PLOUGH AND PLOUGHING, 



turn in it, and a trench is formed in 

 which the next slice falls, and is push- 

 ed aside by the tail of the turn-fur- 

 rows, so as to leave another trench 

 open ten inches wide. 



" Suppose A B C D (Fig. 18) the 

 section of the first wide furrow, and a 

 slice, A E F B, is cut off the solid side 

 Fig. 18. 

 E A a D 



1 

 I 

 I 

 I 

 I 

 I 

 • 

 I 

 i 



of the land half the width of the 

 trench ; the mould-board pushes this 

 earth, after it has been turned over, 

 into the space, D C a b, marked with 

 the dotted line, and in doing so beats 

 and crumbles it, leaving a fresh 

 trench, a bF E, equal to the first, and 

 so the whole field may be ploughed 

 without difficulty. In nine cases out 

 often, where the soil is properly cul- 

 tivated, and ploughed in a proper 

 state, this mode of ploughing would 

 be found a great improvement, and 

 equal to a trench ploughing, or sub- 

 soil ploughing. Where the farms are 

 small, and few horses are kept, deep 

 ploughing is not practicable with the 

 usual width of furrow ; but, with a 

 narrow furrow, the land may be 

 moved to a very great depth witli a 

 couple of horses. The plough must 

 be made sharp and narrow, and the 

 turn-furrow not much curved, so as 

 rather to push the earth aside than to 

 lift It. 



" Very little attention was former- 

 ly paid to the straightness of the fur- 

 rows. It was natural to follow the 

 ehape of the boundary of the field, 

 which was seldom straight ; and this 

 practice increased gradually tUl no 

 straig'.it furrow was to be seen ; but 

 no curves can be laid so perfectly 



parallel as two straight lines. Every 

 deviation from parallelism causes a 

 defect in the contact of the sli(;es, 

 and a loss of force by the oblKjuity of 

 the draught. A superficial observer 

 would not perceive this, but minute 

 examination proves it. Hence equal 

 and straight furrows are a sign of 

 good ploughing. 



" When tiic land lies on a dry sub- 

 soil, and no more moisture remains 

 in it, after continued rains, tlian is 

 useful to promote vegetation, it may 

 bo ploughed quite Hat. This may be 

 done by a plough with a double mould- 

 board, or by ploughing in a continued 

 spiral from tlie centre to the circum- 

 ference, or the reverse. In this case 

 straight furrows cannot be made. 

 The best way is to draw a furrow 

 the whole lenglii of the field in the 

 middle, and plough towards this from 

 both sides. If the field is wide, it is 

 most convenient to plough it into sev- 

 eral broad stitches, each a certain 

 number of perches in breadth. A 

 perch (16^ feet) is a very common 

 width for a stitch, or land, and con- 

 venient to guide the sower or the 

 drilling machine. 



" But on moist, impervious subsoils 

 it is necessary to lay the land in a 

 rounded form, in order to let the 

 superfluous water run off into fur- 

 rows, from which it is conducted by 

 proper channels into the ditches. In 

 this case, half a perch is a common 

 width for each stitch, or land. It re- 

 quires some practice to lay up a land 

 in a rounded form from a flat sur- 

 face. After cross-ploughing and har- 

 rowing, the first furrow is drawn 

 wide and shallow, and the earth is 

 thrown upon the surface to the right : 

 when the plough returns, it takes an- 

 other furrow about nine or ten inch- 

 es from the first, laying tlie earth or 

 furrow-slice somewhat obli(jucIy over 

 the first. At the next turn another 

 slice is laid, meeting the last at an 



599 



