Chap. II. BY DE CHATE AU-VIEUX. . 199 



" This field was fowed on the twenty-firft and twenty-eighth of 

 Auguft. Its whole extent took up 360 pounds of wheat, which yielded 

 a crop of 2467 pounds. At firft fight, it feems to have yielded lefs 

 now, than in 1753 : but it muft be obferved, that the beds of this 

 field were of two different ages : thole which now bore their fecond 

 crop, yielded more than in 1753 ; but as the (lieaves were not col- 

 leded fepai-ately, I cannot tell exadlly the difterence of their pro- 

 duce. 



"ReiJeSlmis m the experiments contained in this article. 



*' T Have now given an account of four fields, which produced their 



-*• fecond crops in 1754, all of which were greater than thofe of 

 1753, and efpecially that of the fourth experiment. I am fully fa- 

 tisfied that their produce was proportioned to the preparation of the 

 foil. This obfervation Ihews of M^hat confequence it is to divide and 

 loofen the earth as much as pofilble, by deep plowing and thorough 

 hoeing, in order to bring it to a perfeifl tilth ; which may certainly 

 be done, and that in a Ihort time, by the means which I fliall point 

 out in the following article, 



" Neither our intereft, nor the knowledge \xe would acquire of 

 the produds which the new hufbandry is capable of yielding, fuffer 

 us to reft fatisfied with knowing, for example, what the crop of 

 thefe four fields was the fecond year, and looking upon that as the 

 moft they will ever produce. We ought likewife to examine whe- 

 ther their crop was not diminiflied by caufes which we can account 

 for, and which we may reafonably hope will not take place in other 

 years. 



" By this examination we fliall find, that the year was not a 

 good one for great crops of wheat. There was not rain enough : 

 the corn grew thin, and yielded but few fheaves. The ears Vv'ere 

 indeed full of grain, but the quantity was not fufficient to make 

 amends for the thinnefs of the crop. 



•♦ The wheat was ruftcd in autumn ; and though this diftemper 

 (hewed itfelf in that feafon, in which I think it does the plants leaft 

 hurt, yet it prevented their branching, fo much as they would other- 

 wife have done, the next fpring. I obferved exadlly, that the thin- 

 neft places were thofe where the rtiji had prevailed m.oft. Laftly, 

 the frofts which happened in March, did great damage to the wheat. 

 It is therefore not to be wondered at that the crop was not greater. 

 I hope, and, I flatter myfelf, not -without foundation, that the fame 



fields 



