330 THE FARMER AT HOME. 



fruit is produced from among the immense leaves in bunches, weigh- 

 ing thirty, sixty, and eighty pounds, of various colors, and of great 

 diversity of form. I\ is ususlly long and narrow, of a pale yellow or 

 dark red color, with a yellow farinaceous flesh. Bv.+ in form it varies 

 to oblong and nearly spherical ; and in color it offers all the shades 

 and variations of tints that the combination of yellow and red, in dif- 

 ferent proportions, can produce. Some sorts are said always to be of 

 bright green color. In general, in our climate, we place little value 

 on it ; to most of us the taste of it is insipid, unless it has had some 

 preparation to make it palatable. It is more used in the West Indies 

 than on the eastern continent in corresponding latitudes. 



PLOUGHS AND PLOUGHING in rural economy denotes the 

 stirring and turning over of land with the plough. This is one of the 

 most essential operations in the culture of the earth, and requires to 

 be performed with the greatest care. Whatever, therefore, may be 

 the design of the farmer, or the destination of the ground thus moved, 

 it ought never to be ploughed in a wet state ; because the soil cannot 

 be improved by such labor. Farther, the plough ought to be carried 

 to a considerable depth into the soil ; and, if one turning be not suffi- 

 cient, it will be advisable to pass another plough over the same fur- 

 row, so that the land may be effectually stirred ; when, being thus 

 exposed to the air, its fertilizing properties will not only be consider- 

 ably augmented, but all perennial weeds will be completely eradicated. 

 Deep ploughing, however, is unnecessary for land that has been 

 recently manured with lime or marl, but, on exhausted soils, it is un- 

 commonly beneficial, and has, therefore, been generally recommended 

 by the most skilful husbandmen. 



Ploughing increases the food of plants ; as it opens the soil for the 

 reception of vegetable aliment from the air and light ; and, the sur- 

 face being consequently enlarged, a greater portion of land is thus 

 exposed to its influence. Farther, by breaking up the ground, if it 

 be too solid, and rendering it firm, in case it be too light, this opera- 

 tion greatly tends to improve the earth ; and, as weeds and other 

 vegetable substances are thus reduced to a state of putrefaction, it 

 promotes the nourishment of the new roots. Lastly, ploughing re- 

 moves too great humidity, by forming the land into small ridges, and 

 contributes to the eradication of weeds, as it first causes their seeds to 

 vegetate, and afterwards tearing up the young plants, exposes their 

 roots to the drought, in consequence of which they are deprived of 

 their vegetative power. 



The oldest forms of the plough of which we have any description 

 in ancient authors, or which are represented on monuments or coins, 

 are very simple ; a mere wedge with a crooked handle to guide it, 

 and a short beam by which it was drawn, form the whole instrument. 

 The Hindoo plough, now in use in many parts of India, seems to dif- 

 fer little from the old model. The greatest improvements in modern 



