SUBSOIL-PLOUGHING CONNECTED WITH THOROUGH-DRAINING. 131 



I consider it prudent to have in every five acres one leading drain, 

 with an outlet into the main open one : the mouths of the outlets 

 should be of wood kyanized, with a swing-door for the sake of 

 preventing the possibility of the outlet being trodden up, or 

 destroyed by frost acting upon the tiles. 



&quot; The above particulars have been given somewhat at length, 

 from the conviction of the great importance of effectual drainage, 

 and that, without it, subsoil-ploughing will do more harm than 

 good. 



&quot; The first process, after the drains were complete, was in the 

 months of March and April, to pare and burn, and to sow rape 

 and turnips, drilled with half-inch bones and soot in the follow 

 ing month. The crop was not at all regular, being good where 

 the soil was deep and black, but very bad where it was sandy ; 

 the sole being hard, and the action of the sun having great 

 power to the very roots of the plants. 



&quot; In the winter of the same year, after the turnips and rape 

 were consumed, I ploughed the land in the direction of the old 

 furrows j and the subsoil-plough followed, worked by two oxen 

 and four horses, loosening the hard, sandy sole on the higher 

 ground, and tearing up the roots of the rushes, &c., on the low. 

 In this state the land lay till the month of April following, 

 when Finlayson s drag-harrow was applied across the plough- 

 ings, which brought up all the roots and rubbish to the surface : 

 these were then raked off and burnt. I then sowed the black 

 Tartarian oats, and ploughed them in : the ground was then 

 harrowed and pressed down with a clod-crushing roller, made by 

 Mr. Croskill, of Beverley, which implement has been of the 

 greatest service to me in almost every stage and crop. It has 

 been the means of consolidating the earth, which would other 

 wise have been too light, and it has kept the moisture in also. 

 It has a decided advantage over every other kind of roller in this 

 respect, because it leaves an uneven surface instead of a flat one, 

 from which the rain, in sandy land especially, is apt to run off 

 without nourishing or refreshing the crop.* 



&quot; The oats came out very healthy, and had no check : in six 

 teen weeks from the time of sowing, they were reaped, and, 

 when threshed, yielded 10J quarters per acre, 8 bushejs per 



* I shall hereafter describe this valuable agricultural implement. H. C. 



