GENERAL RULES FOR PLOUGHING. 441 



furrow-slice exhibits a narrower surface than it should have, it 

 has been covered with a broader slice than it should be ; and 

 where it displays a broader surface than it should, it is so exposed 

 by a narrower slice than it should be, lying upon it. The fur 

 row-slices should have their back and face parallel ; and to dis 

 cover this property requires rather minute examination after the 

 land has been ploughed ; but it is easily ascertained at the time 

 of ploughing. The ground, on being ploughed, should feel 

 equally firm under the foot at all places; for slices in a more 

 upright position than they should be not only feel hard and 

 unsteady, but will allow the seed corn to fall down between 

 them and become buried. Furrow-slices in too flat a state 

 always yield considerably to the pressure of the foot ; and they 

 are then too much drawn, and afford insufficient mould for the 

 seed. Furrow-slices should lie over at the same angle ; and it 

 is demonstrable that the largest extent of surface exposed to the 

 action of the air is when they are laid over at an angle of 45, 

 thus presenting crests in the best possible position for the action 

 of the harrows. Crowns of ridges, formed by the meeting of 

 opposite furrow-slices, should neither be elevated nor depressed, 

 in regard to the rest of the ridge, although ploughmen often 

 commit the error of raising the crowns too high into a crest the 

 fault being easily committed by not giving the feered &quot; (that is, 

 the first, or marking-out slices) &quot;furrow-slices sufficient room to 

 meet, and thereby pressing them upon one another. The furrow- 

 brows should have slices uniform with the rest of the ridge ; but 

 ploughmen are very apt to miscalculate the width of the slices 

 near the sides of the ridges ; for if the specific number of furrow- 

 slices into which the whole ridge should be ploughed are too 

 narrow, the last slice of the furrow-brow will be too broad, and 

 will therefore lie over too flat ; and should this too broad space 

 be divided into two furrows, each slice will be too narrow, and 

 stand too upright. When the furrow-brows are ill made, the 

 mould-furrows cannot be proportionately ploughed out ; because, 

 if the space between the furrow-brows is too wide, the mould- 

 furrows must be made too deep, to fill up all the space, and vice 

 versa. Tf the furrow-brow slices are laid too flat, the mould- 

 furrows will be apt to throw too much earth upon their edges 

 next the open furrow, and there make them too high. When 

 the furrow-brows of adjoining ridges are not ploughed alike, one 



