Chap. II. RUTA BAG A CULT URL. 



J^Iannner of Sowing. 



60. Thus fitted out witli land and manure, I set 

 to the work of sowing, which was performed, with 

 the help of two ploughs and two pair of oxen, on 

 the 25th, 26th, and 27th of June. The ploughman 

 put the ground up into little ridges, having trvo 

 furrorsi'S on each side of the ridge ; so that ever}' 

 ridge consisted of four furrows, or turnings over of 

 the plough ; and the tops of the ridges were about 

 four feet from each other ; and, as the ploughing 

 -was performed to a great depth, there was, of 

 course, a very deep gutter between every two 

 ridges. 



51, I took care to have the manure placed so as 

 to be under the middle of each ridge ; that is to say, 

 just beneath where my seed was to come. I had^ 

 but a very small quantity of seed as well as of 

 manure. This seed I had, however, brought from 

 home, where it was raised by a neighbour, on whom 

 I could rely, and I had^no faith in any other. So 

 that I was compelled to bestow it on the ridges 

 with a very parsimonious hand, not having, I be- 

 lieve, more than four pounds to sow on the seven 

 acres. It was sown principally in this manner : a man 

 went along by the side of each ridge, and put down 

 two or three seeds in places at about ten inches 

 from each other, just drawing a little earth over, 

 and pressing it on the seed, in order to make it 

 vegetate quickly before the earth became too dry. 

 This is always a good thin^ to be done, and espe- 

 cially in dry weather and under a hot sun. Seeds 

 are very small things ; and thouflfl^when we see 

 them covered over with the earth, we conclude 

 that the earth iimst touch them closely, we should 

 remember, that a verj^ small cavity is suihcient to 

 keep them untouched nearly all round, in which 

 case, under a hot sun, and near the surface, they 



