58 



The following general rules regarding the depth of 

 ploughing, have been recommended from various re- 

 spectable quarters, and as the subject is of infinite im- 

 portance, it cannot well be too much inculcated, nor re- 

 presented in too many points of view. 



Maxims as to deep Ploughing'. 



i. The depth which land ought to be ploughed, ought to 

 be regulated by the depth of soil, and the means of impro- 

 ving it i when the soil is deep, whether light or clay, it 

 ought to be ploughed as deep as a pair of horses can go, 

 and at some seasons perhaps it might be advantageous to 

 plough it with four horses i but where the land is thin 

 and poor, and the means of enriching it scanty, I should 

 recommend the depth of ploughing to be in proportion 

 to the quantity of manure. [Mr Rennie, Fantassie.] a. 

 Deep ploughing is highly advantageous upon every soil, 

 and for all crops, except on those soils where the sub- 

 stratum is of an ochry sand, which soils, in fact, are 

 scarce worthy of being cultivated, unless in situations, 

 where much alluvial compost, or short town manure, can 

 be procured. [Mr Brown, Markle.] 3. It is a general 

 rule never to plough so deep as to go through the soil, 

 excepting upon fallow, and that only when you have 

 plenty of lime or dung to add to the new soil. [Mr 

 Murray, Kirk landh ill. J 4. Deep ploughing is certainly 

 liable to this objection, that it requires more manure to 

 enrich a greater body of cultivated soil, than it would do 

 to enrich a lesser ; yet land when ploughed shallow, is 

 more easily accessible to drought, as the larger the quan. 

 tity of wrought land, the longer must the moisture be re- 

 tained. 5. Farmers who follow the practice of deep 

 ploughing, find a great advantage from it, both in dry and 



