274 v 



the weeds by a ploughing in May, or the beginning 

 of June, is in general good; for how v are they to be 

 killed, if they do not vegetate ? If the fallows are 

 left rough in the common manner, the seeds of 

 weeds are shut up in the clods : they are broken by 

 the time the wheat- seed is sown : must not the 

 consequence be, their growing among the wheat ? 

 But it has been urged, that on rich clays this prac- 

 tice would not be proper, on account of such spring 

 tillage as I have described, cutting in numerous 

 pieces the root-weeds, every bit of which grows ; 

 consequently, you would do as much mischief in 

 one instance as^gocd in another ; but, being turned 

 up very rough in large clods, the sun bakes them, 

 and completely kills the roots. It is absurd to rea- 

 son against experience ; therefore, if a farmer tries 

 the spring tillage', and finds, contrary to expecta- 

 tion, that it fills his lands with pernicious weeds, 

 instead of killing them, he certainly should desist. 

 But many persons know, from experience, that 

 such management has destroyed seed-weeds, and 

 proved no impediment to the destruction of root 

 ones, by successive attention through the burning 

 parts of the summer ; not by leaving the roots in 

 possession of large clods, but by extracting them. 

 This is the case with the grasses, which are among 

 the wor&t. Docks, Indeed, can be no way de- 

 stroy ed 3 but by letting them grow, and then dig- 

 ging them up, and carrying them clear away from 

 the land. 



It should, however, be admitted (and it is a 



grand 



