6 THE PRACTICE OF THE 



tile by this tillage, well performedj though 

 it bears a crop every year. This is totally 

 different from the effe&s of the common 

 Hufbandry ; though the land in that Huf- 

 handry has the aflitlance of manure, and the 

 hoed wheat crops have no fuch afliftance. 

 This recruiting of the foil is not the confe- 

 quence of tillage and hoeing ; thefe do in- 

 deed break, divide, and pulverize the foil ; 

 but breaking, dividing, and pulverizing, are 

 mere mechanical operations ; they add no 

 new matter to the land, and are therefore fo 

 far of themfelves from enriching land, that 

 they only prepare it for the roots of plants 

 to run and extend in it the more freely, which, 

 inftead of enriching the land, only prepares it 

 to be more readily exhaufted of its fertility, 

 for the more pabulum, or the more nutritious 

 aliment, the roots draw from the land, the 

 poorer the land becomes, and the lefs flock of 

 nourifhment is left in it, to fupport the next 

 crop. Tillage therefore, ploughing, har- 

 rowing, and hoeing, add nothing to the fer- 

 tility of land ; they only prepare and open 

 the land, for the roots to run, extend, and 

 multiply in it ; this helps to nourifh the 

 plants, yet does not add to the fertility of the 

 land, but only prepares it to be the more 

 quickly exhaufted of the vegetable nourifh- 

 ment, 



. I have infilled upon this the more particu- 

 larly, becaufe farmers do not ufually attribute 

 3 their 



