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Vol. I.
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3-16

ON THE AIIABLE LAND

than proportional additional labour to their master’s horses,which they ought not to have been made to exert.

The degree to which the furrow-slice turns over, as alreadymentioned, is principally regulated by the proportion betweenits breadth and depth, which is usually in the proportion oisix inches in breadth, to nine inches in depth. 1. Whenthe slice is nearly square, or, in other words, when the breadthand depth are almost equal, it will be turned nearly one halfover; and a field, so ploughed, will have its ridges longitudi-nally ribbed, into angular drills or ridgelcts. l l. If the sliceis considerably wider than deep, it will be almost completelyoverturned, with its original surface downwards, and eachsuccessive slice will somewhat overlap that which was turnedover immediately before it. 3. When the depth materiallyexcfeeds the width, each slice will fall over on its side, and besomewhat overlapped by the next, leaving all the originalsurface bare, and only laid somewhat obliquely to the hori-zon.

The first of these modes of ploughing, or the square slice,is the best adapted for laying up stubble land after harvest,when it has to remain during winter exposed to the mellow-ing influence of frost, preparatory to fallow or turnips. Thesecond, or shallow slice of considerable width, as four inchesdepth by eight or nine wide, answers best for breaking upold leys, because it covers up the grass turf, and does notbury the manured soil. The third is a most unprofitable anduselessly slow mode of ploughing, which ought never to beadopted. The most generally useful breadth of a slice is,from eight to perhaps ten inches. The depth must dependupon a variety of circumstances, according to the nature ofthe soil, and the object in view; but ought hardly to be Jessthan four inches on any occasion, and will seldom exceed sixor at most eight inches of fast land, except in soils of uncom-mon depth and fertility, or for particular crops, such as car-rots. For these, in such soils, a trench ploughing may be gi-