Chap. IX. Of Wheat. 123 



nor reach it-, but as we generally turn the Mould to- 

 wards the Row at the lait Hoeings, there is no Part 



of 



p. 29. have many thoufand Feet of internal Superficie : Eut this 

 is in proportion to the Degree of its Pulveration : and ihat De- 

 gree may be fuch as is Iufficient to maintain a competent Num- 

 ber of Wheat-plants, without over-exhaufting the vegetable Paf- 

 ture, but not iufficient to maintain thofe, and a great Stock of 

 Weeds befides, without over-exhaufting it. And this was plainly 

 ieen in a Field of Wheat drilled on Six-feet Ridges, when the 

 South Ends of fome of the Ridges, and the North Ends of others, 

 had their Partitions Hand hoed, and cleanfed of Weeds, early in 

 the Spring, the oppofite Ends remaining full of a fmall Species 

 of Weeds, called Crow-needles, which io exhauftcd the whole In- 

 tervals of the weedy Part of the Ridges, that the next Year the 

 whole Field being drilled again with Wheat exa&ly in the Mid- 

 dle of the lair Intervals, the following Crop very plainly diliin- 

 guiflied how far each Ridge had its Partitions made clean of thofe 

 imall Weeds in the Spring, from the other End where the Weeds 

 remained till full-grown; the Crop of the former was twice as 

 good as that of the latter, even where both were cleanfed of 

 Weeds the next Spring. This Crop Handing only upon that Part 

 of the Mould, which was farther* from the Rows of the precedent 

 Crop, proves that the Roots, both of the Wheat and Weeds, 

 d.d enter all the Earth of the former Intervals. 



It was alfo obfervable, that where the Partitions of Two of the 

 Six-feet Ridges had been in the precedent Year cleanfed of 

 Weeds, and thofe of the adjoining Ridges on each Side of them 

 not cleanfed, the Row that was the next Year planted exactly in 

 the Middle of the Interval between thofe two Ridges, was per- 

 ceivably better than either of the Two Rows planted in the In- 

 tervals on the other Side of each of them : The Reafon of which 

 Difference mud be, that the Midde of the Interval, that was be- 

 tween the Two cleanfed Ridges, was fed on by the Wheat only, 

 and by no Weeds ; but the other Two Intervals were fed on by 

 the Wheat on one Side, and by both the Wheat and Weeds on 

 the other Side of each. 



There were, in the fame Field, feveral Ridges together, that 

 had the Ends of their Rows of Wheat plowed out by the Hoe- 

 plough, and their other Ends cleanfed of Weeds: This was done 

 on purpofe, to fee what Effedt a Fallow would have on the next 

 Crop, which was indeed extraordinary; for thefe fallowed Ends 

 of the Ridges, being Horfe-hoed in the Summer, as the other 

 Ends were, and the Intervals of them made into Ridges, the 

 following Year produced the largeil Crop of all ; this Crop was 

 received in 1734, 



Thefe 



