RIDGES. 



the Couth (idea was, in Come patches, too ripe ; while that 

 an the north fides was, in many parts, abfolutely in a green 

 ftate. 



But where the ridges are to be conftru&ed in fuch lands 

 as are hilly in their fttuation, or have much declivity, it is 

 necellary that they be neither made too fteep, nor have too 

 much of a horizontal direction given them ; being drawn in 

 fuch a manner, as that they may have that fort of eafy 

 Hoping direction, by which the water may be taken off in a 

 gradual eafy manner ; as, in this way, there will not only 

 be great advantage in the faving of labour in ploughing, 

 nearly one-third lefs power in the team being fufficient ; but 

 the injury and inconvenience of heavy rains warning down 

 the foil and manure will in a great meafure be obviated. It 

 has been ilated by the author of the Gentleman Farmer, 

 that in a hanging field, that had been carefully drefied with 

 lime and dung for turnips, and in which the turnips were 

 fairly above the ground, a heavy fummer fhower fwept 

 down the crop, together with the lime, dung, and a portion 

 of the loofe foil, leaving the land naked and expofed. 

 Therefore, in the forming ridges in lands that have fuch 

 fituations, it has been well obferved by the author of the 

 Agricultural Report of Perthfhire, that when the fields 

 hang fo much as to be accounted fteep, the ridges ought 

 neither to be drawn parallel to the bottom of them, nor at 

 right angles, ftraight up and down ; either of which would 

 be inconvenient in the ploughing, and injurious to the foil ; 

 but they ought to be drawn diagonally. The great point 

 is to underftand in what direftion this diagonal Dope of the 

 ridges ought to run. In this refpeft the tenants of Bal- 

 gowan, in this diftrift, are perfectly correft ; and it is his 

 wifh that their example were followed by all farmers, whofe 

 land has a great declivity, of which there is a confiderable 

 proportion, not only in that, but in all hilly countries what- 

 ever. The form and direction of the ridges are, he thinks, 

 contrived with fuch judgment, that the furrow (or, as lord 

 Kaimes with more accuracy calls it, the furrow-flice) falls 

 eafily away from the mould-board, as well in afcending as 

 in defcending the field, which is the principal fecret. There 

 can be no more than two diagonal lines in any four-fided 

 figure, which is generally the form of inclofures ; and if 

 you bring a fenfible ploughman to each of the angles below, 

 defiring him to look towards each of the oppofite angles 

 above, he will at once tell you which of thefe diagonal di- 

 rections is eafielt for himfelf and his horfes, and will accord- 

 ingly fix on that line by which the furrow, in afcending, will 

 fall mod readily into its place, having his right hand and the 

 mould-board of his plough with a fide-afpeel to the bottom 

 of the field. But, with the view of rendering this more 

 obvious, fuppofe the field to have a fteep defcent and a 

 fouthern afpefl, the ridges are drawn from fouth-weft to 

 iiorth-eaft ; which is the cafe in the inftance alluded to. 

 ■Suppofe, again, the field to have a northern afpeft, the 

 ridges arc drawn in the fame direction, but with this dif- 

 ference in ploughing, that you ajcend fouth-weft in the laft 

 cafe, whereas you defcend fouth-weft in the firft. If the 

 field fronts the eaft, you afcend north-weft ; or invariably 

 tour points forward from the Hope of the field, in going up 

 the hill. Befides the vaft faving in refpedt to the power or 

 ftrength of the team in this way, and that of the foil being 

 lefs liable to be carried away by rains, by the running of the 

 water in the furrows ; where the ridges are made parallel to 

 the bottom of the field, all the dexterity of a man and force 

 of cattle that could be applied would be infufficient to turn 

 every fecond furrow up againft the hill. 



It is remarked, that the expedient univerfally employed, 

 according to the old fyftem, in ploughing fields of this 



kind, was either to plough with a double mould-board, or, 

 it the mould-board were fingle, to plough only one furrow 

 in going twice the length of the ridge ; but moil frequently 

 the laft. Both are, he thinks, bad hufbandry. In the 

 former method, you lofe none of your time, indeed ; but 

 one half of your labour is loft by the latter. His principal 

 objeftioin he is of opinion, holds equally againft both. All 

 the foil is, year after year, rolling downward ; and in pro- 

 cefs of time, the upper part of the field will be peeled to the 

 bone, and quite bare of foil, while a great bank is accumu- 

 lating at the bottom, like a dunghill, compofed of the 

 richelt land in the field ; and withal, the furrows are laid fo 

 completely on their backs, that little benefit is derived 

 from the manure, excepting it be laid on the furface the firft 

 year. 



The fame writer further ftates, that where a hill is to be 

 drefled, in order to be laid down to grafs, it ought to re- 

 ceive the latter furrow by going round in a fpiral liue, with- 

 out ever turning the plough, beginning at the bafe, and 

 ending at the top. This requires lefs labour, and is more 

 beautiful. In preparing the ground for this laft furrow, it 

 may be ploughed diagonally, to keep the foil from tumbling 

 down hill, as has been mentioned above, in refpeel to de- 

 clivities : for this purpofe, the furface of the hill may be 

 divided into three or more feftions. And it is remarked by 

 a late praftical writer, in addition, that, in this way, no 

 more ftrength of team is required in ploughing fuch eleva- 

 tions than in that of ploughing on a level ; while, where the 

 foil is of the gravelly or iandy kind, the great inconvenience 

 of the moifture going off too quickly is guarded againft, by 

 its being detained in the furrows. And the fpiral furrow is, 

 according to the firft writer, the neateft method of finiihing 

 off a lawn, even of flat land, near a gentleman's houfe ; as 

 it brings the whole furface to an uniform appearance, and 

 pleafes the eye more than having the lawn ftriped with 

 furrows. 



In regard to fueh lands as are level, or have but little in- 

 equality of furface, the beft general practice, it is obferved 

 by the author of a late work, is to form the ridges as 

 ftraight and as regular in refpeft to breadth as poffible ; as, 

 by having them crooked, and of irregular breadths, the 

 water is not only liable to ftagnate and injure the foil, but 

 the friftion in ploughing is greatly increafed, and the fur- 

 row-flice is not fo well laid over, being more difpofed to fall 

 back. And, befides, many urineceffary turnings are re- 

 quifite, on account of the inequalities of breadth, by which 

 much time is loft, as well as much trouble given to the 

 ploughman in managing the plough while at work. 



In fome of the lefs improved counties in the northern 

 parts of the kingdom, as Lancashire, and thofe adjoining 

 it, the ridges on the old lands are often narrow, crooked, 

 and very ill laid out, being for the moft part too much 

 rounded in the middle parts, and in the form of butts, which 

 are the ftates in which they are at the prefent time, few or no 

 attempts having been made to alter them in any way. How- 

 ever, from the nature and depths of the foils, it would not 

 appear that there would be any danger or difficulty in doing 

 it ; though this may be the cafe in fome other fituations, 

 where it ought to be attempted with proper caution. In 

 fome parts of the above diftrict, as that of the field, the 

 term Jarring or furrowing is often made ufe of, inftead of 

 that of ridge. 



Method of Eevelling and Straightening old Ridges. — In fuch 

 kind of land as has been long in a cultivated itate, high, 

 crooked, and irregular ridges are frequently met with, that 

 often become necellary to be altered, fo as to be rendered 

 more ftraight and level. This, though apparently fimple, 



is 



