192 EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT, Part 11. 



caufc this grain remains a whole year in the ground, from the tim& 

 of fowing, till it is ripe. I ufed in all eleven ounces of feed, which 

 foon fprung up, and the plants made very ftrong fhoots; but I judged 

 them too thick. 



*' As this ground had not been plowed, I thought it was proper to 

 aflift the plants otherwife as early as I could. I had them weeded 

 on the twenty-fecond of Au'guft. 



" Thefe plants grew fo extremely thick, that their blades covered 

 the ground four feet round, before winter, in fuch manner that the 

 earth could not even be feen through them. The rows were from 

 a foot to a foot and an half high, and the whole had already fpindled, 

 which made me fony I had fowed fo early : fearing left plants fo 

 forward before winter, as thefe were, iliould be killed by the froft ; 

 and, in order to fecure fome refource in cafe that fhould happen, I 

 ordered part of the bed to be mowed the fixth of November, but did 

 not touch the reft. I muft here obferve by the way, that the part 

 'which was moioed had fenveji Jialks at harvejl. At the fame time I 

 gave the alleys their firft plowing before winter. Upon opening a 

 furrow near the rows, I law fo prodigious a quantity of long roots, 

 interwoven as it were with one another, that I continued to hope 

 well of the fuccefs. 



** Seeing, however, fo many roots uncovered and expofed to the air 

 and froft, I was tempted to fill the furrows up again, in order to pre- 

 ferve them from it : but, confidering that, by leaving the furrows 

 open, the part of the bed in which the plants were, and which had 

 not been plowed, would be much more expofed to the froft, which 

 would then penetrate the earth through its furface, and through both 

 fides of the furrows, whereby it would be greatly divided, and per- 

 haps meliorated more than by plowing, I preferred leaving the fur- 

 rows open, and have had no caufe to repent it. 



" I confidered too, that liippoling thefe roots expofed to the air 

 fliould perifli, which was no more than what I might reafonably ex- 

 pedl; the plants had other roots on t'other fide, which, ftill remain- 

 ing covered with earth, would be fufhcient to fupply them with the 

 neceffary nourifhment till fpring. 



" After winter, the plowings were performed in proper wea- 

 ther, and the bed was weeded. I fliall not repeat the detail of thefe 

 operations, either here or in the following experiments. What I 

 faid of them in the year 1753, may fufRce, as they have not been 

 varied fince. 



•* The 



