1804. upon Straight! fig Ridger, 449 



ploughed the field agnin, and fowed one half with oafs, and the 

 other half with peis, both which v/ere as good crops as couM 

 be expedled. Perhaps it may be thought that I ihould have 

 fown grafs feeds among the wheat; but it is my opinion, thar, 

 when ridges have been altered, a fecond fa:llowing is neceflary, 

 before the field can be profitnbly laid down in ji^rafs. l^ait year, 

 I Itrnighted a fmall field in the above menrioued way, v;hich 

 ^has anfwered my expeOatioiis to the full. It was fown with 

 grafs feeds, which at prefent promlfc well. 



The advantages refulting from the practice of ftraighting 

 ridges are obvioufly many and great. More work is performed 

 both by plough and harrows, and to better purpofc, in a given 

 fpace of time. Much feed, too, is faved ; for when the ridges 

 are at or below eighteen feet in breadtli, which they oughc never 

 to exceed, two cads will fulfice •> whereas, in their former ftate, 

 three or even four calls will be neceflary in fome parts, and m 

 others, one will be too much. Straighting ridges, and making 

 them all of one fize, alfo greatly furthers harved work, as it is 

 well known, that fliearing^s more expeditioufly performed upon 

 them, than upon thofe that are unequal with one another, or fuch 

 as are broad at one end and narrow at the other. The hit, 

 though not the lead advantage, which I fhall notice at prefent, 

 is, that wheat is not fo apt to canker upon itraight as upon 

 crooked ridges. I will not now inquire how this comes to be 

 the cafe; but leave it to the confideration of thofe who delight 

 in abflradl philofophical refearches : — it is fufhcient for me to b« 

 aiTured from experience that it is fo. 



It is much to be regretted, that the praftlce I have been de- 

 fcribing is nor more generally attemled to. Were landlords to 

 give marks of approbation and encouragement to fuch of thci? 

 tenants as thq^obferve to be adlive and enterprizing, it would 

 hiive a powerful tendency to promote agricultural improvement 

 in general, as well as the particular practice I have been recom- 

 mending. This, however, is a thing rather to be wiOied iot 

 than expected ; for, at prefent, the man of energy and exertion, 

 and the lloven, are treated in the fame manner by the generalit/ 

 of landlords, who confider the receipt of their rents as their 

 whole concern in the matter. Prejudice, too, is a great enen^ 

 to improvement. If an old-faihioned farmer happen to breed a 

 fon rn that line, he is fure to caution him'againlt all innovations, 

 both in principle and practice. * See,' will he fay to him, 

 * what a fortune your grandfather made. Could he have done 

 tliis, think you, had he followed the foolilh notions of fonie 

 farmers now-a-days about ftraighting ridges .-^ ' ^c. Sec. Thus, 

 from time to time, he inftils thefe ideas into the young man, 



who 



