284 THE COMPLETE FARMER 



Brownhlll, says ' Old leas, [grass grounds,] in my opinion, 

 should be ploughed if possible not above four and a half 

 inches deep by eight and a half or nine inches broad. If the 

 old lea be a Jry soil, it will plough very well with those 

 dimensions ; if it be ploughed deeper it must also be ploughed 

 broader, as the furrows will not ply close to one another, 

 unless you have breadth in proportion to the depth.' 



Sir John Sinclair speaks highly of the advantages of deep 

 ploughing in some circumstances and for some crops, but says 

 ' it is a general rule never to plough so deep as to penetrate 

 below the soil that was formerly manured and cultivated 

 excepting upon fallow, and then only wdien you have plenty 

 of lime or dung to add to and improve the new soil.' The 

 farmers of Flanders, which is said to be the best cultivated 

 part of Europe, gradually deepen their soil by ploughing or 

 digging up iresh earth as their manure increases. Mr. 

 Arthur Young likewise observes that in poor hungry soils 

 some proportion ought to be observed between the depth of 

 a ploughing and the quantit}^ of manure annually spread. 

 The same uTiter informs us that the depth of ploughing in 

 various towns of England, on an average, in sandy soils, was 

 four inches ; in loamy soils four and three quarters, and in 

 clayey soils three inches and a half. 



Disputes have arisen among farmers in this country and 

 in Europe relative to the best manner of laying the furrow 

 slice. Some contend for turning the furrow slice completely 

 over, and laying it quite flat ; but others allege that it is 

 most advantageous to place each slice in such a manner that 

 its outer edge may extend a little over the inner edge of the 

 furrow which was drawn next before it. ' In several dis- 

 tricts in England it is usual to lay the furrow slice quite flat, 

 and this is particularly the case where there are no ridges; 

 but in Northumberland, and in Scotland, a contrary system 

 is adopted. It is founded on thic idea, that as two of the 

 principal objects in ploughing are, to expose as much as pos- 

 sible to the influence of the atmosphere, and to lay the land, 

 so that the harrows may, in the most effectual manner, raise 

 mould to cover the seed ; these objects are most effectually 

 accomplished by ploughing land of every description with a 

 furrow slice about seven inches deep, and which, if about 

 ten inches and a half broad, raises the furrow slice, with a 

 proper shoulder, forminor the angle forty-five, the point which 

 ought to be referred to when determining between the merits 

 of different specimens of ploughing. For that purpose, the 



