WHEAT, 270 



that he had tried it experimentally several times, on clover 

 andraj'-grass lays two and three years old, and that the su- 

 periority was regular and great in favour of the tillage I 

 have described. Such being the case, all we can do is to 

 reason upon it, and reconcile it to principles ; for agricuU 

 ture can never become a science while irreconcileable fadls 

 exist. 



There appear to be three ways of accounting for it : — 

 first, by supposing the land, from laying so long, abounds 

 with the red or vvyer worm, and that the ploughing and 

 harrowing given to prepare the land, destroy or check 

 them so much as to lessen greatly their depredations: the 

 second, that the ray-grass, if ploughed but once in this 

 loose soil, where tillage is given very shallow, is not 

 destroyed by one ploughing, but rather encouraged to ve- 

 getate stronger, as if horse-hoed ; and by its growth checks 

 the progress of the wheat: lastly, we may conje6lure, 

 that, on these light soils which have been surfeited with 

 ciover, the plant of that grass is thin and weak, and nearly 

 worn out in two or three years : tlie consequence of 

 which is, the rav-grass and weeds only remaining, which 

 every one knows afford little manure in their roots to the 

 wheat, which red clover does very amply. In this case, 

 more good may result from destroying them by tillage, 

 than can arise from turning tliem under at one ploughing. 

 But, in richer soils, when unmixed with lay-grass, it is 

 exceedingly great, and proves a most an)ple manuring. 

 The effc6l wc are considering, may be partly owing to 

 all these reasons. With such consideration, is the husban- 

 dry good ? I shall not hesitate in declaring against it : any 

 circumstrince that drives a man to give such summer tillage, 

 in order to loosen a soil, the. principal fault of which is too 

 great friability ; and the chara61cr;stic of its improvement, 

 giving it tenacity bv clay, and the trending ajid kneading 



NORFOLK. 1 T ct 



