ROL 



ROL 



359 



should be done only in dry weath- 

 er; never, when the soil is so wet 

 as lo stick to the roller. 



No soil will admit of rolling that 

 is very uneven, or much rocky or 

 stony. But small round pebbles in 

 a mellow soil, well pulverised, need 

 not prevent rolling: For the roller 

 will press them all into the soil. 

 Land that is apt to have a stiff crust 

 formed upon it, by lying only a few 

 weeks, I think should not be rolled ; 

 because it will cause the crust to 

 be the more hard and stiff. But the 

 advantages of rolling in a light and 

 rich soil are so great, that it is pity 

 that the practice of it is so general- 

 ly laid aside in this country. 



Rolling, after sowing and har- 

 rowing, will cause the mould to 

 enclose the seeds ; much of which, 

 otherwise, lying in cavities that 

 soon become dry, is apt to fail of 

 vegetating. 



Rolling also fills up ten thousand 

 little cells, which, when left open, 

 are haunts and harbours for flies 

 and other noxious insects ; besides, 

 it has the advantage of destroying 

 some kinds of insects in the opera- 

 tion. It is peculiarly beneficial on 

 this account to a crop of turnips. 

 And some recommend passing the 

 roller over turnip ground, not only 

 when the seed is newly sown, but 

 after the plants are up. 



When a clay soil is sown, rolling 

 bteaks many lumps, or hard clods, 

 which have escaped the plough and 

 the harrow. But an over light soil, 

 which is apt to dry too fast, needs 

 rolling more than any other. It 

 serves to prevent the evaporation 

 of moisture, by making it less po- 

 rous. 



Some of the European farmers 

 prefer rolliiig after the grain has 

 risen to the height of four or five 

 inches. But of the utility of this 

 we are not yet convinced by a suf- 

 ficient number of trials. 



In all kinds of soil that are laid 

 down to grass, rolling is necessary, 

 to la)' the surface so smooth and 

 even as to facilitate mowing and ra- 

 king. And those kinds of sowed 

 corn which are to be cut with the 

 scythe, and raked, should be rolled, 

 that loss may be prevented in har- 

 vesting. VVithout it, a crop of bar- 

 ley cannot be well taken up clean 

 with a rake, especially when the 

 corn is short and small, as I have 

 often found to my loss. Some wri- 

 ters on husbandry think a crop of 

 barley, in particular, will be consi- 

 derably larger for rolling it, as it is 

 a dry seed, that needs to be well 

 enclosed with mould, in order to its 

 vegetating. Lands that are in grass, 

 may be kept even by a yearly rol- 

 ling, which will press down mole 

 hills and other unevennesses, and 

 cause the grass to grow thicker. It 

 will also be an advantage to be able 

 to mow it the more closely. 



"An intelligent farmer maintains 

 that if draining is the first, manuring 

 the second, and cultivation thethird, 

 rolling ought to be considered as 

 the fourth principal operation in the 

 process of agriculture. Its impor- 

 tance indeed, is every day becom- 

 ing more apparent, and new advan- 

 tages are derived from its use both 

 on arable and on grass lands. 



'• Wheat should always be rolled 

 in the spring, after frosts,as it makes 

 the soil adhere more closely to the 

 roots of the plants, encourages ve- 



