350 DRILL HUSBANDRY. 



Stubbles carrleil unequivocal marks of good husbandry; 

 He was then ill the third year of his drilling ; the experi- 

 ments of the first encouraged him. In liie second, his 

 drilled pease yielded twelve coombs and a half an acre ; 

 the dibbled ten, and the broad-cast eight. Jn 1792, the 

 tliiid year, all his pease, and the greatest part of his wheat,' 

 were drilled, and superior to what he had broad-cast ill 

 1792. He has attempted more than once to drill barley and 

 oats, but was tlien convinced it would not do, and did not 

 intend to try it any more; but he changed his mind after- 

 wards : he drills six pecks an acre of wheat; sows two 

 bushels; he horse-hoes once, doing an acre per hour, if 

 the furrows are long ; and hand-hoes tw ice, each time at 

 20d, per acre. ] viewed his machine at work, drilling 

 ■wheat ; a suspentled marker forms the line by which the 

 horse walks: the boy who guides, does not lead, but rides 

 tipon him, and goes quite straight by seeing the mark al- 

 ways between the horse's ears. The m.an that holds, di- 

 redls the plough by the wheel mark ; and as he holds for 

 that purpose only one handle, the pressure is countera6led 

 by a leaden weight hung on the other handle. The work 

 completely straight. He considers the saving of seed as 

 something. In 1791, this saving, after paying all the ex- 

 penses of hoeing, gave a balance of 28I. 10s. yet the prices 

 of corn were wheat, 24I. a last; barley, iil. 10s.; 

 beans and white pease, 15I. Women hand-hoe the wheat 

 at 20d! an acre; 3s. 4d. for twice; and it is then earthed 

 up by horse-hoeing. The rows nine inches asunder. 

 By drilling barley he saves an earth ; and thinks that the 

 drill supersedes the use of one-horse ploughs. He never 

 hoes it, but harrows in seeds. 



Mr. Overman is a gentleman of such clear and intelli- 

 gent 



