F A L

F A L

sng while the corn grows: but this can be done only inthe New Husbandry.

Weeds may be ranked under four general classes: first,such as have creeping perennial roots: secondly, such asgrow in cold wet soils: thirdly, such as are of a largesucculent body; and, fourthly, such as having smallseeds, or feeds which ripen before the corn, sow them-selves. Each of these require a different treatment.

The first sort cannot be destroyed but by repeated sum-mer fallows, by which their roots are cut, and turned upto be withered by the fun and winds, after which theya re dragged out by harrows, and should be burnt. This,repeated as often as the farmer conveniently can, espe-cially during a dry season, can scarcely fail to have thedesired effect. Colts-foot, which is propagated by thetoot, and is a very pernicious weed, may likewise bedestroyed by sowing the ground with rye-grass, or anyplant which, coming up early in the spring, (hades andsmothers it; for that will kill it in a few years. The secondkind are destroyed by draining the earth of its superfluousmoisture, and by manuring it with lime, asses, gravel,shelly sea-sand, and other proper correctives for such soils.

The third are extirpated by cutting them down whenin full sap and vigour: for the sap being thereby suddenlyinterrupted in the course of its circulation, stagnates inthe roots, and putrifies there. A few weak lateral (hootsmay be made ; but if they are likewise cut in the famemanner, the roots will putrify intir ely by,degrees, andinstead of annoying, will become a manure.

The fourth class can be destroyed only by frequent fal-lows, and constant cutting, or rather ploughing themdown before they run to seed. Some, for instance the"wild oats, may be mowed for hay : but it is much morebeneficial to the land to plough them in: because, bythat means, instead of being exhausted by frequent crops," is manured by those enemies to useful grain.

Fallowing is an important operation in agriculture;‘be beneficial effects of it consists in three particulars.

The repeated cultivation of the land, is the mosteffectual method of extirpating weeds : if they are an-nual weeds, the seeds of them are encouraged to grow,a °d the next ploughing buries and kills them. And ifthey are large perennial weeds, the earth being lodfenedby the tillage, the large weeds are then easily pulled outby harrows, and then dried and burned. 2 P . The land*s opened and pulverized to a great degree of fineness, bythe repeated tillage; and zdly, by the turning of the moulds) ften ; anew surface is every time exposed to the atmos-pbere, whereby the soil is impregnated through its wholesubstance, with the fertilizing particles that enrich theea nh. No person of observation, conversant in agriculture,ca n doubt of this effect of the air or atmosphere, enriching°s well cultivated land that is exposed to it, and is abun-da nt!y proved by the new husbandry.

. From this description of the benefit of a good fallow,,f will be evident, that the common fallowing is far ssorranswering the purposes of good fallowing. Three,0r sometimes four ploughings of land, where the furrowsire tu, ned over almost whole, and couch, and other^ a,1 k weeds are suffered to grow up for seeding sseep,

„ not deserve to be called good fallowing, as not onethe ends of good fallowing are attained by such sto-

Venl y culture.

.^borough good tillage, in whatever manner perform-

5 1S greatly beneficial to land ; but one of the most

effectual methods of fallowing, is to lay the land up inhigh, narrow one bout ridges, which are easily cultivatedwith a plough, that has L doubled finned ssare, and adouble mould board? The ssare of such a plough beingentered in the middle, and drawn a long through one ofthese narrow ridges, splits it in the middle, turns themould equally to the right and left, and ploughs one ofthem at one draught; and the mould of each ridge, isthus raised into a new ridge upon the former furrow .The ridges are sometimes harrowed down, which willwell mix the mould, and pull up the latge weeds androots, and then the ridges are raised again as before,across the former ridges, if that can be conveniently done,if nor, the new ridges, if they do not stand exactly wherethe others did, will be composed partly of the earth thatmay have been miffed by the former ploughings, andthe land will by that means be all tilled to an equal depth.

By this way of ploughing, the ridges are tilled, eachat one furrow, and if they are three feet broad, would,in common ploughing, require sour furrows to ploughthem on level ground, and time in proportion to do thework. The mould in this way, is also made so fine andlight, that two horses will commonly plough as muchground as three or four can do, when it is out of tilth,and bound together by weeds. The tillage ssould beperformed when the earth is dry, and repeated as oftenas the weeds spring up : for they ssould not be sufferedto grow large, much less to run to seed.

Tl\e farmers cannot by common fallowing extirpatethe weeds, and clean the land well in one year, andfew of them are willing to fallow another year. Butin this method of fallowing, the weeds may be conqueredin one winter and summer, and when once the land is madeclean, it may be kept so, by a proper change of crops,and the hoeing husbandry.

Fallow, also signifies a pale red colour.FALLOW-CLEANSING Machine, an instrumentinvented by Mr. Aaron Ogden, a smith at Asston-under-Line, near Manchester, in Lancassire.

This machine, which bids fair to be of very great usein husbandry for cleansing fallows from weeds, &c. whichwaste the riches of the soil, will be very easily understoodfrom the drawing we have given of it on Plate XV. Fig.2. Where,

A, A, is the frame ; B, the first roller; C, the secondditto, in which last are two cranks to move the armsD, D, which work the rake up the directors fixed onthe plank E. The under side of the lower ends, or(bares, of these directors, are (harp to cut the clods, andlet them come on the upper fide. Each alternate heelof the ssare is longer than the intermediate one, thatthey may not have more than one half to cut at once.

At the back of the plank E, are two screws to let itloose, that the directors may be set higher or lower. The(hares are to penetra:e the ground two or three inches,.to raise the quicks till the rake I, I, fetches them intothe cart H, where a man must be ready with a muck-hook to clear them backward when gathered.

In the rake I, are two teeth for every space of the di-rectors, that stones, &c. may be gathered without damage.

K, K, are two staples, by which the machine isdrawn : under them at h, arc two hooks, placed low toraise the machine in turning, by the help of the traces ;and the axle-tree of the cart ssould be fixed upon a pin,that it may turn like a waggon,

Ff 2 F, F,