THE farmer’s manual. 
9 
begun as above ; because these crops strike a shallow 
root, and will be left to feed on the dead earth which 
you have brought up to the surface. These are the 
outlines, or first principles of good ploughing, and 
the minute attention of every farmer, will soon dis- 
cover the mode which shall be best adapted to his dif- 
ferent soils, and different crops, with this general prin- 
ciple, to deepen his soil at every ploughing, as far 
as (he nature of the substratum, or under soil, and the 
safety of his crop will admit ; and in this way, he may 
soon bring his farm into a deep tillage. The succesfi. 
of one half of any one of his fields, under a regular 
deep tillage, comparfed with the other half under a 
shallow tillage, will be the most convincing argument 
in favour of deep ploughing, than can be laid before 
the practical farmer. Try and see. 
This being the life of a farm, it is impossible to be 
too particular in improving it. I shall conclude this 
article with the following remarks. 
1. The depth of your soil being determined as be- 
fore, plough flat, or ridge, directly according to the 
nature of your soil. 
2. If your soil is naturally dry, plough flat, and as 
level as possible, this will give an equal diffusion of 
moisture thronghoyt your field ; but if your soil is 
moist, plough into wide ridges of 1 3 to 24 feet, and 
if it is a wet soil, let your ridges not exceed 6 to 12 
feet. The object of ridge ploughing, is to improve 
the furrows between the ridges, as drains for the water, 
therefore multiply your drains, by narrowing your 
lands, or ridges, according to the moisture of your 
soil ; and so vice versa. This is the best, if not only 
method of equalizing moist and wet lands. 
3. In ploughing high hills, and steep acclivities, it 
is generally practised to plough directly up and down, 
with a furrow both ways : (up and down,) this is at- 
tended with two evils ; 1st, it is very fatiguing to the 
team to carry a furrow up the hill ; and 2d, it ex- 
poses the lands to be washed, and gullied in the fur- 
rows, which is sometimes ruinous. 
