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manures. A feature in favour of the Ridge system is 

 that less work is necessary after the planting is com- 

 pleted, and the division between the soil and the 

 subsoil is kept definitely by the layer of dung, thus 

 rendering it easier to plough out the crop when ripe. 

 The two ploughings at the time of planting are ad- 

 vantageous because the land is thoroughly lightened 

 during the operations. When the land is taken in 

 hand in spring it may be necessary to clean it, when 

 the ordinary operations of cleaning have to be carried 

 out. Just previously to planting the land is laid up 

 into ridges by means of a double-breasted plough. 

 The ploughs have to be adjusted so that the ridges 

 are at the required distance apart, as this cannot be 

 regulated subsequently. As a rule it is advisable to 

 proceed with the work of planting immediately after 

 the land is ridged, but the circumstances of weather 

 and the dryness oi the land, together with the natural 

 characteristics of the soil itself, have to be considered ; 

 these sometimes necessitate its being left for some 

 little time. The manure is then carted on to the land 

 and spread along the furrows at the required thick- 

 ness. As soon as the dung is in position the potatoes 

 are laid on it, and the moulding plough splits the 

 ridges so that they are re-formed where the furrow 

 had been. This covers in the potatoes, and the opera- 

 tion is complete. Dung is not always applied at the 

 time of planting, when, of course, the operations are 

 more speedily performed. When dung is applied in 

 autumn or winter the preparations for planting are 



