Chap. I. BY M. DE LA CROIX. 127 



thefe trials, imperfeft as they were : but to prove ftill more how ad- 

 vantageous it is to fow the feed at fufficient diftances, I fliall men- 

 tion a little experiment which I made in my garden. I planted in a 

 bed, about thirty grains of wheat, feven or eight inches diftant from 

 one another. Each grain produced its plant, which I cultivated 

 carefully at the proper feafons, and particularly in the fpring : that 

 is to fay, I gave the earth round thefe plants a good ftirring, before 

 they branched, before they fpindled, and before and after they had 

 blofTomed. They grew fo prodigioufly, that one would fcarcely have 

 taken them for common wheat. The flalks were upwards of four 

 feet high, exclufive of the ear; the blades were above two fingers 

 broad ; and they remained thus beautiful till the beginning of July, 

 when they were feized with the rufi. The very day on which I 

 perceived this accident, was exceffively hot and fultry, and had been 

 immediately preceeded by a very thick fog. This, doubtlefs, occa- 

 fioned an extravafation of the fap, I let thefe plants fland till the 

 grain was thoroughly ripe, and then I plucked them up. Their 

 roots were much longer, and fpread a great deal wider than thofe of 

 any wheat in the common way. I reckoned the number of ears 

 upon each plant, and found that the pooreft of chem had produced 

 from 35 to 40, and that many had from 80 to 90 : three, in par- 

 ticular, had 102, 104, and 105 ears, I counted 42 grains in one 

 ear." 



SECT. IX. 



'Experiments made near Giiignes, in the Province of Brie, under the 

 Direction of M. Roussel, in 1755. 



MRouflel prudently began, as we would advife every one to do,. 

 • with fmall experiments. His firft trial of the new hufban- 

 dry was upon a little fpot : but being prevented from attending to 

 it in perfon, many faults were committed during his abfence. On 

 his return, which v/as towards the end of November 1754, he in- 

 quired after his crop, and learnt, with pleafure, that fome grains 

 had produced upwards of 60 ears a-piece, and that many of thefe 

 ears contained 64 grains. This was fufficient to fhew him the ex- 

 cellence of the new culture, which he immediately determined to 

 extend to larger objedls. 



He had no time to lofe. Two contiguous pieces of ground, con- 

 taining 24 acres, had been folded, and were juft going to be- 



plowedi 



