EXPERIMENTS AT DIFFERENT WIDTHS. 223 



The 8-inch drills s. d. 



Sowing, per acre, 1 2 



Hand-hoeing and weeding, _3 6^ 



4 8 



The 16-inch drills 



Sowing, per acre, 1 2 



Horse-hoeing, Jl 2 



~2~4 



The 27-inch drills- 

 Drawing drills and covering (ridging), per acre, 4 



Sowing, 4 



Rolling, 6 



Hoeing (hand), 3 8 



Horse-hoeing three times, JJ 6 



12 



The three portions ripened equally, and were harvested 

 at the same time. They were stacked, and threshed out 

 separately, when the produce of the portion drilled at 

 16 inches was found to exceed that drilled at 8 inches by 

 3 bushels per acre ; while the latter exceeded the portion 

 sown at 27 inches by 4 bushels per acre the straw, also, 

 of the narrowest weighed one-fifteenth more than that 

 of the widest drills. In the preparation of the land for 

 the succeeding crop of wheat an additional expense of 8s. 

 per acre was incurred in cleaning the portion of the field 

 occupied by the 27-inch drills thus making the tillage 

 expenses of the three trial portions 20s., 2s. 4d, and 

 4s. Sd. per acre respectively. 



When we consider the nature and habit of growth of 

 the bean, and the early period at which it is sown, we 

 can readily detect the principles involved in Mr Hope's 

 experiments, and understand why the medium width 

 was the most productive. The bean is a plant of erect 

 growth, carrying its leaves chiefly at the head or upper- 

 most part of the stem, the lower part being comparatively 

 bare. In the early stage of its growth the horse-hoe 

 readily keeps the surface free from weeds, and their 



