Chap.!. BARLEY, OATS, AND RYE. 297 



SECT. ly. 



Experiments en barky, by bis Excellency M. B i E L i N s K i, grand 



marjlial of Poland. 



Bielinfki gives the following account of this expefimeut, in a 

 letter to M. Duhamel. 



" On the I ith of May, I plowed and made into beds, with our 

 ** common plough, about fix hundred fquare perches of a large 

 *' field near the gate of my caftle. This fituation gave me an op- 

 " portunity of overfeeing the work myfelf. 



" The foil is very good, neither too ftrong nor too light; and 

 " as it was near my (tables, it had been frequently dunged. It 

 *' bore wheat the preceding year, and had been plowed twice after 

 " harveft. I fowed it with barley on the 12th of May, with the drill- 

 "plough. It took 159 Paris pints, and would have required about 

 *' 720, if it had been fowed in the common way: confequently here 

 " was a faving made of near three fourths of the feed. 



•' On the firft of June, the barley feeming ftrong enough, I horfe- 

 " hoed the alleys for the firft time, with the light plough. The 

 <' beds were but four feet wide; deducing from which eight inches, 

 " for the fpace where the barley grew, there remained three feet 

 " four inches for the alleys, which I at firft thought very fufficient 

 *' for all the necefl/ary hoeings : but notwithilanding all the care that 

 *' could be taken, fome parts of the rows were carried off" by the 

 " plough, and others were covered with earth. At lead one fixth 

 " of the crop was loft by this accident. During all June, and part 

 *' of July, my barley promifed well, and branched confiderably. 

 *' Every plant that I examined had from 12 to 20 ears, which were 

 " eafily diftinguiflied from the barley fown in the common way, by 

 ** their largenefs, and the deep green colour of their blades. 



" The fecond and third hoeings were performed on the 12th of 

 " June and 1 5th of July, with the cultivator, which did not 

 *' damage the rows fo much as the light plough had done. 

 - " July was an exceeding hot month. By the r5th, the plants 

 " feemed to fufter by it, and the extreme fultry heat of the laft days 

 " of that month put an entire ftop to their vegetation. They lan- 

 *' guiflied afterwards, and the lower ftalks withered before the grain 

 " was well formed. The birds too preyed upon it : fo that I was 

 " forced to cut it down in the beginning of Auguft. To complete 



Q^ " tlie 



