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clods together, which in a manner are perfeftly in- 

 diflbluble, till by being expofed to the viciffitudes of 

 the air, the roots within rot and decay, and the clods, 

 almoft by their own gravity, with little or no exter- 

 nal preffure, expand of thennfelves into fmall criinfi- 

 bles, and are reduced to a perfedl (late of pulveriza- 

 tion, which is as far as tillage can go. 



The deftroying of weeds, however, is not the only 

 immediate benefit accruing from a due ftate of til- 

 lage; grubs, beetles, worms, and maaggots of many 

 different kinds, which abound in many fields, may 

 be greatly diminifhed, if not entirely extirpated and 

 deftroyed, by the well-timed ufe of the plough, and 

 its auxiliary inftruments necefTary to the reduction 

 and due pulverization of the foil. Nothing fo ef- 

 fectually prevents the ravages of the feveral tribes 

 of fubterraneous infeds, as the frequent ftirring and 

 crumbling the ground; I have had large patches of 

 feveral poles fquare in a field of beans deftroyed by 

 the grub of the cock-chaffer; and many hundreds of 

 cabbage plants by a kind of grey grub of lefs fize. 

 'Both thefe execute their mifchief under ground. 

 The firfl: eat the roots of the beans even when in 

 kid, when they wither, fall, and die; the latter bites 

 off the ftem of the plant juft under he furface, and 

 does infinite mifchiefs; but I have always found 

 tillage, duly performed, deftroy the whole race. 



The 



