I CULTURE OF ANNUAL PLANTS. Parti. 



open mouth to drink in and retain the dew. When the dew- 

 falls upon land that is untilled, the ground being hard, it does 

 not fink deep, fo that the next day's fun carries it off again. It is 

 the fime thing if the land be too light and loofe. There is not 

 a fufficient conneiflion of parts to convey the dew from one par- 

 ticle of earth to another." 

 The Indian corn which is fown in the befl: plowed land, and is 

 afterwards hoed, always hears drought better than other grain, be- 

 caufe the land is prepared to receive and retain the dew. Mr. 

 Evelyn made the following experiment : He dug a hole in the 

 ground a good depth, reduced the earth to fine powder, and filled 

 up the hole with it. A drought came on ; the powder'd earth was 

 moifl to the bottom, when the adjoining land was exceeding hard 

 and dry. 



If feveral rows of wheat are foon in a poor but well plowed 

 land, the blades of the com will turn yellow in fpring, efpecially in 

 dry weather. If the ground bordering upon thefe rows be plowed 

 deep, in fome places near, and in others at a confiderable diftance 

 from the rows, the corn will recover its veidure firfl in the places 

 that are neareft to the new plowed groimd, and afterwards gradually 

 in the others, according to their diflance ; which proves that the 

 wheat recovers its verdure, in proportion as its roots reach the loofe 

 earth. This holds equally true in all plants : for Mr. Tull afiirms, 

 that he never faw a plant in a languifliing flate, when the furround- 

 ing earth has been well plowed ; and that, on the contrary, he has 

 feen plants fo fituated, grow to a prodigious fize. He inftances, 

 amongfl others, a ftalk of muftard, which grew fo high that a man 

 of a common fize could not reach the top of it with his hand. 



In ihort, ftirring the earth about plants while they are growing, is 

 fo ufeful, that in fome parts of Berkshire, and in fome diflrridls of 

 the Gatinois, they hand-hoe their wheat ; and tho' this operation is 

 expenfive, it is affirmed that the crops amply repay all the charge 

 and trouble. How much more profitable would it be if this labour 

 could be done at a lefs expence ? The methods propofed in the fol- 

 lowing chapter, will ihew that it may. 



CHAP. 



