178 SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



Ribbing resembles lapping, except that two furrows, instead 

 of one/ are turned upon the same unploughed space. 



Stitching or laying in beds consists in turning two furrows* 

 back to back, and then ploughing alternately on either side, 

 until the bed is from 5 to 60 feet wide, and leaving deep fur- 

 rows between all the beds. 



Trench ploughing consists in making a deep furrow, by 

 ploughing one furrow directly in another. 



Subsoil ploughing consists in breaking up and loosening the 

 subsoil with a plow for that purpose, and without inverting the 

 surface. 



Scarifying or grubbing differs from harrowing only by being 

 performed with a cultivator or similar instrument, which goes 

 deeper into the earth than the common harrow, for the purpose 

 of pulverizing the soil, and bringing up roots and stones to the 

 surface. 



The other operations of tillage need not be described, as 

 they are common and well understood. There can be no 

 question that much of the success of productive agriculture 

 depends upon the perfection of tillage. A perfect tillage 

 requires the combination of patient labor, mechanical imple- 

 ments of the best construction, and skill in the operations. 



A poor soil well tilled may produce better crops than a good 

 soil without tillage. Thorough tillage, by mixing and pulveri- 

 zing the soil sufficiently, is a means of saving manures and 

 greatly increasing the return of the harvest: it is not, however, 

 true, as once supposed, that tillage will supercede the neces- 

 sity of all manures ; it only compensates for part of the manure 

 requisite, and facilitates the operation of that which is applied. 

 The Chinese, and some nations of Europe, have, by a perfect 

 svstem of tillage, rendered barren soils fertile, and caused 

 fertile soils to vield harvests of almost incredible amount. 



