APPENDIX- 253* 



able to Mr. Tull's lateft practice and direction ; 

 yet it appears from Sir Digby's account of his 

 tillage, that, in forming the new ridges, he 

 ploughed the land twice, and gave it after- 

 wards but three horfe-hoeings. It does nol; 

 appear why he thus deviated from Mr. Tull's 

 practice and direlions ; but it feems pretty 

 evident that this deviation was the caufe of 

 leffening the crops : for Sir Digby, defcribing 

 the quality of his land, fays, " the foil is 

 " light, deep, and dry, a hazle mould, excel- 

 *' lent for barley, but generally thought not 

 " of fufficient tenacity for wheat, and worth 

 '< in this neighbourhod fifteen (hillings per 

 '* acre, tithe- tree." Not of fufficient tenacity 

 for wheat, this was the opinion of the farmers 

 there, who were probably right in their opi- 

 nion concerning this land, as cultivated in the 

 Old Hufbnndry; but in the New it was other- 

 wife : land is feldom too dry for wheat, if 

 well and frequently horfe-hoed ; for that pul- 

 verizes the land, and opens it to admit the 

 dews, which keep it moift, an advantage it 

 has not in the Old Hufbandry. Sir Digby fays, 

 " wheat, barley, or oats, have ufually yielded 

 " me a third more from random fowing, than 

 " if drilled and hofe-hoed ; that is, if three 

 * quarters may be produced from one acre in 

 ** the common Hu(bandry, the fame ground 

 * will, wteris paribtts, produce no more than 

 two quarters when drilled and horfe-hoed.'* 

 Jie fays, he had fome years two quarters of 



wheat 



