18381 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



187 



When the miililles of two he.ds are thus ploughed 

 down, or reversed, then the portion hetwecn them 

 will he also broken up, throwinir the slires "out- 

 and-out." and of courfse up the sides of the bed, 

 until closin<i: with tlie last liirrow accurately in the 

 water-furrow. If the whole surdice of the bed 

 should have been go raised by previous plou(>hiiiii:, 

 as to recjuire beiiiir llattened, then the first two or 

 three furrows should be run in the water-furrow, 

 eo as merely to deepen and clean it, throwintj the 

 slices neaflv up to the shoulder, or edi!;e of the 

 bed. This beini; done in two adjacent water-fur- 

 rows, the intermediate space should be cloven, or 

 reversed; that is, ploutrhed downward. In this 

 case the lists, or meeting slices, will be at the 

 shoulders of the beds, and the operation leaves 

 the beds in beautiful form, and irood order. In 

 any mo !e of cleavintj down the bed, the closinti 

 and deepest furrow is always on the crown, which 

 beinjT before the hiirhest, prevents there beino; 

 made too much depression. After running the 

 harrow over, the mark of that furrow will scarce- 

 ly be visible. 



The corn-rows on thr-se wide beds, are easily 

 and accurately laid off. Theplouffhman will first 

 run a flirrow, as near as his eye will fix, at 3 feet 

 from the middle of the water-furrow; and then an- 

 other, in the same manner, on the otherside of the 

 bed. The intervenin<r space he then splits, by a 

 row on the middle of the bed, and then again splits 

 the two side spaces. This will give 5 corn-rows on 

 each bed, with ei]\\n\ intervals, except the water- 

 fiirrow infRrval being about a foot wider than the 

 others. This will be plouiihed open by mould- 

 board ploughs, and thus left deep and clean, at the 

 last working; but this at other times, and the bed 

 intervals alwavs, may be tilled merely by cultiva- 

 tors, or any similarly operating implements, and 

 with as little labor as on land tended entirely le- 

 vel. When small grain is sown, the seedsman 

 takes a bed at two casts, and throws from the wa- 

 ter-furrow always, unless he sows twice over the 

 same ground. Thus, though two feet width in 

 the middle of the water-fiirrow may be considered 

 as given up, and lost to tillage, and direct product, 

 still there is much savintr of labor, of seed, and 

 of crop, wasted before in five times as many wa- 

 ter-furrows. 



This plan I substituted for narrow beds, and to 

 ray entire satisfaction, on low-grounds entirely 

 difierenf fi-om, and far less suitable, than those of 

 Gloncester. The greater and peculiar fitness 

 of the latter is found in the circumstances of 

 the absence of all flooding, and surfice sprini?'- 

 water, the great defith of soil, and the impervious 

 texture of the sub-soil. 



The plan of narrow beds beinir here universal, 

 and also the opinion that such are absolutely ne- 

 cessary to keep the land as much as possible free 

 of water, the fields furnished no subjects for com- 

 parison; except between land on which the opera- 

 tion was executed either well, or very imperfectly. 

 In the latter case, as before observed, the water- 

 furrows are made receptacles and retainers of wa- 

 ter, instead of dischargers ; and the land is as 

 much affected and injured by water, though not so 

 regularly, as if it had been ploughed flush, and de- 

 signed for flat culture. But even where the beds 

 had been well shaped, and the water-furrows as 

 well opened into cross-grips as can be hoped for in 

 extended culture, wherever the sub-soil was reten- 



tive, and no plainly visible descent in the direction 

 of the beds, and whether on land in wheat, or in 

 corn, there were numerous evidences to the eye 

 thai the land had suffered by the water in the wa- 

 ter-furrows or alleys. It cannot be otherwise on 

 such level land, and under the generally existing 

 circumstances. On such land, and so slia|ie<l by 

 plouy'hing, the water-furrows, which receive so 

 much water, must necessarily be too wet through 

 winter, and until late in the spring. But these 

 excessively wet streaks, each say a foot wide, are 

 not more than nine inches below the peri)endicu- 

 lar height ol' the crowns of the beds, and only 

 two feet distant fi'om them, and generally in the 

 same absorbent soil. Under these circumstan- 

 ces, it is obvious, that if any water be in the wa- 

 ter-furrows, and whether standing, or flowing 

 off very slowly, the absorbent higher soil of the 

 beds must be sucking up the moisture like a 

 spontre, and must be thereby injuriously affected. 

 While such a contest is going on, in the sprinir, 

 between the water in the water-fijrrows, and the 

 drying sun and air, much of the land prepared 

 for corn has a sutierficially dry streak, varying 

 from one to three feet in width on the middle of 

 each bed, and which may be perhaps mellow and 

 in fine order; while the sides of every bed, as 

 well as the water- furrows, are still too wet to 

 plough, or for any operation of seeding or tillage. 

 Of course nothing can be done on such narrow 

 streaks, until all the space is dry enough, A si- 

 milar eftect in unequal drying is (bund also on the 

 wide beds. But there, instead of impedinir, it 

 Ibrwards the opportunities flir preparation and till- 

 age. In winter, or early spring, the middle of 

 the bed, to the width of from eight to twenty feet, 

 may be abundantly dry for ploughing, while the 

 lower parts are still much too wet; and the water, 

 perhaps, standing in every water-furrrow. On 

 these middles, the plou(;hing may go on with 

 nearly as much convenience as in the ploughing 

 of alternate lands on a flat surlace; and thus half 

 the field, or more, may be ploughed well, before 

 returning to take the lower parts as they become 

 dry. On this plan, it is essential that the water- 

 furrows be kept clean, deep, and always in their 

 original positions; but so this is done, the remain- 

 der of the bed may be ploughed flush, and in 

 any manner that such and other circumstances 

 may render most convenient or desirable. The 

 extreme outlets of the water-furrows into ditches, 

 beinsT ^&^v in number (compared to narrow bed- 

 ding,) and never changed, may be d<'eply and neat- 

 ly shaped by the spade; and will seldom need lo 

 tie repaired; and therefore are always ready to 

 operate. The reversing of narrow beds destroys 

 the old outlets, and requires immediately a very 

 troublesome operation in opening new ones by 

 hand, which is to be repeated every time the field is 

 broken up; and until the new outlets are so made, 

 the new ploughing has served to make the sur- 

 face basin-shaped, and suited to retain, instead of 

 venting, all the surplus water that may lall on it. 

 The system of draininir in the low-grounds of 

 Gloucester is entirely of the surfi:ice, and almost 

 en'irely to guard against rain-water. Every acre 

 needs surliice-draining, and is, for that purpose, 

 thrown into beds and water-furrows, and when- 

 ever necessary, with shallow cross-grips, and 

 deeper ditches for continually flowing, though very 

 feebly supplied streams. But no inundating streams 



