5‘20

ON THE Alt A DLL LAND

ed after the plough, or what may be called ploughed under,the seed is deposited from three to four inches below the sur-face, and continues in that situation. In the better and moreaccurate manner of sowing in hollow drills, covered over bysplitting or reversing the ridgclets, the seed is covered deeper;but, by the subsequent operation of harrowing, that depth isreduced to four or five inches, in consequence of the ridgeletsbeing harrowed down into the hollow interspaces.

$ 4. Cultivation while growing .—Harrowing is always givento the bean crop. When sown broadcast, the harrow ofcourse is used to cover in the seed, and in so far belongs pro-perly to the seed process; but it is likewise generally used af-terwards, sometimes just before the seedling beans make theirappearance, on purpose to destroy any annual weeds thatmay then have vegetated; but at other times just after thebeans have got their first green leaves, and arc fairly aboveground. If applied sooner, the harrows break the necks of thebeans, which, till exposed a few days to the weather, nrc quitebrittle, though afterwards pliant, when instead of receiving in-jury, they are benefited by the operation ; by means of whichalso, more annual weeds are destroyed among the beans in therows, as more have had time to vegetate. When sown indrills, in either of the modes formerly mentioned, the harrowsare applied ten or twelve days afterwards, or as soon afterthat as the weather will allow, and being driven across thedrills, the soil is laid completely level for the after hoeing pro-cess. If the soil is any way apt to retain moisture, it is indis-pensably necessary to replace all the water-furrows with theutmost care; and indeed this must be carefully attended toduring the after-processes of cleaning, as wherever water isallowed to stagnate upon a field, the crop is sure to suffermaterial injury, whilst the melioration of soil, produced byprevious culture, is entirely frustrated.

After the beans have acquired some growth, sooner or la-ter according as the soil may happen to be encumbered with,