R 



V/ the farmers in every county, it being fo oppofite 

 to their accullomed pradice, that they cannot be pre- 

 vailed upon to make trial of it ; and indeed, by the 

 abiurdity of the author in a few particulars, he has 

 dilcouraged many from engaging in it, who would 

 have praclifed it ; but upon finding Mr. Tull pofi- 

 tively afferting, that the fame land would nourifli the 

 fame fpecies of plants without changing the crops for 

 ever, and this without manure, which being contrary 

 to all experience, led them to believe his other prin- 

 ciples had no better foundation. And he praftiled this 

 method of fowing the fame fpecies upon the fame 

 ground, till his crops failed, and were much worfe 

 than thofe of his neighbours who continued their old 

 method of hufl3andry, and hereby his horfe-hoeing huf- 

 bandry was ridiculed by them, and laid afide by gen- 

 tlernen who were engaging in it. But notwithftanding 

 thefe and fome other particulars which have been ad- 

 vanced by Mr. Tull, yet it is much to be wifhedthat 

 this new hufbandry might be univerfally pradifed ; 

 for fome few perfons who have made fufficient trial of 

 it, have found their crops anfwer much better than 

 in the common or old method of hufbandry -, and 

 the French, who have learned it from Mr. Tull's 

 book, are engaging in the pradice of it with greater 

 ardour than thofe of our own country : and although 

 they had not the proper inftruments of agriculture 

 for the performance, and met with as ftrong oppofi- 

 tion from the perfons employed to execute the bufi- 

 neft as in England, yet the gentlemen feem deter- 

 mined to perfift in the pradtice of it, though as yet 

 few of their experiments have had the fuccefs they 

 hoped for i partly from the aukwardnefs of their la- 

 bourers, and partly from their averfenefs to pradlife 

 this hufbandry, and alfo from their being made in 

 land not well conditioned, but yet their produce has 

 been equal to that of the old hufbandry ; and they fay, 

 that if the produce of the land in the new method of 

 hufbandry does not exceed that in the old way, yet 

 by faving feven parts from eight of the feed Corn, it 

 is a great affair to a whole country, efpecially in times 



> 



^ 



t^-j 



of fcarcity* 



As Mr. Tull has given a full direftions for the prac- 

 tice of this hultandry, I fhall refer the reader to his 

 book for inftrudtion, and fli all only mention two or 

 three late experiments which have been made in his 

 method, whereby the utility of it will more fully 

 appear. : * 



The firfl was in afield of Wheat, which was fpwn^ 

 partly in broad-cafl in the common method, and partly 

 according to TuU's method -, the fpots thus fown were 

 not regular in lands, but interfperfed indifferently in 

 many direftions. Thofe parts of the field in TuU's 

 method, were in rows at two feet diflance, and flood 



(7 



T 



The produce of an acre of Wheat is various, accord- 

 ing to the goodncis of the foil. In Ioidc ot rhc 

 flvaliow, chalky, down lands where there have bct-n 

 near four buflicls of Corn lown, I have known the 

 produce not more than double of the iced ; but when 

 this is the cafe, the farmer had mucli better lee his 

 land lie wafte, fince the produce will not defray the 

 expence, lb tliat more than the rent of the land is 

 lolt ; and although thefe forts of crops are frequently 

 feen on fuch land, yet fuch is the pallion for plou^^'i- 

 ing among the hulbandmen at prelent, that if they 

 were not reftrained by their landlords, they would in- 

 troduce the plough into every field, notwithftandin 

 they arefure to lofe by it. 



But although the produce of thefe poor downs is fo 

 fmall, as before related, yet upon good land, where 

 the Corn has flood thin upon the ground, I have 

 known eight or ten quarters reaped from an acre, over 

 the whole field, and fometimes much more. And I 

 have been informed by perfons of great credit, that on 

 good land, which was drilled and managed with the 

 horfe-hoe, they have had twelve quarters from an acre 

 of land, which is a great produce j and this is with 

 greater certainty, if the fealbns prove bad, than can 

 be expefted by the common hufbandry. 

 The finell field of Wheat I ever yet faw, was fown in 

 rows at a- foot and a half diflance -, the allowance of 

 feed to this field was three gallons, and by the com- 

 mon praftice of the farmers, there is feldom lels than 

 three bufhels, which is eight times the quantity : this 

 "Wheat was hoed by the hand twice in the fpring, 

 which cofl five fhillings and fix-pence per acre. When 

 the Corn was in ear, it was not lefs than fix feet hieh ; 

 there were from twelve to twenty flalks on each root, 

 which were fo ftrong as to all fland upright j the ears 

 were very long, the ground perfeftly clean from weeds, 

 and the produce was more than eleven quarters to an 



. acre of land. Thefe experiments, one fhould imagine, 

 would excite an induftry among farmers to the prac- 

 tice ; but on the contrary, not one of thofe in the 

 neighbourhood would follow it. . ..,,|;- ■ •- .^^ ■- 

 The price of Corn varies continually, and this vari- 

 ation is often very great in the fpace of one or two 

 years ; fo that from Jbeing fo cheap, as that the far- 



;;__mers could not pay their rents, in the compafs of a 

 : .year or two the price has been doubled ; for one or two 



:t plentiful harvefts have lowered the price of Wheat fo 

 much, as to make it difficulty for the needy farmer to 



^ * 



vj' thin in the rows. 



Wheat 



thefe 



^^^ fpots had from ten to thirty ftalks on a root," and 

 V- "continued upright till it was reaped; ^whereas few of 



Vi-go on with his bufinefs who wants ready money for his 

 crops, as fooh as he can prepare them for the market. 

 This has eftablilhed a fet of people called dealers in 

 Corn, who have taken the advantage of the farmer's ' 

 necelEty, and engroffed their Corn to keep it for bet- 



t, " ter markets ; and thefe dealers have of late years in- 



;.h;creafed fo greatly in their numbers, to the great pre- 

 jK judice of the raifers and confumers of Corn, as may in 

 «^;;,time prove fatal to the country, by monopolizing the 

 the roots in the*^common method had more "than two I -j- greatefl part of the produce, and then fet their own 

 or three flalks, and thefe were moll of them lodged ,; price upon it ; fo that between thefe Corn-faftors as 

 before harvefl ; fo' that upon trial of the grain when - they are, called, and the diftillers, the price of bread 

 > threfhed, there was near a third part more ia weight ., may be too great for the labouring poor ; which is an 

 and meafure, than from the fame extent of grpund, |^: affair which requires more public attention than has 

 ii* taken in the befl part of the field fown in the comm^^ 



/fc way.^r0^4\ . "3,lo?i-'-^^ vH^.v ..-^^i- ^rr:--,-^ r^Vi \ 

 Another trial Was made in fowing of the Corn in 



.M 





,, yet been given to it. . 

 . ., The French are building public granaries for the con- 

 fervation of their Corn, in mofl of their provinces ; 



'"* 



+ 

 1. 



■ 



rows at different diftances, with fome fown in two j for as in fome years they have great plenty of Corn, 

 T^-irrc ^f i-Vi#» rrrnnnrl Krn^rl-r^fl. The pvent was* that I and at othcr time as preat fcarcitv, they are contriv- 





' parts of the ground broad-caft. The event was, that 

 :rall which was fown broad-caft in the ufual way was 

 lodged, as was alfo moft of that where the rows were 



-rT-i 



ViT. 



ing to prevent any great want of it, . ,- . 



^. When the Wheat is fold much under four fnillings 



fix or nine inches afunder ; thofe which flood a foot I . the bufhel, the farmer cannot pay his rent and live ; 



• « 



* * 



■^ diflance efcaped better, but the rows two feet afun- 

 * der were the befl, and the produce much greater than 

 any of the other •, which plainly fhews the abfurdity 

 of that pVadtice, in fowing a great quantity of feeds 

 to have a better produce, which is the opinion of moft 

 of the old farmers j and it was formerly the prevail- 

 ing opinion among gardeners, who allowed near eight 

 times the quantity of feeds for the fame fpace of 

 ' ground as is ap^^ufually fpwn, and thefe crops are 



:-: greatly fuperior to.any gf thoXe^ 



nor can the poorer fort of people afford to purchafe 

 good bread, when the Wheat is fold at a price much 

 higher than fix fhillings the bufhel ^ therefore when it 

 it is at a medium between thefe, there can be no great 

 caufe of complaint on either fid?. , 



TRIUMFETTA. ' Plum. Nov. Gen. 40. tab. S. 



Lin. Gen. Plant. 529. 



V • » 



«. I .* ** 



E « 





*-*« 



>^U-f 





> A 



1 ^ 



; The Characters are, 



^^^he flower has no empalcment '^ ii has five linear y erea^ 



X^p^k^ufe petals^ wbiik are cqmavey and turn inward \H 



I « 



