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Vol. I.
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OF SCOTLAND.

419

pearance of grass fields. It may therefore be concluded, thatluml cannot be fanned to its utmost profit, without the indus-trious employment of naked fallow or of a fallow crop, ac-cording as it happens to be heavy or light: In other words,that wheat lands require to be thoroughly fallowed, and tur-nip lands to be carefully worked and cleaned for a drilledcrop, once in every rotation.

The fallow process, as conducted by the most judicious cul-tivators in Scotland , may be thus described. Invariably afterharvest, the land intended for being summer fallowed in theensuing year, gets an end-long ploughing, which ought to beas deep as the soil will admit, even though a little of the tillor subsoil is brought up. This both tends to deepen the cul-tivated or manured soil, as the fresh accession of hitherto un-cultivated earth becomes afterwards incorporated with the for-mer manured soil, and greatly facilitates the separation of theroots of weeds during the ensuing fallow process, by detachingthem completely from any connection with the fast subsoil.T his autumnal ploughing, usually called the winter furrow,promotes the rotting of stubble and weeds; and if not ac-complished towards the end of harvest, must be given in thewinter months, or as early in the spring as possible. In givingthis first ploughing, the old ridges should be gathered up, ifpracticable, as in that state they are kept dry during the win-ter months, but it is not uncommon to split them out or di-vide them, especially if the land had been previously highlygathered, lly this means each original ridge of land is divi-ded into two half ridges. Sometimes, when the land is easilylaid dry, the furrows of the old ridges are made the crowns ofthe new ones, or the land is ploughed in the way technicallycalled crovm-and-fur. In other instances two ridges areploughed together, by what is called casting, which has beenalready described. After the field is ploughed, all the inter-furrows, and those of the head-lands, are carefully openedU P by the plough, and are afterwards gone over effectually bya labourer with a spade, to remove all obstructions, and tp°pen up the water-furrows into the fence-ditches, wherever