210 AGRICULTURE ON THE RHINE. 



suited to the soil, which is generally light, and demands 

 a wheel-plough. But even the plough is suited to the 

 soil for which it is made, and on stifFer soils has a deep 

 mould-board well curved ; while on the sand near 

 Friedrichsfeld the mould-board is narrow and almost 

 straight. On some of the larger farms, the Strassen- 

 heim Hof for instance, a heavy subsoil-plough is used 

 when tobacco is to be planted. This plough is only the 

 common plough of the country on a larger scale, that 

 opens a furrow 1^ to 2 feet deep. The subsoil is of 

 such quality on that farm, that turning it up is equivalent 

 to manuring the surface. On other farms the land is 

 carefully ploughed for tobacco twice in autumn, and 

 three times or oftener in the following spring. The 

 winter corn is usually ploughed in. Summer corn is 

 harrowed under ; clover is often sown after the barley 

 has been harrowed and the ground is rotted. Dung is 

 copiously distributed, and is required for the exhausting 

 crops taken off the soil. Although the number of 

 draught cattle is not great, yet cows are very numerous, 

 and it has been calculated by M. Rau that one head of 

 cattle was kept for 



2-r''g morgans at Dossenheim and Handschuhsheim. 



5^ „ at Kirchheim and Wiblingen. 



6^ „ on 8 small farms from 30 to 75 morgans. 



9^ „ ou 2 farms of 162 and 180 morgans. 



As the calves are not included in this estimate, and 

 the dung of the pig-sties, that are very numerous, as 

 well as that from the sheep-folds, have also to be added, 

 it is suptK)sed that one head of cattle may be assumed 

 for every 2^ English acres. Liquid manures are in 

 great use in this neighbourhood, and the dung-heap. 



