258 EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT, Part II. 



which was not a little (Irengthened by my perceiving that feveral of 

 thefe plants were ready to produce new fhoots, fome of which could 

 juft be diftinguiflied by their wliite point, Icarcely perceptible ; others 

 were about the 12th part of an, inch long, and others a quarter or 

 half an inch : thefe lad: began to look green. 



" Several reafons induced me to think that thefe plants might ftill 

 be ftrong enough to produce new ftalks, efpecially if a little rain 

 fhould chance to fall. I therefore refolved not to fow this field 

 again. Fortunately, a good fliower of rain fell the 29th, which 

 did them a wonderful fervice. I went to fee them foon after, and 

 found the new fhoots confiderably grown : upon which I determined 

 to cultivate the beds with care. By the middle of May, they 

 were grown very fine, were loaded with blades and ftalks, and only 

 feemed much thinner than in the autumn : the ftraw was as long, 

 the ears as big, and as full of grain as the year before. I was obliged 

 to reap this corn early ; becaufe, as the heat of the weather had pre- 

 cipitated the ripening of the grain, it might have fhrunk and fhrivell- 

 ed if I had let it ftand fome days longer. It was cut down the 17th 

 of July, and yielded 1300 pound weight of grain. 



" I am perfuaded that this accident diminifhed the crop by above 

 half; and this is certainly the reafon why it produced lefs than that 

 of 1754. 



" The fhape of this field was irregular on the north fide. The 

 length of the beds in that part decreafed progreflively, fo that thofe 

 next the end were not above three or four perches long. This made 

 the tilling of them very troublefome, becaufe of the frequent ne- 

 ceflity of turning the plough. I ordered this triangular part, which 

 was about a third of the field, to be plowed for fowing in equally 

 diftant rows with the drill-plough. The reft was preferved in beds, 

 as in the preceding years. 



" I fowed it on the 17th of September, with 230 pounds of 

 wheat, which was reaped the 24th of July, and yielded 2080 pounds 

 cf grain. 



EXPERIMENT. No. IX. 



lb. oz. lb. 



For 1754 was iSwed fp. 203.^ 249 12 which yielded 2925 



1755 . . . 3IZ ♦ . . 1362 



J756 , ♦ . 295 * . . 2219 



Year 



