IMPROVEMENT OF LAND. 101 



should in all cases be stirred to the depth of fourteen or fifteen 

 inches. 



8th. In order that the fertility of laud dealt with in the way de- 

 scribed under the foregoing heads may not be impaired, but in all 

 respects preserved for the good of the crops alone, no weeds should be 

 allowed to grow on it ; and to facilitate the destruction of weeds as they 

 appear, the crops should as far as practicable be grown in drills, so that 

 the hoe may be readily applied to them. 



9th. In the same way each green-crop portion of a farm should be 

 annually dealt with till all the land on it is put into like condition with 

 the first part taken up ; and this will of course be at the end of the 

 period required to complete the rotation, whether that may be in four, 

 five, or six years, according to the course of cropping pursued on the 

 farm. 



10th. At the end of every second rotation of cropping, the process of 

 trenching and subsoil-manuring as described should be repeated, and 

 then the soil which had been laid in the bottom will again form the top, 

 and that on the top the bottom. By this means the soil will never 

 become exhausted nor fail, as that which has rested in the bottom will 

 again come to act its part on the surface in a fresh and renewed condi- 

 tion, while that which formed the surface will again be laid in the bot- 

 tom, to rest for a period of years before being again brought up for use, 

 and so on alternately. 



I need only add, in regard to the foregoing statement, that if all our 

 arable lands were dealt with in the way described as a preparation for 

 cropping, the diseases now so generally prevalent in the turnip and potato 

 crops, and which are so hurtful to the interests of farmers, would be un- 

 known, and the crops of clover would become as luxuriant as they used 

 to be many years ago ; for there can be little doubt that these failures 

 are caused chiefly by the continual cropping on the same surface. It 

 may, indeed, be some considerable time before this desirable state of 

 things prevails generally, as the necessary expenditure to bring it about 

 will deter many from adopting it, although they may be aware of the 

 advantages which would be certain to result from it. Be that as it 

 may, I think that, beyond a doubt, the system recommended for the 

 cultivation of the land will gradually become the system in all highly 

 cultivated parts of the country where capital and superior intelligence 

 are brought to bear fully on the subject of agriculture. 



The system of trenching which I have recommended is undoubtedly 

 the most effective in producing a thorough separation of the several 

 parts of the soil, and in the removal of stones and roots of trees, and also 

 in mixing and turning the soil. It is no doubt an expensive operation, 



