358 



ROL 



ROL 



wooden ones, are best to smooth, 

 and harden, the alleys in gardens, 

 walks, &c. But wooden ones an- 

 swer better in tillage, when they 

 are sufliciently large. A roller for 

 field husbandry should be five or six 

 feet long ; so that it may perform 

 much in a short time, being drawn 

 by a horse or a yoke of oxen, for ei- 

 ther of which it may be easily har- 

 liessed. It should be made perfect- 

 ly round and smooth, that it may be 

 drawn the more easily, and press 

 the ground the more equally m all 

 parts. And it should be from eigh- 

 teen to twenty-four inches diameter. 

 Being large, the pressure will be 

 greater ; and the surface will be left 

 the more level. 



A spiky roller, or a roller filled 

 with spikes, six or seven inches 

 long, sharp pointed at the outer 

 ends, is sometimes used in the old 

 countries, to pulverise cloddy land 

 in tillage, or to brake and open the 

 sward of grass land when it is bound, 

 and too compact. Aftergrass land 

 is so broken,a top dressing will have 

 the better effect. A roller is some- 

 times armed with circular knives, 

 four or five inches broad, put on in 

 the manner of hoops, the edges at 

 right angles with the axis of the rol- 

 ler, twenty inches from each other, 

 They use these instruments to cut 

 the sward into strips, in order to 

 cut up the turfs with a sharp ironed 

 plough for burn beating. This man- 

 ner of doing the work, is far less ex- 

 pensive than cutting up tlie turfs 

 with the beating axe. But the 

 sward of land to which this instru- 

 ment is applied, ouglit to be ex- 

 tremely level, and free from stones 

 and strong roots. 



Sir John Sinclair has the follow- 

 ing remarks on this subject. "The 

 roller is the most useful implement, 

 for breaking hard clods expeditious- 

 ly, and smoothing the surface of 

 land when in tillage, ever yet in- 

 vented. It is likewise of use to 

 grass lands laid down for hay ; and 

 heavy rollers would prevent those 

 ant hills, by which so many pastures 

 are deformed. Rollers are made 

 of various substances ; as wood, 

 freestone, granite, or cast iron ; but 

 on the whole the two latter are to 

 be preferred. It is of importance 

 that the weight of the roller should 

 be in proportion to the extent of 

 the surface on which it rests, and 

 the nature of the land on which it 

 is to be employed. The best plan 

 is that of having two rollers, each 

 about two feet and a half in length, 

 and both placed in one frame, so as 

 to roll clear of one another. This 

 is the most suitable both for corn 

 crops and sown grass, as it neither 

 tears up the tender soil, nor injures 

 the young plants. Besides the la- 

 bour in turning is much less severe 

 on the frame, and on the cattle. 

 Every farm ought to be provided 

 with rollers of different diameters 

 and weights, so as to suit the seve- 

 ral purposes to which they are des- 

 tined; those of a small diameter are 

 generally applied to land in tillage ; 

 and those of a large diameter, with 

 double shafts to grass lands. Heavy 

 rollers are of great use for destroy- 

 ing worms, slugs, and other vermin 

 in the soil." Code of Agriculture. 



ROLLING, smoothing and mo- 

 derately hardening the surface of 

 land, by drawing a roller over it. 



The rolling of land in tillage 



