236 EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT, Partll. 



them, I was forced to give up the tafk. Their length and thicknefs 

 was anfwerable to their number. 



" I muft now remind the reader of what I faid before, that the 

 feveral accidents which I met with in my firft experiments, fhewed 

 me it was neceffary to increafe the quantity of the feed. I did fo, 

 byfmall degrees, from year to year. It is equally important for the 

 fuccefs of the new culture, not to run into another extreme by load- 

 ing the earth with more plants than it can nourish: the crop would 

 be confiderablv diminiihed thereby. 



" It appears from this experiment, that the plants of the clufters 

 which were fowed with fix grains, did not hurt one another: on the 

 contrary, their bsing fown in that manner proved an advantage, lince 

 they produced much more than the others : whence it follows, that 

 one may, without danger, extend the quantity of the feed beyond the 

 limits of the principles of the new hufbandry. Its principles are not 

 the lefs true : but they leave the farmer at liberty to ufe his own pru- 

 dence in the application of them, according to the nature of the 

 foil. 



" Thofe principles, which fuppofe that every plant is to fubfift tiU 

 harveft, reduce the feed to a very fmall quantity : but numbers of 

 accidents dellroy many of them. Our realbn ought confequently to 

 tells us, that, without deviating too much from the principles we 

 adopt, we may, and fliould judicioufly flock our land with a fuf- 

 ficient number of plants, in order to guard againfl unavoidable ac- 

 cidents. 



" Still I may be afked, what is that fufhcient quantity ? I anfwer, 

 that our experiment fhews that fowing (ix grains together in a cluf- 

 ter, from fix to fix inches, all the length of the rows, will not be 

 found too thick. By follov/ing this rule, one may be almoft certain 

 that the whole ground will be flocked with a proper number of 

 plants. This ovight, however, to be looked upon only as a general 

 propofition, which it will often be proper to. deviate from ia 

 the circumflances we are going to mention : 



** When the fowmg feafon is favourable. 



*' When the land is well prepared. 



** In countries ichere the winter is feldomfevcre. 



" When the land is but little liable to infeBs. 



** When the land is not in danger of being hurt by too much drought 



or too much wet. And laflly, 

 ** When the land is good and very fertile,. In 



