rLOUGHFNG AND HARROWING. 51 



who cultivate but a few acres, say from ten to fifty, contentthem^ 

 selves to partake the small pittance of grass which is the pro- 

 duce of a feeble growth, from roots which have been undis- 

 turbed, without culture and almost destitute of nourishment, 

 for a great number of years. Some justify this practice from 

 the uncertainty of getting it so well stocked again with 

 grass, as well as from their incapacity to defray the ex- 

 pense of introducing the necessary operations of the success- 

 ful tillage of such land. And this latter objection may, under 

 certain circumstances, be insuperable. But certain it is that 

 those who have both disposition and capacity to overcome every 

 objection to the breaking up of their old grass, and have judi- 

 ciously and thoroughly introduced grain crops in a proper 

 course of alternate husbandry, have generally been amply com- 

 pensated for all their extra expense and trouble, which this 

 mode of culture requires. 



I am aware that the argument in favor of often converting 

 «ld grass to tillage, does not apply here with the same force 

 that it does in Great Britain ; as laborers are more scarce here, 

 the price of labor higher, and much less is requisite to manage 

 OUT grass crops. But that we may duly appreciate the system 

 of^alternale husbandry here, we should consider that by a judi- 

 cious management of it, the same quantity of labor may not on- 

 ly greatly increase the quantity of grain, while it will also pro- 

 vide us with at least as much grass, and thereby instead of di- 

 minishing, might greatly increase the quantity of animal food. 



Improvement of Lands by PLOUGHiNe anb Harrowing. 



There has been much diversity of opinion ancnong farmers in 

 America, heretofore, relative to the depth of the furrow most 

 likely to improve the soil, and thereby enhance the crop. But 

 this diversity must always have been owing to the want of cor- 

 rect knowledge respecting the nature and properties of the' 

 different soils. 



It is very certain that the depth of the furrow in ploughing 

 should depend on the nature of the soil and of the sub-soil. It 

 is said by a celebrated ,. chemist, that in rich clayey soils, tji? 

 furrow can scarcely be too deep; ajid in sands, unless the gub- 



