70 



<lrill husljanilry) of 52/. 3.9. lid. ami in the common 

 luisltandiy of 271. 19*. '2d. and therefore a greater 

 profit in the drilled acre in fifteen years of 24/. 4*. 9d. 

 which amounts to 1/. 12.v. 3d. a year. Mr. Baker 

 calculates that in every fifteen years the fee simple 

 of all the tillage lands of the kingdom is lost to the 

 pul)lic by the common course of tillage. The slow 

 progress which the drill husltandiy has made is prin- 

 cipally owing to the want of proper drill-ploughs — 

 before drilling can I)t'como general, those ploughs 

 must be simple such as a common ploughman, accus- 

 tomed to strong instruments, may use without break- 

 ing, and such as common workmen can easily make 

 or repair ; complicated machines, except on large 

 farms which can bear the expense of purchasing 

 them, are not to be thought of; simple instruments 

 are what you want. Now, I can assure you, that 

 for wheat sowing, for which drilling is chiefly neces- 

 sary, a common narrow seed-sowing plough, drawn 

 by one horse, will answer the purpose of opening 

 the di-ills, perfectly well ; the seed (about ten stone 

 to the acre, and the drills twelve inches apart) can 

 be thinlv sown broadcast, and when harrowed length- 

 ways it will fall regularly into the drills. A vei^ 

 small holder, who has only from a rood to an acre of 

 corn, will find himself greatly paid for his labour if 

 he opens drills with a hand hoe, two inches in depth, 

 and afterwards covers with a bush or rake. All the 

 seed, deposited at an equal depth and carefullv co- 

 vered, will lie sure to grow, and thus a saving- of 

 seed much greater in value than his extra labour 

 (which liy the way his children could perform) will 

 1)6 gained. Nor need a farmer fear that his inter- 

 vals will l»e waste ; corn that is sown in the com- 

 mon way seems indeed to cover the ground better 

 than in rows, but this is a mere deception of the eye, 

 for the stalks of corn are never so thick as when 

 they come out of one plant, or as when they stand 

 in a row ; it is only the different placing that makes 



