AGRICULTURE. 463 



and smoothing it; the hoe, and spade, for planting and weeding; 

 and the shovel, for removing earth, or other loose substances. The 

 drill, is a machine for planting or sowing seed ; and the cultivator, 

 is a somewhat similar machine, for harrowing, and removing weeds : 

 these machines being worked, sometimes by horse-power, and some- 

 times by hand. 



For gathering crops, the scythe, and rake, are used in hay mak- 

 ing; the sickle, and cradle, in harvesting; the flail, for threshing, 

 and ihefan, or van, for winnowing grain. The horse rake, has been 

 recently introduced in our own country, for raking hay ; and it is 

 deemed a very valuable implement. Machines have also been in- 

 vented for mowing; for reaping, and threshing, and winnowing 

 grain ; and for shelling Indian corn : but excepting for the two latter 

 purposes, we are not certain that they have yet answered the end 

 proposed, the saving of manual labour on a large scale. The mowing 

 and reaping machines, are propelled by horses ; and have points or 

 fingers projecting for ward into the grass or grain, by which it is held, 

 until cut off by a sliding or revolving scythe or knife. 



2. The Preparing of land for Tillage, consists in clearing it 

 of trees, where they are found; fencing it, in proper portions, called 

 lots ; and draining it, where it is marshy ; or irrigating it, if water 

 for the purpose is accessible, where it is too dry. In our own coun- 

 try, the clearing of land is generally effected by felling the trees with 

 the axe ; but sometimes the larger trees are left standing, and merely 

 girdled, by cutting all around them, through the bark, so deeply as 

 to cause their death and decay. In the newly settled portions of the 

 country, the wood is of so little value, that it is piled in heaps and 

 burned, to free the land of its incumbrance. Machines have been 

 constructed for raising and removing the stumps of trees ; but it is 

 considered far cheaper, where economy alone is concerned, to leave 

 them, till they become so loose, by the decay of the roots, as to be 

 easily removed. It is to be regretted that in some extensive districts 

 of our country, scarcely any trees have been left, for ornament or 

 shade. 



The object of fencing land, is either to prevent the access of the 

 larger animals, or to keep them within certain limits. Fences are of 

 various kinds ; as the log fences, of new settlements ; the lighter 

 rail fences, including the zigzag or Virginia fence, and board and 

 lattice fences for ornament ; the stone walls of New England ; the 

 turf and ditch fence, used where stone is not procurable ; and the 

 hawthorn hedge, which decks the fields of England with its annual 

 bloom. Stone walls are the most durable fence ; while they absorb 

 the surface stones, which would impede the cultivation. The drain- 

 ing of marshy or wet land, is effected, by blind drains, which are 

 filled with loose stones ; or box drains, having a free passage, but 

 covered over, with a permeable covering ; or open drains, which are 

 mere trenches ploughed or dug along the surface of the ground. On 

 sloping lands, they should run obliquely along the side, in order that 

 their descent may not be too rapid. 



3. The different modes of Fertilizing the Soil, have been sug- 

 gested, partly by chemical analysis, and geological observation, and 



