TULL AND THE NEW HUSBANDRY 177 



enable^ a^gortion at least to escape the dreaded fly. He was 

 a great believer in doing everything himself, and worked so 

 hard at his drill that he had to go abroad for his health. He 

 was somewhat carried away by his invention, and asserts 

 that the expense of a drilled crop of wheat was one-ninth of 

 that sown in the old way, giving the following figures to prove 

 his assertion : 



The Old Way 



£ s. d. 



Seed, i\ bushels, at 3^ 76 



Three ploughings, harrowing, and sowing . 16 o 



Weeding 20 



Rent of preceding fallow .... 10 o 



Manure 2 10 o 



Reaping 46 



The New Way 



Seed, 3 pecks 23 



Tillage 4 o 



Drilling 6 



Weeding 6 



Uncovering (removing clods fallen on the wheat) 2 



Brine and lime i 



Reaping 26 



10 o 



It should be noted that he has omitted to charge rent for 



the year in which the crop was grown in both cases. 



He considered fallowing and manure unnecessary, and grew 



without manureTTj successive wheat crops on the same piece 



of ground, getting better crops than his neighbours who 



pursued the ordinary course of farming. His three great 



principles, indeed, were drilling, reduction of seed, and absence 



of weeds, and he saw that dung was a great carrier of the 



latter but lacked a due appreciation of its chemical action. Of 



^ The West Country Fanner, above quoted, says wheat growing (in 1737) 

 paid little. Before a bushel can be sold it costs £\ an acre, and the crop 

 probably fetches half the money. 



CURTLER I^ 



