ENGLISH AGRICULTURE. 131 



thoroughly pulverized by drags, harrows, and rollers. In the 

 third place the weeds are collected, burnt, and the ashes are 

 spread. This constitutes a series of cleaning operations. 

 They must however be repeated, and this is done by a 

 shallow ploughing which is followed by processes contrived to 

 again bring up a crop of couch and other weedy matter to 

 the surface, which again is collected, burnt, and spread. This 

 constitutes a second series of cleaning operations. It is 

 usually now only necessary to subject certain especially foul 

 portions of the field to a third series of operations, and the 

 first part of autumn cultivation the cleaning of the land 

 is ended. 



The second phase consists in carting on and spreading a 

 coat of dung over the surface ; and the final phase consists 

 in covering the dung by a deep winter furrow, which ends the 

 process. 



With reference to this statement of tillages, it by no means 

 follows that it is exactly followed, but, at the same time, 

 what has been given is usual, reasonable, and possible. 

 People often treat their land in the manner indicated, but 

 every farmer knows that the amount of cultivation, and the 

 operations which he thinks necessary, must depend in each 

 case on particular circumstances. Still, if as an examiner or 

 as a practical agriculturist examining a young farmer, he 

 were to describe the cleaning of land as above, I should 

 think he had a reasonably good idea of how to clean land. 



K 2 



