CRAP. II.] RUTA BAG A CULTURE. 163 



121. To return from this digression, I am 

 afraid of no bad seasons. The drought, which 

 is the great enemy to be dreaded in this country, 

 I am quite prepared for. Give me ground that 

 I can plough ten or twelve inches deep, and 

 give me Indian corn spaces to plough in, and 

 no sun can burn me up. I have mentioned 

 Mr. CURWEN'S experiment before; or, rather 

 TULL'S ; for he it is, who made all the disco 

 veries of this kind. Let any man, just to try, 

 leave half a rod of ground undug from the 

 month of May to that of October ; and another 

 half rod to let him dig and break fine every ten 

 or fifteen days. Then, whenever there has been 

 fifteen days of good scorching sun, let him go 

 and dig a hole in each. If he does not find the 

 hard ground dry as dust, and the other moist ; 

 then let him say, that I know nothing about these 

 matters. So erroneous is the common notion, 

 that ploughing in dry weather lets in the drought! 



122. Of course, proceeding upon this fact, 

 which I state as the result of numerous experi 

 ments, I should, if visited with long droughts, 

 give one or two additional ploughings between 

 the crops when growing. That is all; and, 

 with this, in Long Island, I defy all droughts. 



123. But, why need I insist upon this effect 

 of ploughing in dry weather ? Why need I in 

 sist on it in an Indian corn country ? Who has 

 not seen fields of Indian corn looking, to-day, 



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