24 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 1 



tice in ihe class of soils lor which the sumraer-ral- 

 low is required. 



A good method of preserving the land in a dry 

 state 13 cleaving with open furrows. In this man- 

 ner each ridge is divideti into two, so that good 

 provision is made lor alknving the free egress of 

 water. 



Sometimes the ridges may be gathered, and at 

 other times, when the land is moderately dry, 

 they ma}- be cast. In whatever manner the 

 ridges are ploughed, they remain in the same 

 state till the (ijllowing sprmg, and care therefore 

 must be taken that all the cross-iurrows and 

 channels shall be made and carefully cleaned out, 

 so that no water may stagnate upon the field. 



In the ordinary management of the farm, the 

 first oi)cration in spring, as soon as the weather 

 allows, is ihe sowing of the spring-crops of corn. 

 When this essenti li labor of the season is com- 

 pleted, which in this country is generall}' tl'om the 

 middle to the end of April, the tillage of the land 

 intended for such crops as the turnip, the potato, 

 and other fallow-crops, is to be resumed. But 

 though these are (he first in the order of prepara- 

 tion, and must necessarily be first attended to, yet 

 the summer-tailo'iv should not be neglected at this 

 early si^ason, but should receive one ploughing 

 not later than the month of May, and the earlier 

 in the month the lietter. 



Now this, the second ploughing of the sum- 

 mer-iailoW; may be done in two ways. The land 

 may bs either cross-ploughed, or ploughed in the 

 direction of the former ridges. On the lighter and 

 tlrier soils, in the cases where such soils are sub- 

 jected to the summer-flillow, the cross-plougiiing 

 is the belter method. JBut, in the case of the stil- 

 ler clays, the ploughing in the direction of the for- 

 mer ridges is to be preferred; for this is a provi- 

 sion against the effects of heavy falls of rain, 

 winch, were they to occur at this early season, 

 when the land was ploughed, without open fur- 

 I'ows to carry off the water, might so saturate it 

 fis to render the subsequent tillage precareous and 

 <li;licult. 



'i'lie next ploughing, whicliis to be as early in 

 June as the other labors of the fiu'm will allow, is 

 to be made across. Immediately after this plough- 

 ing, the land is to be harrowed by repeated dou- 

 ble turns, the direction of each double turn cross- 

 ing that of the previous otse. These double turns 

 are to be repealed lour, five, or more times, as oc- 

 casion may require; and the roots of all plants 

 which are dragged to the surface by the harrows 

 arc to be careiully collected b)' the hand and laid 

 in heaps. A cart then passing along the rows of 

 heaps, the collected j)lanls are to be forked or 

 thrown into it, and carried off tht^ ground. They 

 are to be formed into a compost by being mixed 

 ■with quick-liine, so as to destroy their vegetative 

 povv'ers. 



Sometimes these Aveeds are Iiurned on the 

 ffround, and their ashes spread upon the surliice: 

 but this practice is not to be imitated, the ashes 

 yielding an inconsiderable quantity of manure as 

 compared with that which is produced by Ibrniing 

 the weeds into a compost. 



It is of great importance at this period of the 

 Ruinmer-fallow, to drag to the surface and collect 

 as larije a portion as possible of the roots of viva- 

 cious weeds in the ground; for, this beinii the pe- 

 riod of active vegetation, every purl of these roots 



which is left in the giound v.'ill grow again and ex- 

 tend itself 



It is by the repeated action of the harrows that 

 these roots are detached from the soil and diagged 

 to the surface. When necessary, the roller is also 

 to be employed. This, bruising the clods or in- 

 durated masses of earth upon the surlace, enables 

 the teeth of the harrow to act upon them. Vv' hen 

 the roller passes over the ground, the harrows im- 

 mediately follow. 



At this time, too, the grubber maybe employed, 

 as subsidiar}' to the action of the harrow. 



This is a period of the summer-fallow at which 

 all obstructions arising froni land-liist stones and 

 other impediments to tillage are to be removed; 

 and if drains are required, it is now convenient to 

 form them, the stones collected upon the surface 

 being led forward at once to the drains, and filled 

 into them in the manner to be afterwards explain- 

 ed. 



This, indeed, is merely matter of convenience 

 when the stones are in read'ness, lor the lime of 

 summer-fiiilow is not really the best for the form- 

 ing of drains, owing to the hazani of heavy rains 

 occurring, and carrying the soil, wiiich is then 

 loose, into the drains. This, however, is but a 

 contingency, and there is convenience in Ibrming 

 such drains as may be needed at t'lis time: and 

 not only at this time, but during all the subsequent 

 operations of the sinnmer-tiillow, draining, the re- 

 moving of obstruclions to liiiage, and other works, 

 are carried on. The obstructions of lliis kind to 

 be removed are, generally speaking, any thing- 

 that may impede the path of the plough, and in- 

 terrupt the common operations of fillage — such 

 are the rools of trees, stones, inequalities of the 

 surliice, and the like. 



It has been seen, then, that, in the management 

 of the summer-fallow, the first ploughing is to be 

 given before winter, when the land is ploughed 

 lengthwise, in such a manner as that the land 

 shall be kept dry until the tillage can i)e resumed 

 in the following spring; that thesecoiul ploughing 

 is to be. given as early as possible in i>,iay, and in 

 tlie case of siilF soils, lengthwise; and that the 

 third ploughing, which, in the common course of 

 farm labor, we may hope to acconijiish in June, 

 is to be given across, when the |;rincipal labor of 

 harrowing, rolling, and disengaguig weeds, is per- 

 formed, and vv'hen opportunity is takers to begin to 

 drain, clear the ground of stones, and peribrm sim- 

 ilar operations required. 



As soon after the last ploughing and cleaning 

 as the slate of the v>'eaiher and the labors of the 

 farm will allow, the fourth ploughing is to be gi- 

 ■\'en. This ploughing may be performed in two 

 ways. It may either be given lengiliwise, and 

 the land formed into ridges, or Ihe whole may be 

 ploughed in large divisions, without regarding 

 ridges, as in cross-ploughing. 



The former method may he adopted when the 

 season is critical, and the land s;iff and naiiu'ally 

 wet. This is in order Ui avoid furtlier hazards 

 from great lidls of rain; (or, by Ibrmmg the land 

 into ridges, it is placed in a state of" comparative 

 security. Uut it allows of a better subsecjuenl til- 

 lage of the land to lay it fiat, 1))^ ploughing it in 

 large divisions without yet Ibrming it into ridges. 



in this case, the land may be ploughed in a di- 

 rection at right angles to the previous ploughing, 

 that is, in the direction in which (he future ridges 



