1S3G.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



161 



ticularly on lands much infested with annual 

 weeds, and on such as are to be sown with jjrass 

 seeds. As the subject has been much discussed 

 of late, and is in itself of no small importance, we 

 shall give the worthy Baronet's sentiments on it, 

 as they appear in this edition of his work; and we 

 can assure our readers that he has taken great 

 pains to procure the best information.* 



DRILLIIVG COUK loU "WHEAT, &C;;] AVITH 

 OBSEUVATIONS OX THE ROW CULTURE, FOR 

 CROPS OF GRAIX. 



The question, whether it is most expedient or 

 profitable 1o raise culmiferous crops according to 

 the broadcast or drilled system, has agitated the 

 agricultural world fir a number of years; and as it 

 is a pomt respecting which there still exists a great 

 diversitjr of opinion, it may be proper here to de- 

 tail "the argiunents on both sides, that the reader 

 may be enabled to form a decided opinion, which 

 outrht generally to be preferred; and ia what par- 

 ticular cases either the row, or the broadcast sys- 

 tem of culture, ought to be adopted. 



The arguments against drillinij are, 1. Thdt it 

 is not likely to be profitable on a srriail scale, on 

 account of the expense of the mach'nery for the 

 different operations of sowintr, hoeinir, &c.; 2. 

 That these operations rriust often occasion delays 

 incompatible with the hurry of an extensive au- 

 tumnal or sprino; sowing — at least in wet seasons 

 and on wet soils, however little it may be felt in | 

 dry seasons and on dry soils; 3. That the drill ma- | 

 chine does not answer where the soil is too full of | 

 small stones to allow the coulters to sink to a j)ro- I 

 per depth, and, of course, that the seed is not suf- j 

 ficiently covered to produce an abundant crop:§ ! 

 4. That it is not so well calculated for steep lands;f ^ 

 and, 5. That the grain is more liable to be shaken i 

 by winds, and the harvest to be later on drilled 

 fields, than on those which are sown broadcast; 

 and consequently, that is not so well calculated 

 for a windy and a northern climate. 



Some other objections Avere formerly urrred 

 against drilling, which the recent improvements in \ 

 the system have effectually removed. For in- ! 

 stance, it was anciently the practice /o earth vp the I 

 plants; the consequence of which was, that, in rich j 

 soils, the viiTor of the soil was exhausted on the 

 stems or foliage, instead of the fruit; and though ' 

 the straw was strong and abundant, the grain was 

 often defective in quality, or greatly diminished in 

 quantity; whereas, now, it is a maxim in the 

 school of Ilolkham, 'That white st ran) crops will 

 'be injured, ifearthedup upon dny soil.^\ 



♦Having the 5th edifon of the Code' of Agriculture 

 before us, it has been used in part, as rnore full than 

 the 3d edition, to copy the following article. — Ed. Far. 

 Reg. 



§The use of ' The Lever DrVV removes this objocfion. 



tThisobiection is obviated by an addition to the ma- 

 chinery. The seed-box is fastened on a pivot, or by a 

 screw; and the position of the box is adjusted to the 

 ascent or descent, without any difficulty. 



tCominunication from Mr. Blaikie at Hollcliam. 

 Yet, in very poor soils, it may be expedient to try the 

 effect of earthing up, with wider intervals, so that the 

 hoeing will not injure the surface roots. In rich soils, 

 it would be decidedly injurious. It was only on that 

 point that the author entertained any doubt as to the 

 utility of drilling, which the new practice, of avoiding 

 earthing up, has removed. 



Vol. IV— 21 



It is likewise urged, that it might not be practi- 

 cable, in many districts, to find a sufficient number 

 oflaborers to hoe the drills, were all the crops on a 

 firm to be subjected to that process. But, in the 

 present state of the country, with an overflowing 

 and unemployed population, a new source of occu- 

 pation to the peasantry would be most desirable, 

 provided their emplo3'ers were remunerated for the 

 expenses they incurred;* and, where there is a 

 scarcity of male laborers, women and boys havej 

 in many of the agricultural districts, as in Glouces- 

 tershire, been laught the art, and have been found 

 most expert at hoeing. 



It has further been urged against the use of the 

 drill machine, that where seed has been steeped^ 

 and encrusted Avith lime, as a preventive of the 

 smut, the hme destroys the brushes, and impedes 

 the regular delivery of the seed. But this objec- 

 tion io easily removed, by using cups instead of 

 brushes, or by steeping the seed in a solution of 

 the sulphate of copper, in a manner to be after- 

 wards described.** The seed, in that case, might 

 be sown in a (ew hours after the solution has been 

 nppWed, without lime, and with a certainty of pre- 

 venting smut. 



The introduction of the drill system is, by num- 

 bers of the most distinguished agriculturists, con- 

 sidered to be the most important of all modern im- 

 provements, and to be well entitled to universal 

 adoption. It is principally recommended on the 

 following grounds. 1. That the broadcast sys- 

 tem is a less perfect, and a less economical mode 

 of cultivation than that of drilling; for the seed can 

 neither be depof^ited in the soil with the same ex- 

 actnef?s, in regard to depth, regularity, or propor- 

 tion,t nor be so placed that the crop can afterwards 

 be improved in its progress to maturity. tt 2. That 

 in Wiihl soils, drilling has the important advantage 

 of giving the grain a good hold of the ground, and 

 of giving all the seed the same depth of soil, J by 

 which tiie frost is prevented from throwing out the 

 plants in spring, or the wind from loosening the 

 roots,, after the stem gets high, or when the ear is 

 filling. 3. That by the improved practices in 

 drilling, the use of manures is both encouraged 

 and economized, so as to diminish the quantity 

 necessarj'', and to increase its powers, by bringing 

 it into immediate contact with the plant;§ and that 

 a heavy crop of drilled corn, where the weeds are 

 thoroughly destroyed, will be found much less in- 



* Remark by Edward Burroughs, Esq. 



*Inserted in Farmers' Register at p. 337 vol. III. — Ed . 



fit is a great advantage to place the seed at a proper 

 depth, so as to sfcure a sufficient degree of moisture to 

 promote germination, and to make this deposition uni- 

 forin, that tiie grain may spring and ripen more equally. 



fl Dickson's Husbandry, vol. i. p. 466. 



JThis is an advantage peculiar to drilling; for, when 

 crops are ploiigkcd in, some of the seed will go to the 

 bottom of the furrow, some will be left half way, and 

 some will evpn be left at the top. In fact, the depth of 

 seed, when ploughed in, unless well executed, is often 

 more irregular than when harrowed in. 



§0n a field sown in drills 12 inches apart, which 

 received one hoeing in spring, a niore productive crop, 

 and by far more valuable grain was raised, than on a 

 broadcast crop, which had received three times the 

 quantity of dung. The manure for the drilled crop of 

 wheat, was appli'f'd in drills made by the plough, the 

 seed sown, and then harrowed down. 



