320 Of Rolling. 



SECT. V Of Rolling. 



AN intelligent farmer maintains, that if draining is the 

 first, manuring the second, and cultivation the third, roll- 

 ing ought to be considered the fourth principal operation 

 in the processes of agriculture ( 5 *), Its importance indeed, 

 is every day becoming more apparent, and new advantages 

 are derived from its use, both on arable, (to which the in- 

 quiry is now restricted), and on grass lands. 



Without rolling, the process of summer-fallow, on strong 

 land, cannot be completely executed ; but by its aid, the 

 strongest and most obdurate clods may be reduced, and the 

 harrows and the scarifier are thus enabled, to tear out the 

 roots of the couch grass, and of other destructive weeds. 

 How much cheaper is rolling, than the old practice, of 

 breaking such clods by wooden mallets, or by large three- 

 pronged forks, as is practised in some parts of Flanders ! 

 To facilitate this process, rollers with spikes, and knives, 

 (which are found more effectual), are sometimes used (^. 

 Lord Kames recommended for that purpose, surrounding a 

 wooden roller with circles of iron, six inches asunder, and 

 seven inches deep, which would cut the most stubborn clods, 

 and reduce them to pieces of a moderate size. In stiff clays, 

 this may make the difference of a plentiful, or a scanty crop ( 6 3). 

 Others prefer the drill-roller, consisting of solid, wedge-like 

 rings of cast-iron, with a hole through them, to receive a 

 stout wooden axis ( 6 ^u 



In preparing every species of adhesive soil, for a spring 

 or summer crop, in particular when barley, potatoes, or 

 turnips are to be sown, rolling is essential ( 6 5); but it is 

 after the seed has been sown, that the greatest advantages are 

 derived from the process. 1. Wheat should always be roll- 

 ed in the spring, after frosts, as it makes the soil adhere 

 more closely to the roots of the plants, encourages vegeta- 

 tion, strengthens the stems, and renders the grain more per- 

 fect. 2. When any crop of grain is sown with artificial grasses, 

 rolling is particularly necessary, to make an even surface, 

 bruising all clods, and pressing down any stones it may not 

 be thought necessary to carry off, to facilitate the future ope- 

 ration of the scythe. 3. Oats, in a light soil, may be rolled 

 with advantage, immediately after the seed is sown, unless 

 the ground be so wet as to cling to the roller. 4. After 

 turnips are sown in drills, they ought to be immediately 

 rolled, to make the soil compact, and to promote their speedy 



