74 THS PRACTICE OF THE 



*' the plants two or three inches, to ftrengthea 

 " or lecure them. In this operation a flip of 

 " earth remains untouched in the middle, of 

 " what was ploughed firfl from the rows ; 

 " and as a new furface is expofed by the laft 

 " hoeing, I leave that flip untouched for 

 " fome time, to receive the advantage of ex- 

 " poiure, and till the weeds come, when I 

 " plough up this flip with the double-mould - 

 " board-plough, which covers the weeds, and 

 " leaves a wide, deep, and clean trench. If 

 " the wheat {lands fair, fo as to admit the 

 " horfe-hoe, which with me is feldom the 

 " cafe, 1 hoe a {mail furrow back from the 

 " rows, and return it with the double-mould- 

 " board-plough : but do not think this necef- 

 " iary, if the former operations are properly 

 " executed. 



c Though my foil isftifFand heavy, I only 

 <c ufe tv\o horles to the tingle hoe, and three 

 " to the double-mould board hoe. The {ingle 

 " hoe horfe hoes two and a half Scots acres 

 " per day, and the double-mould board five ; 

 " the full: having a full bout to each ridge, 

 " the other only half a bout. I have tried to 

 ** hoe with oxen, but found they did not 

 ' anfwer in my wet foil ; and now only ufe 

 *' horles, as they poach the land lei's. 



*' I have now [in 1766] the feventh crop 

 " of drilled wheat growing on my fir ft acre 

 " (which I choie as near the average of my 

 * foil as I could), and it at prefent promifes to 



" be 



