FLO 



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roots requires it. This is done by 

 passing a plough twice in a furrow. 

 Ground may be thus ploughed to 

 the depth of twelve or fifteen in- 

 ches. But, instead of this double 

 labour of the plough, where la- 

 bourers are plenty, the furrows 

 may be deepened with shovels, by 

 a number of hands following the 

 plough. 



In old countries, where lands 

 have been tilled for a thousand 

 years, and have been frequently 

 manured, the rich black soil has 

 been growing deeper r. id deeper. 

 So that trench ploUjiliiiig bv this 

 time may be very proper in many 

 of their fields ; and even neces- 

 sary to bring up the strength of 

 minuiues, which has subsided to 

 a greater depth than common 

 ploughing reaches. 



But there is only a small pro- 

 portion of our land in this country, 

 to which trench ploughing is suita- 

 ble, or which will well pay the 

 cost of it. In most of our soils, 

 even where the hard under stra- 

 tum, or pan, lies deep, trench 

 ploughing would throw up so much 

 cold hungry earth, and bury the 

 upper tnould so deep, as to render 

 the land very barren at first. The 

 places where it would answer best, 

 are hollows, into which much ve- 

 getable mould has been washed 

 down from the neighbouring 

 heights, which has a black moory 

 soil to a great depth ; and such 

 spots as have been used as gardens, 

 and have been often dug with the 

 spade. 



If labour of men and teams were 

 as cheap as it i« hi some countries, it 

 would be advisable, to give more of 



our deepest soils this culture than 

 we do at present. But wherever it is 

 once begun, it should be continu- 

 ed, at least through a course of 

 tillage ; or else the first ploughings 

 will be worse than lost. The best 

 of the soil would be buried at such 

 a depth as to become almost use- 

 less, unless it were alternately 

 brought near the surface, by after 

 ploughings equally deep. 



Regard should be had to the shape 

 of the land iti ploughing. They 

 who plough a steep hill up and 

 down injure their cattle, and miss 

 of ploughing their land to advan- 

 tage. The furrow that is drawn up 

 hill must be excessively shoal ; or 

 the team much stronger than com- 

 mon. For this reason a hill should 

 be ploughed horizontally ; with fur- 

 rows as nearly parallel to the base 

 as possible. This may be easily 

 done when all the sides of a hill 

 are to be ploughed at once. The 

 rains will carry much of the finest 

 of the soil to the bottom of the hill 

 if the furrows are made up and 

 down. But ploughed the other 

 way, the hentings, or parting fur- 

 rows, will be sufficient drains ; and 

 the water will move so slowly in 

 them, that none of the soil will be 

 washed away. But when a hill is 

 very steep, no turning of a furrow 

 upwards should be attempted. 

 And if only one side of a steep 

 hill is to be ploughed, the furrows 

 should be all cut the same way, 

 the team returning light after each 

 furrow. 



The reader will perceive, that 

 what is commonly called cross 

 ploughing on hills' sides is not ap- 

 proved. But cross-ploughing of 



