Chapter VI: Preface (6)

[121] In very light Land, perhaps, we must not hoe quite so near to
the Rows of Wheat, as in strong Land, for fear the Winter should lay
the Roots bare, and expose them too much to the Cold; but then we may
be sure, that, in this Case, the Roots will reach the Interval at a
greater Distance than in strong Land; yet such very light Land is not
proper for Wheat.

The Row standing as it were on the Brink of this almost perpendicular Ditch, the Water runs off quickly, or doth not enter but a very little Way into this deep Side; so that, the Earth at the Plants being dry, the Frost doth not reach quite to all their Roots to hurt them, tho’ the Distance from the Air to the Roots be very short; and dry Earth doth not freeze as wet doth, neither is this Ditch much exposed to the cold Winds.

The Spring-hoeing is performed after the great Frosts are past, and when the Weather will allow it; and then turn[122] the Ridge from[123] the Middle of the Interval, to the Rows on each Side by Two Furrows as near as can be, without covering the Wheat; in doing which have regard to the Row only, without looking at the Middle of the Interval; for ’tis no matter if a little Earth be left there; the next Hoeing, or the next save one[124], will move it.

[122] ’Tis an errant Mistake of the Vulgar, when they imagine that
the immediate Benefit of fresh Earth to Plants is from that Part
which remains uppermost; for ’tis from turning the impregnated
pulverized Side downwards, to be fed on by the Roots, that gives the
_Pabulum_ or Nourishment of the fresh Earth to Plants: The other
Side, being turned upwards, becomes impregnate also in a little time.

[123] But note, that when we see Weeds coming up near the Row in the
Spring, we plow again from the Rows (and sometimes can plow within
one Inch of the Row) before we turn down the Mould from the Middle of
the Interval.

[124] If at the next Hoeing we turn another Furrow towards the Row
(which is seldom done), then ’tis the next that moves the remaining
Earth, left in the Middle of the Interval: But if the next Hoeing be
from the Row (as it generally is), then that covers the Middle of the
Interval; and then ’tis the next Hoeing after that, that turns all
the Earth clean out of the Middle of the Interval toward the Rows.

As to how many times Wheat is to be hoed in the Summer, after this Spring Operation, it depends upon the Circumstances[125] and Condition of the Land[126] and Weather[127]; but be the Season as it will, never suffer the Weeds to grow high, nor let any unmoved Earth lie in the Middle of the Intervals long enough to grow hard; neither plow deep near the Rows in the Summer, when the Plants are large[128], but as deep in the Middle of the Intervals as the Staple will allow; turning the Earth towards the Wheat, especially at the last Hoeing, so as to leave a deep, wide Trench in the Middle of each Interval.

[125] If the Land was not sufficiently tilled or hoed in the
precedent Year, it will require the more Hoeings in the following
Year.

[126] The poorer the Land is, the more Hoeings it should have.

[127] A wet Summer may prevent some of the Hoeings that we should
perform in a dry Summer.

[128] Our Hoeing deep near the Plants, when small, breaks off only
the Ends of the Roots; but after the Roots are spread far in the
interval, the greatest Part of them, being then on the Right-hand
Side of the Hoe plough, might hold fast on that Side, and not be
drawn out; and then the whole Roots would be broken off close to the
Bodies of the Plants: Therefore at the Second deep Hoeing, that turns
a Furrow from the Row in the Summer, we go about Four or Six Inches
farther off from the Roots than the time before; but we go nearer
or farther off, according to the Distance of Time between those Two
Hoeings: Yet we may hoe _shallow_ near to the Plants at any time,
without Injury to their Roots, but, on the contrary, it will be
advantageous to them.

We augment our Wheat-crops Four Ways; not in Number of Plants, but in Stalks, Ears, and Grains.

The First is, by increasing the Number of Stalks from One, Two, or Three, to Thirty or Forty to a Plant, in ordinary Field-land.

And we augment the Crop, by bringing up all the Stalks into Ears, which is the Second Way; for, if it be diligently observed, we shall find, that not half[129] the Stalks of sown Wheat come into Ear.

[129] If a square Yard of sown Wheat be marked out, and the Stalks
thereon numbered in the Spring, it will be found, that Nine parts in
Ten are missing at Harvest.

I saw an Experiment of this in Rows of Wheat that were equally poor: One of these Rows was increased[130] so much, as to produce more Grains than Ten of the other, by bringing up more of its Stalks into Ears, and also by augmenting its Ears to a much greater Bigness; which is the Third Way: For, whatever _Varro_ means by saying, that the Ears remain Fifteen Days _in Vaginis_, ’tis pretty plain, that the Ears are formed together with the Stalks, and will be very large, or very small, in proportion to the Nourishment given them[131].

[130] These Rows were drilled a Foot asunder, not hoed; and were, by
the Shallowness and Wetness of the Soil, very poor in the Spring; and
then, by pouring Urine to the Bottom of this Row, it was so vastly
increased above the rest.

[131] Like as the Vines, if well nourished, bring large Bunches of
Grapes; but if ill nourished, they produce few Bunches, and those
small ones; and many Claspers are formed, which would have been
Bunches, if they had had sufficient Nourishment given them at the
proper time.

The last and Fourth Way of augmenting the Produce of Wheat-plants, is by causing them to have large and plump Grains in the Ears; and this can no way be so effectually done as by late Hoeing, especially just after the Wheat is gone out of the Blossom; and when such hoed Grains weigh double the Weight of the same Number of unhoed (which they frequently will) tho’ the Number of Grains in the hoed are only equal, yet the hoed Crop must be double.

Thus, by increasing the Number of Stalks[132], bringing more of them up into Ear[133], making the Ears larger[134], and the Grain plumper, and fuller of Flour[135], the Hoeing Method makes a greater Crop from a Tenth Part of the Plants[136] than the sowing Method can.

[132] The same Plant that, when poor, sends out but Two or Three
Tillers, would, if well nourished by the Hoe, or otherwise, send up a
Multitude of Tillers, as is seen in hoed Wheat, and sown Wheat.

[133] Mr. _Houghton_ relates Eighty Ears on one single Plant of
Wheat, and a greater Number has been counted lately in a Garden:
Those Eighty, reckoned to have Fifty Grains apiece, make an Increase
of Four thousand Grains for one; but I have never found above Forty
Ears from a single Plant in my Fields; yet there is no doubt, but
that every Plant would produce as many as Mr. _Houghton_’s, of the
same Sort, with the same Nourishment; But I should not desire any
to be so prolific in Stalks, lest they should fail of bringing such
a Multitude of Ears to Perfection. The Four hundred Ears, that I
numbered in a Yard, were not weighed, because they were told before
ripe; and the greatest Weight of Wheat that ever I had from a Yard,
was the Product of about Two hundred and Fifty Ears, and some of them
were small.

[134] I have numbered One hundred and Nine Grains in One Ear of my
hoed Cone-wheat of the grey Sort; and One Ear of my hoed Lammas-wheat
has been measured to be Eight Inches long, which is double to those
of sown Wheat. I have some of these Ears now by me almost as long,
the longest being given away as a Rarity; and indeed ’tis not every
Year that they grow to that Length, and ’tis always where the Plants
are pretty single. But there is no Year wherein One Ear of my hoed
does not more than weigh Two of the sown Ears, taking a whole Sheaf
of each together without choosing. The Sheaves of the hoed are of a
different Shape from the other; almost all the Ears of the hoed are
at the Top of the Sheaf; but most of the other are situate at the
lower Part, or near the Middle of the Sheaf.

[135] Seed Cone wheat coming all out at the same Heap, planted all at
the same Time, and on Land of the same Sort adjoining near together,
the Wheat that was sown produced Grains so small, and that which was
drilled so very large, that no Farmer or Wheat-buyer would believe
them to be of the same Sort of Wheat, except those who knew it, which
were many. One Grain of the drilled weighed Two of the sown, and
there was twice the Chaff in an equal Weight of the sown, being both
weighed before and after the Wheat was separated from the Chaff.

[136] The Fact of this nobody can doubt, who has observed the
different Products of strong and of weak Plants, how the one exceeds
the other.

The greatest Difference of having an equal Crop from a small Number
of strong Plants, and from a great Number of weak ones, is, that the
Soil is vastly less exhausted by the former than by the latter, not
only from the latter’s exhausting more in proportion to their Number
when young, and whilst each of them consumes as much Nourishment as
each of the small Number; but also from the different Increase that
a strong Plant makes by receiving the same Proportion of Food with a
weak one: For it appears from Dr. _Woodward_’s Experiments, that the
Plant which receives the _least_ Increase carries off the _greatest_
Quantity of Nourishment in proportion to that Increase; and that
’tis the same with an Animal, all who are acquainted with fatting of
Swine know; for they eat much more Food daily for the first Two Weeks
of their being put into the Sty, than they do afterwards, when they
thrive faster; the fatter they grow, the less they eat.

Hence, I think, it may be inferred, that a Plant, which, by never
having been robbed or stinted by other Plants, is strong, receives a
much greater Increase from an equal Quantity of Food, than a Number
of weak Plants (as thick ones are), equalling the Bulk of the single
strong Plant, do.

And this of the Doctor’s have I seen by my own Observations confirmed
in the Field in Potatoes, Turneps, Wheat, and Barley; a following
Crop succeeds better after an equal Crop, consisting of a bare
competent Number of strong Plants, than after a Crop of thick weak
ones, _cæteris paribus_.

Thus the hoed Crops, if well managed, consisting of fewer and
stronger Plants than the sown Crops of equal Produce, exhaust the
Ground less; whereby, and by the much (I had almost said infinitely)
greater Pulveration of the Soil, indifferent good Land may, for any
thing I have yet seen to the contrary, produce profitable Crops
always without Manure, or Change of _Species_, if the Soil be
proper for it in respect of Heat and Moisture; and also as Crops of
some _Species_, by their living longer, by their greater Bulk, or
different Constitution, exhaust more than others, respect ought to be
had to the Degree of Richness of the Soil, that is to produce each
_Species_: The Sowing and the Hoeing Husbandry differ so much both in
Pulveration and Exhaustion, that no good Argument can be drawn from
the former against the latter: But tho’ a too great Number of Plants
be, upon many Accounts, very injurious to the Crop, yet ’tis best to
have a competent Number; which yet needs not be so exact, but that we
may expect a great Crop from Twenty, Forty, or Fifty Plants in a Yard
of the treble Row, if well managed.

All these Advantages will be lost by those Drillers, who do not overcome the unreasonable Prejudices of the unexperienced, concerning the Width of Intervals.

In wide Intervals, we can raise a good Crop with less Labour, less Seed, no Dung, no Fallow, but not without a competent Quantity of Earth, which is the least expensive of any thing given to Corn; the Earth of a whole good Acre being but about the Tenth Part of the common Expence; and of indifferent Land, a Twentieth; and such I count that of Five Shillings and Six-pence _per_ Acre.

The Crop enjoys all the Earth; for betwixt the last Hoeing, and the Harvest, there remains nothing but Space empty of Mould in the Middle of the Intervals.

’Tis an Objection, that great Part of those wide Intervals must be lost[137], because the Wheat-roots do not reach it; but as we generally turn the Mould towards the Row at the last Hoeings, there is no Part of it above Two Feet distant from even the middle Row, and Seventeen Inches from either of the outside Rows.

[137] They do reach through all the Mould (as shall be proved
by-and-by); and yet may leave sufficient Pasture behind; because it
is impossible for them to come into Contact with all the Mould in
One Year; no more than when Ten Horses are put into an Hundred Acres
of good Pasture, their Mouths come into Contact with all the Grass
to eat it in one Summer, though they will go all over it, as the
Vine-roots go all over the Soil of a Vineyard without exhausting it
all; because those Roots feed only such a bare competent Quantity of
Plants, which do not overstock their Pasture.

The Superficies of the fibrous Roots of a proper Number of
Wheat-plants bear a very small Proportion to the Superficies of the
fine Parts of the pulverized Earth they feed on in these Intervals;
for one cubical Foot of this Earth may, as is shewn in _p._ 29. have
many thousand Feet of internal Superficies: But this is in proportion
to the Degree of its Pulveration: and that Degree may be such as is
sufficient to maintain a competent Number of Wheat-plants, without
over-exhausting the vegetable Pasture, but not sufficient to maintain
those, and a great Stock of Weeds besides, without over-exhausting
it. And this was plainly seen in a Field of Wheat drilled on
_Six-feet_ Ridges, when the South Ends of some of the Ridges, and the
North Ends of others, had their Partitions Hand hoed, and cleansed
of Weeds, early in the Spring, the opposite Ends remaining full of a
small _Species_ of Weeds, called _Crow-needles_, which so exhausted
the whole Intervals of the weedy Part of the Ridges, that the next
Year the whole Field being drilled again with Wheat exactly in
the Middle of the last Intervals, the following Crop very plainly
distinguished how far each Ridge had its Partitions made clean of
those small Weeds in the Spring, from the other End where the Weeds
remained till full-grown; the Crop of the former was twice as good as
that of the latter, even where both were cleansed of Weeds the next
_Spring_. This Crop standing only upon that Part of the Mould, which
was farthest from the Rows of the precedent Crop, proves that the
Roots, both of the Wheat and Weeds, did enter all the Earth of the
former Intervals.

It was also observable, that where the Partitions of Two of the
Six-feet Ridges had been in the precedent Year cleansed of Weeds,
and those of the adjoining Ridges on each Side of them not cleansed,
the Row that was the next Year planted exactly in the Middle of the
Interval between those two Ridges, was perceivably better than either
of the Two Rows planted in the Intervals on the other Side of each
of them: The Reason of which Difference must be, that the Middle of
the Interval, that was between the Two cleansed Ridges, was fed on by
the Wheat only, and by no Weeds; but the other Two Intervals were fed
on by the Wheat on one Side, and by both the Wheat and Weeds on the
other Side of each.

There were, in the same Field, several Ridges together, that had
the Ends of their Rows of Wheat plowed out by the Hoe-plough, and
their other Ends cleansed of Weeds: This was done on purpose, to
see what Effect a Fallow would have on the next Crop, which was
indeed extraordinary; for these fallowed Ends of the Ridges, being
Horse-hoed in the Summer, as the other Ends were, and the Intervals
of them made into Ridges, the following Year produced the largest
Crop of all; this Crop was received in 1734.

These several different Managements performed in this Field, shewed
by the different Success of the Crops in each Sort, what ought to be
done, and which is the best Sort of Management.

This Field indeed is some of my best Land; and by all the Experiments
I have seen on it, I do not find but that, by the best Management,
never omitted in any Year, it might produce good annual Crops of
Wheat always, without Assistance of Dung or Fallow; but it would
be very difficult for me to get Hands to do this to the greatest
Perfection, unless I were able constantly to attend them.

The whole pulverized Earth of the Interval being pretty equally fed
on by the former Crop, ’tis no great Matter in what Part of it the
following Crop is drill’d: I never drill it but on the Middle of the
last Year’s Interval, because there is the Trench whereon the next
Year’s Ridge is made with the greatest Conveniency: But there may
be some Reason to suspect, that the Plants of the Rows exhaust more
Nourishment from that Earth of the Intervals which is farthest from
their Bodies, than from that which is nearest to them: Since their
fibrous Roots, at the greatest Distance from the Rows, are most
numerous, _&c._ by these the Plants, when they are at their greatest
Bulk, are chiefly maintained.

It must be _noted_, that the above Experiments would not have been
a full Proof, if Weeds had been suffered to grow in the Partitions
of the Ends of those Ridges, in the Year wherein the Difference
appeared. It may also be _noted_, that a Mixture and Variety of bad
Husbandry are useful for a Discovery of the _Theory_ and _Practice_
of good Husbandry.

And I have plainly proved, that the Roots of Cone-wheat have reached Mould at Two Feet Distance, after passing through another Row at a Foot Distance from it, the Plants being then but Eighteen Inches high, and but half-grown.

Farmers do not grudge to bestow Three or Four Pounds in the Buying and Carriage of Dung for an Acre; but think themselves undone, if they afford an extraordinary Eighteen-penyworth of Earth to the wide Intervals of an Acre; not considering that Earth is not only the best, but also the cheapest Entertainment that can be given to Plants; for at Five Shillings and Six-pence Rent, the whole Earth belonging to each of our Rows costs only Six-pence, _i. e._ a Peny for a Foot broad, and Six hundred and Sixty Feet long; that being the Sixty-sixth Part of an Acre[138].

[138] But the Vulgar compute this Expence of a Foot Breadth of
Ground, not only as of the Rent, as they ought, but as an Eleventh
Part of their own usual Charges added to the Rent.

And there is Land enough in _England_ to be had, at the Rent of Five
Shillings and Six-pence the Acre, that is very proper for Wheat in
the Hoeing-Husbandry.

And if for constant annual Wheat-crops you make fewer than Eleven Rows on Four Perches Breadth, you will always increase the Expence of Hoeing; because then Two Furrows will not Hoe One of those Intervals, and you will also thereby lessen the Crops, but improve the Land more: And if you increase that Number of Rows, you will thereby increase every Expence; for there must be Two Furrows to hoe a narrow Interval, and an Increase of the Quantity of Seed, and the Labour in uncovering, weeding, and reaping; and also you will less improve the Land, and lessen the Crops after the First Year.

If the Intervals are narrower in deep Land, tho’ there might be Mould enough in them, yet there would not be Room to pulverize it.

If narrower in shallow Land, tho’ there were Room, yet there would not be Mould enough in them to be pulverized.

The Horse-hoe, well applied, doth supply the Use of Dung and Fallow; but it cannot supply the Use of Earth, tho’ it can infinitely increase the vegetable Pasture of it, by pulverizing it, where it is in a reasonable Quantity: Yet if the Intervals be so narrow, that near all the Earth of them goes to make the Partitions raised at the Top of the Ridges, there will be so little to be pulverized, that you must return to Fallowing, and to the Dung-cart, and to all the old exorbitant Charges[139].

[139] The Objections against these wide Intervals are only for saving
a Penyworth or Two of Earth in each Row, or a few Groats-worth of it
in an Acre; by saving of which Earth they may lose, in the present
and succeeding Crops, more Pounds.

Eight Acres, Part of a Ground of Twenty Acres, drilled with Intervals of Three Feet and an half, brought a good Crop; but the Second Year, not being hoed, the Crop was poor; and the Third Crop made that Land so foul and turfy, that ’twas forced to lie for a Fallow, there being no way to bring it into Tilth without a Summer-plowing[140], when the rest of the same Piece, in wider Intervals, being constantly hoed, continued in good Tilth, and never failed to yield a good Crop, without missing one Year.

[140] This Narrowness of the Intervals, if the Damage of it be
rightly computed, would amount to half the Inheritance of the Land;
and was occasioned by the Wilfulness of my Bailiff, who, drilling it
upon the Level, ordered the Horse to be guided half a Yard within
the Mark, because he fansied the Intervals would be too wide, if he
followed my Directions.

In another Field, there is now a Sixth Crop of Wheat, in wide Intervals, very promising, tho’ this Ground has had no sort of Dung to any of these Crops, or in several Years before them: The last Year’s Crop was the Fifth, and was the best of the Five, tho’ a Yard of the Row yielded but Eighteen Ounces and Three Quarters; and the Third Crop yielded Twenty Ounces Weight[141] of clean Wheat in the same Spot; but ’twas because the Spot where the Twenty grew, was then a little higher than the rest, which in Two Years became more equal; and the thin Land was more deficient in that Third Crop, than the thick Land exceeded the thin in the Fifth Crop.

[141] Wheat, before Harvest, standing in Rows with wide Intervals
betwixt them, may not seem, to the Eye, to equal a Crop of half the
Bigness dispersed all over the Land, when sown in the common Manner;
and yet there is more Deceit in the Appearance of those different
Crops, whilst they are young, and in Grass: We should therefore not
judge of them then by our Imagination, but as we do of the Sun and
Moon nigh the Horizon, _viz._ by our Reason.

Imagination often deceives us by Arguments false or precarious;
but Reason leads us to Demonstration, by Weights and Measures: Yet
this Prejudice will vanish at Harvest before weighing; for then all
those wide Intervals that were bare, will be covered with large Ears
interfering to hide them quite, and make a finer Appearance than a
sown Crop. But ’tis observed, that the Cone-wheat makes the finest
Shew, when you look on it length ways of the Rows, both at Harvest,
and a considerable time before Harvest.

In the thick the Hoe-plough went deeper, and consequently raised more Pasture there; but then it went the shallower in the thin; and when the Land became of a more equal Depth the Fifth Year, the Plough and the Hoe-plough went deeper, all the Piece being taken together; for the Crop could be but in proportion to the different Pasture, allowing somewhat for the more or less Seasonableness of the Year.

The Soil, in this our Case, cannot be supplied in Substance, but from the Atmosphere. The Earth which the Rain brings can do it alone, if it fall in great Quantity; for by Water, ’tis plain, the Earth which nourished _Helmont_’s Tree was supplied; for the Tin-cover of the Box wherein it stood, prevented the Dews from entering.

Dews must add very much to the Land, thus continually tilled and hoed; for they are more heavily charged with terrestrial Matter than Rain is, which appears from their forcing a Descent through the Air, when ’tis strong enough to buoy up the Clouds from falling into Rain: And Dew, when kept in a Vessel long enough to putrefy, leaves a greater Quantity of black Matter at the Bottom of the Vessel, than Rain-water does in a Vessel of the same Bigness, filled with it till putrefied.

Dews at Land, I suppose, are first exhaled from Rivers, and moist Lands, and from the Expirations of Vegetables; most of the Dew which falls on it is exhaled from untilled Land; but most of that which falls on well tilled or well hoed Land, remains therein unexhaled; so that the untilled Ground helps, by that means, to enrich and augment the tilled: For if an Acre be tilled for Two Years together without sowing, it will become richer by that Tillage, than by lying unplowed Four Years, which may be easily proved by Experience[142].

[142] _Non igitur Fatigatione, quemadmodum plurimi crediderunt_,
nec Senio, _sed nostra scilicet_ Inertia, _minus benigne nobis Arva
respondent._ Colum. _lib._ xi. _cap._ 1.

But then, as to Rain, the Sea being larger than all the Land (and its Waters, by their Motion, becoming replete with terrestrial Matter), ’tis not unlikely, that more Vapour is raised from One Acre of Sea, than from One hundred Acres of Land.

Some have been so curious as to compute the Quantity of Rain, that falls yearly in some Places in _England_, by a Contrivance of a Vessel to receive it; and ’tis found, in one of the driest Places, far from the Sea, to be Fourteen Inches deep, in the Compass of a Year; in some Places much more; _viz._ at _Paris_, Nineteen Inches; in _Lancashire_, Mr. _Townley_ found, by a long-continued Series of Observations, that there falls above Forty Inches of Water in a Year’s time.

Could we as easily compute the true Quantity of Earth in Rain-water, as the Quantity of Water is computed, we might perhaps find it to answer the Quantity of Earth taken off from our hoed Soil annually by the Wheat.

But if Land sown with Wheat be not hoed, its Surface is soon incrustate; and then much of this Water, with its Contents, runs off, and returns to the Sea, without entering the Ground; and in Summer a great deal of what remains is exhaled by the Sun, and raised by the Wind, both in Summer and Winter.

Some there are who think it a fatal Objection, that the more an Interval is hoed, the more Weeds will grow in it; and that the Hoe can produce, or (as they say) breed in it as many Weeds in one Summer, as would have come thereon in Ten Years by the old Husbandry. But by this Objection they only maintain, that the Hoe can destroy as many Weeds in One Summer, as the old Husbandry can in Ten Years.

And they might add, that since all Weeds that grow where the Hoe comes, are killed before they seed, and that few of those Which grow in the old Husbandry, are killed[143] before their Seed be ripe and shed; these Objectors will be forced to allow, that our Husbandry will lessen a Stock of Weeds more in one Summer, than theirs can do to the World’s End; unless they believe the equivocal Generation of Weeds, than which Opinion nothing can be more absurd.

[143] Weeds cannot be killed before they grow, but will lie dormant,
as they do in our Partitions, and in their sown Land; and while
Seeds are in the Ground, they are always ready to grow at the first
Opportunity, and will certainly break out at one time or other; so
that preventing their coming, is only like healing up a Wound before
it be cured.

Some object against my Method of[144] weighing a Yard, or a Perch in Length of a Row, saying, this does not determine the Produce of a whole Field.

[144] I did not weigh this Yard, as different from the other Yards
round about it, for I had much Difficulty to determine which Row I
should chuse it in; when I was going to cut in one Row, it still
seemed that another was better, and I question whether I did chuse
the best at last.

_Note_, Whereas I often mention the Wheat of this Field to be without
Dung or Fallow, it must be understood of that Part of the Field
wherein my _Weighings_ and other Trials were made: because there was
a small Part once fallowed Eight or Nine Years ago, and a little
Dung laid on another Part about the last _Michaelmas_, after the
Crop of Oats was taken off. But this being a Year in which Dung is
observed to have little or no Effect on _sown_ Wheat (my Dung being
weak and laid thin), ’tis the same here; for those Rows which are in
the dunged Part, can hardly be distinguished from the rest of the
Rows which had not been dunged: And yet the Ends of the Rows which
were cleansed of Weeds, are very distinguishable by the Colour of
the Wheat, though some are the Third, and some the Fourth Crop since
the Difference was made; and the _whole_ Rows managed alike every
Year, from that time to this; so that _here_ Un-exhaustion is more
effectual than Dung. This is certain, that neither Dung nor Fallow
hath been near the Part wherein my Experiments were made.

I answer, that they judge right, if the Produce of the whole Field be not of equal Goodness; but if it be not, it must be because one Part of the Field is richer, or differently managed from the other Part: For the same Causes that produce Twenty Ounces of clean Wheat upon one Yard, must produce the same Quantity upon every Yard, of a Million of Acres.

When the Crop of half a Field is spoiled by Sheep, not hoed at all, or improperly, it would be ridiculous to compute the whole Field together for an Experiment: We might indeed weigh the poorest, to prove the Difference of the one from the other, to try (as they sometimes seem to do) how poor a Crop we can raise; but my Design was, to try how good a Crop I could raise with a Tenth Part of the common Expence.

And I have often weighed the Produce of the same Quantity of Ground[145], of all Sorts of sown Wheat, both the best and the worst; but never have found any of the sown equal to the best of my drilled. Indeed we have none of the richest Land[146] in our Country within my Reach, that being not above One Mile.

[145] I allow Two square Yards of their Crops to One Yard in Length
of my Treble Row.

[146] I am sorry that this Farm, whereon I have practised
Horse-hoeing, being situate on an Hill, that consists of Chalk on one
Side, and Heath ground on the other, has been usually noted for the
poorest and shallowest Soil in the Neighbourhood.

As a Yard in Length of my treble Row of the Third successive Crop of Wheat, without Dung or Fallow, produced Twenty Ounces of Wheat; which, allowing Six Feet to the Ridge, is about Six Quarters[147] to an Acre; and, allowing Seven Inches to each Partition, and Two Inches on each Outside, is in all Eighteen Inches of Ground to each treble Row, and but just One-fourth Part of the Ridge. Now, if, in the old Husbandry, the Crop was as good all over the Ground, as it was in these Eighteen Inches of the treble Row, they must have Twenty-four Quarters to an Acre; but let them dung whilst they can, they will scarce raise Twenty-four Gallons of Wheat the Third Year, on an Acre of Land of equal Goodness; and let them leave out their Dung, and add no more Tillage in lieu of it, and I believe they will not expect Three Quarters to an Acre, in all the Three Years put together.

[147] Eight Bushels make a Quarter.

The mean Price of Wheat, betwixt Dear and Cheap, is reckoned Five Shillings a Bushel[148]; and therefore an Acre that would produce every Year, without any Expence, Eight Bushels, would be thought an extraordinary profitable Acre; but yet a drilled Acre, that produces Sixteen Bushels of Wheat, with the Expence of Ten or Fifteen Shillings, is above a Third Part more profitable.

[148] ’Tis commonly said, that a Farmer cannot thrive, who for want
of Money is obliged to sell his Wheat under Five Shillings a Bushel;
but if he will sell it dear, he must keep it when ’tis cheap; And his
Way of keeping it is in the Straw, using his best Contrivances to
preserve it from the Mice.

The most secure Way of keeping a great Quantity of Wheat, that ever
I heard of, is by drying it. When I lived in _Oxfordshire_, one of
my nearest Neighbours was very expert in this, having practised it
for great Part of his Life: When Wheat was under Three Shillings a
Bushel, he bought in the Markets as much of the middle Sort of Wheat
as his Money would reach to purchase: He has often told me, that
his Method was to dry it upon an Hair-cloth, in a Malt-kiln, with
no other Fuel than clean Wheat-Straw; never suffering it to have
any stronger Heat than that of the Sun. The longest time he ever
let it remain in this Heat was Twelve Hours, and the shortest time
about Four Hours; the damper the Wheat was, and the longer intended
to be kept, the more Drying it requires: But how to distinguish
nicely the Degrees of Dampness, and the Number of Hours proper for
its Continuance upon the Kiln, he said was an Art impossible to be
learned by any other Means than by Practice. About Three or Four and
Twenty Years ago, Wheat being at Twelve Shillings a Bushel, he had
in his Granaries, as I was informed, Five thousand Quarters of dried
Wheat; none of which cost him above Three Shillings a Bushel.

This dried Wheat was esteemed by the _London_ Bakers to work better
than any new Wheat that the Markets afforded. His Speculation, which
put him upon this Project, was, that ’twas only the superfluous
Moisture of the Grain that caused its Corruption, and made it liable
to be eaten by the Wevil; and that when this Moisture was dried out,
it might be kept sweet and good for many Years; and that the Effect
of all Heat of the same Degree was the same, whether of the Straw, or
of the Sun.

As a Proof, he would shew, that every Grain of his Wheat would grow
after being kept Seven Years.

He was a most sincere honest Yeoman, who from a small Substance he
began with, left behind him about Forty thousand Pounds; the greatest
Part whereof was acquired by this Drying Method.

For the Hand-hoeing they use Hoes of Four Inches Breadth, very thin,
and well steeled: Their Thinness keeps them from wearing to a thick
Edge, and prevents the Necessity of often grinding them. Such Hoes
are in Use with some Gardeners near _London_. They need not be afraid
of drawing these little Hoes across the Rows of young Wheat to take
out the few Weeds that come therein at the early Hoeing; for whilst
the Wheat-plants are small, it may be an Advantage to cut out some of
the weakest, as they do of Turneps; for I perceive there are oftener
too many Plants than too few. But the thing that causes the greatest
Trouble in cleansing the Rows, is when the Seed is foul (_i. e._ full
of Seeds of Weeds): Therefore I cleanse my Seed-wheat by drawing it
on a Cloth on a Table, which makes it perfectly clean.

This Hand-hoeing should be performed about the End of _March_, or
Beginning of _April_, before the Wheat is spindled (_i. e._ run up
to Stalks); and if the Weather be dry enough, you may go lengthways
of the Ridges with a very light Roller to break the Clods of the
Partitions, whereby the Hoe will work the better.

If there should afterwards more Weeds come up, they must not be
suffered to ripen; and then the Soil will be every Year freer from
Weeds.

This Hand-hoeing of the Rows should be done at the proper time,
though it happen, by late Planting, that the Horse-hoe has not
gone before it; for it may be, that the Weather has kept out the
Horse-hoe: and the Earth may not be dry deep enough in the Intervals
for the Hoe-plough, but deep enough in the Partitions for the
Hand-hoe.

And the Expence of this Hand-work on the Rows would be well answered,
though there should not be one Weed in them; and so it would be, if a
second Hand hoeing were bestowed on the Partitions of every Crop of
Wheat not suspected of being too luxuriant.

If after the last Horse-hoeing there should be Occasion for another
Hoeing of the Intervals, where the Narrowness of them, and the
Leaning of tall Wheat, make it difficult or dangerous to be performed
by the Hoe-plough; a slight shallow Hoeing may be performed therein
by the Hand-hoe with Ease and Safety, at a very small Expence, which
would be more than doubly repaid in the following Crops.

* * * * *

If any one doubts of the Efficacy of thus managing Wheat, it can’t
cost much to make proper Trials. But then Care must be taken, that
the Trials be proper. I do not advise any one to be at the Expence of
my Instruments for that Purpose, but to imitate them in pulverizing,
and all other directed Operations by the Spade and common Hoes. His
Ridges of Experiment need be no longer than Six Feet. Instead of a
Drill, make use of a triangular Piece of Wood, Seven Feet long, and
Four or Five Inches thick, with one Edge of which make Channels, and
place the Seed regularly even into them by Hand, and cover it with
the same Piece of Wood; but if the Earth be so wet, as to cling to
the Piece, then make use of it only as a Ruler, whereby to make the
Channels strait with a Stick.

Let some of the Ridges have double Rows, others treble; and let some
have treble Rows half-way, and leave out the middle Row in the other
Half, to shew whether the double Row or the treble Row produce a
better Crop.

Then for the First time of Hoeing, the Spade must work with its Back
towards the Row. The Second time, in turning the Earth to the Row,
the Spade’s Face must be towards it. These Two, and several other
Hoeings should be deep; but when the Roots are large (and the Hoeing
is near the Plants), the Spade must go shallow; and neither the Face
nor the Back of it must be towards the Row, except when the Earth is
turned towards it; and then the Face must be always towards it; but
for the rest of the last Hoeings, the Spade should work with its Face
towards one or other of the Ends of the Intervals, that the fewer of
the Roots may be cut off, and the more of them removed, and covered
again. Let the Spits be thin for the better pulverizing of the Mould.
The Hand-hoe will sometimes be useful in the Intervals, as well as in
the Partitions.

Four or Five Perches of Land may suffice for making proper Trials.

The Expence of this will be little, though perhaps Ten times more
than that which is done by the proper Instruments for the same
Proportion of Land.

But I must give this Caution, that no Part of it be done out of the
Reach of the Master’s Eye; for if it should, he may expect to be
disappointed.

The richer the Land, the thinner it must be planted to prevent the
lodging of Corn.

The Master ought to compute the Quantity of Seed, due to each Perch,
at the Rate of Five or Six Gallons to an Acre, by Weighing, _&c._ as
I have shewn in my Essay.

I cannot commend more than Two Partitions in a Row, or more than One,
when the Intervals are narrow; because the broader the Row is, the
more Earth will remain unpulverized, under the Partitions; too much
of which Earth being whole, will disappoint, at least, one of the
Differences mentioned in my xviith Chapter.

Indifferent Land I think most proper whereon to make the Experiment,
and the most improper for Corn is barren Land, as the best brings the
largest Crops.

To ascertain the Quantity of the Crop, take a Yard in the Middle of a
Ridge, and weigh its Produce.

Every Year leave one Interval unhoed, to prove the Difference of that
Side of a double or treble Row next to it, from the other Side next
to the hoed Interval.

But it must be _noted_, that the Spade doth not always pulverize so
much as the Plough, or Hoe-plough; therefore there may be occasion
for more Diggings than there would be of Horse-hoeings.

One of the Observations that put me upon Trials of wide Intervals,
and Horse work for Corn, was the following; _viz._ One Half of a
poorish Field was sown with Barley; the other Half drilled with
Turneps, the Rows Thirty Inches asunder, at the proper Season, and
twice hoed with a Sort of Horse-hoe contrived for that Purpose (but
nothing like that I have described); the Drill, beginning next to
the Barley, left an Interval of the same (30 Inches) Breadth between
the First Row of Turneps and the Barley, which, being sown on large
Furrows, came up in a sort of Rows, as is common for Barley to come
when sown on such wide Furrows. This Interval between the Barley and
the Turneps had the same Hoeings as the rest, and had this Effect
on the broad Row of Barley next to it; _viz._ Each Plant had many
Stalks; it was of a very deep flourishing Colour, grew high, the Ears
very long, and, in all respects, the Barley was as good as if it had
been produced by the richest Land. The next Row of Barley had some
little Benefit on the Side next to the strong Row; but all the rest
of the Barley, either by the too late Sowing of it, the Poverty of
the Soil (not being in any manner dunged), or else by the Coldness
of the Land, or Coldness of the Summer, or by all of these Causes,
though pretty free from Weeds, was exceeding poor, yellow, low, thin,
and the Ears were very short and small.

I intended to have taken the exact Difference there was between the
Produce of this outside Row, and one of those that stood out of the
Reach of the hoed Interval: But I was disappointed by my Neighbour’s
Herd of Cows, that in the Night broke in just before Harvest, and eat
off almost all the Ears of the rich Row, doing very little Damage
to the rest, except by treading it. It must be from the different
Tastes, the one being sweet, and the other bitter, that they make
their Election to eat the one, and refuse the other.

This accidental Observation was sufficient to demonstrate the
Efficacy of deep Hoeing, which I look upon as synonymous to
Horse-hoeing.

I immediately set about contriving my limbered Hoe, finding all
other Sorts insufficient for the Exactness required in this hoeing
Operation: Those drawn in any other manner, when they went too far
from the Row, and the Holder went to lift the Plough nearer, it would
fly back again, like the Sally of a Bell, and go at no Certainty not
being subject to the Guidance of the Holder, as the limber Hoe-plough
is. The _Michaelmas_ following I began my present Horse-hoeing
Scheme; which has never yet deceived my Expectations, when performed
according to the Directions I have given my Readers. And the Practice
of this Scheme proves the Advantage of deep Hoeing, by the Ends of
the Ridges and Intervals; for there, whilst the drawing Cattle go
on the Headland that is higher, the Furrows are shallower, and the
Corn of the Rows is always there visibly poorer in proportion to that
Shallowness.

Another Proof of the Difference there is between deep Hoeing and
shallow, is in the Garden, where a square Perch of Cabbages, the Rows
of which are Three Feet asunder; the middle Row of them having the
Intervals on each Side of it deeply and well dug by the Spade at the
same proper time, when the rest of the Intervals are Hand hoed; this
middle Row will shew the Difference of those Two Operations: But in
this must be observed what I have here before mentioned, of turning
the Back of the Spade to the Plants, to avoid the total removing
them, especially in very dry Weather.

This Experiment hath been tried, and always succeeds with every one
that has made the Trials.

But before any one makes his Trials of my Field-scheme, I would
advise him to be Master of the Treatise, by making an _Index_ himself
to it: This will both direct him in his Proceedings, and shew him the
Rashness of those, who go into the Practice of my Husbandry, without
the necessary Preparation; for they that do so now, seem to act as
rashly, as they that went into it before the Treatise was published.
’Tis reasonable to presume, that such their Practice must be either
different from, or contrary to mine.

This _Index_ may be also useful for discovering Pretenders by an
Examination, without which, Gentlemen are liable to be imposed on by
them, as I am afraid too many have been; for amongst all those who
have undertaken the Management of my Scheme for Noblemen, or others,
I declare I do not know one Person that sufficiently understands
it: There may be some who have seen, or perhaps performed, some of
the mechanical Part; but I don’t think it can be properly performed
without a thorough Knowlege of the Principles, which cannot be
expected of such illiterate Persons; and yet is necessary for the
proper Applications in different Cases, which cannot be distinguished
by Pretenders: Therefore, until the Scheme becomes common, the
Management must be under the Direction of the Master himself, or of
one who has past his Examination, and is faithful.

To the above Trials, I here add the following, together with some
Alterations of the former.

Gentlemen who can get the _Smyrna_ Wheat, I advise to make Trials of
it in single Rows, of between 17 and 18 to an Acre, in this Method;
there being no Partitions, the Intervals will be of the same Width as
in the Ridges of 14 to an Acre, that have Partitions of Ten Inches.
Thus almost all the Earth of the Ridges may be pulverized by the
Hoe-plough in the Field, or by the Spade in this Trial; and very
little Hand-work will be necessary for cleansing out the Weeds that
come in the Rows, and on each side of them. The Land will be the
fitter for a succeeding Crop of Wheat with less Harrowing. But this
must be observed, that, in regard to hard Frosts in Winter, and very
dry Weather in Summer, the alternate Hoeing described in the Chapter
of Turneps may be proper; lest the little Earth that may be left for
the Row to stand on, when the Furrows are turned from both Sides of
it, should not be sufficient to secure the Roots from the Injuries
that may happen to them by being exposed either to Frost or Drought
on both Sides of the Row at the same time.

In the Field, when the Ridges are all of an equal Breadth, the best
Way is to plant Two of the single Rows at once, by setting the Two
Beams of the Drill at the same Distance asunder, as each of the
Ridges is broad; and the Beast that draws it must go in the Middle of
the Interval, planting a Row on each Side of it; but if the Ridges
are very unequal, the Beast (a little Horse is best) that draws the
Drill must go on the Top of a Ridge, planting one Row thereon; and
the Drill for this Purpose is the same as the Turnep-drill, except
that the Beam-share, Seed-box, and Spindle, are the same as those of
the Wheat-drill; and ’tis but to take off from the Wheat-drill one of
its Beams, and place it in the room of the Beam of the Turnep-drill,
and placing the Cross-piece of the Turnep-beam (see Plate 5.)
on this Beam, and also a short Wheat-hopper to be drawn by the
Turnep-standards, setting the Wheels near enough together; _i. e._ as
near as the Wheels of the Wheat-drill are, I mean those which plant
Two Rows.

Two Gallons of _Smyrna_ Wheat I judge will be Seed sufficient for an
Acre, especially if planted early.

Planting one Row upon a Ridge, I think is the most advantageous
Method of all; but, not being able to get any _Smyrna_ Wheat (tho’ I
have been often promised it), I have made no Trial of it; and I do
not believe the Plants of any other Sort of Wheat are large enough
for such single Rows.

I am not quite a Stranger to this Wheat; for I have seen the Product
of it, both in the Garden, and in the Field, above Forty Years ago.

I am now making Trials, in order to know how much a single Row of
White cone Wheat will exceed half a double one: For this Purpose, I
cause one Row of the double, with the Partition, to be dug out with a
Spade, in Part of every Field, Two or Three Yards in a Place: These I
intend shall be hoed as the double Rows are; and where the Hoe-plough
doth not reach, the Spade shall supply its Use.

I do not expect this single Row will equal the double Row; but I am
in no doubt but that it will produce more Grain than half a double
Row.

I cannot tell whether the Sort of Cone-wheat that sends out little
Branches on each Side of the Ear, might not succeed tolerably well in
single Rows; for its Ear is, when well nourished, larger than the Ear
of the White-cone; tho’ not near so large as that of the _Smyrna_.