Chap. V. Of Tillage. 45 



therefore 'tis not ftrange, that the pooreft, when by- 

 pulverizing it has obtain'd One hundred Times the 

 internal Superficies of the rich untill'd Land, it mould 

 exceed it in Fertility ; or, if a Foot of the pooreft was 

 made to have Twenty Times the Superficies of a Foot 

 of fuch rich Land, the pooreft might produce an 

 equal Quantity of Vegetables with the rich (0). Be- 

 fides, there is another extraordinary Advantage, when 

 a Soil has a larger internal Superficies in a very little 

 Compafs •, for then the Roots of Plants in it are better 

 fupply'dwith Nourifhment, being nearer to them on 

 all Sides within Reach, than it can be when the Soil 

 is lefs fine, as in common Tillage •, and the Roots in 

 the one muft extend much further than in the other, 

 to reach an equal Quantity of Nourifhment: They 

 muft range and fill perhaps above twenty Times more 

 Space to collect the fame Quantity of Food. 



But in this fine Soil, the moil weak and tender 

 Roots have free PafTage to the utmoft of their Extent, 

 and have alfo an eafy, due, and equal PrefTure every- 

 where, as in Water. 



(0) And very poor Land, well pulveriz'd, will produce better 

 Corn than very rich will do, without Manure or Tillage. The 

 Experiment may be made by paring off the Turf, and fetting 

 Corn in the whole Ground that is very rich ; and that will (hew 

 how much the natural Pafture of the rich is inferior to the arti- 

 ficial Pafture of the poor Land ; but then the poor muft have this 

 Proportion of Excefs of internal Superficies continued to it, du- 

 ring the whole Time of their Growth, which cannot be done with- 

 out frequently repeated Divifions of the Soil by Hoeing or Manure; 

 eife it might require forty Times the internal Superficies at the 

 Time of Sowing, to keep twenty Times the internal Superficies 

 of the rich till Harveft: For although the rich is continually 

 lofing fome of its artificial Pafture, as well as the poor, yet by 

 lofing this equally, they ftill draw nearer and nearer to the firft 

 Inequality of their natural Pafture. 



Bat poor Land, being lighter, has this Advantage, that it being 

 mora friable than the ftrong, requires lefs Labour to pulverize it ; 

 and therefore the Exp^nce of it is much lefs, than in proportion 

 to the Excefs of Poomefs of its internal Superficies. 



Hard 



