RECOMMENDED. 221 



poles ten feet long, an inch thick, and two inches broad, 

 bore holes through them exactly at fixteen inches afunder, 

 pals pack-threads through theie holes to the length of the 

 lands you are about to plant, and there fhould be a pole at 

 every fifty yards ; four {takes at the corners of the extreme 

 poles, fatten them to the ground, the intention is to keep the 

 lines every where at equal diftances and ftrait, which are 

 great points in the bean husbandry to facilitate horfc hoeing. 

 This being ready, \vomen take feme beans in their aprons, 

 and with a dibber pointed with iron make the holes along the 

 firings with their right hand, and put the bean in with their 

 left ; while they are doing one fet of lines, another fhould be 

 prepared and fixed ready for them. Near London they are 

 paid 35. and 35. 6d. a bufhel for this work of planting ; but 

 where they are not accuftomed to it they do it by tiie day. 

 The beans are put three inches afunder, and two or three 

 inches deep. A barrel will plant a plantation acre. A light 

 pair of harrows are ufed to cover the feed in the holes, ftuck 

 with a few bufhes. By the time the cold eafterly winds come 

 in the fpring they will be high enough to hand hoe, if they 

 were early planted, and it is of confequence on ftrong foils to 

 catch every dry feafon for fuch operations. The hoes fnould 

 be eight inches wide, and the whole furface of the fpace be- 

 tween the rows carefully cut, and every weed eradicated. 

 This hoeing cofts, near London, from 55. to 'js. 6d. per 

 Englifh acre, but with unfkilful hands in Ireland I fhould 

 fuppofe it would coft from. i2s. to 145. per plantation acre, 

 according to the lazinefs in working I have remarked there. 

 When the beans are about fix inches high, they fhould be 

 horfe hoed with a fhim, the cutting part ten or eleven inches 

 wide. A plate of this tool is to be leen in my Eaftern Tour. 

 It is cheap, fimple, and not apt to be out of order, one horfe 

 draws it, which fhould be led by a careful perfon, another 

 fhould hold the fhim, and guide it carefully in the center be- 

 tween the rows. It cuts up all weeds effectually, and loofens 

 the earth two or three inches deep ; in a little time after this 

 operation the hand hoe fhould be fent in again to cut any flips 

 which the fhim might have paffed, and to extract the weeds 

 that grew too near the plants for that tool to take them. 

 This is but a flight hoeing. If the weather is dry enough a 

 fecond horfe hoeing with the fhim fhould follow when the 

 beans are nine or ten inches high, but if the weather is wet it 

 mud be omitted, the hand hoe however muft be kept at work 

 enough to keep the beans perfectly free from weeds. Reap 

 the crop as foon as a few of the pods turn darkilh, and while 

 many of them are green, you had much better cut too foon 

 than too late. You may get them off in the month of Auguft, 

 (in England the mazagans are reaped in July) which leaves a 

 fufficient feafon for half a fallow. Plough the ground directly 

 if the weather is dry ; and if dry feafons permit (but you mult 



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