SPADE HUSBANDRY. 131 



cultural operations, losing time is losing money, as the rent 

 must be paid whether the land is carrying a crop or not ; so that 

 in taking one year to fallow the land, and another to grow the 

 crop, two years rent must be charged against the crop, or at least 

 there must be a rent charged against the rotation of crops for the 

 year the land was fallowed. As I felt satisfied that, by trenching 

 with the spade, the land would derive all the advantage of a 

 summer fallowing, and avoid all the disadvantages attending it, 

 I determined on trenching thirty-four acres of my fallow-break 

 immediately on the crop being removed from the ground, and 

 had it sown with wheat by the middle of November, 1832. I 

 may here remark that I did not apply any manure, as I thought 

 the former crop was injured by being too bulky. As it is now 

 threshed out and disposed of, the crop per acre stands as 

 follows : 



. s. d. 



To rent of land, per acre, 2 10 



&quot; expense of trenching, 400 



&quot; seed, 110 



&quot; cutting, threshing, and marketing, 1 10 



Profit, ....670 



By average of the 34 acres, 44 bushels per acre, at &amp;gt; ~ ., _ Q n 



** 1 T 1 f ^ -t^ ^ 



7 s. per bushel, ) 



&quot; The advantages of trenching over summer-fallow are, in my 

 opinion, very decided ; as it is not only cheaper, but, as far as I 

 can yet judge, much more effectual. I am so satisfied of this, not 

 only from the experiments above noticed, but from the apparent 

 condition of the land after it has carried the crop, that I have, 

 this autumn, cultivated about a hundred acres with the spade, 

 and the crops at present are very promising.&quot; 



There are various cases in which the spade husbandry might 

 be most usefully introduced. In New England, especially in 

 Massachusetts, for the support of the poor, several towns have 

 purchased farms, to be connected with their alms-houses and 

 pauper establishments, where there is an opportunity of using to 

 advantage the labor of those persons among the paupers, who are 

 able to do any work, and who are thus made to contribute, in a 

 healthful and unexceptionable occupation, to their own support. 

 This is an excellent arrangement, and the results have in many 



