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ON THE A”ABLE LAND

an important advantage is, that they contribute greatly to theprofitable management of heavy soils, enabling the farmer topostpone the recurrence of summer fallow with propriety, toperiods of six or eight years, which, without their aid, wouldbe necessary oftener.

In well conducted husbandry, soils adapted for beans arcdrilled with this grain after a culiniferous or white corncrop; and it is probably of little importance, which of thesemay precede, providing the soil is in a fit state of cleannessas to weeds* and has not been previously exhausted by over-cropping. In either of these cases, a fair crop of beans can-not reasonably be expected, and either naked fallow or tur-nip fallow, according to the nature of the soil, ought to be hadrecourse to. In preparing the ground for beans, it ought tobe ploughed after harvest, or early in winter, and with as deepa furrow as it will admit, so that the soil may become mellow-ed by winter-frost, and the roots of the beans have depth sul-ficient for their growth and nourishment. Some husband-men have been in use to give this winter ploughing across thelands or ridges, as they only give one endlong spring plough-ing before sowing the crop. But as experience proves, thattwo ploughings in spring are highly advantageous for thecrop, the winter ploughing may be given endlong, especiallyin strong clays, as being better adapted for laying the field ina proper situation for the escape of moisture during winter,in which way the land is sooner dry in spring for the after-steps of cultivation. Whichever of these modes is followedin the winter ploughing, every care must be taken to openup all inter-furrows and other exits of water, as formerly in-sisted upon, when treating of ploughing and fallow.

Under the idea that the land is to have three ploughings)and that the winter-furrow has been given endlong, the se-cond ploughing is to be given across the ridges, as early inspring as the ground is sufficiently dry to admit of beingploughed. Immediately afterwards, all the inter-furrows, fur-