2i8 EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT^ Part 11^ 



EXPERIMENT. No. XVIII. 



*' V\7E fawbythe 15th experiment in 1753. (p. 176.) that the fields 



^^ which I had fowed, with the drill-plough, in equally diftant 

 rows, yielded very little corn. I mentioned the caufeSjwhich I knew. 

 I have not yet had time to form them into beds, by which means I 

 fhall certainly remedy the cohefion of the foil, and without which 

 thofe lands will never yield any other than poor crops, as they have 

 almoft always done whilft cultivated in the old way, which is infi- 

 nitely lefs fit for lands that require a great deal of flirring, than for 

 fuch as are naturally fruitful. 



" I hope I fhall be able to begin next year to pradlife the new huf- 

 bandry in this farm. I fhould have done it before now, if I could 

 have made any ftay there : but as I could not, I have only continued 

 to fow it with the drill plough in equally diftant rows. 

 - **I fhall mention another fmall farm, on which no dung or any 

 other kind of manure was ufed, though its lands, at leaft the great- 

 eft part of them, are but very indifferent. 



" I fowed thefe lands towards the end of Augufl and the beginning 



of September, in pretty hot and dry weather. The whole extent 



of this little farm is between. 22 and 23 acres, which ufed to take 



up 4662 pounds of feed: but only 1950 pounds were employed 



now. 



" Some places looked well enough : but in general the wheat came 

 up thin. I was however very well fatisfied with my crop, v/hich 

 yielded about 1 3000 pounds of extreme fine wheat, fo clean that it 

 wanted no fifting. If I had not fowed with the drill-plough, I fhould 

 fcarcely have reaped more than barely the feed : for that was the cafe 

 with all my neighbours, who had only about their feed and half as 

 much over; and many of their crops yielded ftill lefs. It is not to 

 be fuppofed that I fhould have fared better than them, if I had fol- 

 lowed the old way, as they did. . .noii ; 



A K- 



