HUS
H U S
for wheat; or, on the contrary, somewhat more, if it beexcellent for that grain. By this distribution, each plantwill find, in the intermediate spaces between the beds,and in the beds themselves, a sufficient extent of earthwherein to collect its necessary food ; for those intermediate spaces, . which 1 shall call alleys, must be wideenough to admit of stirring the ground in them while theplants grow: but to answer the second and third inten-tions, it is of consequence that these stirrings be perform-ed at proper seasons, because each of them is to produce,t! > particular effect.
“ It is essentially necessary that the rows of corn besown very straight; a circumstance which, though it beattended with some trouble, ought not to discourage thehusbandman, because the great difficulty will be only thefirst time. After the ground has been once rightly sown,it will be easy to continue in the same regular tract everyfollowing year, without taking the precautions I am nowgoing to observe.
“ If the field be not very large, a furrow traced with aspade or pickax, directed by a line stretched across theground, will enable the ploughman to guide the horseithat draws the drill; and he will take care to leave a proper interval between one furrow and another, if threesows are to be sown.
" If the extent os ground be too great for the abovemethod, poles or stakes may be stuck, five feet asunder,a t each end of the field, to guide the ploughman, who,with a common plough, Will trace small furrows, bythe help of which the horse and drill may be properly di-rected.
“ It will be right, if possible, to suit the direction ofthe furrows to the declivity of the land, that the waterin ay drain down to the lowest part of the field, where aditch should be dug to carry it off: and it will also benecessary, to make them lengthwise of the field, if conve-nient, that the less ground may be lost by the space whichmust be left for the plough to turn in.
“ After the seed is put into the hoppers of the drill, thebnrse which draws this instrument must be made to walkslowly in the furrow besote traced by way of guide : and111 order to drop as nearly as possible the intended quantity
seed, the outlet of the hopper must be proportioned tothe size of the grain.
“ As it will be somewhat difficult to manage the drilltightly at first, till the husbandman becomes used to it,be should look over his field as soon as the corn has sprout-fc d, and then drop by hand a few grains in the placesWhere it may have failed.
“ The land should be sown about the middle of Sep-‘ c mber, or, at farthest, by the end of that month : and itwill be right always to try the goodness of the feed before-hand, bysowing fifty or an hundred grains of it in a finemould, or moist ground, where it will soon appear whether‘bey all rise.
.. “■ Band which retains water should be ploughed once!n October, when the weather is fine. In doing this,a furrow should be first cut in the middle of the alleys,ar >d then it should be filled with the earth on each side,even so far as to arch it up, and leave only a small fur-rtl<s on either side, close to the beds, to drain off theWtt, which would prove very prejudicial to the plants if
were to remain long near their roots. I his loosening^ the,earth wi!l also fit it for being mellowed by the'‘'inter s frosts; to which, however, care must be taken
not to expose the roots of the corn, by leaving them *too bare of mould. The most proper time so* th s stir-ring of the ground is when the plants have shot out someblades.
“ The second horse-hoing, which should be given -as soon as the hard frosts are past, that is to fay, by the ’end of March, is intended to make the plants tiller; andwill have this effect, if, after the earth near the rowshas been stirred a little, that which was before laid up inthe middle of the alleys be returned back to the furrowsat their sides. This earth, having been mellowed duringthe winter, will afford excellent nourishment to the plantsnow beginning to vegetate apace, and they will soon putforth their multiplied stalks.
" The third hoeing, which is the second aster winter,and is intended to strengthen the stalks, should be per-formed when the ears of the corn begin to appear. This •culture, which is looked upon as the least important okall, and is sometimes even omitted without any great in- -convenience, need not be any. thing more than a flightstirring of the earth, in which it will however be right to- *begin to hollow the alleys.
“ The last stirring of the earth between the rows ofcorn is one of the most important, being that which makesthe grains swell, and grow full bodied to the very pointof the ear. The most proper time for this is, when theears begin to bloom : but as the corn is then high, onlyone furrow can be cut in the middle of the alleys, theearth of which should be laid up to the stem of the plantson each side. The plough will hardly be able to passmore than twice in this furrow, which should, however,be made as deep as possible, in order to bank up thsgreater quantity of earth. By this operation, the now 'fallow alleys are prepared for the next sowing; for it isin the middle of them that the corn is to be planted thefollowing year; and the now eared wheat is earthed up,to prevent its being lodged ; though in general corn thuscultivated is less apt to be beaten down, than that whichis raised in the common way, because the straw of thisbeing more exposed to the air, becomes harder and ac-quires a firmer texture, especially toward its bottom, -It is for this reason that-a tuft of corn, which stands -quite single, is scarcely ever beaten down by the wea-ther.
" These repeated hoeings of the earth will certainly be 'rewarded with a very plentiful crop, unless.the seasons ■prove extremely bad.
“ When the corn is reaped, all possible care shouldbe taken not to trample upon the adjoining ploughed :ground.
“ It is well known, that vigorous plants do not ripentheir feeds so soon as those which have been stinted in -their growth : for this reason the corn cultivated accord-ing to the principles of the New Husbandry, ripens later "than in the common way, and should therefore be sown >somewhat earlier.
“ We will now suppose that the crop j« reaped, andthat the same field is to be sown again with wheat thsnext year, and every year after, as it mafy be, because the 'rows of corn are placed each time in the middle of the :former alleys, which have been ploughed during the wholeyear, without producing any thing. Thus, the only dif-ference between this new method of-the old husbandry 'is, that instead of resting, or fallowing, a whole field, -whilst another whore field is under corn, and each of them
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