158 ACTION OF THE SOIL ON PLANTS. 



a pointed instrument, which more easily penetrates. 

 This implement is also of various descriptions : it has a 

 single or a double prong, which is broader or sharper, 

 and forms a greater or lesser angle with the handle, ac- 

 cording to the nature of the soil. 



With the spade the .laborer works backward, and throws 

 up the earth before him ; with the pickaxe he goes for- 

 ward, and draws the earth towards him. 



Caroline. The hoe, that very useful instrument for 

 weeding or lightly raising the earth, is also used like the 

 pickaxe. But what is the reason that the form of these 

 instruments vary so much, in different countries ? 



Mrs. B. Sometimes from improved models being 

 adopted in one country, which another, through igno- 

 rance or prejudice, will not follow ; and perhaps, more 

 frequently, from the different nature of the soil. The 

 spade or the hoe must be light or heavy, broader or more 

 pointed, according as the soil is loose or stiff; for the 

 heavier or more tenacious the earth, the less quantity can 

 be raised at one stroke. But the most important of all 

 implements of husbandry is doubtless the plough : it has 

 been celebrated since the times of Moses and of Homer; 

 and it is the form of this instrument which has produced 

 the greatest contention amongst agriculturists. The 

 plough may be considered as a sort of pickaxe, drawn 

 by animals through the soil. In northern climates hus- 

 bandmen are great partisans of deep ploughing ; in south- 

 ern countries they are no less staunch advocates for light 

 or more superficial ploughing ; and they are, perhaps, 

 each equally right in approving their own mode, and 

 wrong in blaming that of their opponents, for the differ- 

 ent species of plough are adapted to the soil of their re- 

 spective countries. 



In high latitudes, where there is much moisture and but 

 little heat, it is necessary to turn over the earth more com- 

 pletely, in order to dry and pulverise it, especially when of 

 an argillaceous nature, which is very common in northern 

 countries. In more southern climes, where heat and 

 drought prevail, it is better to plough more lightly, the soil 

 being frequently of a sandy nature, not retentive of water. 



870. Why do agricultural instruments vary as to their form in differ- 

 ent places'? 871. What is said of the antiquity of the plough! ' 872. 

 What comparison is made in the mode of ploughing in northern and 

 southern countries'? 873. What is the reason of it 1 ? 



