mossy substance, or the whole wrecks of the moss plants that have been accumulating for ages, and endeavouring thereafter to cultivate the subsoil. The other mode consists of converting the substance of the moss into vegetable mould fit for bearing crops of grain.
The first of these plans has been adopted with regard to the moss of Kincardine, and the other has been successfully practised by Mr Smith of Swintridge-muir, in Ayrshire; and in imitation of him by various other persons in different districts of the country. To each of these we shall give attention.
The moss of Kincardine is a remarkable tract of ground in the shire of Perth, in Scotland, which deserves particular notice, both as a topographical curiosity or subject of natural history, and for the information, equally uncommon and important, which it affords, respecting agricultural improvement, and the promotion of industry and population.
The moss of Kincardine is situated in the parish of the same name, comprehended between the rivers Forth and Teith, and in that district of Perthshire called Monteith. The moss begins about a mile above the confluence of these rivers; from thence it extends in length
Preparation of Land. length about four miles, and from one to two in breadth; and before the commencement of the operations (an account of which is to be given), comprehended near 2000 Scots acres, of which about 1500 belong to the estate of Blair Drummond, the property of the late Lord Kames, by his marriage with Mrs Drummond of Blair Drummond.
As mosses are extremely various in their nature; before entering upon the improvements made in Kincardine moss, it will be proper to give a short description of that moss, and of the subjacent soil which is the object of those improvements.
The moss lies upon a field of clay, which is a continuation of those rich extensive flats in the neighbourhood of Falkirk and Stirling, distinguished by the name of carse. This clay, which is one uniform homogeneous mass sinking to a great depth, is found near the surface, consists of different colours, and is disposed in layers. The uppermost is gray; the next is reddish; and the lowest, which is the most fertile, is blue. Through the whole mass not a pebble is to be found. The only extraneous bodies it contains are sea-shells, which occur in all the varieties peculiar to the eastern coast of Scotland. They are disposed sometimes in beds, sometimes scattered irregularly at different depths. By attending to these circumstances, it cannot be doubted that the sea has been the means of the whole accumulation, and that it was carried on in a gradual manner by the ordinary ebb and flow of the tide. Upon any other supposition, why should there not have been a congeries of all the different materials that compose the surface of the surrounding heights? But to whatever cause the origin of this accumulation may be ascribed, certain it is that no soil whatever is more favourable to vegetation, or carries more abundant crops of every kind.
The surface of the clay, which, upon the retreat of the sea, had been left in an almost level plane, is everywhere thickly covered with trees, chiefly oak and birch, many of them of a great size. These trees seem to have been the first remarkable produce of the carse; and it is probable they were propagated by dissemination from the surrounding eminences. They are found lying in all directions beside their roots, which still continue firm in the ground in their natural position; and from impressions still visible, it is evident they have been cut with an axe or some similar instrument. For the cutting of wood, the two common purposes are, either to apply it to its proper use, or that the ground it occupies may be cultivated. In the present case, however, neither of these ends had been proposed, since the trees, by being left just as they were cut, were not only entirely lost, but the ground was rendered totally unfit for cultivation. Hence it is evident, that the downfall of this wood must be ascribed to some more extraordinary cause; and to none more probably than to that expedient, which, as we learn from Dion Cassius and other historians, the Romans put so extensively in practice to dislodge from their forests the ancient inhabitants of the British islands, as already explained.
This hypothesis acquires no small degree of force from a circumstance that occurred in May 1768, when a large round vessel of thin brass and curious workmanship, 25 inches in diameter, and 16 inches in height,
was discovered upon the surface of the clay buried under the moss. This vessel, found upon the estate of John Ramsay, Esq. of Ochtertyre, was by that gentleman presented to the Antiquarian Society of Edinburgh; in whose museum it remains deposited for preservation. And in a list of the various donations presented to that society, published by them in 1782, it is there denominated a Roman camp kettle.
Between the clay and the moss is found a stratum nine inches thick, partly dark brown and partly of a colour approaching to black. This is a vegetable mould, accumulated probably by the plants that covered the ground previous to the growth of the wood, and by leaves from the trees thereafter. The difference of colour must be owing to a difference in the vegetable substances that compose it. The brown mould is highly fertile; the other, especially in a dry season, is very unproductive. The crop that had occupied this mould when the trees were felled is found still entire. It consists chiefly of heath; but several other smaller plants are also very distinguishable.
Immediately above this stratum lies the moss, to the height, upon an average, of seven feet. It is composed of different vegetables arranged in three distinct strata. Of these the first is three feet thick. It is black and heavy, and preferable to the others for the purpose of fuel. It consists of bent grass (agrostis), which seems to have grown up luxuriantly among the trees after they were felled. The second stratum also is three feet thick. It is composed of various kinds of mosses, but principally of bog-moss (sphagnum). It is of a yellow or iron colour, and remarkably elastic. It is commonly called white peat; and for fuel is considered as much inferior to that above mentioned. The third stratum is composed of heath and a little bent grass, but chiefly of the deciduous parts of the former. It is about a foot thick, and black.
By far the greatest part of the moss in question is, upon an average, full seven feet deep, and has in all probability lain undisturbed since its formation: this is called the High Moss. The remainder, called the Low Moss, lies to a considerable breadth around the extremities of the high; and is, upon an average, not above three feet in depth, to which it has been reduced by the digging of peats. These are formed of that stratum of the moss only that lies four feet below the surface and downwards; the rest is improper for the purpose, and is thrown aside.
Before the introduction of the plan which is now pursued, two methods chiefly were employed to gain land from the moss. 1st, The surrounding farmers marked off yearly a portion of the low moss next to their arable land, about 15 feet broad. This they removed with carts and spread upon their fields, some acres of which they for that end left unfown. Here it lay till May or June; when, being thoroughly dry, it was burnt to ashes to serve as a manure. By this means they added to their farms about half a rood of land yearly. But this plan proved unsuccessful; for by the repeated application of these ashes, the soil was rendered so loose that the crops generally failed. 2dly, Many farmers were wont to trench down the low moss, and to cover it furrow deep with clay taken out of the trench. This, though commendable as an attempt to improve,
Preparation of Land. improve, proved likewise an unavailing method; because in a dry season the superficial covering of clay retains so little moisture that the crop commonly fails.
It has been attempted to cover the moss with clay brought from the adjacent grounds. But what from the necessary impoverishment of the ground from which the clay was carried, and the softness of the moss, this was soon found to be impracticable.
Draining has also been proposed as another mode of improvement; and it must be acknowledged, that, by means of draining, many mosses have been converted both into arable and meadow grounds, which in the end became interesting improvements. But in a moss, such as that of Kincardine, this method would be ineffectual; as for several feet deep it is of such a nature, that upon being dry, and divided into parts, it would blow with the wind like chaff; and when thrown aside in the operation of digging peats, it lies for years without producing a single vegetable, except only a few plants of forrel.
Hence it was thought evident, that all attempts to improve this moss must ever prove abortive; and that the object to be had in view was the acquisition of the valuable soil lying underneath; to which end nothing less was requisite than the total abolition of the moss.
By the methods above described from 100 to 200 acres of moss had been removed. When the present plan was introduced, there still remained covered with moss from 1300 to 1400 acres of carse clay—a treasure for which it must be ever interesting to dig.
In the year 1766 Lord Kames entered into possession of the estate of Blair Drummond. Long before that period he was well acquainted with the moss, and often lamented that no attempt had ever been made to turn it to advantage. Many different plans were now proposed; at length it was resolved to attempt, by means of water as the most powerful agent, entirely to sweep off the whole body of moss.
That moss might be floated in water, was abundantly obvious; but to find water in sufficient quantity was difficult, the only stream at hand being employed to turn a corn mill. Convinced of the superior consequence of dedicating this stream to the purpose of floating off the moss, Lord Kames having made an agreement with the tenant who farmed the mill, and the tenants thirled consenting to pay the rent, he immediately threw down the mill, and applied the water to the above purpose.
In order to determine the best manner of conducting the operation, workmen were now employed for a considerable time upon the low moss both by the day and by the piece, to ascertain the expense for which a given quantity of moss could be removed. It was then agreed to operate at a certain rate per acre; and in this manner several acres were removed.
But this was to be a very expensive process. The ground gained might, indeed, be afterwards let to tenants; but every acre would require an expenditure from 12s. to 15s. before it could be ready for sowing; so that the acquisition of the whole, computing it at a medium to be 1350 acres, would sink a capital of nearly 20,000l. sterling.
One other method still remained; namely, to attempt letting portions of the moss, as it lay, for a term of years sufficient to indemnify tenants for the
expenses incurred in removing it. For some time both these plans were adopted; but several reasons made the latter preferable: 1. The quantity of water to be had was small; and being also uncertain, it was very inconvenient for an undertaker; neither were there any houses near the spot, which occasioned a great loss of time in going and coming: but when a man should live upon the spot, then he could be ready to seize every opportunity. 2. The moss was an useless waste. To let it to tenants would increase the population of the estate, and afford to a number of industrious people the means of making to themselves a comfortable livelihood.
In the mean time it was determined, till as many tenants should be got as could occupy the whole water, to carry on the work by means of undertakers.
But before proceeding farther, it will be necessary to describe the manner of applying water to the purpose of floating the moss.
A stream of water sufficient to turn a common corn-mill will carry off as much moss as 20 men can throw into it, provided they be stationed at the distance of 100 yards from each other. The first step is to make in the clay, alongside of the moss, a drain to convey the water: and for this operation the carse clay below the moss is peculiarly favourable, being perfectly free from stones and all other extraneous substances, and at the same time, when moist, slippery as soap; so that not only is it easily dug, but its lubricity greatly facilitates the progress of the water when loaded with moss. The dimensions proper for the drain are found to be two feet for the breadth and the same for the depth. If smaller, it could not conveniently receive the spadefuls of moss; if larger, the water would escape, leaving the moss behind. The drain has an inclination of one foot in 100 yards; the more regularly this inclination is observed throughout, the less will the moss be liable to obstructions in its progress with the water. The drain being formed, the operator marks off to a convenient extent alongside of it a section of moss, 10 feet broad; the greatest distance from which he can heave his spadeful into the drain. This he repeatedly does till the entire mass be removed down to the clay. He then digs a new drain at the foot of the moss bank, turns the water into it, and proceeds as before, leaving the moss to pursue its course into the river Forth, a receptacle equally convenient and capacious; upon the fortunate situation of which, happily forming for several miles the southern boundary of the estate, without the interposition of any neighbouring proprietor, depended the very existence of the whole operations.
When the moss is entirely removed, the clay is found to be encumbered with the roots of different kinds of trees standing in it as they grew, often very large: their trunks also are frequently found lying beside them. All these the tenants remove, often with great labour. In the course of their operations they purposely leave upon the clay a stratum of moss six inches thick. This, in spring, when the season offers, they reduce to ashes, which in a great measure ensures the first crop. The ground thus cleared is turned over, where the dryness admits, with a plough, and, where too soft, with a spade. A month's exposure to the sun, wind, and frost, reduces the clay to a powder fitting
Preparation fitting it for the feed in March and April. A crop of oats is the first, which seldom fails of being plentiful, yielding from eight to ten bolts after one.
In the year 1767 an agreement was made with one tenant for a portion of the low moss. This, as being the first step towards the intended plan, was then viewed as a considerable acquisition. The same terms agreed upon with this tenant have ever since been observed with all the rest. They are as follow:
The tenant holds eight acres of moss by a tack of 38 years; he is allowed a proper quantity of timber, and two bolts of oatmeal to support him while employed in rearing a house; the first seven years he pays no rent; the eighth year he pays one merk Scots; the ninth year two merks; and so on with the addition of one merk yearly till the end of the first 19 years; during the last five years of which he also pays a hen yearly. Upon the commencement of the second 19 years, he begins to pay a yearly rent of 12s. for each acre of land cleared from moss, and 2s. 6d. for each acre not cleared, also two hens yearly: A low rent indeed for so fine a soil; but no more than a proper reward for his laborious exertions in acquiring it.
In the year 1768 another tenant was settled. These two were trade-men; to whom the preference was always given, as having this great advantage to recommend them, that even when deprived of water they need never want employment. The motives that induced these people to become settlers were, 1st, The prospect of an independent establishment for a number of years. 2dly, The moss afforded them great abundance of excellent fuel; to which was added the comfortable consideration, that, while busied in providing that necessary article, they had the double advantage of promoting, at the same time, the principal object of their settlement.
Notwithstanding these inducements, still settlers offered slowly: to which two circumstances chiefly contributed: 1st, The whole farmers surrounding the moss threw every possible obstruction in their way. 2dly, By people of all denominations the scheme was viewed as a chimerical project, and became a common topic of ridicule. The plan, however supported itself; and in the year 1769 five more tenants agreed for eight acres each; and thus 56 acres of low moss were disposed of. From the progress made by the first settlers, and the addition of these, the obloquy of becoming a moss tenant gradually became less regarded; so that in the year 1772 two more were added; in 1773, three; and in 1774, one; in all 13: which disposed of 104 acres; all the low moss to which water could then be conveyed. As water is the main spring of the operation, every tenant, besides the attention necessary to his share of the principal stream, collected water by every possible means, making ditches round his portion of the moss, and a reservoir therein to retain it till wanted.
The tenants in the low moss having now begun to raise good crops, in the year 1774 several persons offered to take possessions in the high moss, upon condition that access to it should be rendered practicable. The high moss wanted many advantages that the low possessed. To the low moss, lying contiguous to the surrounding arable lands, the access was tolerably good; but from the arable lands the high moss was separated
by 300 or 400 yards of the low, which, even to a Preparation of Land. man, affords but indifferent footing, and to horses is altogether impracticable. The low moss is in general only three feet deep; the high moss is from six to twelve feet in depth.
It will appear at first sight, that without a road of communication the high moss must forever have proved unconquerable. Without delay, therefore, a road was opened to the breadth of 12 feet, for several hundred yards in length, by floating off the moss down to the clay.
This being effected, and at the same time an opening given to admit water, in the year 1775 twelve tenants agreed for eight acres of high moss each. In consideration of the greater depth of this part of the moss, it was agreed, that during the first 19 years they should pay no rent; but for the second 19 years the terms of agreement were the same as those made with the tenants in the low moss. To the above-mentioned tenants every degree of encouragement was given; as upon their success depended, in a great measure, the disposal of the great quantity of moss still remaining. But their success, however problematical, was such, that next year, 1776, six more took eight acres each; in 1777, one; in 1778, four; in 1779, three; in 1780, one; in 1781, one; in 1782, one:—In all, including those upon the low moss, 42 tenants, occupying 336 acres.
Though for some time the disposal of the high moss went but slowly on, it was not for want of tenants; but the number of operators was already sufficient for the quantity of water; to have added more would evidently have been imprudent.
In the year 1783 Mr Drummond entered into the possession of the estate of Blair Drummond, and went fully into the plan adopted by his predecessor for subduing the moss. At this time there still remained undisposed of about 1000 acres of high moss. As water was the great desideratum, it was determined, that to obtain that necessary article neither pains nor expense should be wanting. Steps were accordingly taken to ascertain in what manner it might be procured to most advantage.
Meanwhile, to prepare for new tenants, a second road parallel to the former, at the distance of half a mile, was immediately begun and cut, with what water could be got, down to the clay, 12 feet broad and 2670 yards long, quite across the moss. This opening was previously necessary, that operators might get a drain formed in the clay to direct the water; and it was to remain as a road that was absolutely necessary, and which relieved settlers from an expense they were unable to support. These preparations, the progress of the former tenants, and the prospect of a farther supply of water, induced 10 more to take possessions in the year 1783: in the year 1784, 18 more took possessions; and in 1785 no fewer than 27:—in all 55 tenants in three years: which disposed of 440 acres more of the high moss.
As the introduction of an additional stream to the moss was to be a work both of nicety and expense, it was necessary to proceed with caution. For this reason several engineers were employed to make surveys and plans of the different modes by which it might be procured. In one point they all agreed, that the pro-
Preparation per source for furnishing that supply was the river of Land. Teith, a large and copious stream that passes within a mile of the moſs; but various modes were proposed for effecting that purpose.
To carry a stream from the river by a cut or canal into the moſs was found to be impracticable; and Mr Whitworth (a) gave in a plan of a pumping machine, which he was of opinion would answer the purpose extremely well.
Soon after this Mr George Meikle of Alloa, a very skillful and ingenious millwright, gave in a model of a wheel for raising water entirely of a new construction, of his own and his father's invention jointly. This machine is so exceedingly simple, and acts in a manner so easy, natural, and uniform, that a common observer is apt to undervalue the invention: But persons skilled in mechanics view machinery with a very different eye; for to them simplicity is the first recommendation a machine can possess. Accordingly, upon seeing the model set to work, Mr Whitworth, with that candour and liberality of mind that generally accompany genius and knowledge, not only gave it the greatest praise, but declared that, for the purpose required, it was superior to the machine recommended by himself, and advised it to be adopted without hesitation.
The better to explain this machine, two sketches are annexed, to the first of which the following letters refer. The explanation of the second will be found upon the sketch.
Plate XIII. a, Sluice through which is admitted the water that moves the wheel.
b, b, Two sluices through which is admitted the water raised by the wheel.
c, c, A part of one of two wooden troughs and an aperture in the wall, through which the above water is conveyed into the buckets. [The other trough is hid by two stone walls that support the wheel.]
d, d, d, Buckets, of which 80 are arranged on each side of the arms of the wheel=160.
e, e, e, A cistern, into which the water raised by the buckets is discharged.
f, f, f, Wooden barrel pipes, through which the water descends from the cistern under ground to avoid the high road from Stirling, and the private approach to the house.
Sketch second contains a plan of the cistern, and exhibits the manner in which the water is filled into the buckets.
The diameter of the wheel to the extremities of the float-boards is 28 feet; the length of the float-boards 10 feet. The wheel makes nearly four revolutions per minute; in which time it discharges into the cistern 40 hogheads of water. But this is not all the wheel is capable of performing; for by several accurate trials by Messrs Whitworth and Meikle, in the result of which, though made separately, they perfectly agreed, it was found that the wheel was able to lift no less than 60 hogheads per minute; but that the diameter of the pipes through which the water descends from the ci-
stern would not admit a greater quantity than what Preparation of Land.
To a person at all conversant in hydraulics, the resemblance of this to the Persian wheel must be obvious; and indeed it is probable, that from the Persian wheel the first idea of this machine was derived. But admitting this, still the superiority of the present wheel is, in most respects, so conspicuous, as to entitle it to little less praise than the first invention. For, 1st, In the Persian wheel, the buckets being all moveable, must be constantly going out of order: In this wheel they are all immoveable, consequently never can be out of order. 2dly, Instead of lifting the water from the bottom of the fall, as in the Persian wheel, this wheel lifts it from the top of the fall, being from four to five feet higher; by which means some additional power is gained. 3dly, By means of the three sluices (a, and b, b, fig. 1.) in whatever situation the river may be, the quantity of the water to be raised is so nicely adjusted to that of the moving power, as constantly to preserve the wheel in a steady and equable motion. In short, as a regulator is to a watch, so are these sluices to this wheel, whose movements would otherwise be so various, as sometimes to carry the water clear over the cistern, sometimes to drop it entirely behind, but seldom so as fully to discharge the whole contents of the buckets into the cistern.
It is however but candid to remark, that this machine labours under a small defect, which did not escape the observation of Mr Whitworth; namely, that by raising the water about 34 feet higher than the cistern where it is ultimately delivered, a small degree of power is lost. To this, indeed, he proposed a remedy; but candidly confessed, that as it would render the machine somewhat more complex, and would also increase the friction, he thought it more advisable to keep it in its present state. As the same time he justly observed, that as the stream by which the wheel is moved is at all times copious and powerful, the small loss of power occasioned by the above circumstance was of little or no avail.
This stream is detached from the Teith at the place where that river approaches nearest to the moſs. The surface of the latter is about 15 feet higher than that of the former; the cistern is therefore placed 17 feet above the surface of the stream, so as to leave a declivity sufficient to deliver the water upon the surface of the moſs.
The pipes through which the water descends from the cistern are composed of wooden barrels hooped with iron, 4 feet long and 18 inches in diameter within.
In these pipes, having been conveyed under ground for 354 yards from the cistern, the water at once emerges into an open aqueduct. This aqueduct, which was formed according to a plan by Mr Whitworth, is constructed wholly of earth or clay; and in order to keep the water on a level with the surface of the moſs, it is for nearly two-thirds of its course elevated from 8 to 10 feet above the level of the adjacent grounds; the base being 40 feet broad, the summit 18 feet, and the water
(a) This gentleman was superintendent of the London water works, and an engineer of great reputation in England. He was several years employed in Scotland in completing the great canal.
Preparation water course 10 feet broad. It commences at the termination of the pipes; from whence extending above 1400 yards, it discharges the water into a canal formed for its reception on the surface of the moss.
For raising the water to this height there were two reasons: 1st, That not only where it was delivered on the moss, but even after being conveyed to the most distant corners, it might still retain sufficient power to transport the moss to the river Forth. 2dly, That reservoirs of a sufficient height might be formed in the moss to retain the water delivered during night.
In consequence of Mr Whitworth's advice, a contract was entered into with Mr Meikle in spring 1787; and by the end of October in that year, the wheel, pipes, and aqueduct, were all completely finished; and what, in so complex and extensive an undertaking, is by no means common, the different branches of the work were so completely executed, and so happily adjusted to each other, that upon trial the effect answered the most sanguine expectations. The total expence exceeded 1000l. sterling.
To induce the proprietor to embark in this undertaking, the moss tenants had of their own accord previously come under a formal engagement to pay the interest of any sum that might be expended in procuring a supply of water. But he was determined they should not enjoy by halves the sweets of this long wished for acquisition. With a view, therefore, not only to reward their past industry, but to rouse them to future exertions, he at once set them free from their engagement; nor has any interest ever been demanded.
This new supply was a most acceptable boon to the moss tenants. In order to make an equitable distribution, the water raised through the day was allotted to one division of operators; that raised during the night to another. To retain the latter, a canal was formed, extending almost three miles through the centre of the moss. From place to place along the sides are inserted sluices to admit water to the reservoirs of the possessors; each sluice having an aperture proportioned to the number of operators to be supplied from the reservoir which it fills. For the water raised through the day no reservoirs are necessary; as it is immediately used by the division to which it is allotted.
This additional stream, though highly beneficial, yet is not more than sufficient to keep 40 men at constant work. But such a quantity as would give constant work is not necessary: the operators must be often employed in making and repairing their drains, grubbing up roots of trees, &c. &c.; so that a quantity sufficient to give five or six hours work per day to the whole inhabitants is as much as would be wanted. But as the quantity procured was still insufficient for this purpose, a small stream that descended from the higher grounds was diverted from its course and brought into the moss. From want of level this stream could not be delivered to the greatest advantage; namely, upon the surface of the moss. Yet by making, at a considerable expence, a drain half a mile long, and a reservoir for the night water, it was rendered of much importance: and during the whole winter months, as well as in summer, after every fall of rain, it keeps 15 persons fully employed.
In the year 1787, two more tenants agreed for Preparation of Land. eight acres each; in 1788, four; in 1789, eight; in 1790, four tenants, all agreed for the same number of acres.
The whole moss was now disposed of, except that part called Flow Moss, which comprehended about 100 acres. Here it is twice the usual breadth, so fluid that a pole may be thrust with one hand to the bottom; and the interior part, for near a mile broad, is three feet above the level of all the rest of the moss. Hitherto the many and various difficulties that presented themselves had been overcome by perseverance and expence. But here the extraordinary elevation of the moss, joined to its great fluidity, seemed to exclude all possibility of admitting a stream of water; and it was the general opinion that the moss operations had now arrived at their ne plus ultra, and that this moss was doomed to remain a nuisance for ages to come.
But the proprietor had now advanced so far that he could not submit to retreat: and he considered himself as, in some measure, pledged to the country for the completion of this undertaking. To detail the various methods practised to introduce a stream of water into that moss, would prove tedious. It is sufficient to say, that after a thousand unsuccessful efforts, attended with much trouble and considerable expence, the point at last was gained, and a stream of water was brought in, and carried fairly across the centre of the moss.
The greatest obstacle was now indeed overcome; but still another remained of no small moment, namely, the discouragement given to settlers from the total impossibility of erecting habitations upon the surface of this moss. To find a remedy for this evil was difficult. Happily a resource at last occurred. This was to bargain with a certain number of the old tenants, whose habitations were nearest, to take leases of portions of the moss. But as some additional aid was here necessary, it was agreed that 12l. sterling should be gradually advanced to each tenant till he should accomplish the clearing of an acre, for which he or his successor is bound to pay 12s. of yearly rent, equal to five per cent. upon the sum advanced. When this point shall be gained, they are bound to dispose, as most agreeable to themselves, either of their old or of their new possession; for which, when once an acre is cleared, purchasers will not be wanting.
In consequence of the above arrangement, during the year 1791 no fewer than 35 of the old tenants agreed, upon the foresaid conditions, for eight acres each of the flow moss. Thus 1200 acres are now disposed of to 115 tenants. But when these 35 tenants shall each have cleared their acre, then, according to agreement, 35 additional tenants will speedily be acquired; and the moss will then contain in all 150 families.
To the leases at first granted to the tenants in the high moss, it was afterwards determined to add a further period of 19 years (making in all 57 years), during which they are to pay one guinea per acre; a rent not greater than the land is worth even at present, but greatly below its probable value at that distant period. This, it is hoped, will prove to the tenants a sufficient incitement
Preparation of Land. Preparation to continue their operations till their possessions are completely cleared from moss.
Having now gone through, in detail, the whole progress of the colony for many years after its first settlement in the year 1767, it still remains to take a general view of the effects produced by that establishment.
For several years, at first, the water was used chiefly to carry off moss, in the forming of new roads, and preparing reservoirs; which considerably retarded the principal object, of gaining land. Nevertheless there have been cleared full 300 acres of excellent land, producing wheat, barley, oats, and clover, yielding from six to twelve bolts after one.
From the nature of the undertaking, there is good reason to suppose that the operations will yearly advance with greater rapidity; especially as the greater number of the settlers have only of late begun to operate. Many, besides maintaining their families otherwise by occasional employments, have in the high moss cleared in a year one rood of land; some have cleared two, some three roods, and in the low moss an acre.
It was a remark often made, even by persons of some observation, that by collecting together such a number of people, Kincardine would be overstocked; and the consequence would be their becoming a burden on the parish: for as the bulk of them were labourers not bred to any trade, and possessed of little stock, it was foreseen, that, for some time, they could not afford to confine themselves solely to the moss, from which the return must be slow; but behaved, for immediate subsistence, to work for daily hire. Happily these predictions have proved entirely groundless; for such is the growing demand for hands in this country, that not only do the whole of these people find employment whenever they choose to look for it, but their wages have been yearly increasing from the time of their first establishment. In short, they have proved to the corner where they are set down a most useful nursery of labourers; and those very farmers who, at first, so strongly opposed their settlement, now fly to them as a sure resource for every purpose of agriculture. Still they consider the moss operations as their principal business; none pay them so well; and when they do leave it to earn a little money, they return with cheerfulness to their proper employment. Many of them already raise from 10 to 60 bolts of grain, and have no occasion to go off to other work; which will soon be the case with the whole. Their original stock, indeed, did not often exceed 251. and some had not even 101; but what was wanting in stock is compensated by industry.
Of the whole inhabitants full-nine tenths are Highlanders, from the neighbouring parishes of Callander, Balquhidder, &c.; a sober, frugal, and industrious people, who, inured to hardships in their own country, are peculiarly qualified to encounter so arduous an undertaking. From this circumstance, too, arises a very happy consequence; that wearing a different garb and speaking a different language from the people amongst
whom they are settled, they consider themselves in a Preparation of Land. manner as one family transported to a foreign land; and hence upon all occasions of difficulty, they fly with alacrity to each others relief. Neither ought it to be forgotten, that, from their first settlement to the present day, not a single instance has occurred amongst them of theft, bad neighbourhood, or of any other misdemeanour, that required the interposition of the civil magistrate. Nor, however poor in circumstances, has any one of them ever stooped to solicit assistance from the funds of the parish appropriated to that purpose.
Though few of the tenants entered with a large flock, one only has been obliged to leave the moss from incapacity to proceed. Many indeed have spent their small stocks, and even run a little in debt: but in this case they have been permitted to sell their tacks upon the following conditions: 1st, That the purchaser shall be a good man; 2dly, That the seller shall take another possession. By this manoeuvre a new inhabitant is gained; while the old one, relieved from debt, and aided by past experience, recommences his operations with double spirit upon a new possession. The monied man again has at once a house and a piece of ground, the want of which chiefly startled new beginners.
Some have even made a kind of trade of selling; inasmuch, that from the year 1774 to the year 1792, no fewer than fifty sales have taken place, producing in all the sum of 8491. sterling. This proved from time to time a most reasonable recruit to the colony, and gave new vigour and spirits to the whole.
The number of the settlers is productive of an excellent effect; that although some are generally absent, enough still remain to occupy the water constantly. In a favourable day, there may be seen hundreds, men, women, and children, labouring with the utmost assiduity. The women declare they can make more by working at the moss than at their wheel; and such is the general attachment to that employment, that they have frequently been discovered working by moonlight.
Another happy consequence arising from their numbers is the great quantity of moss they consume for fuel. There are in all 115 families. Each family requires at an average 10 dargues (c) of peats yearly. Each dargue uncovers a space equal to 10 square yards of clay: so that, by casting peats, the moss tenants gain yearly about 6 roods of land.
The advantage, too, of providing their fuel with so little trouble, is very great. They require yearly 1150 dargues of peats; which, as each dargue when dried and stacked is valued at five shillings, are worth 2871. 10s. sterling; a sum which otherwise must have been expended on the prime cost and carriage of coals.—Many of them cast peats for sale; and 1001. worth are yearly disposed of in the town of Stirling, the village of Down, &c.
Though moss work be laborious, it is at the same time amusing. The operator moves the moss five feet only at a medium; and the water, like carts in other cases
(c) A dargue (or darg) of peats, is the quantity that one man can cast and two can wheel in a day to the field where they are spread out to dry.
Preparation cases, carrying it off as fast as it is thrown in, excites him to activity. Still he must submit to be wet from morning to night. But habit reconciles him to this inconvenience; while his house and arable land fill his eye and cheer his mind. Nor is it found that the health of the inhabitants is in the smallest degree injured either by the nature of the work or the vicinity of the mofs.
The quantity of mofs that one man can move in a day is surprising; when he meets with no interruption, seldom less than 48 cubic yards, each weighing 90 stones. The weight, then, of mofs moved per day is no less than 4320 stones. A cubic yard is moved into the water, and of course carried into the river Forth for one farthing. It follows, that the expence of moving 48 cubic yards is one shilling. But the same quantity moved to the same distance by carts would cost 24 shillings. Hence the advantage derived from the possibility of floating mofs in water, and the great importance of having water for that purpose.
The mofs, when contrasted with the rich lands surrounding, appeared, especially before the improvements, a very dreary spot; one wide unvaried wild, totally unproductive, unfit even to furnish sustenance to any animal, except here and there a few wretched straggling sheep. Besides, it entirely cut off all connexion betwixt the farms on either side; among which no intercourse was practicable but by a circuit of several miles.
The scene is already greatly changed. The following are the numbers of the inhabitants who some years ago resided in the mofs; also of their cows and horses, and of the acres gained by them from the mofs, together with their produce.
| Men | - | - | - | 115 |
| Women | - | - | - | 113 |
| Boys | - | - | - | 199 |
| Girls | - | - | - | 193 |
| Total | 620 | |||
| Number of cows, at least, | - | - | - | 115 |
| Ditto of horses and carts | - | - | - | 34 |
| Ditto of acres cleared from mofs | - | - | - | 300 |
The produce in bolts cannot be exactly ascertained: but, considering the goodness of the soil, may be fairly stated at 8 bolts per acre. Inde 2400 bolts.
As oats are the staple commodity, the calculation shall be confined to that grain. According to the fiars of Stirlingshire, crop 1790, carle oats are valued at 14s. per boll. Inde 2400 bolts at 14s. is 1680l. Of late this price has at times been doubled.
A tract of ground so considerable, formerly a nuisance to the country, thus converted into a fertile field, filled with inhabitants, comfortable and happy, cannot surely be surveyed with an eye of indifference by any person whose mind is at all susceptible of feeling or of public spirit.
An excellent gravelled road, 20 feet wide and a mile and a half long, is now carried quite across the
mofs. By this means, in the first place, a short and easily intercourse is established between two considerable parts of the estate, formerly as little connected as it separated by a lake or an arm of the sea. Secondly, The inhabitants of the mofs, to whom, hitherto, all passage with carts or horses was impracticable for at least one half of the year, have now obtained the essential advantage of being able, with ease, to transport all the different commodities at every season of the year. This road was entirely formed by the hands of the mofs tenants, and gravelled by their own carts and horses: a work which, it will not be doubted, they performed with much alacrity; when it is considered that, to the prospect of procuring a lasting and material benefit to themselves, there was joined the additional inducement of receiving an immediate supply of money, the whole being done at the proprietor's expence.
The possessions are laid off in the manner best fitted for the operations; and are divided by lanes running in straight lines parallel to each other. Parallel to these again the drains are carried; and this straight direction greatly facilitates the progress of the water with its load of mofs. Upon the bank of mofs fronting the lanes, the operation of floating is begun; and twenty or thirty people are sometimes seen heaving mofs into the same drain. That the water may be the more conveniently applied, the lanes include between them the breadth of two possessions only. The new houses are erected upon each side of these lanes at the distance of 100 yards from each other.
Before the formation of lanes and roads, and while yet no ground was cleared, the first settlers were obliged to erect their houses upon the surface of the mofs. Its softness denied all access to stones; which, at any rate, are at such a distance as would render them too expensive. Settlers, therefore, were obliged to construct their houses of other materials. Upon the low mofs there is found for this purpose great plenty of sod or turf, which accordingly the tenants use for the walls of their houses. For the rudeness of the fabric nature in some measure compensates, by overspreading the outside with a luxuriant coating of heath and other moorish plants, which have a very picturesque appearance.
But upon the high mofs there is no sod to be found. There the tenant must go differently to work. Having chosen a proper situation for his house, he first digs four trenches down to the clay, so as to separate from the rest of the mofs a solid mass, containing an oblong rectangular area, sufficiently large for his intended house. This being done, he then scoops out the middle of the mass, leaving on all sides the thickness of three feet for walls; over which he throws a roof, such as that by which other cottages are commonly covered.
Upon the softest parts of the mofs, even these walls cannot be obtained. In such places the houses are built with peat dug out of the mofs, and closely compressed together while in a humid state (b). It is necessary.
(b) This does not apply to the morass, upon the surface of which, it has already been observed, it is impossible to erect houses in any shape.
cessary even to lay upon the surface a platform of boards to prevent the walls from sinking; which they have frequently done when that precaution was neglected. After all, to stamp with the foot will shake the whole fabric as well as the moss for fifty yards around. This, at first, startled the people a good deal; but custom soon rendered it familiar.
The colonists have now made considerable advancement in rearing better habitations for their comfort and convenience. Their huts of turf are but temporary lodgings. As soon as they have cleared a little ground, they build houses of brick: when the proprietor a second time furnishes them with timber gratis. It has also been found necessary to relieve them entirely from the payment of the burdensome tax upon bricks; a tax which surely was never intended to fall on such poor industrious adventurers; and which, without this assistance, would have proved a most effectual bar to the employment of these materials.
There are now erected in the moss 69 brick houses, substantially built with lime. The total expence amounted to 10331. sterling. And it is a very comfortable circumstance, that the money expended upon these houses is mostly kept in circulation among the inhabitants themselves; for as a number of them have learned not only to manufacture but also to build bricks, and as others who have horses and carts furnish the carriage of lime and coals, they thus interchange services with each other.
With a view to excite the exertion of the colonists, the following premiums were also offered: 1. To the person who shall in the space of one year remove the greatest quantity of moss down to the clay, a plough of the best construction. 2. To the person who shall remove the next greatest quantity, a pair of harrows of the best kind. 3. For the next greatest quantity, a spade of the best kind, and 10 lb. of red clover seed. But as these premiums, if contested for by the whole inhabitants, could reach but a very few of the number, they were therefore divided into six districts according to their situation; and the above premiums were offered to each district.
The establishment of this colony was no doubt attended with a very considerable share of expence and difficulty; for the undertaking was altogether new, and there were many prejudices against it, which it was necessary to overcome. At the same time it was noble and interesting: it was to make a valuable addition to private property; it was to increase the population of the country, and to give bread to a number of people; many of whom having been turned out of their farms and cottages in the Highlands, might otherwise, by emigration, have been lost to their country; and that too at a time when, owing to the great enlargement of farms, depopulation prevails but too much even in the low countries. And it was to add to the arable lands of the kingdom, making many thousand bolts of grain to grow where none ever grew before.
These considerations have hitherto preponderated with the proprietors against the various obstacles that present themselves to the execution of so extensive an undertaking. Should their example tend in any degree to stimulate others, who both in Scotland and in England possess much ground equally useless to the
country, to commence similar improvements, it would be a most grateful consideration superadded to the pleasure already arising from the progress of the infant colony.
After all, it will probably hereafter be thought, that the great efforts of ingenuity, and of persevering industry, which were requisite in the above operation, might all have been avoided, and the work much easier performed, had the art been found out of converting moss into fruitful soil, according to the plan practised, and undoubtedly brought to great perfection in Ayrshire, by the gentleman already mentioned, John Smith, Esq. of Swinridge Muir, near Reith. On a part of a moss in this gentleman's property, a quantity of lime had been spread in consequence of the mixing of some carts in wet weather; to relieve which, their load was laid over the ground in their neighbourhood, though this was accounted at that period an absurd operation, as it was believed that lime would have the effect of consuming and rendering mossy ground useless for ever. The proprietor, Mr Smith, was then in the army, towards the close of the American war. On returning home the succeeding summer, and being informed of the accident, he was surprised to find that as good a crop grew upon the patch of moss on which the lime had been scattered, as upon another spot that had been pared and burned, in consequence of instructions that he had transmitted home for that purpose, from having perused some treatises in which burning of moss was recommended. He also remarked, that upon the places which had neither been burned nor limed, nothing grew, and that the crop upon the burned soil was inferior to that where the lime had been laid, being almost choked with forrel. Mr Smith pursued the hint thus obtained: He reclaimed by means of lime every portion of moss in his own possession, and having satisfied his tenants of the utility of the practice, he allowed them to dig limestone gratis, and gave them the refuse of his coal at prime cost to burn it. Thus, in a short time, every part of the moss upon his estate was reduced under cultivation, and rendered highly valuable.
When Mr Smith began his operations, he met the fate of innovators in agriculture, that is, he was ridiculed by all his neighbours. His success, however, at length made some converts, and though the new system at first advanced slowly, it was at last universally approved of, and extensively imitated. The result has been, that what was once the worst land in the country, is now become the most productive and fertile.
The following is a concise statement of Mr Smith's practice, and consequently of the Ayrshire practice, of actually converting moss into vegetable mould, capable of bearing rich crops of corn, hay, potatoes, &c. which we shall give in the words of Mr Headrick.
"1. When they enter upon the improvement of a moss in its natural state, the first thing to be done is, to mark and cut main or master drains, eight feet in width, by four and a half in depth, and declining to two and a half at bottom; these cost 1s. per fall of six Scots ells. In some instances, it will be found necessary to cut those drains much deeper, consequently at a greater expence. These drains almost in every instance can be, and are so conducted, as to divide the field into regular and proper enclosures. They always make it a rule to finish off as much of a drain as they have broken
Preparation of Land. Preparation broken up, before they leave it at night; because, if a part is left dug, suppose half way, the oozing of water from the sides would render the bottom so soft, that they could neither stand upon it nor lift it with the spade.
When the moss is so very soft, that the pressure of what is thrown out of the drain may cause its sides to fall in again, they throw the clods from the drain a considerable way back, and sometimes have a man to throw them still further back, by a spade or the hand; for this reason too, they always throw the stuff taken from a drain as equally as possible on each side of it. In digging the drains, the workmen stand upon small boards to prevent them from sinking, and move them forward as the work advances.
"When the moss lies in a hollow, with only one outlet, it is necessary to lead up a drain, so as to let the water pass this outlet, and then conduct it along the lowest or wettest part of the moss: this middle drain is afterwards sloped, and the stuff thrown back into the hollows that may occur; upon it the ridges are made to terminate on each side, while a ring drain, serving the purpose of a fence, is thrown round the moss at the line where the rising ground commences. This can generally be so managed as to divide the moss into a square field, leaving straight lines for the sides of the contiguous fields. The ring drain intercepts the surface water from the higher grounds, and conducts it into the lower part of the outlet, while the sloped drain in the centre receives and discharges all the water that falls upon the moss.
"After the moss collapses in consequence of liming and culture, it is often necessary to clean out these drains a second time, and to dig them to a greater depth: their sides become at last like a wall of peat, which few animals will venture to pass.
"2. The drains being thus completed, they mark out the ridges, either with a long string or with three poles set in a line. Mr Smith has tried several breadths of ridges, but now gives a decided preference to those that are seven yards in breadth. The ridges are formed with the spade in the following manner: In the centre of each intended ridge, a space of about two feet is allowed to remain untouched; on each side of that space a furrow is opened, which is turned over so as completely to cover that space, like what is called veering or feering of a gathered ridge; the work, thus begun, is continued by cutting furrows with the spade, and turning them over from end to end of the ridge on each side, until they arrive at the division furrows. The breadth of the slices thus cut, may be about 12 inches, and each piece is made as long as it may suit to turn over: the ridge when finished, has the appearance of having been done with a plough. The division furrow is two feet in breadth, which is necessary to draw off superfluous water, is partly cut and thrown upon the sides, or into hollows in the ridges on each side. The depth of the division furrows is regulated by circumstances so as not to lay the ridges at first too dry, but at the same time, to bleed, as it were, the moss, and conduct the superfluous water into the master drains.
"3. The next operation is to top-dress the ridges with lime. The sooner this is done after the ridges are formed, the better. When the moss appears dry, experienced farmers throw on the lime, but do not clean
out the division furrows until the ensuing winter. Preparation of Land. When it is soaked in water, they clean the division furrows as soon as the lime is ready, and after the water has run off apply the lime immediately. It is of great importance to have the lime applied while the moss is still moist, and the lime in as caustic a state as possible. For this purpose, they have the lime conveyed from the kiln in parcels, flaked and laid on as fast as the ridges are formed. Being dropped from carts, and flaked at the nearest accessible station, it is carried to the moss by two men on light handbarrows, having a hopper and bottom of thin boards, and there spread with shovels as equally as possible. During the first and second years, the crop is generally carried off in the same way. In some places where a moss is covered with coarse herbage, and accessible by carts in dry weather, I saw them give a good dose of lime to the moss before it was turned up with the spade, and another after the ridges were formed. It is surprising how quickly they execute these operations with the handbarrows. In other places where coarse boards can be procured, they lay a line of them along the crown of a ridge, and convey the lime upon them in wheelbarrows."
"The proportion of lime allowed to the acre is various, being from three to eight chalders. Improvers are much less sparing of this ingredient now than formerly, and much greater proportions have been applied with good effect. Suppose 120 bolts, or 480 Winchester bushels of flaked or powdered lime allowed to every Scots acre, this would cost at the sale kiln 40s.; and thus the reader may be enabled to calculate the expence of lime in this district at every given proportion: But most of the farmers here burn lime for themselves in vast kilns of sod, and think they have it much cheaper than it could be got from a sale kiln. In many places, limestone abounds so much, that houses, fences, and roads are constructed with it; and when a farmer burns the limestone within his premises, he at least saves the expence of carriage.
"In some cases, after the limestone is laid on, they go over the ground with hoes, or with spades, hacking and mangling the clods, and mixing the lime more completely with the superficial soil; but where there is much to do, and hands are scarce, they never think of these operations.
"4. The field thus prepared is ready to receive the feed, which is sown at the proper season whether it be wet or dry, and harrowed in with a small harrow drawn by two men. Four men will with ease harrow at least five or six roads per day, two and two dragging the harrow by turns, and two breaking and dividing the mould with spades. When the lime has been applied early the preceding summer, a good crop of oats may generally be expected; but if it has been recently applied, the first crop of oats frequently misgives, as the lime has not time to combine with the moss, and form it into a soil.
"The early Dutch or Polish oats are always preferred by moss improvers, as the common Scots or late oats are too apt to run into straw, and lodge before the grain arrives at maturity. The same proportion of feed is allowed per acre that is usual in other places. The great desideratum is, to procure plants which will throw up a sufficient quantity of herbage, so as to furnish the
Preparation the surface from the winds and sun's rays, and thus to
of Land. keep it moist during the first summer after a moss is
reclaimed.
"This desideratum is effectually supplied by the po-
tato, which thrives well on moss at all times, whether
recently opened up and limed, or at any future period
of its cultivation; only it requires a proportion of
stable dung. It is now become the general practice
in Ayrshire, to plant potatoes on those mosses which
have been but recently turned up and limed; and
where dung can be procured, it is generally the first
crop on all their mosses.
"The method of planting potatoes, whether they
be the first crop or succeed the first crop of oats, is by
lazy beds. If they be the first crop, the moss having
been delved into ridges, and limed as before directed,
spaces of from five to six feet in breadth are marked
out across the ridges, having intervals of about two
feet, from which the moss is taken to cover the sets.
These spaces or beds are covered over with a thin stra-
tum of dung, laid upon the surface of the lime at the
rate of about sixteen tons to the Scots acre. The cut-
tings of the potatoes are laid or placed upon the said
beds, about ten or twelve inches asunder; and the
whole are covered over with moss, taken from the in-
tervals which are thus converted into ditches, to be
followed by another covering about the time the po-
tato plants begin to make their appearance, the cover-
ing in the whole amounting to about four or five
inches; at the same time, the division furrows are
cleaned out to cover the sets that are contiguous to
them. The whole field is thus divided into spaces or
lazy beds, like a chequered board. During summer,
they cut the moss with hoes, and draw it up a little
towards the stems of the plants. Few weeds appear,
except what are conveyed by the dung. This is the
practice universally followed when potatoes are plant-
ed on moss for the first time; but after the moss is
finely pulverized and reduced, they either plant them
in rows across the ridges, or plant and dress them with
the plough in the usual manner.
"Potatoes planted as the first crop never misgive,
and they are the best and most certain method at once
to reclaim a moss, not owing so much perhaps to the
dung aiding the putrid fermentation which the lime
has already excited, as to their roots pushing and divi-
ding the moss, while their leaves shelter it from the
sun, cause a stagnation of air, and thus keep it in that
degree of moisture which is most favourable to the ac-
tion of lime upon moss. The practice of making po-
tatoes the first crop is now universally followed, in so
far as the farmers can command dung. The produce
is from 40 to 60 bolts per acre, the potato measure be-
ing eight Winchester bushels a little heaped to the
bolt. Mosses that are fully reclaimed yield from 60
to 70 bolts of potatoes at an average, and in some
places where manures are abundant, they have been
known to yield from 80 to 100 bolts per acre, of the
above measure.
"Mr Smith is about to try yarns upon his mosses,
from the opinion that prevails among some of the Mid-
Lothian farmers, where this plant is much cultivated,
that they require little or no dung, and that the supe-
rior breadth of their leaves, will prove more favourable
than those of potatoes, for sheltering the ground.
"When the potato crop is removed, the ridges are Preparation
again put into their original form; in doing which, care of Land.
is taken to preserve the mould that is acquired upper-
moss; this is done by moving the subfurrow on each
side with a strong spade, half way into the intermediate
ditch from which the lazy beds were covered, and
scattering the mould equally over the whole surface.
This operation costs 18s. per acre. It is not easy to
calculate the expence of planting the potatoes forming
the lazy beds, &c. as this is seldom executed by con-
tract; but the lazy beds being thus reduced, the land
is ready for a crop of corn.
"Though a crop of oats frequently misgives upon
moss that has been but recently limed, yet in other
cases, when the lime has lain several months upon the
land, it proves a good crop, and is sufficient to cover
all the expence with a little profit. The crops of suc-
ceeding years are sufficient to afford from their straw
putrescent manure for such land in order that it may
be cleaned with potatoes, and prepared for grass seeds.
"But after potatoes of the first year, with the slight
operation of reducing the lazy beds, from 10 to 12 bolts
of oats are at an average produced per acre. The oats
are excellent, and yield from 18 to 20 pecks of meal
per boll; they would sell upon the ground for 10l.
or 12l. per acre. The ground continues to yield oats
of the same quality for several years, without any appar-
ent diminution of fertility, and without receiving any
additional manure: the only apparent bar to the con-
tinuance of this crop is, the soil becoming grassy.
When the grass begins to contend with the crop for
pre-eminence, the land is thrown into pasture, and
would let ever after in that state at from 20s. to 25s.
per acre. Daisies, white clover, &c. &c. now spring
up in mosses, where their existence was never before
suspected; at the same time, thistles and other weeds
for some time infest the pasture.
"The better practice is, to take another crop of po-
tatoes with a little dung and lime, and give it a trench-
delving, to bury the weeds and bring up new soil;
after the potatoes, to sow barley and grass seeds.
"Rye-grass is universally sown here, and it attains
amazing perfection upon moss properly prepared; along
with this, white and yellow clover are sometimes sown,
and thrive remarkably well. Red clover has been
tried, but did not succeed, and is hence discredited
for moss-lands: perhaps it may have been unjustly cen-
sured, because it is certain that the seasons in which
it was tried, proved very unfavourable to red clover in
all parts of the country, most of it having died during
winter.
"5. We have already described the levelling of the
lazy beds. All future delvings of the moss are per-
formed from one end of the ridge to the other; by this
method the slices that had been cut and turned over in
the first operation of forming the ridge, are again cut
across, and constantly reduced into smaller pieces, till
they moulder into earth.
"The expence of delving a moss for the first time,
where the surface is tolerably smooth, is 2½d. per fall,
or 1l. 13s. 4d. per Scots acre; but where inequalities
occur, which must be thrown down by the spade into
hollows, it costs about 2l. per acre. If there be emi-
nences, which must be removed into hollows by wheel-
barrows running upon boards, the first expence is great-
Preparation according to circumstances. The second delving, where potatoes have not intervened, costs from 11. to 11. 6s. per Scots acre, the division-furrows being at the same time cleaned out. The third delving and cleaning of the division-furrows costs 11. per acre; but the moss is now so friable, that it may be wrought with the greatest ease and rapidity. At the above rates, an ordinary workman will earn 18. 6d. per day, and an able and experienced one, from that to 25. 6d. per day. They use a strong spade, edged with steel, and have always a gritstone near them for sharpening the spade. In the evenings they repair its edge upon a grindstone; and when the steel is worn away, they lay it again with new steel. Sometimes the moss is so soft that they walk upon boards while they are turning it over.
“ Mr Smith has found, by long experience, that it is improper to make the ridges too high or too narrow: when they are too high, they throw the water off from their sides without admitting it to penetrate their substance; the top of course gets too dry: when too narrow, there is a loss of surface from too many division-furrows: the breadth already mentioned is found to be the best: and when the improvement is completed, the ridges appear like segments of wide circles, with a clean well defined division-furrow between each of them. The moisture is thus caused slowly to filtrate through the moss rendered friable by lime until it reaches the division-furrows, and is discharged. As the moss subsides for some time, and closes in towards the furrows, it is generally necessary to clean these out before winter, and at the time the crop is sown, until the moss acquire solidity.
“ Some mosses may be ploughed the second year to within two bouts or four slices of the division-furrows, and every operation performed by the force of horses, except turning over with the spade the narrow stripes next to the division-furrows. In other mosses it requires three years before this can be done; and it seldom happens but every moss may be wrought by the plough after it has been wrought four years by the spade. When moss is wrought by the spade, it seems of no consequence whether it be wrought wet or dry; but when it is wrought by the plough, opportunities must be watched, as horses cannot walk upon it for some years during wet weather.
“ 6. With respect to the quality of the potatoes thus produced upon mosses, I do not scruple to pronounce it most excellent. Potatoes have been tried with dung alone; but they are always watery, and frequently hollow or rotten in the heart: those raised upon mosses that have been well limed, are frequently so dry and farinaceous, that it is difficult to boil them without reducing them to powder; and they are often obliged to lift them with spoons: they come clean out of the ground; keep remarkably well in heaps covered with moss in the field; and are remarkably well flavoured.
“ No such disease as the curl was ever known among moss potatoes; and, indeed, if Dr Coventry's opinion be true, that the curl is caused by overloading the sets with too much earth, or from the earth becoming too hard around them; no such thing can take place in moss. But to whatever cause the curl may be owing, it is certainly propagated by diseased seed; it would, therefore, appear advantageous to transfer the potatoes raised upon moss as seed for solid land. They
VOL. I. Part I.
have a remarkably good species of potato in this district, which was brought from Virginia to Largo about eight years ago; and whether it be owing to the beneficial nature of a mossy soil, or to its own intrinsic merits, this potato has long been so much distinguished by the good quality and large quantity of its produce, that it has superseded the use of every other species. There seems to be no occasion for moss improvers to change their seed. Some persons in this district, who have but small patches of moss, have kept them constantly in potatoes more than ten years, without changing the seed, and without any sensible diminution either in the quantity or quality of the crop.”
4. Of bringing LAND into CULTURE from a State of Nature.
To improve a moor, let it be opened, if possible, in A moor, winter, when it is wet, which has one convenience, how to be cultivated. that the plough cannot be employed in any other work. It is always supposed, however, that the moisture has been sufficiently removed by draining, to render this practicable. In spring, after the frost is over, a slight harrowing will fill up the interstices with mould, to keep out the air and rot the sod. Thus it may be suffered to lie during the following summer and winter, which will tend more to rot the turf than if laid open to the air by ploughing. Next April, let it be cross-ploughed, braked, and harrowed, till it be sufficiently pulverized for turnip-feed, to be sown broadcast, or in drills, after being manured, and the manure mixed with the soil by repeated harrowings.
It sometimes happens, however, that the heath which grows upon a moorish soil, is so strong and vigorous as to be subdued with great difficulty. It has been observed, that after land is drained and the heath burnt upon the surface, this plant is in time extirpated by sheep. These animals are extremely fond of the tender shoots and flowers of heath, but they will not taste it after it runs into seed, unless compelled by extreme hunger. For subduing it by a shorter process, lime is the best remedy, as it seems a mortal enemy to heath. A strong dose of caustic lime therefore laid upon the surface of the land after it is first ploughed, is attended with the best effect in consuming the roots of heath and of coarse grasses, and rendering the soil friable, which it accomplishes in about six months. Economy in the use of this ingredient, therefore, at the first breaking up of moor land, is extremely misapplied. Accordingly some skilful farmers lay one dose of lime upon the land before it is ploughed, and another after it, that the furrow slices, being wholly surrounded by it, may be sooner brought into a friable state. But, although a very considerable dose of lime is absolutely necessary, when such land is newly reduced from a state of nature, it ought not to be solely trusted to. To render the land permanently fertile, it soon becomes necessary to aid the soil, by vegetable or putrescent manure.
The turnip crop may be consumed upon the ground by sheep, which affords an excellent preparation for laying down the field with grass seeds; a point which every improver ought to have in view, on account of the command of dung which it gives him. It is even said to be an improvement upon this method, to take two or even three successive crops of turnips, all con-
Preparation of Land. fumed in the same way. No dung will be necessary for the two last crops, and the soil will be greatly thickened and enriched.
199 Swampy lands, how to be cultivated. With regard to swampy lands and a soil covered with rushes, and hills, and coarse grasses; after draining, the best procedure which can be adopted, consists of paring and burning. When land is pared, a thin sod is taken off, either by a paring spade or paring plough, over the whole surface. The sods being dried, are collected into small heaps and burned, and the ashes are scattered over the field. Swampy land that is overrun with rushes and coarse grasses, and lands that are covered with heath and other coarse plants, suit best for paring and burning. In this way these coarse plants are destroyed at once, and the land may be ploughed and cropped immediately, without waiting for the rotting of the turf, as in the former case. It is also said, that this practice destroys all flugs and other vermin that infest the soil. It is more especially valuable in situations where lime and other manures cannot be procured. Where lime is to be found in abundance, however, it might probably be a better practice, instead of burning the turf that has been cut from the surface of the coarse land, to collect it all into heaps in different parts of the field, and make it up into compost with lime. The whole heaps in such cases ought to be thoroughly moistened, and the mias to be frequently turned and mixed. In this way, by using lime in place of fire, the whole roots and coarse herbage would be destroyed, and reduced at once into a most valuable manure for enriching the soil. In the mean time it is to be observed, that paring and burning is so evidently advantageous to the immediately succeeding crops, that it has sometimes been abused by overcropping after it, and by extending it, perhaps unnecessarily, to all soils, upon breaking them up from grass, though formerly cultivated and in good order: though even in such cases it may be found valuable, where lime cannot easily be obtained. The following remarks upon the subject, in the Report of the Agriculture of the county of Northumberland, by J. Bayley and G. Culley, are worthy of attention. "Paring and burning is not much practised in the eastern and northern parts of the county: in the middle and southern parts it is most prevalent; but, even there, it is confined to old swards, and coarse, rough, rusty, and heathy lands. For the first breaking up of such ground, it is certainly very convenient, and preferable to any other mode we have ever seen; but though we are fully convinced of its beneficial effects in such situations, yet we have our doubts whether it could be used with advantage upon lands that have lain a few years in grass, and that would produce good crops of grain immediately on being ploughed out, which is not the case with coarse rough heathy lands, or even very old swards on rich fertile soils; it being found that crops on the latter are frequently very much injured by leaping for two or three years, which paring and burning entirely obviate, and ensure full crops to the farmer, who need not be under any apprehension of his soil being ruined by it, provided he pursue the following course: 1. Turnips; 2. Oats; 3. Fallow well limed for turnips; 4. Barley sown up with clover and grass seeds, and depastured with sheep for three or four years. It is the injudicious cropping, more than the
ill effects derived from paring and burning, that has been the chief cause of bringing such an odium on this practice, which is certainly an excellent one in some situations, and when properly conducted; but, like the fermented juice of the grape, may be too often repeated and improperly applied.
"The popular clamour against this practice, "that it destroys the soil," we can by no means admit; and are inclined to believe, that not a single atom of soil is abstracted, though the bulk of the sod or turf be diminished. This arises from the burning of the roots or vegetable substances, which, by this process, afford a considerable portion of alkaline salts, phlogistic or carbonic matter, and probably other principles friendly to vegetation; as we find those ashes produce abundant crops of turnips, which fatten stock much quicker than those after any other dressing or manure we have ever seen; and the succeeding crops of corn are very luxuriant as to tempt the injudicious cultivator to pursue it too far; who, for the sake of a temporary gain, may be said to rip it up, as the boy did his goose that laid golden eggs."
But where the ground is dry, and the soil so thin as that the surface cannot be pared, the best way of bringing it into tillth from the state of nature, as mentioned above, is to plough it with a feathered lock, laying the grassy surface under. After the new surface is mellowed with frost, fill up all the seams by barrowing cross the field, which by excluding the air will effectually rot the sod. In this state let it lie summer and winter. In the beginning of May after, a cross ploughing will reduce all to small square pieces, which must be pulverized with the brake, and make it ready for a May or June crop. If these square pieces be allowed to lie long in the sap without breaking, they will become tough, and not be easily reduced.
5. Forming RIDGES.
The first thing that occurs on this head, is to consider what grounds ought to be formed into ridges, and what ought to be tilled with a flat surface. Dry soils, which suffer by lack of moisture, ought to be tilled flat, which tends to retain moisture. And the method for such tilling, is to go round and round from the circumference to the centre, or from the centre to the circumference. This method is advantageous in point of expedition, as the whole is finished without once turning the plough. At the same time, every inch of the soil is moved, instead of leaving either the crown or the furrow unmoved, as is commonly done in tilling ridges. Clay soil, which suffers by water standing on it, ought to be laid as dry as possible by proper ridges. A loamy soil is the middle between the two mentioned. It ought to be tilled flat in a dry country, especially if it incline to the soil first mentioned. In a moist country, it ought to be formed into ridges, high or low according to the degree of moisture and tendency to clay.
In grounds that require ridging, an error prevails, that ridges cannot be raised too high. High ridges labour under several disadvantages. The soil is heaped upon the crown, leaving the furrows bare: the crown is too dry, and the furrows too wet: the crop, which is always best on the crown, is more readily shaken with the wind, than where the whole crop is of an equal
Preparation of Land. equal height: the half of the ridge is often covered from the sun, a disadvantage which is far from being flight in a cold climate. High ridges labour under another disadvantage, in ground that has no more level than barely sufficient to carry off water: they sink the furrows below the level of the ground; and consequently retain water at the end of every ridge. The furrows ought never to be sunk below the level of the ground. Water will more effectually be carried off by lessening the ridges both in height and breadth: a narrow ridge, the crown of which is but 18 inches higher than the furrow, has a greater slope than a very broad ridge where the difference is three or four feet.
Next, of forming ridges where the ground hangs considerably. Ridges may be too steep as well as too horizontal: and if to the ridges be given all the steepness of a field, a heavy shower may do irreparable mischief. To prevent such mischief, the ridges ought to be so directed cross the field, as to have a gentle slope for carrying off water slowly, and no more. In that respect, a hanging field has greatly the advantage of one that is nearly horizontal; because, in the latter, there is no opportunity of a choice in forming the ridges. A hill is of all the best adapted for directing the ridges properly. If the soil be gravelly, it may be ploughed round and round, beginning at the bottom and ascending gradually to the top in a spiral line. This method of ploughing a hill requires no more force than ploughing on a level; and at the same time removes the great inconvenience of a gravelly hill, that rains go off too quickly; for the rain is retained in every furrow. If the soil be such as to require ridges, they may be directed to any slope that is proper.
In order to form a field into ridges that has not been formerly cultivated, the rules mentioned are easily put in execution. But what if ridges be already formed, that are either crooked or too high? After seeing the advantage of forming a field into ridges, people were naturally led into an error, that the higher the better. But what could tempt them to make their ridges crooked? Certainly this method did not originate from design; but from the laziness of the driver suffering the cattle to turn too hastily, instead of making them finish the ridge without turning. There is more than one disadvantage in this slovenly practice. First, the water is kept in by the curve at the end of every ridge, and sours the ground. Next, as a plough has the least friction possible in a straight line, the friction must be increased in a curve, the back part of the mouldboard pressing hard on the one hand, and the coulter pressing hard on the other. In the third place, the plough moving in a straight line, has the greatest command in laying the earth over. But where the straight line of the plough is applied to the curvature of a ridge in order to heighten it by gathering, the earth moved by the plough is continually falling back, in spite of the most skilful ploughman.
The inconveniences of ridges high and crooked are so many, that one would be tempted to apply a remedy at any risk. And yet, if the soil be clay, it would not be advisable for a tenant to apply the remedy upon a lease shorter than two nineteen years. In a dry gravelly soil, the work is not difficult nor hazardous. When the ridges are cleaved two or three years successively in the course of cropping, the operation ought
to be concluded in one summer. The earth, by reite-ploughings, should be accumulated upon the furrows, so as to raise them higher than the crowns: they cannot be raised too high, for the accumulated earth will subside by its own weight. Cross ploughing once or twice, will reduce the ground to a flat surface, and give opportunity to form ridges at will. The same method brings down ridges in clay soil: only let care be taken to carry on the work with expedition; because a hearty shower, before the new ridges are formed, would soak the ground in water, and make the farmer suspend his work for the remainder of that year at least. In a strong clay, we would not venture to alter the ridges, unless it can be done to perfection in one season. On this subject Mr Anderson has the following observations*.
* The difficulty of performing this operation properly with the common implements of husbandry, and the obvious benefit that accrues to the farmer from having his fields level, has produced many new inventions of ploughs, harrows, drags, &c. calculated for speedily reducing the fields to that state; none of which have as yet been found fully to answer the purpose for which they were intended, as they all indiscriminately carry the earth that was on the high places into those that were lower; which, although it may in some cases render the surface of the ground tolerably smooth and level, is usually attended with inconveniences far greater, for a considerable length of time, than that which it was intended to remove.
For experience sufficiently shows, that even the best vegetable mould, if buried for any length of time so far beneath the surface as to be deprived of the benign influences of the atmosphere, loses its vis viva, if long buried. I may be allowed that expression; becomes an inert, lifeless mass, little fitted for nourishing vegetables; and constitutes a soil very improper for the purposes of the farmer. It therefore behoves him, as much as in him lies, to preserve, on every part of his fields, an equal covering of that vegetable mould that has long been uppermost, and rendered fertile by the ameliorating influence of the atmosphere. But, if he suddenly levels his high ridges by any of these mechanical contrivances, he of necessity buries all the good mould that was on the top of the ridges in the old furrows; by which he greatly impoverishes one part of his field, while he too much enriches another; inasmuch that it is a matter of great difficulty, for many years thereafter, to get the field brought to an equal degree of fertility in different places; which makes it impossible for the farmer to get an equal crop over the whole of his field by any management whatever: and he has the mortification frequently, by this means, to see the one half of his crop rotted by an over-luxuriance, while other parts of it are weak and sickly, or one part ripe and ready for reaping, while the other is not properly filled; so that it were, on many occasions, better for him to have his whole field reduced at once to the same degree of poorness as the poorest of it, than have it in this state. An almost impracticable degree of attention in spreading the manures may indeed in some measure get the better of this: but it is so difficult to perform this properly, that I have frequently seen fields that had been thus levelled, in which, after thirty years of continued culture and repeated dressings, the marks of the old ridges
ridges could be distinctly traced when the corn was growing, although the surface was so level that no traces of them could be perceived when the corn was off the ground.
"But this is a degree of perfection in levelling that cannot be usually attained by following this mode of practice; and, therefore, is but seldom seen. For all that can be expected to be done by any levelling machine, is to render the surface perfectly smooth and even in every part, at the time that the operation is performed: but as, in this case, the old hollows are suddenly filled up with loose mould to a great depth, while the earth below the surface upon the heights of the old ridges remains firm and compact, the new raised earth after a short time subsides very much, while the other parts of the field do not sink at all; so that in a short time the old furrows come to be again below the level of the other parts of the field, and the water of course is suffered in some degree to stagnate upon them; inasmuch that, in a few years, it becomes necessary once more to repeat the same levelling process, and thus renew the damage that the farmer sustains by this pernicious operation.
"On these accounts, if the farmer has not a long lease, it will be found in general to be much his interest to leave the ridges as he found them, rather than to attempt to alter their direction; and, if he attends with due caution to moderate the height of these old ridges, he may reap very good crops, although perhaps at a somewhat greater expence of labour than he would have been put to upon the same field, if it had been reduced to a proper level surface, and divided into straight and parallel ridges.
"But, where a man is secure of possessing his ground for any considerable length of time, the advantages that he will reap from having level and well laid out fields, are so considerable as to be worth purchasing, if it should even be at a considerable expence. But the loss that is sustained at the beginning, by this mechanical mode of levelling ridges, if they are of considerable height, is so very great, that it is perhaps doubtful if any future advantages can ever fully compensate it. I would therefore advise, that all this levelling apparatus should be laid aside; and the following more efficacious practice be substituted in its stead: A practice that I have long followed with success, and can safely recommend as the very best that has yet come to my knowledge.
"If the ridges have been raised to a very great height, as a preparation for the ensuing operations, they may be first cloven, or scalded out, as it is called in different places; that is, ploughed so as to lay the earth on each ridge from the middle towards the furrows. But if they are only of a moderate degree of height, this operation may be omitted. When you mean to proceed to level the ground, let a number of men be collected, with spades, more or fewer as the nature of the ground requires, and then let a plough to draw a furrow directly across the ridges of the whole field intended to be levelled. Divide this line into as many parts as you have labourers, allotting to each one ridge or two, or more or less, according to their number, height, and other circumstances. Let each of the labourers have orders, as soon as the plough has passed that part assigned him, to begin to dig in the
bottom of the furrow that the plough has just made, Preparation
of Land.
about the middle of the side of the old ridge, keeping his face towards the old furrow, working backwards till he comes to the height of the ridge; and then turn towards the other furrow, and repeat the same on the other side of the ridge, always throwing the earth that he digs up into the deep old furrow between the ridges, that is directly before him; taking care not to dig deep where he first begins, but to go deeper and deeper as he advances to the height of the ridge, so as to leave the bottom of the trench he thus makes across the ridge entirely level, or as nearly so as possible. And when he has finished that part of the furrow allotted to him that the plough has made in going, let him then go and finish in the same manner his own portion of the furrow that the plough makes in returning. In this manner, each man performs his own task through the whole field, gradually raising the old furrows as the old heights are depressed. And, if an attentive overseer is at hand, to see that the whole is equally well done, and that each furrow is raised to a greater height than the middle of the old ridges, so as to allow for the subsiding of that loose earth, the operation will be entirely finished at once, and never again need to be repeated.
"In performing this operation, it will always be proper to make the ridges, formed for the purpose of levelling, which go across the old ridges, as broad as possible; because the deep trench that is thus made in each of the furrows are an impediment in the future operations, as well as the height that is accumulated in the middle of each of these ridges; so that the fewer there are of these, the better it is. The farmer, therefore, will do well to advert to this in time, and begin by forming a ridge by always turning the plough to the right hand, till it becomes of such a breadth as makes it very inconvenient to turn longer in that manner; and then, at the distance of twice the breadth of this new-formed ridge from the middle of it, mark off a furrow for the middle of another ridge, turning round it to the right hand, in the same manner as was done in the former, till it becomes of the same breadth with it; and then, turning to the left hand, plough out the interval that was left between the two new-formed ridges. By this mode of ploughing, each ridge may be made of 40, 50, or 60 yards in breadth, without any great inconvenience; for although some time will be lost in turning at the ends of these broad ridges, yet as this operation is only to be once performed in this manner, the advantage that is reaped by having few open furrows, is more than sufficient to counterbalance it. And, in order to moderate the height that would be formed in the middle of each of these great ridges, it will always be proper to mark out the ridges, and draw the furrow that is to be the middle of each, some days before you collect your labourers to level the field; that you may, without any hurry or loss of labour, clear out a good trench through the middle of each of the old ridges; as the plough, at this time, going and returning nearly in the same track, prevents the labourers from working properly without this precaution.
"If these rules are attended to, your field will be at once reduced to a proper level, and the rich earth that formed the surface of the old ridges be still kept upon the
Preparation of Land. the surface of your field; so that the only loss that the possessor of such ground can sustain by this operation, is merely the expence of performing it.2
He afterwards makes a calculation of the different expences of levelling by the plough and by the spade, in which he finds the latter by far the cheapest method.
206 Proper direction of the ridges. Let it be a rule to direct the ridges north and south, if the ground will permit. In this direction, the east and west sides of the ridges, dividing the sun equally between them, will ripen at the same time.
207 Narrow ridges an advantage. It is a great advantage in agriculture, to form ridges so narrow, and so low, as to admit the crowns and furrows to be changed alternately every crop. The soil nearest the surface is the best; and by such ploughing, it is always kept near the surface, and never buried. In high ridges, the soil is accumulated at the crown and the furrows left bare. Such alteration of crown and furrow is easy where the ridges are no more but seven or eight feet broad. This mode of ploughing answers perfectly well in sandy and gravelly soils, and even in loam; but it is not safe in clay soil. In that soil, the ridges ought to be 12 feet wide, and 20 inches high; to be preserved always in the same form by casting, that is, by ploughing two ridges together, beginning at the furrow that separates them, and ploughing round and round till the two ridges be finished. By this method, the separating furrow is raised a little higher than the furrows that bound the two ridges. But at the next ploughing, that inequality is corrected, by beginning at the bounding furrows, and going round and round till the ploughing of the two ridges be completed at the separating furrow.
6. CLEARING GROUND OF WEEDS.
208 Cleaning harrow. Plate VIII. Fig. 6. For this purpose a new instrument, termed a cleaning harrow, has been introduced by Lord Kames, and is strongly recommended (E). It is one entire piece like the first of those mentioned above, consisting of seven bulls, four feet long each, two and one-fourth inches broad, two and three-fourths deep. The bulls are united together by steths, similar to what are mentioned above. The intervals between the bulls being three and three-fourths inches, the breadth of the whole harrow is three feet five inches. In each bull are inserted eight teeth, each nine inches free below the wood, and distant from each other six inches. The weight of each tooth is a pound, or near it. The whole is firmly bound by an iron plate from corner to corner in the line of the draught. The rest as in the harrows mentioned above. The size, however, is not invariable. The cleaning harrow ought to be larger or less according as the soil is stiff or free.
To give this instrument its full effect, stones of such a size as not to pass freely between the teeth ought to be carried off, and clods of that size ought to be broken. The ground ought to be dry, which it commonly is in the month of May.
In preparing for barley, turnip, or other summer-crop, begin with ploughing and cross ploughing. If the ground be not sufficiently pulverized, let the great
brake be applied, to be followed successively with the Preparation of Land. 1st and 2d harrows. In stiff soil, rolling may be proper, once or twice between the acts. These operations will loosen every root, and bring some of them to the surface. This is the time for the 3d harrow, conducted by a boy mounted on one of the horses, who trots smartly along the field, and brings all the roots to the surface: there they are to lie for a day or two, till perfectly dry. If any stones or clods remain, they must be carried off in a cart. And now succeeds the operation of the cleaning harrow. It is drawn by a single horse, directed by reins, which the man at the opposite corner puts over his head, in order to have both hands free. In this corner is fixed a rope, with which the man from time to time raises the harrow from the ground, to let the weeds drop. For the sake of expedition, the weeds ought to be dropped in a straight line across the field, whether the harrow be full or not; and seldom is a field so dirty, but that the harrow may go 30 yards before the teeth are filled. The weeds will be thus laid in parallel rows, like those of hay raked together for drying. A harrow may be drawn swiftly along the rows, in order to shake out all the dust; and then the weeds may be carried clean off the field in carts. But we are not yet done with these weeds: instead of burning, which is the ordinary practice, they may be converted into useful manure, by laying them in a heap with a mixture of hot dung to begin fermentation. At first view, this way of cleaning land will appear operose; but, upon trial, neither the labour nor expence will be found immoderate. At any rate, the labour and expence ought not to be grudged; for if a field be once thoroughly cleaned, the seasons must be very cross, or the farmer very indolent, to make it necessary to renew the operation in less than 20 years. In the worst seasons, a few years pasture is always under command; which effectually destroys triennial plants, such as thistles and couch grass.
7. On the Nature of different Kinds of Soils, and the PLANTS proper to each.
209 Clay soil. 1. Clay, which is in general the stiffest of all soils, and contains an unctuous quality. But under the term clays, earths of different sorts and colours are included. One kind is so obitinate, that scarcely any thing will subdue it; another is so hungry and poor, that it absorbs whatever is applied, and turns it into its own quality. Some clays are fatter than others, and the fattest are the best; some are more soft and slippery. But all of them retain water poured on their surface, where it stagnates, and chills the plants, without sinking into the soil. The closeness of clay prevents the roots and fibres of plants from spreading in search of nourishment. The blue, the red, and the white clay, if strong, are unfavourable to vegetation. The stony and looser sorts are less so; but none of them are worth any thing till their texture is so loosened by a mixture of other substances, and opened, as to admit the influence of the sun, the air, and frosts. Among the manures recommended for clay, sand is of all
(*) In his Gentleman Farmer; to which performance the practical part of this article is materially indebted.
Preparation all others to be preferred; and sea sand is the best of all of Land. where it can be obtained: This most effectually breaks the cohesion.
The reason for preferring sea sand is, that it is not formed wholly (as most other sands are) of small stones; but contains a great deal of calcareous matter in it, such as shells grated and broken to pieces by the tide, and also of salts. The smaller the sand is, the more easily it penetrates the clay; but it abides less time in it than the larger.
The next best sand is that washed down by rains on gravelly soils. Those which are dry and light are the worst. Small gritty gravel has also been recommended by the best writers on agriculture for these soils; and in many instances we have found it to answer the purpose.
Shell marl, ashes, and all animal and vegetable substances, are very good manures for clay; but they have been found most beneficial when sand is mixed with them. Lime has been often used; but the writer of this section would not recommend it, for he never found any advantage from it singly, when applied to clays.
The crops most suitable for such lands are, wheat, beans, cabbages, and rye-grass. Clover seldom succeeds, nor indeed any plants whose roots require depth and a wide spread in the earth.
210 Chalky soil. 2. Chalk. Chalky soils are generally dry and warm, and if there be a tolerable depth of mould, fruitful; producing great crops of barley, rye, peas, vetches, clover, trefoil, burnet, and particularly sainfoin. The latter plant flourishes in a chalky soil better than any other. But if the surface of mould be very thin, this soil requires good manuring with clay, marl, loam, or dung. As these lands are dry, they may be sown earlier than others.
When your barley is three inches high, throw in 10lb. of clover, or 15lb. of trefoil, and roll it well. The next summer mow the crop for hay; feed off the aftermath with sheep; and in winter give it a top-dressing of dung. This will produce a crop the second spring, which should be cut for hay. As soon as this crop is carried off, plough up the land, and in the beginning of September sow three bushels of rye per acre, either to feed off with sheep in the spring or to stand for harvest. If you feed it off, sow winter vetches in August or September, and make them into hay the following summer. Then get the land into as fine tilth as possible, and sow it with sainfoin, which, with a little manure once in two or three years, will remain and produce good crops for 20 years together.
211 Light poor soil. 3. Light poor land, which seldom produces good crops of any thing till well manured. After it is well ploughed, sow three bushels of buck-wheat per acre, in April or May: When in bloom, let your cattle in a few days to eat off the best, and tread the other down; this done, plough in what remains immediately. This will soon ferment and rot in the ground; then lay it fine, and sow three bushels of rye per acre. If this can be got off early enough, sow turnips; if not, winter vetches to cut for hay. Then get it into good tilth, and sow turnip-rooted cabbages, in rows three feet apart. This plant seldom fails, if it has sufficient room, and the intervals be well horse-hoed;
and you will find it the best spring feed for sheep when Preparation of Land.
The horse-hoeing will clean and prepare the land for sainfoin; for the sowing of which April is reckoned the best season. The usual way is to sow it broad-cast, four bushels to an acre; but the writer prefers sowing it in drills two feet asunder; for then it may be horse-hoed, and half the feed will be sufficient.
The horse-hoeing will not only clean the crop, but earth up the plants, and render them more luxuriant and lasting.
If you sow it broad-cast, give it a top-dressing in December or January, of rotten dung or ashes, or, which is still better, of both mixed up in compost.
From various trials, it is found that taking only one crop in a year, and feeding the after-growth, is better than to mow it twice. Cut it as soon as it is in full bloom, if the weather will permit. The hay will be the sweeter, and the strength of the plants less impaired, than if it stand till the seed is formed.
4. Light rich land, being the most easy to cultivate to advantage, and capable of bearing most kinds of grain, pulse, and herbage, little need be said upon it. One thing however is very proper to be observed, that such lands are the best adapted to the drill husbandry, especially where machines are used, which require shallow furrows to be made for the reception of the seed. This, if not prone to couch grass, is the best of all soils for lucerne; which, if sown in two feet drills, and kept clean, will yield an astonishing quantity of the most excellent herbage. But lucerne will never be cultivated to advantage where couch grass and weeds are very plentiful; nor in the broad-cast method, even where they are not so; because horse-hoeing is essential to the vigorous growth of this plant.
5. Coarse rough land. Plough deep in autumn; when it has lain two weeks, cross-plough it, and let it rough land lie rough through the winter. In March give it another good ploughing; drag, rake, and harrow it well, to get out the rubbish, and sow four bushels of black oats per acre if the soil be wet, and white oats if dry. When about four inches high, roll them well after a shower: This will break the clods; and the fine mould falling among the roots of the plants will promote their growth greatly.
Some sow clover and rye-grass among the oats, but this appears to be bad husbandry. If you design it for clover, sow it single, and let a coat of dung be laid on in December. The snow and rain will then dilute its salts and oil, and carry them down among the roots of the plants. This is far better than mixing the crops on such land, for the oats will exhaust the soil so much that the clover will be impoverished. The following summer you will have a good crop of clover; which cut once, and feed the after-growth. In the winter plough it in, and let it lie till February: Then plough and harrow it well; and in March, if the soil be moist, plant beans in drills of three feet, to admit the horse-hoe freely. When you horse-hoe them a second time, sow a row of turnips in each interval, and they will succeed very well. But if the land be strong enough for sowing wheat as soon as the beans are off, the turnips may be omitted.
THE articles hitherto insisted on, are all of them preparatory to the capital object of a farm, that of raising plants for the nourishment of man and of other animals. These are of two kinds; culmiferous and leguminous; differing widely from each other. Wheat, rye, barley, oats, rye-grass, are of the first kind: of the other kind are, pease, beans, clover, cabbage, and many others.
Culmiferous plants, says Bonnet, have three sets of roots. The first issue from the seed, and pulls to the surface an upright stem; another set issue from a knot in that stem; and a third from another knot, nearer the surface. Hence the advantage of laying seed too deep in the ground as to afford space for all the sets.
Leguminous plants form their roots differently. Pease, beans, cabbage, have store of small roots, all issuing from the seed, like the undermost set of culmiferous roots; and they have no other roots. A potato and a turnip have bulbous roots. Red clover has a strong tap-root. The difference between culmiferous and leguminous plants with respect to the effects they produce in the soil, will be insisted on afterward, in the section concerning rotation of crops. As the present section is confined to the propagation of plants, it falls naturally to be divided into three articles; first, Plants cultivated for fruit; second, Plants cultivated for roots; third, Plants cultivated for leaves.
Any time from the middle of April to the middle of May, the fallowing for wheat may commence. The moment should be chosen, when the ground, beginning to dry, has yet some remaining softness: in that condition, the soil divides easily by the plough, and falls into small parts. This is an essential article, deserving the strictest attention of the farmer. Ground ploughed too wet, rises, as we say, whole-sur, as when pasture-ground is ploughed: where ploughed too dry, it rises in great lumps, which are not reduced by subsequent ploughings; not to mention, that it requires double force to plough ground too dry, and that the plough is often broken to pieces. When the ground is in proper order, the farmer can have no excuse for delaying a single minute. This first course of fallow must, it is true, yield to the barley-feed; but as the barley-feed is commonly over the first week of May, or sooner, the season must be unfavourable if the fallow cannot be reached by the middle of May.
As clay soil requires high ridges, these ought to be cleared at the first ploughing, beginning at the furrow, and ending at the crown. This ploughing ought to be as deep as the soil will admit: and water-furrowing ought instantly to follow; for if rain happen before water-furrowing, it stagnates in the furrow, necessarily delays the second ploughing till that part of the ridge be dry, and prevents the furrow from being mellowed and roasted by the sun. If this first ploughing be well executed, annual weeds will rise in plenty.
About the first week of June, the great brake will loosen and reduce the soil, encourage a second crop of
annuals, and raise to the surface the roots of weeds moved by the plough. Give the weeds time to spring, which may be in two or three weeks. Then proceed to the second ploughing about the beginning of July; which must be cross the ridges, in order to reach all the slips of the former ploughing. By cross-ploughing the furrows will be filled up, and water-furrowing be still more necessary than before. Employ the brake again about the 10th of August, to destroy the annuals that have sprung since the last stirring. The destruction of weeds is a capital article in fallowing: yet so blind are people to their interest, that nothing is more common than a fallow field covered with charlock and wild mustard, all in flower, and 10 or 12 inches high. The field having now received two harrowings and two brakings is prepared for manure, whether lime or dung, which without delay ought to be incorporated with the soil by a repeated harrowing and a gathering furrow. This ought to be about the beginning of September, and as soon after as you please the feed may be sown.
As in ploughing a clay soil it is of importance to prevent poaching, the hinting furrows ought to be done with two horset in a line. If four ploughs be employed in the same field, to one of them may be allotted the care of finishing the hinting furrows.
Loam, being a medium between sand and clay, is of all soils the fittest for culture, and the least subject to chance. It does not hold water like clay; and when wet, it dries sooner. At the same time, it is more retentive than sand of that degree of moisture which promotes vegetation. On the other hand, it is more subject to couch-grass than clay, and to other weeds; to destroy which, fallowing is still more necessary than in clay.
Beginning the fallow about the first of May, or as soon as barley feed is over, take as deep a furrow as the soil will admit. Where the ridges are so low and narrow as that the crown and furrow can be changed alternately, there is little or no occasion for water-furrowing. Where the ridges are so high as to make it proper to cleave them, water-furrowing is proper. The second ploughing may be at the distance of five weeks. Two crops of annuals may be got in the interim, the first by the brake and the next by the harrow; and by the same means eight crops may be got in the season. The ground must be cleared of couch-grass and knot-grass roots, by the cleaning harrow described above. The time for this operation is immediately before the manure is laid on. The ground at that time being in its loosest state, parts with its grass roots more freely than at any other time. After the manure is spread, and incorporated with the soil by braking or harrowing, the feed may be sown under furrow, if the ground hang so as easily to carry off the moisture. To leave it rough without harrowing has two advantages: it is not apt to cake with moisture, and the inequalities make a sort of shelter to the young plants against frost. But if it lie flat, it ought to be smoothed with a slight harrow after the seed is sown, which will facilitate the course of the rain from the crown to the furrow.
A sandy soil is too loose for wheat. The only chance Dressing as for a crop is after red clover, the roots of which bind sandy soil. the soil; and the instructions above given for loam are applicable.
applicable here. Rye is a crop much fitter for sandy soil than wheat; and like wheat, it is generally sown after a summer fallow.
Lastly, Sow wheat as soon in the month of October as the ground is ready. When sown a month more early, it is too forward in the spring and apt to be hurt by frost: when sown a month later, it has not time to root before frost comes on; and frost spews it out of the ground.
Setting of wheat, a method which by some is reckoned one of the greatest improvements in husbandry that has taken place this century. It seems to have been first suggested by planting grains in a garden from mere curiosity, by persons who had no thought or opportunity of extending it to a lucrative purpose. Nor was it attempted on a larger scale, till a little farmer near Norwich began it, about 25 years since, upon less than an acre of land. For two or three years only a few followed his example; and these were generally the butt of their neighbours merriment for adopting so singular a practice. They had, however, considerably better corn and larger crops than their neighbours: this, together with the saving in seed, engaged more to follow them: while some ingenious persons, observing its great advantage, recommended and published its utility in the Norwich papers. These recommendations had their effect. The curiosity and inquiry of the Norfolk farmers (particularly round Norwich) were excited, and they found sufficient reason to make general experiments. Among the rest was one of the largest occupiers of lands in that county, who set 57 acres in one year. His success, from the visible superiority of his crop, both in quantity and quality, was so great, that the following autumn he set 300 acres, and has continued the practice ever since. This noble experiment established the practice, and was the means of introducing it generally among the intelligent farmers in a very large district of land; there being few who now sow any wheat, if they can procure hands to set it. It has been generally observed, that although the set crops appear very thin during the autumn and winter, the plants side-shoot and spread prodigiously in the spring. The ears are indistinctly larger, without any dwarfish or small corn; the grain is of a larger bulk, and specifically heavier per bushel than when sown.
The lands on which this method is particularly prosperous, are either after a clover stubble, or on which trefoil and grass feed were sown the spring before the last. These grounds, after the usual manuring, are once turned over by the plough in an extended flag or turf, at ten inches wide; along which a man, who is called a dibbler, with two setting irons, somewhat bigger than ramrods, but considerably bigger at the lower end, and pointed at the extremity, steps backwards along the turf, and makes the holes about four inches asunder every way, and an inch deep. Into these holes the droppers (women, boys, and girls) drop two grains, which is quite sufficient. After this, a gate bushed with thorns is drawn by one horse over the land, and closes up the holes. By this mode, three pecks of grain is sufficient for an acre; and being immediately buried, it is equally removed from vermin or the power of frost. The regularity of its rising gives the best
opportunity of keeping it clear from weeds, by weeding or hand-hoeing.
Wheat-setting is a method peculiarly beneficial when corn is dear; and, if the season be favourable, may be practised with great benefit to the farmer. Sir Thomas Beevor of Hethel-Hall in Norfolk, found the advantage, produce to be two bushels per acre more than from the wheat which is sown; but having much less small corn intermixed with it, the sample is better, and always fetches a higher price, to the amount generally of two shillings per quarter.
This method, too, saves to the farmer and to the public six pecks of feed wheat in every acre; which, if nationally adopted, would of itself afford bread for more than half a million of people.
Add to these considerations, the great support given to the poor by this second harvest, as it may be called, which enables them to discharge their rents and maintain their families without having recourse to the parish.—The expence of setting by hand is now reduced to about six shillings per acre; which, in good weather, may be done by one dibbler, attended by three droppers, in two days. This is five shillings per day; of which if the dibbler gives to the children sixpence each, he will have himself three shillings and sixpence for his day's work, which is much more than he can possibly earn by any other labour so easy to himself. But put the case, that the man has a wife who dibbles with him, and two or three of his own children to drop to him, you see his gains will then be prodigious, and enough to ensure a plenty of candidates for that work, even in the least populous parts of the country.
It is, however, to be observed with regard to this method, that in seasons when feed-corn is very cheap, or the autumn particularly unfavourable to the practice, it must certainly be lessened. In light lands, for instance, a very dry time prevents dibbling; as the holes made with the instruments will be filled up again by the mould as fast as the instrument is withdrawn. So, again, in a very wet season, on strong and stiff clays, the feeds in the holes cannot be well and properly covered by the bushes drawn over them. But these extremes of dry and wet do not often happen, nor do they affect lands of a moderately consistent texture, or both light and heavy soils at the same time; so that the general practice is in fact never greatly impeded by them.
Propagating of wheat by dividing and transplanting its roots. In the Philosophical Transactions for 1768, we meet with a very important experiment, of which the following is an abstract. On the 2d of June 1766, Mr C. Miller sowed some grains of the common red wheat; and on the 8th of August a single plant was taken up and separated into 18 parts, and each part planted separately. These plants having pushed out several side-shoots, by about the middle of September; some of them were then taken up and divided, and the rest of them between that time and the middle of October. This second division produced 67 plants. These plants remained through the winter, and another division of them, made between the middle of March and the 12th of April, produced 500 plants. They were then divided no further, but permitted to remain. The plants were in general stronger than any of the wheat in the fields. Some of them produced upwards
Culture of 100 ears from a single root. Many of the ears measured seven inches in length, and contained between 60 and 70 grains.
The whole number of ears which, by the process above mentioned, were produced from one grain of wheat, was 21,109, which yielded three pecks and three quarters of clean corn, the weight of which was 47 lb. 7 ounces; and from a calculation made by counting the number of grains in an ounce, the whole number of grains was about 376,840.
By this account we find, that there was only one general division of the plants made in the spring. Had a second been made, Mr Miller thinks the number of plants would have amounted to 2000 instead of 500, and the produce thereby been much enlarged.
The ground was a light blackish soil, upon a gravelly bottom; and, consequently, a bad soil for wheat. One half of the ground was well dunged, the other half had no manure. There was, however, not any difference discoverable in the vigour, or growth, or produce, of the plants.
It must be evident, that the expence and labour of setting in the above manner by the hand, will render it scarcely practicable upon a large scale so as to be productive of any utility. A correspondent of the Bath Society, therefore, (Robert Bogle, Esq. of Daldowin, near Glasgow), with a view to extend the practice, has proposed the use of the harrow and roller until some better implements be invented. This method occurred to him from attending to the practice usual with farmers on certain occasions, of harrowing their fields after the grain is sprung up. Upon investigating the principles upon which these practices are founded, he found them confined merely to that of pulverizing the earth, without any attention to Mr Miller's doctrine. They said, "that after very heavy rains, and then excessive dry weather, the surface of their lands was apt to be caked, the tender fibres of the young roots were thereby prevented from pushing, and of course the vegetation was greatly obstructed; in such instances, they found very great benefit from harrowing and rolling."
These principles he acknowledges to be well founded, so far as relates to pulverizing; but contends, that the benefit arising from harrowing and rolling is not derived from pulverizing entirely, but also from subdividing and enabling the plants to tiller (as it is termed). "The harrow (he observes) certainly breaks the incrustation on the surface, and the roller crumbles the clods; but it is also obvious, that the harrow removes a great many of the plants from their original stations; and that if the corn has begun to tiller at the time it is used, the roots will be, in many instances, subdivided, and then the application of my system of divisibility comes into play. The roller then serves to plant the roots which have been torn up by the harrow."
But on this the Society observe, that the teeth of a harrow are too large to divide roots so small and tenacious as are those of grain; and whenever such roots (however tillered) stand in the line any tooth makes, they will, if small, be only turned on one side by the earth yielding to their lateral pressure, or, if large, the whole root will probably be drawn out of the ground. The principal uses, therefore, derived from harrowing and rolling these crops are, opening the soil between
the plants, earthing them up, breaking the clods, and closing the earth about their roots.
In a subsequent letter, Mr Bogle, without contesting these points, further urges the scheme of propagating wheat by dividing and transplanting its roots. "I have conversed (says he) much with many practical farmers, who all admit that my plan has the appearance not only of being practical, but advantageous. I have also seen, in the ninth number of Mr Young's Annals of Agriculture, the account of an experiment which strongly corroborates my theory. It was made by the Rev. Mr Pike of Edmonton. From this, and other experiments which have been made under my own eye, I foresee clearly, that the system is practicable, and will certainly be productive of great benefit, should it become general. Besides the saving of nine-tenths of Practicability of the scheme at-
feed in the land sown broad-cast, other very important ferted.
advantages will attend the setting out of wheat from a feed-bed: such as an early crop; the certainty of good crops; rendering a summer-fallow unnecessary; saving dung; and having your wheat perfectly free from weeds without either hand or horse-hoeing. Five hundred plants in April produced almost a bushel of grain. My gardener says, he can set one thousand plants in a day, which is confirmed by the opinion of two other gardeners. Mr Miller found no difference in the produce of what was planted on lands that had dung, and on what had none, except where the land was improper for wheat at all."
On this letter we have the following note by the Bath Society: "Mr Bogle will see, by the society's premium's observations on this year, that by having offered several premiums for experiments of the kind he so earnestly recommends, we wish to have his theory brought to the test of practice. Our reason for this, as well as for printing Mr B's letter, was rather to excite decisive trials by ingenious persons, than from any expectation of the practice ever becoming a general one. General, indeed, it never can be. A sufficient number of hands could not be found to do it. Unkindly seasons at the time of transplanting and dividing the roots would frequently endanger and injure, if not destroy, the crops. But admitting the mode generally practicable, we very much doubt whether all the advantages he has enumerated would be derived from this mode of culture. Why should dividing and transplanting the roots of wheat cause the crop to be early, or afford a certainty of its being a good one? We cannot think that less manure is necessary in this method than either in drilling or broad-cast; nor can we by any means admit, such crops would be perfectly free from weeds without either hand or horse-hoeing." We readily agree with Mr Bogle, that by this mode of culture on a general scale, an immense quantity of feed-corn would be annually saved to the nation; and in this, we believe, the advantage, were it practicable, would principally consist."
Upon the same subject, and that of harrowing all further kinds of corn, we are informed, Mr Bogle afterwards communicated to the Society his thoughts more at large, together with authentic accounts which were made at his instance, and which were attended with very great success. These must undoubtedly be regarded as of very great importance, and accordingly the society, conceiving his system may be attended with
with considerable advantages if brought into general practice, have given, at the end of their third volume, a few of his leading principles. Mr Bogle states, 1. That he has known many instances of very great crops having been obtained by harrowing fields of corn after they were sprouted; and therefore recommends the practice very warmly.
2. That he has also received an authentic account of one instance where the same good effects were produced by ploughing the field.
3. On the system of transplanting, he states, that a very great proportion of the seed will be saved, as a farmer may have a nursery, or small patch of plants, from which his fields may be supplied; he calculates that one acre will yield plants sufficient for 100 acres.
4. That a very great increase of crops may be obtained by this method, probably a double crop, nay perhaps a triple quantity of what is reaped either by drilling or by the broad-cast husbandry.
5. That a great part of the labour may be performed by infirm men and women, and also by children, who are at present supported by the parish charity; and that of course the poor's rates may be considerably reduced.
6. That the expence will not exceed from 20s. to 30s. per acre, if the work be performed by able bodied men and women; but that it will be much lower, if that proportion of the work which may be done by employing young boys and girls should be allotted to them.
7. That in general he has found the distance of nine inches every way a very proper distance for setting out the plants at; but recommends them to be tried at other spaces, such as 6, 8, or even 12 inches.
8. That he conceives an earlier crop may be obtained in this manner than can be obtained by any other mode of cultivation.
9. That a clean crop may also be procured in this way, because if the land be ploughed immediately before the plants are set out, the corn will spring much quicker from the plants than the weeds will do from their seeds; and the corn will thereby bear down the growth of the weeds.
10. That such lands as are overflowed in the winter and spring, and are of course unfit for sowing with wheat in the autumn, may be rendered fit for crops of wheat by planting them in the spring, or even in the summer.
11. That he has known instances of wheat being transplanted in September, October, November, February, March, April, and even as late as the middle of May, which have all answered very well.
12. That he has known an early kind of wheat sown as late as the middle of May, which has ripened in very good time; and from that circumstance he conceives, if the plants should be taken from that early kind, the season of transplanting might be prolonged at least till the 1st of July, perhaps even later.
13. That he has reason to think wheat, oats, and barley, are not annuals, but are perennials, provided they are eaten down by cattle and sheep, or are kept low by the scythe or sickle; and are prevented from spindling or coming to the ear.
14. That one very prevalent motive with him in prosecuting this plan, is, that he is of opinion it may
enable government to devise means of supporting the vagrant poor, both old and young, who are now to be met with everywhere, both in towns and in the country, and who are at present a burden on the community; but if such employment could be struck out for them, a comfortable subsistence might be provided for them by means of their own labour and industry; and not only save the public and private charitable contributions, but may also render that class of people useful and profitable subjects; instead of their remaining in a useless, wretched, and perhaps a profligate and vicious course of life.
Lastly, Mr Bogle has hinted at a secondary object which he has in view, from this mode of cultivation, which he apprehends may in time, with a small degree of attention, prove extremely advantageous to agriculture.—It is, that, in the first place, the real and intrinsic value of different kinds of grain may be more accurately ascertained by making a comparison of it with a few plants of each kind set out at the same time, than can be done when sown in drills or broad-cast; and when the most valuable kinds of wheat, oats, or barley, are discovered, he states, that in a very short time (not exceeding four or five years) a sufficient quantity of that valuable kind may be procured to supply the kingdom with feed from a single grain of each kind; for he calculates, that 47,000 grains of wheat may be produced by divisibility in two years and three months.
Upon these propositions the Society observes, "That although Mr Bogle appears to be too sanguine in his expectations of seeing his plan realized in general practice, it certainly merits the attention of gentlemen farmers. We wish them to make fair experiments, and report their success. Every grand improvement has been, and ever will be, progressive. They must necessarily originate with gentlemen; and thence the circle is extended by almost imperceptible degrees over provinces and countries. At all events, Mr Bogle is justly entitled to the thanks of the Society, and of the public, for the great attention he has paid to the subject."
There is perhaps no part of Great Britain where this species of grain is cultivated to more perfection than wheat in Norfolk. Mr Marshal informs us, that the species raised in that county is called the Norfolk red, and weighs heavier than any other which has yet been introduced, though he owns that its appearance is much against the assertion, it being a long thin grain, resembling rye more than well bodied wheat. About 15 or 20 years ago a new species was introduced, named the Kentish cosh; against which the millers were at first very much prejudiced, though this prejudice is now got over. A remarkable circumstance respecting this grain is, that though upon its introduction into the county the cosh or husk be perfectly white, yet such is the power either of the soil or of the mode of cultivation to produce what the botanists call varieties, that the grain in question is said to lose every year somewhat of the whiteness of its husks, until they become at last equally red with those of the former kind. The southern and south-eastern parts of the county generally enjoy a stronger and richer soil than the more northerly, and therefore are more proper for the cultivation of that species of grain. In the northern parts are some farms of very light soil, where the farmers sow only
Culture of only a small quantity of wheat; and these light lands are called barley farms.
232
Succession of crops, &c.
The greatest part of the wheat in Norfolk is sown upon a second year's ley; sometimes it is sown upon a first year's ley; sometimes on a summer fallow; after peas, turnips, or buck harvested or ploughed under. The practice adopted by those who are looked upon as superior husbandmen in the county of Norfolk is as follows: The second year's leys having finished the bullocks, and brought the stock cattle and horses through the fore part of summer, and the first year's leys having been made ready to receive his stock, the farmer begins to break up his old land or ley ground by a peculiar mode of cultivation named rice-balking, in which the furrow is always turned toward the unploughed ground, the edge of the coulter passing always close by the edge of the flag last turned. This is done at first with an even regular furrow; opportunity being taken for performing the operation after the surface has been moistened by a summer shower. In this state his summer leys remain until towards the end of harvest, when he harrows and afterwards ploughs them across the balks of the former ploughing, bringing them now up to the full depth of the soil. On this ploughing he immediately harrows the manure, and ploughs it in with a shallow furrow. The effects of this third ploughing are to mix and effectually pulverize the soil and manure; to cut off and pulverize the upper surfaces of the furrows of the second ploughing; and thus, in the most effectual manner, to eradicate or smother the weeds which had escaped the two former ones. Thus it lies until the seed time, when it is harrowed, rolled, sown, and gathered up into ridges of such width as the farmer thinks most proper. Those of six furrows are most common, though some very good farmers lay their wheat land into four furrow, and others into ten furrow ridges; "which last (says our author) they execute in a style much superior to what might be expected from wheel ploughs." They excel, however, in the six-furrow ploughing; of which Mr. Marshal gives a particular account. When ploughing in this manner, they carry very narrow furrows; so that a six-furrow ridge, set out by letting the off-horse return in the first-made furrow, does not measure more than three feet eight or nine inches.
When wheat is cultivated after the first year's lay, the feed is generally sown upon the flag or furrow turned over. After peas, one or two ploughings are given; the other parts of the management being the same with that after the second year's ley already mentioned. After buck harvested he seldom gives more than two, and sometimes but one, ploughing. In the former case he spreads his manure on the stubble, and ploughs it in with a shallow furrow; harrows, rolls, sows, and gathers up the soil into narrow work. The manure is in like manner spread on the stubble after once ploughing, and the feed is then sown among the manure; the whole ploughed in together, and the soil gathered up into narrow ridges, as if it had undergone the operations of a fallow. An inconvenience attending this practice is, that the buck which is necessarily shed in harvesting springs up among the wheat, and becomes a weed to it, at the same time that the roots, if numerous, pull up both buck and wheat, leaving several patches quite bare. This is obviated in a great
measure by first ploughing in the manure and self-sown buck with a shallow furrow; in consequence of which the buck vegetates before the wheat.
It is likewise a favourite practice with the Norfolk farmers to raise wheat after buck ploughed under. They plough under the buck by means of a broom made of rough bushes fixed to the fore tackle of the plough between the wheels, which bears down the plant without lifting the wheels from the ground. Sometimes, when the buck is strong, they first break it down with a roller going the same way that the plough is intended to go; afterwards a good ploughman will cover it so effectually that scarce a stalk can be seen. Sometimes the surface of the ground is left rough, but it is more eligible to harrow and roll it. The practice of summer fallowing seldom occurs in Norfolk; though sometimes, when the soil has been much worn down by cropping, and overrun by weeds, it is esteemed a judicious practice by many excellent husbandmen, and the practice seems to be daily gaining ground. After turnips the soil is ploughed to a moderate depth, and the feed sown over the first ploughing: but if the turnips be got in early, the weeds are sometimes first ploughed in with a shallow furrow, and the feed ploughed under with a second ploughing, gathering the soil into narrow ridges.
234
With regard to the manuring of the ground for wheat in Norfolk, that which has been recently clayed or marled is supposed to need no other preparation any more than that which has received 15 or 20 loads of dung and mould for turnips; the first year's ley having been teathed in autumn, and the second fed off. Where the soil is good, and the wheat apt to run too much to straw, it is the practice of some judicious farmers to set their manure upon the young clover, thereby depriving the wheat in some degree of its rankness; but it is most common to spread it upon the broken ground; or if the feed be sown upon the turned furrow, to spread it on the turf and plough it under; or to spread it on the ploughed surface, and harrow it in with the feed as a top-dressing. A smaller quantity of manure is generally made use of for wheat than for turnips. From eight to ten cart loads (as much as three horses can conveniently draw) are reckoned sufficient for an acre; three or four chaldrons of lime to one acre, or 40 bushels of foot to the same quantity of ground; or about a ton of rape-cake to three acres.
235
In this county they never begin to sow wheat till after the 17th of October, and continue till the beginning of December, sometimes even till Christmas. They give as a reason for this late sowing, that the wheat treated in this manner is less apt to run to straw than when sown earlier. The feed is generally prepared with brine, and candied in the usual manner with lime. The following method of preparing it is said to be effectual in preventing the smut. "The salt is dissolved in a very small quantity of water, barely sufficient for the purpose. The lime is slaked with this solution, and the wheat candied with it in its hottest state, having been previously moistened with pure water." According to our author's observation, the crops of those farmers who use this preparation are in general more free from smut than those who make use of any other.
The practice of dibbling or setting of wheat has not as yet become general throughout Norfolk, the common broad-cast method being usually followed, except on the Suffolk side of the county. Some few make use of dibbling and fluting rollers; but drilling is almost entirely unknown, notwithstanding the great aptitude of soil for the practice. Ploughing in the seed under furrow is the favourite mode of the Norfolk farmers, and is performed in the following manner: "The land having been harrowed down level, and the surface rendered smooth by the roller, the head ploughman (if at leisure) marks out the whole piece in narrow slips of about a statute rod in width. This he does by hanging up the plough in such a manner, that no part of it except the heel touches the ground; and this makes a sure mark for the seedman, which he cannot by any means mistake. In case the ploughs are all employed, the seedman himself marks the ground, by drawing a piece of wood or other heavy body behind him." Mr Marshall prefers this to the Kentish method of setting up sticks in the form of a lane, as being less liable to produce mistakes.
In those places where wheat is dibbled, they make use of iron instruments for the purpose. The acting part is an egg-shaped knob, somewhat larger than a pigeon's egg; the smaller end is the point of the dibble, the larger having a rod of iron rising from it about half an inch square, and two feet and an half long; the head being received into a cross piece of wood resembling the crutch of a spade or shovel, which forms the handle. The dibbler uses two of these instruments, one in each hand; and, bending over them, walks backward upon the turned furrows, making two rows of holes in each of them. Those rows are usually made at the distance of four inches from each other; the holes being two and a half or three inches distant, viz. four in each length of the foot of the dibbler. The great art in making these lies in leaving them firm and smooth in the sides, so that the loose mould may not run in to fill them up before the seeds are deposited. This is done by a circular motion of the hand and wrist; making a semi-revolution every stroke; the circular motion beginning as the bit enters, and continuing until it is entirely disengaged from the mould. The operation is not perfect unless the dibbles come out clean and wear bright. It is somewhat difficult to make the holes at equal distances; but more especially to keep the two straight and parallel to each other, some practice being required to guide the instruments in such a manner as to correspond exactly with each other; but though couples have been invented to remedy this inconvenience to keep them at a proper distance, the other method is still found to be preferable. A middling workman will make four holes in a second. One dibbler is sufficient for three droppers; whence one man and three children are called a set. The dibbler carries on three flags or turned furrows; going on some yards upon one of the outside furrows, and returning upon the other, after which he takes the middle one; and thus keeps his three dibblers constantly employed, and at the same time is in no danger of filling up the holes with his feet. The droppers put in two or three grains of wheat into each hole; but much time and patience is necessary to teach them to perform the business properly and quickly. An expert dibbler will
hole half an acre in a day; though one third of an acre is usually reckoned a good day's work. The seed is covered by means of a bush harrow; and from one bushel to six pecks is the usual quantity for an acre. Notwithstanding the advantages of saving seed, as well as some others which are generally reckoned undeniably, it is here asserted by some very judicious farmers, that dibbling of wheat on the whole is not really a profitable practice. It is particularly said to be productive of weeds unless dibbled very thick: which indeed may probably be the case, as the weeds are thus allowed a greater space to vegetate in. Mr Marshall himself is of opinion, that "the dibbling of wheat appears to be peculiarly adapted to rich deep soils, on which three or four pecks dibbled early may spread sufficiently for a full crop; whereas light, weak, thallow soils, which have lain two or three years, and have become grassy, require an additional quantity of seed, and consequently an addition of labour, otherwise the plants are not able to reach each other, and the grasses of course find their way up between them, by which means the crop is injured and the soil rendered foul."
The same author has likewise given an account of the method of cultivating wheat practised in other English counties. In the midland district, including part of Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Warwick, and Leicestershire, we are informed that the species usually sown is that called Red Lammas, the ordinary red wheat of the kingdom: but of late a species named the Effex dun, similar to the Kentish white cosb of Norfolk, and the Hertfordshire brown of Yorkshire, has been coming into vogue. Cone-wheat, formerly in use in this district, is now out of fashion. Spring wheat is cultivated with remarkable success, owing principally to the time of sowing; viz. the close of April. Our author was informed by an excellent farmer in these parts, that by sowing early, as in the beginning of March, the grain was liable to be shrivelled, and the straw to be blighted; while that which was sown towards the end of April, or even in the beginning of May, produced clean plump corn. At the time he visited this county, however, it seemed to be falling into disrepute; though he looks upon it, in some situations, especially in a turnip country, to be eligible. In the ordinary succession in this part of the kingdom, wheat comes after oats; and there is perhaps nine-tenths of the wheat in this district sown upon oat-stubble. Our author has also seen a few examples of wheat being sown upon turf of six or seven years leying; and several others on clover ley once plowed, as well as some after turnips. The best crops, however, produced in this, or perhaps in any other district, are after summer fallow. The time of sowing is the month of October, little being sown before Michaelmas; and in a favourable season, little after the close of the month. Much seed is sown here without preparation. When any is made use of, it is the common one of brine candied with lime. The produce is very great, the medium being full three quarters per acre, sometimes four or five; and one farmer, in the year 1784, had on 50 acres of land together, no less than 45 bushels per acre.
In the Vale of Gloucester, the cone-wheat, a variety of the triticium turgidum, is cultivated, as well as the lammas.
Culture of particular plants.
mass and spring wheats. It is not, however, the true cone wheat which is cultivated here, the ears being nearly cylindrical; but our author met with the true species in North-Wiltshire. Beans in this country are the common predecessors of wheat, and sometimes peas; but here the farmers cultivate wheat upon every species of soil. The time of sowing is in November and December, and the seed is thought to be sown in subsecent time if it is done before Christmas. In this country it is thought that late sown crops always produce better than those which are sown early; but Mr Marshall accounts for this by the vast quantity of weeds the latter have to encounter, and which the late sown crops escape by reason of the weakness of vegetation at that time of the year. The produce, however, throughout the Vale of Gloucester, is but very indifferent.—Setting of wheat is not practised, but hoeing universally.—In harvesting, Mr Marshall observes, that the grain is allowed to stand until it be unreasonably ripe, and that it is bound up into very small sheaves. The practice of making double bands is unknown in this district; so that the sheaves are no bigger than can be contained in the length of single straw. The inconveniences of this method are, that the crop requires more time to stook, load and unload, and stack: the advantages are, that the trouble of making bands is avoided; and that if rainy weather happens to intervene, the small sheaves dry much sooner than the large ones. Here the crop is cut very high, the stubble and weeds being mown off in swaths for litter soon after the crop is cut; and sometimes fold as high as 5s. per acre.—Mr Marshall is at a loss to account for the little quantity produced in this country: it being hardly possible to derive it from the nature of the soil, almost all of it being proper for the cultivation of the grain.
243
Remarkably small sheaves.
244
In the Cotswold hills.
245
Instance of the good effects of hoeing wheat.
246
Of cutting mildewed wheat very green.
Among the Cotswold hills of Gloucester the lammas and cone wheats are sown; and a new variety of the latter was raised not long ago by picking out a single grain of seed from among a parcel. The body is very long and large, but not slightly.—The Cotswold hills are almost proverbial for early sowing of wheat. The general rule is to begin ploughing in July, and sowing the first wet weather in August; so that here the seed-time and harvest of wheat coincide. If, in consequence of this early sowing the blade becomes rank in autumn, it is supposed to be proper to eat it down by putting a large flock of sheep upon it at once. Eating it in spring is considered as pernicious. It is usually weeded with spud-hooks; not hoed, as in the Vale. One instance, however, is mentioned by our author, in which a very thin crop full of feed-weeds hoed in autumn with uncommon success, occurred in the practice of a superior manager in this district; as well as others in which wheat has been weeded in autumn with great advantage. He also met with another well authenticated instance of the good effect of cutting mildewed wheat while very green. "A fine piece of wheat being lodged by heavy rains, and being soon after perceived to be infected with the mildew, was cut, though still in a perfectly green state; namely, about three weeks before the usual time of cutting. It lay spread abroad upon the stubble until it became dry enough to prevent its caking in the sheaf; when it was bound and set up in shocks. The result of this treatment was, that the grain, though small,
was of a fine colour, and the heaviest wheat which grew upon the same farm that season; owing, no doubt, to the thinness of its skin. What appears much more remarkable, the straw was perfectly bright, not a speck upon it.—In this part of the country, the produce of wheat is superior to that in the Vale; but Mr Marshall is of opinion, that the soil is much more fit for barley than wheat.
In Yorkshire, though generally a grass land country, and where of consequence corn is only a second concern, yet several kinds of wheat are cultivated, particularly Zealand, Downy Kent, Common White, Hertfordshire Brown, Yellow Kent, Common Red. All these are varieties of winter wheat; besides which they cultivate also the spring or summer wheat.
Here our author makes several curious observations concerning the raising of varieties of plants. "It is probable," says he, that time has the same effect upon the varieties of wheat and other grains as it has on those of cultivated fruits, potatoes, and other vegetable productions. Thus to produce an early pea, the gardener marks the plants which open first into blossom among the most early kind he has in cultivation. Next year he sows the produce of those plants, and goes over the coming crop in the manner he had done the preceding year, marking the earlier of this early kind.
In a similar manner new varieties of apples are raised, by choosing the broadest leaved plants among a bed of feedlings rising promiscuously from pippins. Husbandmen, it is probable, have heretofore been equally industrious in producing fresh varieties of corn; or whence the endless variety of winter wheats? If they be naturally of one species, as Linnaeus has deemed them, they must have been produced by climate, soil, or industry; for although nature sports with individuals, the industry of man is requisite to raise, establish, and continue a permanent variety. The only instance in which I have had an opportunity of tracing the variety down to the parent individual, has occurred to me in this district. A man of acute observation, having, in a piece of wheat, perceived a plant of uncommon strength and luxuriance, diffusing its branches on every side, and setting its closely-surrounding neighbours at distance; marked it; and at harvest removed it separately. The produce was 15 ears, yielding 604 grains of a strong-bodied liver-coloured wheat, different, in general appearance, from every other variety he had seen. The chaff was smooth, without awns, and of the colour of the grain; the straw stout and reedy. These 604 grains were planted singly, nine inches asunder, filling about 40 square yards of ground, on a clover stubble, the remainder of the ground being sown with wheat in the ordinary way; by which means extraordinary trouble and destruction by birds were avoided. The produce was two gallons and a half, weighing 20½ lb. of prime grain for feed, besides some pounds of seeds. One grain produced 35 ears, yielding 1235 grains; so that the second year's produce was sufficient to plant an acre of ground. What deters farmers from improvements of this nature is probably the mischievousness of birds: from which at harvest it is scarcely possible to preserve a small patch of corn, especially in a garden or other ground situated near a habitation; but by carrying on the improvement in a field of corn of the same nature, that inconvenience is got.
got rid of. In this situation, however, the botanist will be apprehensive of danger from the floral farina of the surrounding crop. But from what observations I have made, I am of opinion his fears will be groundless. No evil of this kind occurred, though the cultivation of the above variety was carried on among robust wheat. But this need not be brought as an evidence: it is not uncommon here to sow a mixture of red and white wheats together; and this, it is confidently asserted, without impairing even the colour of either of them. The same mode of culture is applicable to the improvement of varieties; which perhaps would be more profitable to the husbandman than raising new ones, and more expeditious."
In Yorkshire the very singular preparation of feed wheat prevails which we formerly mentioned, viz. the steeping it in a solution of arsenic, as a preventive of smut. Marshall was informed by one farmer, that he had made use of this preparation for 20 years with success, having never during that long space of time suffered any sensible injury from smut. Our author seems inclined to believe the efficacy of this preparation; but thinks there may be some reason to apprehend danger in the use of such a pernicious mineral, either through the carelessness of servants, or handling of the feed by the person who sows it. The farmer above mentioned, however, during all the time he used it, never experienced any inconvenience either to himself, the feedman, or even to the poultry; though these last, we should have thought, would have been peculiarly liable to accidents from arsenicated feed. The preparation is made by pounding the arsenic extremely fine, boiling it in water, and drenching the feed with the decoction. "In strictness," says Mr Marshall, the arsenic should be levigated sufficiently fine, to be taken up and washed over with water, reducing the sediment until it be fine enough to be carried over in the same manner. The usual method of preparing the liquor is to boil one ounce of white arsenic, finely powdered, in a gallon of water, from one to two hours; and to add to the decoction as much water or stale urine as will increase the liquor to two gallons. In this liquor the feed is, or ought to be, immersed, stirring it about in such a manner as to saturate effectually the downy end of each grain. This done, and the liquor drawn off, the feed is considered as fit for the feed basket, without being candied with lime, or any other preparation. A bushel of wheat has been observed to take up about a gallon of liquor. The price of arsenic is about 6d. per pound; which, on this calculation, will cure four quarters of feed. If no more than three quarters be prepared with it, the cost will be only a farthing per bushel; but to this must be added the labour of pounding and boiling. Nevertheless, it is by much the cheapest, and perhaps, upon the whole, adds Mr Marshall, the best preparation we are at present acquainted with. In this county it is believed, that a mixture of wheat and rye, formerly a very common crop in these parts, is never affected with mildew; but our author does not vouch for the truth of this assertion.
We must not here omit to take notice of a new mode of cultivating wheat contrived by Mr E. Walker of Harpley, Norfolk; which mode of culture we shall also afterwards have occasion to notice when we come to
treat of the culture of turnips. Mr Walker thus explains his mode of procedure in a letter addressed to the publisher of the Annals of Agriculture. "I sow in broad-cast, after the turnips have been once hoed, two bushels of wheat or two bushels of rye per acre; and then hoe the same in with the second hoeing: if it be hoed by the day it may be best, as it will be better done by the short strokes or cuts with the hoes than otherwise. It is recommended to be done soon after the first hoeing, for many reasons: It becomes a fine herbage, and keeps the land very clean, without any injury to the turnips, or to the wheat or rye. I began to feed in last September, the turnips, &c. the first of the month, and shall continue till all are done. I have fed off with all sorts of stock mixed, and have drawn out the turnips in lines to set the hurdles, as is usual, and fed off the turnips and growing corn in wet and dry weather; but find that dry weather, and sheep, is the propertest time and stock; and that sheep and light beasts are the best for light lands, which, on the whole, this method will greatly improve.
"All my experiments have been made without mucking, or any manure, for the turnip and wheat crop; and on those parts where I have fed off at the time it has been dry weather, though with all sorts of stock mixed, and drawing as above, I have grown at the rate of five coomb of wheat per acre, and at the rate of eight coomb of rye per acre; and some was almost totally destroyed by feeding off in wet weather, as I was determined not to desist, that I might know the bad or good effects from feeding off the turnips with the corn in different weather, as well as the different months; all which I shall be able to give information of next year, to those who wish to know. I find the feed nearly worth the cost of the feed corn, which is a material consideration in case you plough the land for barley or other summer corn; but if the wheat or rye stands a crop to your mind, it will do better to harrow it in the spring, at which time you may sow your grass seeds, which I find answer very well; or plough the stubble early in the autumn, and sow with clover or other feeds."
The well-known author of the Annals of Agriculture has given a farther account of this method of cultivation. The idea which led to Mr Walker's experiments was this: Wheat requires a certain degree of stiffness and compactness in the soil upon which it is reared. Of this compactness, sandy soils are apt to be deficient in proportion to the degree of tillage they receive. Hence it occurred to Mr Walker, that if wheat could be sown without any ploughing at all, there would be a better chance of a crop upon certain soils, than after the most expensive system of tillage. Accordingly, in 1784, he executed his scheme on six acres of turnips, which were fed during the succeeding winter by bullocks and sheep, like the rest of his turnip fields, without making the least distinction on account of the wheat that had been sown and was growing among them. It is known, that turnip land, when fed off, is left highly manured and much trodden; and the question was, whether the first of these circumstances would not counterbalance the last? and, whether even the treading itself might not prove advantageous. The success justified the project, and, in 1785, Mr Walker extended it to 35 acres, a part of which was sown with
rye.
251
Culture of particular Plants.
rye. The management was the same as before; the wheat did better than the rye, and the best crop was where the turnips were eaten in the driest weather. In 1786, the same culture was extended to 70, and in 1797 to 100 acres, with complete success; but the crop was not better than that raised in the common way, though in general as good. The effect of this mode of culture, or the profit arising from it, consisted chiefly in this, that upon a farm of 600 acres, the labour of five horses was saved, and at the time of the barley-sowing, when all his neighbours were in the greatest hurry, he was at his ease quietly stirring his turnip fallows. The chief difficulty attending this mode of cultivating wheat arose from the wetness of the season at the time of feeding, as the ground was apt to be too much trodden and poached, particularly when the crop of turnips was very large so as to keep the cattle long upon them. On the contrary, in dry or frosty weather nothing of this kind happened. The greater the crop of turnips, and the more treading that occurred, the crop of wheat seemed afterwards to prosper the better. In a wet season, however, the evil arising from the treading was diminished when sheep alone without bullocks were introduced to consume the turnips. Under this husbandry, the following rotation was used: Two years grass put in among the wheat-stubble, ploughed once, and harrowed both in autumn and spring with the whole dung of the farm; Third year, oats; Fourth, turnips; Fifth, wheat.
2. OATS.
252
Effect of frost upon tilled land.
As winter-ploughing enters into the culture of oats, we must remind the reader of the effect of frost upon tilled land. Providence has neglected no region intended for the habitation of man. If in warm climates the soil be meliorated by the sun, it is no less meliorated by frost in cold climates. Frost acts upon water, by expanding it into a larger space. Frost has no effect upon dry earth; witness sand, upon which it makes no impression. But upon wet earth it acts most vigorously; it expands the moisture, which requiring more space puts every particle of the earth out of its place, and separates them from each other. In that view, frost may be considered as a plough superior to any that is made, or can be made, by the hand of man: its action reaches the minutest particles; and, by dividing and separating them, it renders the soil loose and friable. This operation is the most remarkable in tilled land, which gives free access to frost. With respect to clay soil in particular, there is no rule in husbandry more essential than to open it before winter in hopes of frost. It is even advisable in a clay soil to leave the stubble rank; which, when ploughed in before winter, keeps the clay loose, and admits the frost into every cranny.
To apply this doctrine, it is dangerous to plough clay soil when wet; because water is a cement for clay, and binds it so as to render it unfit for vegetation. It is, however, less dangerous to plough wet clay before winter than after. A succeeding frost corrects the bad effects of such ploughing; a succeeding drought increases them.
253
Culture of oats.
The common method is, to sow oats on new-ploughed land in the month of March, as soon as the ground is tolerably dry. If it continues wet all the month of
March, it is too late to venture them after. It is much better to summer-fallow, and to sow wheat in the autumn. But the preferable method, especially in clay soil, is to turn over the field after harvest, and to lay it open to the influences of frost and air, which lessen the tenacity of clay, and reduce it to a free mould. The surface-soil by this means is finely mellowed for reception of the seed; and it would be a pity to bury it by a second ploughing before sowing. In general, the bulk of clay soils are rich; and skilful ploughing without dung, will probably give a better crop, than unskilful ploughing with dung.
Hitherto of natural clays. We must add a word of carle clays which are artificial, whether left by the sea, or swept down from higher grounds by rain. The method commonly used of dressing carle clay for oats, is, not to stir it till the ground be dry in the spring, which seldom happens before the 1st of March, and the seed is sown as soon after as the ground is sufficiently dry for its reception. Frost has a stronger effect on such clays than on natural clay. And if the field be laid open before winter, it is rendered so loose by frost as to be soon drenched in water. The particles at the same time are so small, as that the first drought in spring makes the surface cake or crust. The difficulty of reducing this crust into mould for covering the oat-feed, has led farmers to delay ploughing till the month of March. But we are taught by experience, that this soil ploughed before winter, is sooner dry than when the ploughing is delayed till spring; and as early sowing is a great advantage, the objection of the superficial crusting is easily removed by the first harrow above described, which will produce abundance of mould for covering the seed. The ploughing before winter not only procures early sowing, but has another advantage: the surface-soil that had been mellowed during winter by the sun, frost, and wind, is kept above.
The dressing a loamy soil for oats differs little from dressing a clay soil, except in the following particular, that being less hurt by rain, it requires not high ridges, and therefore ought to be ploughed crown and furrow alternately.
Where there is both clay and loam in a farm, it is obvious, from what is said above, that the ploughing of the clay after harvest ought first to be despatched. If both cannot be overtaken that season, the loam may be delayed till the spring with less hurt.
Next of a gravelly soil; which is the reverse of clay, as it never suffers but from want of moisture. Such a soil ought to have no ridges; but be ploughed circularly from the centre to the circumference, or from the circumference to the centre. It ought to be tilled after harvest: and the first dry weather in spring ought to be laid hold of to sow, harrow, and roll; which will preserve it in sap.
The culture of oats is the simplest of all. That grain is probably a native of Britain: it will grow on the worst soil with very little preparation. For that reason, as already noticed, before turnip was introduced, it was always the first crop upon land broken up from the slate of nature.
Upon such land, may it not be a good method, to build upon the crown of every ridge, in the form of a wall, all the surface-earth, one foot above another, as in a fold for sheep? After standing in this form all
Culture of all the summer and winter, let the walls be thrown down, and the ground prepared for oats. This will secure one or two good crops; after which the land may be dunged for a crop of barley and grass-feeds. This method may answer in a farm where manure is scarce.
In Norfolk this kind of grain is much less cultivated than barley; and the only species observed by Mr Marshall is a kind of white oat, which grows quickly, and seems to be of Dutch extraction. Oats are cultivated occasionally on all kinds of soils, but more especially on cold heavy land, or on very light, unproductive, heathy soils. They most frequently succeed wheat, or ley ground barley: "but (says our author there are no established rules respecting any part of the culture of this time-serving crop.) The culture of the ground is usually the same with that of barley; the ground generally undergoing a winter fallow of three or four ploughings, though sometimes they are sown after one ploughing. They are more commonly sown above furrow than barley. The feed-time is made subservient to that of barley, being sometimes sooner and sometimes later than barley feed-time: and Mr Marshall observes, that he has sometimes seen them sown in June; it being observable, that oats sown late ripen earlier than barley sown at the same time. The quantity of feed in Norfolk is from four to five bushels per acre; but he does not acquaint us with the produce. He mentions a very singular method of culture
sometimes practised in this county, viz. ploughing down the oats after they begin to vegetate, but before they have got above ground; which is attended with great success, even though the ground is turned over with a full furrow. By this method weeds of every kind are destroyed, or at least checked in such a manner as to give the crop an opportunity of getting above them; and the porosity communicated to the soil is excellently well adapted to the infant plants of barley; which probably might frequently receive benefit from this operation.
In the Vale of Gloucester, Mr Marshall observes, that the wild oat is a very troublesome weed, as well as in Yorkshire; and he is of opinion, that it is as truly a native of Great Britain as any other arable weed, and is perhaps the most difficult to be extirpated. It will lie a century in the soil without losing its vegetative quality. Ground which has lain in a state of grass-time immemorial, both in Gloucester and Yorkshire, has produced it in abundance on being broken up. It is also endowed with the same seemingly instinctive choice of seasons and state of the soil as other seeds of weeds appear to have. Hence it is excessively difficult to be overcome; for as it ripens before any crop of grain, it sheds its seed on the soil, where the roughness of its coat probably secures it from birds. The only methods of extirpating this plant are fallowing, hoeing, and handweeding, where the last is practicable, after it has shot its panicle.
No oats are cultivated in the Vale of Gloucester; though the wild oat grows everywhere as already said. Mr Marshall is of opinion that it is better adapted to oats than to barley. The reason he assigns for the preference given to the latter is, that in this part of the country the monks were formerly very numerous, who probably preferred ale to oaten cake.—He now, however, recommends a trial of the grain on the strong-
er cold lands in the area of the Vale, as they seldom can be got sufficiently fine for barley. The fodder from oats he accounts much more valuable than that from barley to a dairy country; and the grain would more than balance in quantity the comparative difference in price.
In the midland district the Poland oat, which was formerly in vogue, has now given place to the Dutch or Friesland kind. It is constantly sown after turf; one ploughing being given in February, March, or April. The feed-time is the latter end of March and beginning of April, from four to seven bushels an acre; the produce is in proportion to the feed, the medium being about six quarters.
In Yorkshire the Friesland oats are likewise preferred to the Poland, as affording more straw, and being thinner skinned than the latter. The Siberian, or Tartarian oat, a species unnoticed by Linnaeus, is likewise cultivated in this country: the reed oat is known, but has not yet come into any great estimation. The grain is light, and the straw too ready to be affected by cattle.
Oats are particularly cultivated in the western division of the Vale of Yorkshire; where the soil is chiefly a rich sandy loam, unproductive of wheat. Five or six bushels, or even a quarter of oats, are sometimes sown upon an acre; the produce from seven to ten quarters. In this country they are threshed in the Singular open air, and frequently even upon the bare ground, method of without even the ceremony of interposing a cloth. The threshing-reasons assigned for this seemingly strange practice are, that if pigs and poultry be employed to eat up the grain which escapes the broom, there will be little or no waste. Here the market is always very great for new oats, the manufacturing parts of West Yorkshire using principally oat-bread. The only objection to this practice is the chance of bad weather; but there is always plenty of straw to cover up the threshed corn, and it is found that a little rain upon the straw does not make it less agreeable to cattle.
In an experiment made by Mr Bartley near Bristol, Bath Pers. upon black oats, we are informed that he had the pro-fer. vol. iv. digious increase of 98½ Winchester bushels from four P. 281. on the acre: the land was a deep, mellow, sandy loam. It had carried potatoes the former year, and received one ploughing for a winter fallow. Another oats ploughing was given it in February, and the feed was sown on the 27th and 28th of the month. The success of the experiment was supposed to be owing partly to the early sowing and partly to a good deep tillage.
3. BARLEY.
This is a culmiferous plant that requires a mellow Culture of soil. Upon that account, extraordinary care is required where it is to be sown in clay. The land ought to be stirred immediately after the foregoing crop is removed, which lays it open to be mellowed with the frost and air. In that view, a peculiar sort of ploughing has been introduced, termed ribbing; by which the greatest quantity of surface possible is exposed to the air and frost. The obvious objection to this method is, that half of the ridge is left unmoved. And to obviate that objection, the following method is offered, which moves the whole soil, and at the same time exposes the same quantity of surface to the frost and air.
As soon as the former crop is off the field, let the ridges be gathered with as deep a furrow as the soil will admit, beginning at the crown and ending at the furrows. This ploughing loosens the whole soil, giving free access to the air and frost. Soon after, begin a second ploughing in the following manner: Let the field be divided by parallel lines cross the ridges, with intervals of thirty feet or so. Plough once round an interval, beginning at the edges, and turning the earth toward the middle of the interval; which covers a foot or so of the ground formerly ploughed. Within that foot plough another round similar to the former; and, after that, other rounds, till the whole interval be finished, ending at the middle. Instead of beginning at the edges, and ploughing toward the middle, it will have the same effect to begin at the middle, and to plough toward the edges. Plough the other intervals in the same manner. As by this operation the furrows of the ridges will be pretty much filled up, let them be cleared and water-furrowed without delay. By this method, the field will be left waving like a plot in a kitchen garden, ridged up for winter. In this form, the field is kept perfectly dry; for beside the capital furrows that separate the ridges, every ridge has a number of cross furrows that carry the rain instantly to the capital furrows. In hanging grounds retentive of moisture, the parallel lines above mentioned ought not to be perpendicular to the furrows of the ridges, but to be directed a little downward, in order to carry rain water the more hastily to these furrows. If the ground be clean, it may lie in that state winter and spring, till the time of feed-furrowing. If weeds happen to rise, they must be destroyed by ploughing, or braking, or both; for there cannot be worse husbandry, than to put the feed into dirty ground.
This method resembles common ribbing in appearance, but is very different in reality. As the common ribbing is not preceded by a gathering furrow, the half of the field is left untilled, compact as when the former crop was removed, impervious in a great measure to air or frost. The common ribbing at the same time lodges the rain-water on every ridge, preventing it from descending to the furrows; which is hurtful in all soils, and poisonous in a clay soil. The stitching here described, or ribbing, if you please to call it so, prevents these noxious effects. By the two ploughings the whole soil is opened, admitting freely air and frost; and the multitude of furrows lays the surface perfectly dry, giving an early opportunity for the barley-feed. But further, as to the advantage of this method: When it is proper to sow the feed, all is laid flat with the brake, which is an easy operation upon soil that is dry and pulverized; and the feed-furrow which succeeds, is so shallow as to bury little or none of the surface earth: whereas the stirring for barley is commonly done with the deepest furrow; and consequently buries all the surface soil that was mellowed by the frost and air. Nor is this method more expensive; because the common ribbing must always be followed with a stirring furrow, which is saved in the method recommended. Nay, it is less expensive; for after common ribbing, which keeps in the rain-water, the ground is commonly so soured, as to make the stirring a laborious work.
It is well known that barley is less valuable when it
VOL. I. Part I.
does not ripen equally; and that barley which comes up speedily in a dusky soil, must gain a great advantage over feed-weeds. Therefore, first take out about one-third of the contents of the sacks of feed barley or bear, to allow for the swelling of the grain. Lay the sacks with the grain to steep in clean water; let it lie covered with it for at least 24 hours. When the ground is so dry as at present, and no likelihood of rain for 10 days, it is better to lie 36 hours. Sow the grain wet from steeping, without any addition of powdered quicklime, which, though often recommended in print, can only poison the feed, suck up part of its useful moisture, and burn the hands of the sower. The feed will scatter well, as clean water has no tenacity; only the sower must put in a fourth or a third more feed in bulk than usual of dry grain, as the grain is swelled in that proportion: harrow it in as quickly as possible after it is sown; and though not necessary, give it the benefit of fresh-furrow, if convenient. You may expect it up in a fortnight at farthest.
The following experiment by a correspondent of the Bath Society being considered as a very interesting one, is here subjoined.
266
"The last spring (1783) being remarkably dry, I soaked my feed-barley in the black water taken from a reservoir which constantly receives the draining of my dung heap and stables. As the light corn floated on the top, I skimmed it off, and let the rest stand 24 hours. On taking it from the water, I mixed the feed grain with a sufficient quantity of sifted wood-ashes, to make it spread regularly, and sowed three fields with it. I began sowing the 16th, and finished the 23d of April. The produce was 60 bushels per acre, of good clean barley, without any small or green corn, or weeds, at harvest. No person in this country had better grain.
I sowed also several other fields with the same feed dry, and without any preparation; but the crop, like those of my neighbours, was very poor; not more than twenty bushels per acre, and much mixed with green corn and weeds when harvested. I also sowed some of the feed dry on one ridge in each of my former fields, but the produce was very poor in comparison of the other parts of the field."
Where the land is in good order, and free of weeds, Time of April is the month for sowing barley. Every day is proper, from the first to the last.
The dressing loamy soil and light soil for barley, is the same with that described; only that to plough dry is not altogether so essential as in dressing clay soil. Loam or sand may be stirred a little moist: better, however, delay a week or two, than to stir a loam when wet. Clay must never be ploughed moist, even though the season should escape altogether. But this will seldom be necessary; for not in one year of 20 will it happen, but that clay is dry enough for ploughing some time in May. Frost may correct clay ploughed wet after harvest; but when ploughed wet in the spring, it unites into a hard mass, not to be dissolved but by very hard labour.
On the cultivation of this grain we have the following observations by a Norfolk farmer.
The best soil, he observes, is that which is dry and healthy, rather light than stiff, but yet of sufficient tenacity and strength to retain the moisture. On this of barley.
kind of land the grain is always the best bodied and coloured, the nimblest in the hand, and has the thinnest rind. These are qualities which recommend it most to the maltster. If the land is poor, it should be dry and warm; and when so, it will often bear better corn than richer land in a cold and wet situation.
In the choice of your feed, it is needful to observe, that the best is of a pale lively colour, and brightish cast, without any deep redness or black tinge at the tail. If the rind be a little shrivelled, it is the better; for that slight shrivelling proves it to have a thin skin, and to have sweated in the mow. The necessity of a change of feed by not sowing two years together what grew on the same soil, is not in any part of husbandry more evident than in the culture of this grain, which, if not frequently changed, will grow coarser and coarser every succeeding year.
It has generally been thought, that feed-barley would be benefited by sleeping; but liming it has, in many instances, been found prejudicial. Sprinkling a little foot with the water in which it is steeped has been of great service, as it will secure the feed from insects. In a very dry feed time, barley that has been wetted for malting, and begins to sprout, will come up sooner, and produce as good a crop as any other.
If you sow after a fallow, plough three times at least. At the first ploughing, lay your land up in small ridges, and let it remain so during the winter, for the frost to mellow it; the second ploughing should be the beginning of February. In March split the ridges, and lay the land as flat as possible, at the same time harrowing it fine. But in strong wet lands (if you have no other for barley) lay it round, and make deep furrows to receive the water.
"I have often (continues he), taken the following method with success: On lands tolerably manured, I sowed clover with my barley, which I reaped at harvest; and fed the clover all the following winter, and from spring to July, when I fallowed it till the following spring, and then sowed it with barley and clover as before. Repeating this method every year, I had very large crops, but would not recommend this practice on poor light land.
"We sow on our lightest lands in April, on our moist lands in May; finding that those lands which are the most subject to weeds produce the best crops when sown late.
"The common method is to sow the barley-feed broad-cast at two sowings; the first harrowed in once, the second twice; the usual allowance from three to four bushels per acre. But if farmers could be prevailed on to alter this practice, they would soon find their account in it. Were only half the quantity sown equally, the produce would be greater, and the corn less liable to lodge: For when corn stands very close, the stalks are drawn up weak; and on that account are less capable of resisting the force of winds, or supporting themselves under heavy rains.
"From our great success in setting and drilling wheat, some of our farmers tried these methods with barley; but did not find it answer their expectations, except on very rich land.
"I have myself had 80 stalks on one root of barley, which all produced good and long ears, and the grain was better than any other; but the method is too ex-
pensive for general practice. In poor land, sow thin, or your crop will be worth little. Farmers who do not reason on the matter will be of a different opinion; but the fact is indisputable."
When the barley is sowed and harrowed in, he advises that the land be rolled after the first shower of rain, to break the clods. This will close the earth about the roots, which will be a great advantage to it in dry weather.
When the barley has been up three weeks or a month, it is a very good way to roll it again with a heavy roller, which will prevent the sun and air from penetrating the ground to the injury of the roots. This rolling, before it branches out, will also cause it to tiller into a greater number of stalks; so that if the plants be thin, the ground will be thereby filled, and the stalks strengthened.
If the blade grows too rank, as it sometimes will in a warm wet spring, mowing is a much better method than feeding it down with sheep; because the scythe takes off only the rank tops, but the sheep being fond of the sweet end of the stalk next the root, will often bite so close as to injure its future growth.
The county of Norfolk, according to Mr Marshall, is peculiarly adapted to the cultivation of this grain, the strongest soil not being too heavy, and the lightest being able to bear it; and so well versed are the Norfolk farmers in the cultivation of it, that the barley of this county is desired for feed throughout the whole kingdom. It is here sown after wheat or turnips, and in some very light lands it is sown after the second year's ley. After wheat, the feed time of the latter being finished, and the stubble trampled down with bullocks, the land is ploughed with a shallow furrow for a winter fallow for barley. In the beginning of March the land is harrowed and cross-ploughed; or if it be wet, the ridges are reversed. In April it receives another ploughing lengthwise; and at feed time it is harrowed, rolled, sowed, and the surface rendered as smooth and level as possible. After turnips the soil is broken up as fast as the turnips are taken off; if early in winter by rice-balking, a practice already explained; but if late, by a plain ploughing. It is common, if time will permit, to plough three times; the first shallow, the second full, and the third a mean depth; with which last the feed is ploughed in. Sometimes, however, the ground is ploughed only once, and the feed sown above, but more frequently by three ploughings, though, perhaps, the farmer has not above a week to perform them in. After ley, the turf is generally broken by a winter fallow, and the soil treated as after wheat.
269
Cultivation
of barley in
Norfolk.
This grain is seldom manured for, except when sown after ley, when it is treated as wheat. No manure is requisite after turnips or wheat, if the latter has been manured for. If not, the turnip crop following immediately, the barley is left to take its chance, unless the opportunity be embraced for winter manuring.
Little barley is sown by the Norfolk farmers before the middle of April, and the feed time generally continues till the middle of May; though this must in some measure depend on the season; which, says Mr Marshall, is more attended to in Norfolk than perhaps in all the world besides. In the very backward spring
spring
Culture of particular Plants. spring of 1782, barley was sown in June with success. No preparation is used. It is all sown broadcast, and almost all under furrow; that is, the surface having been smoothed by the harrow and roller, the seed is sown and ploughed under with a shallow furrow; but if the season be wet, and the soil cold and heavy, it is sometimes sown above; but, if the spring be forward, and the last piece of turnips eaten off late, the ground is sometimes obliged to be ploughed only once, and to be sown above; though in this case Mr Marshall thinks it the most eligible management, instead of turning over the whole thickness of the soil, to two-furrow it, and sow between. This is done by only skimming the surface with the first plough, sowing the seed upon this, and then covering it with the bottom furrow brought up by the second plough. Three bushels are usually sufficient for an acre.
The barley, as well as the wheat, in Norfolk, is allowed to stand till very ripe. It is universally mown into swath, with a small bow fixed at the heel of the scythe. If it receive wet in the swath in this county, it is not turned, but lifted; that is, the heads or ears are raised from the ground, either with a fork or the teeth of a rake, thereby admitting the air underneath the swaths; which will not fall down again to the ground so close as before, so that the air has free access to the under side; and this method of lifting is supposed not to be inferior to that of turning, which requires more labour, besides breaking and rustling the swaths.
370 In the Vale of Gloucester. In the Vale of Gloucester the quantity of barley cultivated is very inconsiderable; the only species is the common long-eared barley, hordeum seecriton. In this county the grain we speak of is used, on the every year's lands, as a cleansing crop. It is sown very late, viz. in the middle or end of May; sometimes the beginning or even the middle of June. The reason of this is, that the people of the Vale think, that if a week or ten days of fine weather can be had for the operation of harrowing out couch, and if after this a full crop of barley succeed, especially if it should fortunately take a reclining posture, the business of fallowing is effectually done, inasmuch that the soil is cleaned to a sufficient degree to last for a number of years. A great quantity of feed is made use of, viz. from three to four bushels to an acre; under the idea, that a full crop of barley, especially if it lodge, smothers all kinds of weeds, couch-grass itself not excepted. Our author acknowledges this effect in some degree, but does not recommend the practice. "If the land, says he, be tolerably clean, and the season favourable, a barley fallow may no doubt be of essential service. But there is not one year in five in which even land which is tolerably clean can be sown in season, and at the same time be much benefited by it for future crops." The barley in this county is all hand-weeded. It is harvested loose, mown with the naked scythe, lies in swath, till the day of carrying, and is cocked with common hay forks. The medium produce is three quarters per acre. Its quality is preferable to that of the hill-barley.
371 In Cotswold. The common long-eared species is sown among the Cotswold hills. It is sown in the latter end of March and beginning of April, in the quantity of three bushels to an acre, producing from 20 bushels to four quarters
to an acre; "which, says our author, is a low produce. Culture of particular Plants. It must be observed, however, that this produce is from land deficient in tillage; and that barley delights in a fine pulverous tilth."
372 In the midland district they cultivate two species of barley, viz. the seecriton or common long-eared, and the distichon or sprat barley; the latter not being of more than 50 years standing, but the former of much older date. The sprat is the more hardy, and requires to be more early sown; but the long-eared yields the better produce. It succeeds wheat and turnips; but on the strong lands of this district, the crop after wheat is much less productive, as well as less certain, than after turnips; which circumstance is likewise observed in Norfolk. It is sometimes also sown with success upon turf. When sown after wheat, the soil is winter fallowed by three ploughings; the first lengthwise in November; the second across in March; the last, which is the feed-ploughing, lengthwise. Between the two last ploughings the soil is harrowed, and the twitch shaken out with forks; after which it is left loose and light to die upon the surface, without being either burnt or carried off. After turnips the soil has commonly three ploughings; the reason of which is, that the turnips being commonly folded off with sheep, the soil, naturally of a close texture, receives a still greater degree of compactness, which it is proper to break down, to render it porous. The feed time is the two last weeks of April and the first of May; from two bushels and a half to three bushels an acre, sometimes even as much as four bushels: the produce very great, sometimes as high as seven or even eight quarters an acre; but the medium may be reckoned from four to four and a half quarters. Mr Marshall remarks, that the culture of barley is extremely difficult. "Something, says he, depends on the nature of the soil, much on the preparation, much on the season of sowing, and much on harvesting. Upon the whole, it may be deemed, of corn crops, the most difficult to be cultivated with certainty."
373 In Yorkshire. In Yorkshire there are four kinds of barley cultivated, viz. the seecriton or long-eared; the distichon or sprat; the vulgare, big, four-rowed or spring barley; and the hexastichon, six-rowed or spring barley. The first and third sorts are principally cultivated; the winter barley is as yet new to the district. Battledoor barley was formerly very common, but is now almost entirely disused. Mr Marshall observes, that less than a century ago, barley was not saleable until it was malted; there were neither maltsters nor public houses, but every farmer malted his own grain, or sold it to a neighbour who had a malt kiln. Brakes cut from the neighbouring commons were the fuel commonly used upon this occasion; and a certain day for cutting them was fixed, in order to prevent any one from taking more than his share. The case is now totally reversed, even public malt houses being unknown, and the business of malting entirely performed by maltsters, who buy the barley from the farmer, and sell him what malt he may want for his family.
374 In York-shire. To give some idea of the importance of this grain, we shall here state the amount of the revenue which the public draws from an acre of land when cultivated for barley, independent altogether of the profits reaped from it by the landlord and tenant. Supposing an acre
Culture of particular Plants. acre to produce eight bolls of barley, and the whole to be made into ordinary small beer, the taxes paid by it stand thus in 1802.
| L. | s. | d. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 bolls of barley made into malt, allowing 7 bushels per boll, at 1s. 7½d. per bushel of malt duty | 4 | 12 | 2 |
| The whole may produce 40 barrels of small beer, the duty upon each of which is 2s. | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Borough impost which is imposed in Scotland, but not in England, at 1s. 3d. per barrel | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| L. | 11 | 2 |
The uses of this plant have already been sufficiently noticed. It delights in a mellow sandy soil; but succeeds well in any dry loose healthy land, and moderately so in a free loamy stone brash. A stiff clay is its aversion, and it is entirely labour lost to sow it in wet poachy ground. The proper season for sowing is from the last week of May or the beginning of June. It has been sown, however, so early as the beginning of April, and so late as the 22d of July, by way of experiment; but the latter was rather extreme to be chosen, and the former was in danger from frost. In an experiment upon a small piece of ground, the grain of two different crops was brought to maturity in the summer 1787.—After spring feedings, a crop of turnip-rooted cabbage, or vetches, there will be sufficient time to sow the land with buck-wheat. Probably, in hot dry summers, a crop of vetches might even be mown for hay early enough to introduce a crop of this grain after it.
In the year 1780, about seven acres of a sandy soil on Brillington common (8), having been first tolerably well cleaned from brambles, furze, &c. received one ploughing. To reduce the irregularities of the surface, it was rolled; and on the 9th of June in that year, two bushels and a half of buck-wheat per acre sown, the ground rolled again without harrowing.
The vegetation appeared in five or six days, as is constantly the case, be the weather wet or dry. The growth was so rapid, that the fern, with which this land greatly abounded, was completely kept under. About the middle of September the crop was mown; but by reason of a great deal of rain about that time, it was not secured until the beginning of October; hence a loss of a great part of the grain by shedding, as well as some eaten by birds. However, there were saved about 24 Winchester bushels per acre; and, notwithstanding its long exposure to the weather, received no sort of damage, only perhaps that the finest and most perfect grain was the first to fall from the plant. The ground after this had almost the appearance of a fallow, and was immediately ploughed.
When it had lain a moderate time to meliorate, and to receive the influences of the atmosphere, it was harrowed, sown with Lammass wheat, and ploughed in under furrow, in a contrary direction to the first
ploughing. Thus a piece of land, which in the month of April was altogether in a state of nature, in the following November was seen under a promising crop of what is well styled the king of grain, and this without the aid of manure, or of any very great degree of tillage. Nor was the harvest by any means deficient; for several persons conversant in such things estimated the produce from 26 to 30 bushels per acre. As soon as the wheat crop was taken off, the ground had one ploughing, and on the first of September following was sown with turnip seed. The turnips were not large, but of an herbage so abundant as in the following spring to support 120 ewes with their lambs, which were fed on it by folding four weeks. After this it was manured with a composition of rotten dung and natural earth, about 20 putt loads per acre, and planted with potatoes. The crop sold for 138l. besides a considerable number used in the family, and a quantity reserved with which ten acres were planted the following season. The ensuing autumn it was again sown with wheat, and produced an excellent crop. In the spring of 1784, it was manured and planted with potatoes, as in the preceding instance; the crop (though tolerably good) by no means equal to the former, producing about 100 sacks per acre only. In spring 1785, the land was now for a third time under a crop of wheat, it being intended to try how far this mode of alternate cropping, one year with potatoes and another with wheat, may be carried.
From the success of the preceding and other experiments, by Nehemiah Bartley, Esq. of Bristol, as detailed in the Bath Society Papers, it would seem, that the culture of this plant ought in many cases to be adopted instead of a summer fallowing; for the crop produced appears not only to be so much clear gain in respect to such practice, but also affords a considerable quantity of straw for fodder and manure; beside that a summer fallowing is far from being so advantageous a preparation for a succeeding crop.
Pease are of two kinds; the white and the gray. 278
The cultivation of the latter only belongs to this place. Pease.
There are two species of the gray kind, distinguished by their time of ripening. One ripens soon, and for that reason is termed hot feed; the other, which is slower in ripening, is termed cold feed.
Pease, a leguminous crop, is proper to intervene between two culmiferous crops; less for the profit of a pease crop than for meliorating the ground. Pease, however, in a dry season, will produce six or seven bolls each acre; but, in an ordinary season, they seldom reach above two, or two and a half. Hence, in a moist climate, which all the west of Britain is, red clover seems a more beneficial crop than pease; as it makes as good winter food as pease, and can be cut green thrice during summer.
A field intended for cold feed ought to be ploughed in October or November; and in February, as soon as the ground is dry, the feed ought to be sown on the winter furrow. A field intended for hot feed ought to be
(*) A very rough piece of land, at that time just enclosed.
Culture of particular Plants. be ploughed in March or April, immediately before sowing. But if infested with weeds, it ought to be also ploughed in October or November.
Pease laid a foot below the surface will vegetate; but the most approved depth is six inches in light soil, and four inches in clay soil; for which reason, they ought to be sown under furrow when the ploughing is delayed till spring. Of all grain, beans excepted, they are the least in danger of being buried.
Pease differ from beans, in loving a dry soil and a dry season. Horse-hoeing would be a great benefit, could it be performed to any advantage; but pease grow expeditiously, and soon fall over and cover the ground, which bars ploughing. Horse-hoeing has little effect when the plants are new sprung; and when they are advanced to be benefited by that culture, their length prevents it. Fast growing at the same time is the cause of their carrying so little seed: the seed is buried among the leaves; and the sun cannot penetrate to make it grow and ripen. The only practicable remedy to obtain grain, is thin sowing; but thick sowing produces more straw, and mells the ground more. Half a boll on an English acre may be reckoned thin sowing; three firlets thick sowing.
Notwithstanding what is said above, Mr Hunter, a noted farmer in Berwickshire, began some time ago to sow all his pease in drills; and never failed to have great crops of corn as well as of straw. He sowed double rows at a foot interval, and two feet and a half between the double rows, which admit horse-hoeing. By that method, he had also good crops of beans on light land.
Pease and beans mixed are often sown together, in order to catch different seasons. In a moist season, the beans make a good crop; in a dry season, the pease.
The growth of plants is commonly checked by drought in the month of July; but promoted by rain in August. In July, grass is parched; in August, it recovers verdure. Where pease are so far advanced in the dry season as that the seed begins to form, their growth is indeed checked, but the seed continues to fill. If only in the blossom at that season, their growth is checked a little; but they become vigorous again in August, and continue growing without falling till stopped by frost. Hence it is, that cold seed, which is early sown, has the best chance to produce corn: hot seed, which is late sown, has the best chance to produce straw.
The following method is practised in Norfolk, for sowing pease upon a dry light soil, immediately opened from pasture. The ground is pared with a plough extremely thin, and every sod is laid exactly on its back. In every sod a double row of holes is made. A pea dropt in every hole lodges in the slay'd ground immediately below the sod, thrusts its roots horizontally, and has sufficient moisture. This method enabled Norfolk farmers, in the barren year 1740, to furnish white pease at 12s per boll.
In the Bath Papers, vol. i. p. 148, we have an account of the success of an experiment by Mr Pavier near Taunton, on sowing pease in drills. The scale on which this experiment was made, however, being so small, it would perhaps be rash to infer from it what might be the event of planting a large piece
of ground in the same manner. The space was only 16 square yards, but the produce so great, that by calculating from it, a statute acre would yield 600, or at the least 500 pecks of green pease at the first gathering; which, at the high price they bore at that time in the country about Taunton, viz. 16d. per peck, would have amounted to 331. 6s. 8d. On this the society observe, that though they doubt not the truth of the calculation, they are of opinion, that such a quantity as 500 or 600 pecks of green pease would immediately reduce the price in any country market. "If the above-mentioned crop (say they) were sold only at nine pence per peck, the farmer would be well paid for his trouble." In a letter on the drill husbandry by Mr Whitmore, for which the thanks of the society were returned, he informs us, that drilled pease must not be sown too thin, or they will always be foul: and in an experiment of this kind, notwithstanding careful hoeing, they turned out so foul, that the produce was only eight bushels to the acre.—From an experiment related in the 3th volume of the same work, it appears that pease, however meliorating they may be to the ground at first, will at the last totally exhaust it, at least with regard to themselves. In this experiment, they were sown on the same spot for ten years running. After the first two years the crop became gradually less and less, until at last the seed would not vegetate, but became putrid. Strawberries were then planted without any manure, and yielded an excellent crop.
On the Norfolk culture of pease, Mr Marshall makes two observations. "Leys are seldom ploughed more than once for pease; and the seed is in general dibbled in upon the flag of this one ploughing. But stubbles are in general broken by a winter-fallow of three or four ploughings; the seed being sown broadcast and ploughed in about three inches deep with the last ploughing."—In the Vale of Gloucester they are planted by women, and hoed by women and children, once, twice, and sometimes thrice; which gives the crop, when the soil is sufficiently free from root-weeds, the appearance of a garden in the summer time, and produces a plentiful crop in harvest. The distance between the rows varies from 10 to 14 inches, but 12 may be considered as the medium; the distance in the rows two inches. In the Cheltenham quarter of the district, they set the peas not in continued lines, but in clumps; making the holes eight or ten inches distant from one another, putting a number of pease into each hole. Thus the hoe has undoubtedly greater freedom; all the disadvantage is, that in this case the soil is not so evenly and fully occupied by the roots as when they are disposed in continued lines.—In Yorkshire it is common to sow beans and gray pease together, under the name of blendings; and sometimes fitches (probably, says Mr Marshall, a gigantic variety of the erum lens) are sown among beans. Such mixtures are found to augment the crop, and the different species are easily separated by the sieve.
6. BEANS.
The properest soil for beans is a moist and deep clay, but they may also be raised upon all heavy soils. They are cultivated in two ways, either in the old way by broad-cast, or, according to the more recent practice, they
Culture of particular plants. 282 Culture of beans by broad-cast.
they are drilled in distinct rows. Of each of these we shall give a very short account.
When the mode of cultivating beans by broad-cast is adopted, it is to be observed, that as this grain is early sown, the ground intended for it should be ploughed before winter, to give access to the frost and air; beneficial in all soils, and necessary in a clay soil. Take the first opportunity after January, when the ground is dry, to loosen the soil with the harrow first described, till a mould be brought upon it. Sow the seed, and cover it with the second harrow. The third will smooth the surface, and cover the seed equally. These harrows make the very best figure in sowing beans: which ought to be laid deep in the ground, not less than six inches. In clay soil, the common harrows are altogether insufficient. The soil, which has rested long after ploughing, is rendered compact and solid: the common harrows skim the surface: the seed is not covered; and the first hearty shower of rain lays it above ground. Where the farmer overtakes not the ploughing after harvest, and is reduced to plough immediately before sowing, the plough answers the purpose of the first harrow; and the other two will complete the work. But the labour of the first harrow is ill saved; as the ploughing before winter is a fine preparation, not only for beans, but for grain of every kind. If the ground ploughed before winter happen by superfluity of moisture to cake, the first harrow going along the ridges, and crossing them, will loosen the surface, and give access to the air for drying. As soon as the ground is dry, sow without delaying a moment. If rain happen in the interim, there is no remedy but patience till a dry day or two come.
Carle clay, ploughed before winter, seldom fails to cake. Upon that account, a second ploughing is necessary before sowing: which ought to be performed with an ebb furrow, in order to keep the frost-mould as near the surface as possible. To cover the seed with the plough is, with regard to this as well as other grain, expressed by the phrase to sow under furrow. The clods raised in this ploughing are a sort of shelter to the young plants in the chilly spring months.
The foregoing method will answer for loam. And as for a sandy or gravelly soil, it is altogether improper for beans.
283 Culture of beans in drills. Previous to the year 1770, beans were seldom sown in Scotland, unless upon the very rich clays; but since that time, by adopting the plan of raising them in drills, or distinct rows, they have been successfully cultivated upon all the heavy loams, and in many farms they now constitute a regular branch of rotation. With very few exceptions, beans are constantly drilled at intervals of from 20 to 27 inches. Of these modes, the last is the most prevalent, because it admits the ground to be ploughed with a horse, in the most sufficient manner. Very little hand-hoeing is given; nor is it required, as the kind of land which is best adapted for their growth, and upon which they are commonly sown, has not naturally a tendency to the production of annual weeds, and fine crops of wheat generally follow, provided due attention has been given to working the bean crop. The necessity of summer fallow, which the present high price of labour, and the loss of a year's crop, render an expensive affair to the farmer, is consequently much lessened: for if land is once thoroughly
cleaned, and afterwards kept in an alternate course of leguminous and culmiferous crops, it will remain in good order for a considerable number of years.
As beans delight in a moist soil, and have no end of growing in a moist season, they cover the ground totally when sown broadcast, keep in the dew, and exclude the sun and air: the plants grow to a great height; but carry little feed, and that little not well ripened. This displays the advantage of drilling; which gives free access to the sun and air, dries the ground, and affords plenty of ripe feed.
II. Plants Cultivated for Roots.
1. POTATOES.
These, next to the different kinds of grain, may be looked upon as the crop most generally useful for the husbandman; affording not only a most excellent food for cattle, but for the human species also; and they are perhaps the only substitute that could be used for bread with any probability of success. In the answer by Dr Are not Tissot to M. Linguet already mentioned, the former prejudicial objects to the constant use of them as food; not because they are pernicious to the body, but because they hurt the faculties of the mind. He owns, that those who eat maize, potatoes, or even millet, may grow tall and acquire a large size; but doubts if any such ever produced a literary work of merit. It does not, however, by any means appear, that the very general use of potatoes in our own country has at all impaired either the health of body or vigour of mind of its inhabitants. The question then, as they have already been shown to be an excellent food for cattle, comes to be merely with regard to the profit of cultivating them; and this seems already to be so well determined by innumerable experiments, as well as by the general practice of the country, that no room appears left for doubt.
284 Are not prejudicial to mankind. The choice of soil is not of greater importance in General any other plant than in a potato. This plant in clay culture, soil, or in rank black loam lying low without ventilation, never makes palatable food. In a gravelly or sandy soil, exposed to the sun and free air, it thrives to perfection, and has a good relish. But a rank black loam, though improper to raise potatoes for the table, produces them in great plenty; and the product is, as already observed, a palatable food for horned cattle, hogs, and poultry.
The spade is a proper instrument for raising a small quantity, or for preparing corners or other places inaccessible to the plough; but for raising potatoes in quantities, the plough is the only instrument.
As two great advantages of a drilled crop are, to destroy weeds, and to have a fallow at the same time with the crop, no judicious farmer will think of raising potatoes in any other way. In September or October, as soon as that year's crop is removed, let the field have a rousing furrow, a cross-braking next, and then be cleared of weeds by the cleaning harrow. Form it into three-feet ridges, in that state to lie till April, which is the proper time for planting potatoes. Cross-brake it, to raise the furrows a little. Then lay well digested horse-dung along the furrows, upon which lay the roots at eight inches distance. Cover up these roots with the plough, going once round every row. This makes a warm bed for the potatoes; hot dung below, and
Culture of a loose covering above, that admits every ray of the particular sun. As soon as the plants appear above ground, go
round every row a second time with the plough, which will lay upon the plants an additional inch or two of mould, and at the same time bury all the annuals; and this will complete the ploughing of the ridges. When the potatoes are six inches high, the plough, with the deepest furrow, must go twice along the middle of each interval in opposite directions, laying earth first to one row, and next to the other. And to perform this work, a plough with a double mouldboard will be more expeditious. But as the earth cannot be laid close to the roots by the plough, the spade must succeed, with which four inches of the plants must be covered, leaving little more but the tops above ground; and this operation will at the same time bury all the weeds that have sprung since the former ploughing. What weeds arise after must be pulled up with the hand. A hoe is never to be used here: it cannot go so deep as to destroy the weeds without cutting the fibres of the plants; and if it skim the surface, it only cuts off the heads of the weeds, and does not prevent their pushing again.
In the Bath Society Papers, we have the following practical observations on the culture and use of potatoes, given as the result of various experiments made for five years successively on that valuable root, the growth of which cannot be too much encouraged.
When the potato crop has been the only object in view, the following method is the most eligible.
The land being well pulverized by two or three good harrowing and ploughings, is then manured with 15 or 20 cart loads of dung per acre, before it receives its last earth. Then it is thrown into what the Suffolk farmers call the trench balk, which is narrow and deep ridge-work, about 15 inches from the centre of one ridge to the centre of the other. Women and children drop the sets in the bottom of every furrow 15 inches apart; men follow and cover them with large hoes, a foot in width, pulling the mould down so as to bury the sets five inches deep; they must receive two or three hand-hoeings, and be kept free from weeds; always observing to draw the earth as much as possible to the stems of the young plants. By repeated trials, the first or second week in April is found the most advantageous time for planting.
In the end of September or the beginning of October, when the haulm becomes withered, they should be ploughed up with a strong double-breasted plough. The workman must be cautioned to set his plough very deep, that he may strike below all the potatoes, to avoid damaging the crop. The women who pick them up, if not carefully attended to, will leave many in the ground, which will prove detrimental to any succeeding corn, whether wheat or barley. To avoid which inconvenience, let the land be harrowed, and turn the swine in to glean the few that may be left by their negligence.
By this method, the sets will be 15 square inches from each other; it will take 18 bushels to plant an acre; and the produce, if on a good mixed loamy soil, will amount to 300 bushels.
If the potatoes are grown as a preparation for wheat, it is preferable to have the rows two feet two inches from each other, hand-hoeing only the space from plant
to plant in each row; then turning a small furrow from the inside of each row by a common light plough, and afterwards, with a double breasted plough with one horse, split the ridge formed by the first ploughing thoroughly to clean the intervals. This work should not be done too deep the first time, to avoid burying the tender plants; but the last earth should be ploughed as deep as possible; and the closer the mould is thrown to the stems of the plants, the more advantageous it will prove. Thus 15 bushels will plant an acre, and the produce will be about 300 bushels; but the land, by the summer ploughings, will be prepared to receive feed wheat immediately, and almost ensure a plentiful crop.
The potato sets should be cut a week before plant. To prevent the grub, with one or two eyes to each, and the pieces not very small; two bushels of fresh-slaked lime should be sown over the surface of the land as soon as planted, which will effectually prevent the attacks of the grub.
The expence attending an acre of potatoes well cultivated in the first method, supposing the rent 20 shillings, tithe and town charges rather high (as in Suffolk), taking up, and every thing included, will be about six pounds. In the last method, it would be somewhat reduced.
"When predilections for old customs are subdued (adds the author), I hope to see the potato admitted in the constant course of crops by every spirited husbandman. The most beneficial effects will, I am certain, accrue from such a system. The advantages in my neighbourhood are apparent; I cultivated and fed my own children upon them, and my poorer neighbours sensibly followed the example. A great proportion of every cottager's garden is now occupied by this root, and it forms a principal part of their diet. Potatoes are cheap and excellent substitutes for peas in soups and broths, allowing double the quantity.
"Although it is nearly a transcript of the directions given by a very ingenious author, yet I shall take the liberty of inserting a receipt for making a potato-soup, which I have weekly distributed among the poor to their great relief.
| s. | d. | |
|---|---|---|
| An ox's head | 2 | 9 |
| Two pecks of potatoes | 0 | 6 |
| Quarter of a peck of onions | 0 | 3 |
| Three quarters of a pound of salt | 0 | 1 |
| An ounce and a half of pepper | 0 | 3 |
Total 3 10
Ninety pints of water to be boiled with the above ingredients on a slow fire until reduced to 60, which require one peck of coals, value threepence. I have added the expence of every article according to their prices with me, that gentlemen may clearly perceive at how easy a rate they can feed 60 of their poor neighbours. I find from experience, a pint of this soup, with a small piece of the meat, is sufficient to satisfy a hearty working man with a good meal. If vegetables are plentiful, some of every sort may be added, with a few sweet herbs.
"I hope my inserting the above will not be esteemed improper; though somewhat deviating from the culture of potatoes, it may possibly be a means of rendering them more extensively useful."
Culture of particular Plants.
289
Methods of cultivating potatoes on small spots.
290
Methods of culture adapted to small farms.
A premium having been offered by the above-mentioned society for the cultivation of potatoes by farmers, &c. whose rent does not exceed 40l. per annum, the following methods were communicated, by which those who have only a small spot of ground may obtain a plentiful crop.
First, then, the earth should be dug 12 inches deep, if the soil will allow of it; after this, a hole should be opened about 6 inches deep, horse dung or long litter should be put therein about 3 inches thick; this hole should not be more than 12 inches in diameter; upon this dung or litter a potato should be planted whole, upon which a little more dung should be cast, and then earth must be put thereon. In like manner the whole plot of ground must be planted, taking care that each potato be at least 16 inches apart; and when the young shoots make their appearance, they should have fresh mould drawn round them with a hoe; and if the tender shoots are covered, it will prevent the frost from injuring them: they should again be earthed when the shoots make a second appearance, but not be covered, as in all probability the season will then be less severe. A plentiful supply of mould should be given them, and the person who performs this business should never tread upon the plant, or the hillock that is raised round it; as the lighter the earth is, the more room the potato will have to expand. From a single root thus planted, very near 40 pounds weight of large potatoes were obtained, and from almost every other root upon the same plot of ground from 15 or 20 pounds weight; and except the soil be stony or gravelly, 10 pounds or half a peck of potatoes may almost always be obtained from each root, by pursuing the foregoing method. But note, cuttings or small sets will not do for this purpose.
The second method will suit the indolent, or those who have not time to dig their ground; and that is, where weeds much abound and have not been cleared in the winter, a trench may be opened in a straight line the whole length of the ground, and about 6 inches deep: in this trench the potatoes should be planted about ten inches apart; cuttings or small potatoes will do for this method. When they are laid in the trench, the weeds that are on the surface may be pared off on each side about ten inches from it, and be turned upon the plants; another trench should then be dug, and the mould that comes out of it turned carefully on the weeds. It must not be forgot, that each trench should be regularly dug, that the potatoes may be throughout the plot 10 or 12 inches from each other. This slovenly method will in general raise more potatoes than can be produced by digging the ground twice, and dibbling in the plants; and the reason is, that the weeds lighten the soil, and give the roots room to expand. They should be twice hoed, and earthed up in rows. And here note, that if cut potatoes are to be planted, every cutting should have two eyes, for though fewer sets will be obtained, there will be a greater certainty of a crop, as one eye often fails or is destroyed by grubs in the earth.
Where a crop of potatoes fails in part (as will sometimes be the case in a dry season), amends may still be made by laying a little dung upon the knots of the straw or haulm of those potatoes that do appear, and covering them with mould: each knot or joint thus
ordered will, if the weather prove wet afterwards, produce more potatoes than the original roots.
From the smallest potatoes planted whole, from four to six pounds at a root were obtained, and some of the single potatoes weighed near two pounds. These were dug in as before mentioned, in trenches where the ground was covered with weeds, and the soil was a stiff loamy clay.
A good crop may be obtained by laying potatoes upon turf at about 12 or 14 inches apart, and upon beds of about six feet wide; on each side of which a trench should be opened about three feet wide, and the turf that comes from thence should be laid with the grassy side downwards upon the potatoes; a spit of mould should next be taken from the trenches, and be spread over the turf; and in like manner the whole plot of ground that is designed to be planted must be treated. And remark, that when the young shoots appear, another spit of mould from the trenches should be strewed over the beds so as to cover the shoots; this will prevent the frost from injuring them, encourage them to expand, and totally destroy the young weeds; and when the potatoes are taken up in the autumn, a careful person may turn the earth again into the trenches, so as to make the surface level; and it will be right to remark, that from the same ground a much better crop of potatoes may be obtained the following year.
For field planting, a good (if not the best) method is to dung the land, which should be once ploughed previous thereto; and when it is ploughed a second time, a careful person should drop the potato plants before the plough in every third furrow at about eight or ten inches apart. Plants that are cut with two eyes are best for this purpose. The reason for planting them at so great a distance as every third furrow, is, that when the shoots appear, a horse-hoe may go upon the two vacant furrows to keep them clean; and after they are thus hoed, they should be moulded up in ridges; and if this crop be to be taken up about October or November, the land will be in excellent condition to receive a crop of wheat. Lands that are full of twitch or couch-grass may be made clean by this method, as the horse-hoeing is as good as a summer fallow; and if, when the potatoes are taken up, women and children were to pick out such fish, not any traces of it would remain; and by laying it on heaps and burning it, a quantity of ashes would be produced for manure.
After ploughing, none should ever dibble in potatoes, as the persons who dibble, plant, or hoe them, will all tread the ground; by which means it will become so bound, that the young fibres cannot expand, as has been already observed. Good crops have indeed been obtained by ploughing the land twice, and dropping the plants in every other furrow, and by hand-hoeing and earthing them up afterwards as the gardeners do peas; but this method is not equal to the other.
Vacant places in hedge-rows might be grubbed and planted with potatoes, and a good crop might be expected, as the leaves of trees, thorns, &c. are a good manure, and will surprisingly encourage their growth, and gratify the wishes of the planter; who by cultivating such places, will then make the most of his ground, and it will be in fine order to receive a crop of corn the following year.
Accounts