442 EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE. 



side of the open furrow will require a deeper mould-furrow thai; 

 the other.&quot;* 



There is no more accuracy and exactness prescribed in these 

 directions, in the execution of this first great operation of hus 

 bandry, than what is actually attained and practised both in 

 England and Scotland. The Lothians, in the vicinity of Edin 

 burgh, and which may indeed be considered as the garden of 

 Scotland, the counties of Northumberland, Lincoln, and Nor 

 folk, in England, exhibit this perfection of cultivation. It may be 

 seen in many other places, but in these on a more extended scale 

 than in others. But such excellence, however, is not attained 

 without very great pains, and, with expert ploughmen, a long 

 course of practice. I shall be asked, perhaps, what advantage 

 comes from this exact mode of performing the work. It might 

 be enough to answer, that, in every species of labor, and in every 

 practical art, what is done should be well done, and perfection, 

 how far soever he may fall short of it, should be every man s great 

 aim. It might be enough to say, that the moral influences upon 

 a man s own character, and life, of habits of exactness, order, 

 care, and neatness, are always great, and of very serious value : 

 but I may confidently add, that the perfection with which land 

 is tilled is of great importance to the crops, and directly con 

 ducive to their perfection and abundance. The man, too, who 

 studies to plough and cultivate his lands in the best manner, will 

 be anxious to have his implements of the best kind, and to keep 

 his team in the best order and condition. Indeed, multiply as 

 we will the excuses for slovenliness, irregularity, and careless 

 ness, there cannot be a doubt that habits of order, exactness, and 

 carefulness, in all respects, are directly conducive to, nay, are the 

 true foundations of, all profitable arrangement. I may add, like 

 wise, that where every thing is kept in order, and all work pro 

 ceeds by rule and system, though these rules may sometimes 

 appear extreme or severe, affairs are managed at less expense of 

 labor and time than in a more negligent and reckless mode. 



The great object of ploughing is to pulverize the soil, to open 

 it to the admission of those great enrichers of the land, and those 

 great instruments of vegetation, heat, light, air, and moisture ; to 

 furnish a penetrable bed in which the roots of the plants may 



* Stephen s Book of the Farm, vol. i. p. 633. 



