44 THE PRACTICE OF THE 



upon their own experience, and a pra&ice of 

 that Hufbandry for a feries of years, and on 

 any confiderable extent of land of different 

 forts j which without doubt is neceflary, to 

 form a true judgement of the merit of any 

 Hufbandry ; but being prejudiced againft this, 

 they are eafily confirmed in their prejudices, 

 and endeavour to perfuade others, by referring 

 to fuch fmall detached trials as are too fuper- 

 ficial to convince any who are unprejudiced, 

 efpecially in a matter of fuch confequence, 

 that fo greatly concerns the public. Very 

 different from this was the conduit of the in- 

 genious author of the New Hufbandry ; he 

 difcovered, in the culture of the vines, what 

 the cultivators of them had not perceived for 

 ages, but did not endeavour to fupport his 

 opinion by fmall detached experiments ; but, 

 finding his ideas confirmed by trials upon tur- 

 nips and potatoes, he began trying the fame 

 upon wheat; part of a field at firft, and by 

 degrees extended the fame to great part of his 

 farm, till he had annually from a hundred to 

 one hundred and twenty acres of horfe-hoed 

 wheat; he applied the fame culture to fuch 

 other plants as fuited his land, barley, peafe, 

 and fainfoin. He publimed his Hufbandry at 

 laft, at the follicitation of many who faw his 

 fuccefs ; and he was a gentleman of fuch ac- 

 knowledged probity, that thofe who were pre- 

 judiced againft his Ilufbandry did not prefume 

 to queftion his veracity. It is therefore very 



unfair 



