230 OF PLOUGHING, 



Independent of the increase of spring labour, by plough- 

 ing lands sufficiently clean and prepared before the winter, 

 it is a dangerous and precarious operation turning up clay 

 soi's in the spring, more especially for barley, besides bu- 

 rying and losing the advantage of a fine mellow surface, 

 which cannot be regained after a spring-ploughing. There 

 is also the risk of rain during the operation, which in many 

 instances sours the land so completely, as to render the 

 chance of a crop very precarious. Mr Fletcher of Balin- 

 shaw, in Forfarshire, was accustomed to sow barley on a 

 winter- furrow, above twenty years ago. A respectable 

 farmer in the Mearns observes, that if too great an accu- 

 mulation of work was likely to be apprehended in the early 

 summer months, an additional ploughing might be saved, 

 by sowing oats on the winter-furrow ; and another intelli- 

 gent farmer near Dalkeith, (Mr Mylne of Smeaton), re- 

 marks, that ploughing for barley in spring is unnecessary,,* 

 unless in a very bad season, when the land could not be 

 wrought, as it should have been, before winter. Mr Yea- 

 man of Murie, near Dundee, also tried barley on a winter 

 furrow ; and it was observed, on the crowns of the ridges, 

 and as low down as the middle, between that and the fur- 

 rows on each side, the barley was more luxuriant, and ap- 

 peared richer, than that sown in the common way; but 

 towards the farrows, probably owing to the ridges being 

 too much gathered, it was thinner and shorter; so that on 

 the whole the difference of produce would not be material. 

 A ploughing, however, was saved. Mr Stewart of Hill- 

 side states, that in his neighbourhood a second furrow is 

 not given for oats, however early in the winter the land 



* It is said, that without ploughing in the spring, the weeds would 

 soon be master ; but that might be prevented by the use of the scruffier. 



