I Ullfe S. 1. ItU ffitbrarg Nortli Olaraltna g>tatp This book was presented by Department of Agricultural Economics V.l This book must not be taken from the Library building. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from NCSU Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/georgicalessays01hunt GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 2ii fiu-c lAc ii^/c f/ J?/ /. r GEORGICAL Beory, d ESSAYS; BV A. H'UNTER, M, D. F. R. S. L. 8C E. > KISI UTILE EST Q,UOD FACIMUS STULTA EST GLORIA. Phed. VOLUME I. YORK: Printed by T. Wilson and R. Spence, High Ousegate, FOR THE author; And sold by J. Mawmak, Poultry; Cadell, jun. and Davie^, Strand, and B. & J. White, Fleetstreet, London: Wilson and Spence, J.Todd, Sotheran & Son, and J. WolstenholmEj \ork; A. Constable, Edinburgh; and J. Akcher, Dublin. 1803. *»T JJ ivnu TO THE YEOMANRY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND ON WHOSE EXERTIONS DEPEND THE WEALTH STRENGTH AND PROSPERITY OF THE UNITED KINGDOMS THESE ESSAYS ARE INSCRIBED BY THE EDITOR. A 3 PREFACE. .BOUT the year 1770, a few gentlemen formed themselves into a society at York, for the purpose of giving encouragement to the Agriculture of their respective neighbour- hoods; and in order to confer stability and re- putation upon their undertak ing, they took upon themselves the title of the York Agricul- ture Society, with a President, two Vice- Presidents, a Treasurer, and Secretary. Con- vinced that respectability was unattainable without responsibility, the Society agreed to affix their respective signatures to all the pa- pers read at their Board, and they also agreed that such papers as were thought to pofsefs distinguished merit, should be published in a work bearing the title of GEORGICAL ESSAYS. In about twelve months from the commencement of the Institution, the first A4 Till PREFACE. volume made its appearance, and under the most favourable circumstances, the Society were induced to promise a continuation of the work; but in consequence of the death of : many of the most active members, the publi- cation was discontinued, so that only one vo- lume exists to record the industry and attention df the York Agriculture Society. The Society is now IK) more, its difsolution having taken place about eighteen years ago. Having had a principal share in the publication of the Georgical Essays, I feel myself called upon not to suffer them to pafs into oblivion ; and i the more willingly engage in the under- taking, as I mean to make it the basis of a more extensive publication. It is my inten- tion to draw into one focus, all that is widely diffused through numberlefs volumes of Agri- cultural information; and in so doing, I ex- pect to be able to exhibit to the favourers of Agriculture, a tield well cultivated — and free from all unsightly and noxious weeds. In this proposed collection there will be some papers that have never appeared in public; -but by PREFACE, IX far the greatest number have been published in different periodical works. The distin- guished authors of these papers will, I flatter myself, approve of my taking this method of rendering their public-spirited exertions more generally known j for it cannot be expected that a number of high-priced books, all of them containing some papers of useful in- formation, can be the object of general pur- chase. A. HUNTER. YORK:, MAY\, 1802. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. BOOK I. The Rife and Progrefs of Agriculture. A< .GRICULTURE is the oldest, as well as the most useful, of the arts. In the sacred writings we are told that Cain applied him- self to husbandry, while Abel followed the peaceable life of a shepherd. The Patriarchs and their descendents spent their days in feed- ing of flocks and tilling the ground: but in those early ages the art was as simple as the manners of the people. They lived a wan- dering sort of life. Every new situation af- forded them present support for their l^ocks; and whenever they met with a fruitful piece of ground, they usually rested upon it, and sowed their corn, which having reaped, they moved forward in quest of another habitation. This was the ftate of Agriculture, when men had no other laws but those of God and Nature. 12 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Among the Egyptians, a civilized nation, husbandry was regularly attended to 3 and it is extremely probable that the children of Israel, before they left that country, had made them- selves, in some degree, acquainted with the manner of raising corn, and afterwards pre- serving it. As soon as their descendents had obtained the full and quiet pofsefsion of the promised land, they proceeded upon the plan of the old inhabitants, and became husband- men. Every man's pofsefsion having been allotted to him. Agriculture seems to have flourished amongst them, otherwise the land of Judea could not pofsibly have maintained the number of inhabitants that are recorded. If we may credit the report of travellers, the land of Canaan is at present a barren and uncultivated country. The figurative expres- sion of a land flov^^ing with 772/7/t. and honey, fprung from the industry of the inhabitants co- operating with the natural fertility of the soil. It was in vain for the husbandman to expect a spontaneous growth of corn in the best of climates. The Land of Promise was pofsefsed by a number of different nations. Among these GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 13 the Phoenicians, or Philistines as they are called, were the richest and most industrious. They occupied a well-cultivated country bor- dering upon the sea. By means of their skill in navigation, they exchanged the superfluous product of their lands with the neighbouring nations. Their extensive commerce is suf- ficiently known. Being at last driven from their native country, they directed their course to the Mediterranean islands, and carried with them the art of husbandry. In consequence of this migration. Agricul- ture became more diffused, and spread its in- fluence over the neighbouring nations. History informs us that the Greeks were once a most barbarous people, Pelasgus re- ceived divine honours for teaching: them the use of acorns for food. A small colony from Egypt, or Phoenicia, instructed them in the manner of growing corn. The Athenians were the first that received the inestimable blefsing. Humanity succeeded; and from that source the fine arts derived their orisrin. The Romans had a laudable pride in being thought husbandmen. As early as the reign 14 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. of Numa, public encouragement was given to Agriculture. Succeeding ages continued sen- fible of its utility. Sound policy informed them, that an extensive territory and a number of inhabitants did not always constitute a great and powerful people. They knew that the lands must be cultivated, and the inhabitants must be industrious, before that desirable event could be accomplished. When the Romans made the mostillustrious appearance,husbandry was in the highest estimation among them. *' In those happy days," says Pliny, " the " Earth, pleased at seeing herself cultivated by " victorious hands, seemed to make stronger " efforts, and to produce her fruits in greater " abundance." — But when destructive luxury was introduced, then husbandry declined, and with it fell all the Roman virtue. The ancient writers give us excellent com- ments upon the husbandry of their times. He- siod wrote very early upon Agriculture. Mago, the Carthagenian general, composed twenty- eight books upon the same subject, which were translated by order of the Roman Senate. Upon these models ^^^irgil formed his elegant precepts of husbandry. Cato, the Censor, wrote a volume upon Agriculture. Columella ^EORGICAL ESSAYS. 15 has left us twelve books upon rural matters. Varro's treatise will ever be esteemed. — Many other Greek and Latin authors might be produced; but these will be sufficient to show, that Agriculture has ever been attended to by the wise Philosopher and the good Citizen. The celebrated Sully calls Agriculture one of the breasts from which the state must draw its nourishment That great man could not pofsibly have given us a more happy simile. Instructing by precepts, and stimulating by rewards, he prevailed upon his countrymen to cultivate the art; but their industry was of short duration. The public troubles soon put an end to Arts, Agriculture, and Commerce. Colbert entertained a different notion of po- licy. Esteeming Manufactures and Com- merce as the sinews of the state, he gave all pofsible encouragement to the Artizan and the Merchant, — but forgot that the Manufac- turer must eat his bread at a moderate price. The Farmer being discouraged, the necefsaries of life became dear; the public granaries w-ere ill stored; — manufactures languished; — commerce dropped; — a numerous army soon consumed the scanty harvest; — and, in a short Ig GEORGICAL ESSAYS. time, Industry fell a sacrifice to the ill-judged policy of the Minister. From that period to the present, the French nation have constantly been availing them- selves of their mistake. Under the genial influence of the king. Societies are erected in every Province. Men of the first distinction do not disdain the cultivation of their own lands. M. de Chateauvieux and Duhamel are the greatest ornaments of their country. Let us imitate the virtues of that fashionable nation J and as we have often vanquished them in the field of battle, let us put our hands to the plough, and overcome them in the field of industry. Such pursuits have graced the public life of ancient heroes. May they be recorded in the Annals of a British King. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 17 ESSAY I. On the NouriJIiment of Vegetables. JL HE art of Hufbandry boafts an origin coeval with the human race. Its age, how- ever, feems to have contributed but little to- wards its advancement, being at prefent ex- tended but a few degrees beyond its primitive inftitution. Until the Philofopher condefcends to direft the plough, Hufbandry muft remain in a torpid flate. It is the peculiar happinefs of this age, 'that men of a liberal education beofin to culti- vate this art with attention. AVe cannot fay too much in praife of the refpeftive focieties lately eltablifhed in this ifland, and in France, for the improvement of Agriculture. They have raifed a noble fpirit of emulation among our country gentlemen and fenfible farmers. Each feems envious of contributing fomethina: towards the general flock of knowledge. — Such a pleafmg intcrcourfc cannot fail of fpreading the improvements in Agriculture over the moft diilant parts of this ifland. Volume I. 13 D. H. Hill UBRAYTT blorth Carolina State College 18 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. I take upon me to fay, that, to be a good hufbandman, it is neceffar)' to be a good che- mift. Chemiftry will teach him the bell way to prepare nourifliment for his refpe6live crops, and, in the moll: wonderful manner, will expofe the hidden things of nature to his view. The principles of Agriculture depend greatly upon chemiftry: and witliout princi- ples, what is artj and what is fcience ? It is alfo neceflary for the hufbandman to l>e a good mechanic, in order to be a judge of the inftruments employed in dividing and loofening the foil; an operation of the greateft ufe to the farmer. The ingenious Dr. Home has opened to our view a noble field for improvement. His reafoning is juft and conclufive; but it were to be wiilied that his experiments had been conduced upon a larger fcale. However, contra£ied as they are, they will be found of" great u(e to whoever intends to purfue ihc ftudy of Agriculture upon rational princi- ples. As I intend the nourilhment of plants to be the fubje£t of this Eflay, it will be proper t# 4 GEORGICAI, ESSAYS. 19 obferve, that I have been dire£ted in my re- fearches by a ftri6t attention to the analogy that fubfills between animals and vegetables. We know that neither of them can fubfift long without air and nourifhment. Direfted by inftinct, the animal feeks its own proper food ; but the vegetable, not being poflfelTed of the power of motion, muft be fatisfied with the nourifhment that we give it. To direct this upon rational principles, is the bufmefs of the philofopher. The pra6tical farmer will fuffer himfelf to be inflrufted, as foon as he perceives the praftice correfpond. with the theory laid down to him. Let us expe6l no more from him. Men of a limited education commit great errors when they at- tempt to reafon upon fcience. In hu{bandr)% effe^s are conftantly applied to improper caufes. Hence proceed the errors of our common farmers. To overcome thefe is the peculiar province of the Philofopher; who, in his turn, muft fupport his reafoning by facls and experiments. 1 lay it down as a fundamental maxim, that all plants receive their principal nourifhment from oily and mucilaginous particles incorpo- J32 ^O GEORGICAL ESSAYS. rated witli water, by means of an alkaline fait or abforbent earth . Till oil is made mifcible, it is unable to enter the radical vcfsels of vege- tables; and, on that account. Providence has bountifully supplied all natural soils with chalky or other absorbent particles. I say natural soils, for those which have been as- sisted by art are full of materials for that purpose; such as lime, marl, soap-ashes, and the volatile alkaline salt of putrid dung- hills. It may be asked, whence do natural soils receive their oily particles? I answer, the air supplies them. During the summer months, the atmosphere is full of putrid exhalations arising from the steam of dunghills, the per- spiration of animals and smoak. Every shower brings dov.-n these putrescent particles for the nourishment of plants. Of these, some fall into the sea, where they probably serve for the nourishment of fuci, and other submarine plants. They are, however, but seemingly lost, as the fish taken from the sea, and the weeds thrown upon the beach, re- store them again under a different form. Thus Providence, with the most consummate wisdom, keeps up the necefsary rotation of GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 21 things, difsolution and combination follow- in ir each other in endlefs succefsion. AVhen the putrescent particles that arc sus- pended in the atmosphere, happen to fall upon a very sandy soil, the solar heat exhales the most of them. Hence an additional reason for covering our light soils with herbage during the summer months. On the contrary, when these particles fall upon stiff land, or such as have been marled or limed, an intimate union is produced, too strong for the solar heat to exhale. It is observed, that lime mechanically binds a hot sandy soil. We now see that it also fer- tilizes it; but the farmer must not presume too much upon that quality. The ingenious Mr. Tull, and others, con- tend that earth is the food of plants. If so, all soils equally tilled would prove equally prolific. The increased fertility of a well- pulverised soil, induced him to imagine that the plough could so minutely divide the par- ticles of earth, as to fit them for entering into the roots of plants. B 3 22 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. An open soil, if not too light In its own nature, will always produce plentiful crops. It readily receives the air, rains, and dews into its bosom, and at the same time gives the roots of plants a free pafsage in quest of food. This is the true reason why land well tilled is so remarkably fruitful. Water is thought, by some, to be the food of vegetables, when in reality it is only the vehicle of nourishment. — A\^ater is an hetero- geneous fluid, and is no where to be found pure. It always contains a solution of -ani- mal or vegetable substances. These consti-^ tute the nourishment of plants, and the ele- ment in which they are minutely suspended, acts only as a vehicle, in guiding them through the fine vefsels of the vegetable body. The hyacinth, and other bulbous roots, are known to perfect their flowers in pure water. Hence superficial observers have drawn an argument in favour of water being the food of vegetables. But the truth is, the roots, stem, and flowers of such plant? are nourished by the mucilaginousjuicesof the bulb, diluted by the surrounding water. This mucilage is just sufficient to perfect the flower — and nq GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 23 more. Such a bulb neither forms seeds, nor sends forth off-sets. At the end of the sea- son, it appears weak, shrivelled, and exhaust- ed, and is rendered unfit to produce flowers the succeeding year. A root of the same kind, that has been fed by the oily and muci- Jaginous juices of the earth, efsentially differs in every particular. It has a plump appear- ance, is full of mucilage— with ofl-sets upon its sides. All rich soils, in a state of nature, are thought to contain oil and mucilage j and in those lands which have been under the plough for some years, they are found in proportion to the quantity of putrid dung that has been Jaid upon them, making an allowance for the crops they have sustained. To set this matter in a clearer light, let us attend to the effects of manures of an oily na- ture, and we shall soon be satisfied that oil^ however modified and distinguished, is one of the chief things concerned in vegetation. Rape-dust, when laid upon land, is a speedy and certain manure, though an expensive one, and will generally answer best on a limestone land, or where the soil has been moderately limed. -^ '^' 24 QEORGICAL ESSAYS. This species of manure is much esteemed by the farmer. It contains the food of plants ready prepared; but as it is not capable of loosening the soil by any fermetation, the lands upon which it is laid ought to be in ex- cellent tilth. At present, that useful article of husbandry is much diminished in goodnefs, owing to the improved methods of extracting the oil from the rape. Heat and prefsure are employed in a double degree, and every other method is used to the prejudice of the farmer. Some persons, however, are of opinion, that the severe extraction of the oil does not materially injure the rape-dust. Farmers that live in the neighbourhood of large towns use abundance of soot It is an oily manure, but different from the former, containing alkaline salt in its own nature, calculated as well for opening the soil, as for rendering the oily parts miscible with water. It is observed that the dung of pigeons is a rich and hasty manure. These animals feed chiefly upon grains and oily seeds; it must therefore be expected that their dung should contain a large proportion of oil. 4 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 25 The dung of stable-kept horScs is also a strong manure, and should not be used until it has undergone the putrid fervient, in order to mix ahd afsimilate its oily, watry, and sa- line parts. Beans, oats, ahd hay, contain much oil. Tlie dung of horses, that are kept upon green herbage, is of a weaker kind, containing much Icfs oil. Svvine's dung is of a saponaceous and oily nature, and per- haps is the richest of the animal manures. When made into a compost and applied with judgment, it is excellent both for arable and grafs lands. The dung of stall-fed oxen, espe- cially if oil-cake make part of their food, is of a rich quality, and greatly preferable to that of cows and oxen supported by grafs only. A farmer, when he purchases dung, should attend to all the circumstances under which it is produced. One load of dung from a hunting stable, where much corn is used, is worth two loads produced by hay and green provender, The dung of ruminant animals, as cows and sheep, is preferable to that of horses at grafs, owing to the quantity of animal juices mixed with their food in chewing. And here I beg leave to remark in general, that 26 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. the fatter the animal, Cccteris paribus, the richer the dung. Human ordure is full of oil and a volatile alkaline salt. By itself, it is too strong a ma- nure for any land ; it should therefore be made into a compost before it is used. The dung of carnivorous animals is plentifully stored with oil. Animals that feed upon seeds and grains come next, and after them follow those which subsist upon grafs only. To suit these different manures to their proper soils, requires the greatest judgment of the farmer; as what may be proper for one soil, may be highly detrimental to another. In order to strengthen my argument in fa- vour of oil (phlogiston) being the principal food of plants, I must beg leave to observe, that all vegetables, whose seeds are of an oily nature, are found to be remarkable im- poverishers of the soil, as hemp, rape, and flax ; for which reason, the best manures for lands worn out by these crops, are such as have a good deal of oil in their composition; but then they must be laid on with Jime, chalk, marl, or soap ashes, so as to render the oily particles miscible with water. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 27 The Book of Nature may be displayed, to show that oily p-articles constitute the nou- rishment of plants in their enibr)'o state ; and, by a fair inference, we may suppose that something of the same nature is continued to them as they advance in growth. The oily seeds, as rape, hemp, line, and turnip, con- sist of two lobes, which, when spread upon the surface, form the seminal leaves. In them the whole oil of the seed is contained. The moisture of the atmosphere penetrates the cuticle of the leaves, and, mixing with the oil, constitutes an emulsion for the nourish- ment of the plant. The sweetnefs of this balmy fluid invites the fly, against which no sufficient remedy has, as yet, been discovered. The oleaginous liquor being consumed, the seminal leaves decay, having performed the office of a mother to her tender infant. To persons unacquainted with the analogy be- tween plants and animals, this reflection will appear strange. Nothing, hov/evcr, is more demonstrable. Most of the leguminous and farinaceous plants keep their placenta, or seminal leaves, within the earth ; in which situation tliey suj>- ply the tender germ with oily nutriment, until 28 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. its roots are grown sufficiently strong to pene- trate the soil. The curious reader will lind this subject treated of at large in the third Efsay. It is usual to talk of the salts of the earth , but chemistry has not been able to discover any salts in land which has not been manured; though it is said that oil may be readily ob- tained from every soil, the very sandy ones excepted. Mai*], though a rich manure, has no salts. It is thought, by some, to contain a small portion of oleaginous matter, and an absorbent earth, of a nature similar to limestone, with a large quantity of clay intermixed. Lime, mixed with clay, comes nearest to the nature of marl of any factitious body that we know of, and may be used as such, where it can be had without much expense. By in- creasing the quantity of clay, it will make an excellent compost for a light sandy soil -, but to make the ground fertile, woollen rags, rotten dung, currier's shavings, or any oily manure, should be incorporated with it some time before it is laid on. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ?d It is the opinion of some, that lime en- riches the land it is laid upon, by means of supplying a salt fit for the nourishment of plants; but by all the experiments that have been made upon lime, it is found to contain no kind of salt. Its operation, therefore, should be considered in a different light. By the fermentation that it induces, the earth opened and divided, and, by its absorbent and alkaline qualit}^ it unites the oily and watery parts of the soil. It also seems to have the property of collecting the acid of the air, forming vi^ith it a combination of great use in vegetation. From viewing lime in this light, it is probable that it tends to rob the soil of its oily particles, and in time will render it bar- ren, unlefs we take care to support it with rotten dung, or other manures of an oily nature. As light sandy soils contain but a small portion of oleaginous particles, we should be extremely cautious not to overdo them with lime, unlefs we can at the same time afsist them liberally with rotten dung, shavings of leather, woollen rags, shavings of horn, and So GEORGICAL ESSAYS- otber manures of an animal kind. Its great excellence, however, upon a sandy soil, is by mechanically binding the loose particles, and thereby preventing the liquid parts of the manure from escaping out of the reach of the radical fibres of the plants. Upon clay the effect of lime is different ; for by means of the gentle fermentation that it produces, the unsubdued soil is opened and divided; the manures laid on readily come into contact with every part of it j and the fibres of the plants have full liberty to spread themselves. It is generally said that lime answers better upon sand than clay. Tliis observation will imdoubtedly hold good as long as the farmer continues to lime his clay lands in a scanty manner. Let him treble the quantity, and he will then be convinced that lime is better for clay than sand. It may be justly answer- ed, that the profits will not admit of the ex- pense. I agree. But then it must be under- stood that it is the application, and not the nature of the lime, that should be called in question. Clay, well limed, will fall in water, and ferment with acids. Its very nature is changed. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 51 Under such agreeable circumstances, the air, rains, and dews are freely admitted, and the soil is enabled to retain the nourishment that each of them brings. In consequence of a fermentation raised in the soil, the fixed air is set at liberty, and in that state of activity it becomes an useful instrument in dividing the tenaceous clay. Hovv^ever, let the farmer, who uses much lime for his clay lands, be in- structed to manure them well, otherwise the soil will bake and become too hard to permit the roots of the plants to spread themselves in search of food. It is the nature of lime to attract oils and difsolve vegetable bodies. Upon these prin- ciples we may account for the wonderful ef- fects of lime in the improvement of black moor-land. Moor-earth consists of difsolved, and half-difsolved, vegetable substances. It is full of oil. — Lime difsolves the one, and as- similates the other. Such lands, not originally worth sixpence per acre, may. be made, by paring, burning, and liming, to produce plentiful crops of tur- nips, which may be followed with oats, bar- ley, or grafs seeds, according to the inclina- S2 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. tion of the owner. These observations, however, are rather foreign to the argument of the present efsay, to which I shall now return. To the universal principle, oil, (phlogiston) we must add another of great efficacy, though very little understood 3 I mean the nitrous acid of the air. That the air does contain the rudiments of nitre, is demonstrable from the manner of making salt-petre in the different parts of the world. The air contains no such salt as per- fect nitre; it is a factitious salt, and is made by the nitrous acid falling upon a proper ma- trix. The makers of nitre form that matrix of the rubbish of old houses, fat earth, and any fixed alkaline salt. The universal acid, "as it is called, is attracted by these materials, and forms true nitre, which is rendered pure by means of crystalization, and in that form it is brought to us. In very hot countries, the natural earth forms a matrix for nitre, which makes the operation very short. It is observed that nitre is most plentifully formed in winter, when the wind is northerly: 6E0RGICAL ESSAYS. 33 lience we may understand the true reason why land is fertilized by being laid up in high ridges during the winter months. The good effects of that operation are wholly attri- buted to the mechanical action of the frost upon the ground. Light soils as well as the tough ones, may be exposed in high ridges, but with some limitation-, in order to imitate the mud walls in Germany, which are found, by experience, to collect considerable quanti- ties of nitre during the winter. After saying so much in praise of nitre, it will be expected that I should produce some proofs of its efficacy, when used as a manure. I must confefs that experiments do not give us any such proofs. Perhaps too large a quan- tity has been used ; or rather, it could not be restored to the earth with its particles so mi- nutely divided, as when it remained united with the soil, by means of the chemistry of nature. I shall therefore consider this nitrous acid, or as some call it, the acidum vagiim, in the light of a vivifying principle, with whose operation we are not yet fully acquainted. I have already observed, that there subsists a strong analogy between plants and. animals. Volume I. C . 34 GEORGICAL ESSAYS, Oil and water seem to make up the nourish- ment of both. Earth enters very little into the composition of either. It is observed, that animals take in a great many earthy par- ticles at the mouth, but they are soon dis- charged by urine and stool. Vegetables take in the smallest portion imaginable of earth ; and the reason is, they have no way to dis- charge it. It is highly probable, that the radical fibres of plants take up their nourishment from the earth, in the same manner that the lacteal vefsels absorb the nutriment from the in- tesines; and as the oily and watery parts of our food are perfectly united into a milky liquor, by means of the spittle, pancreatic juice, and bile, before they enter the lacteals, we have all the reason imaginable to keep up the ana- logy, and suppose that the oleaginous and watery parts of the soil are also incorporated, previous to their being taken up by the ab- sorbent vefsels of the plant. To form a perfect judgment of this, we must reflect that every soil, in a state of nature, has in itself a quantity of absorbent earth, suf- ficient to incorporate its inherent oil and water j but when we load it with fat manures, it be- comes efsentially necefsary to bestow upon it. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 3S at the same time, something to afsimilate the parts. Lime, soap-ashes, kelp, marl, and all the alkaline substances, perform that office. In order to render this operation visible to the senses: — Difsolve one drachm of Rufsia potash in two ounces of water; then add two spoonfuls of oil. Shake the mixture, and it will instantly become an uniform mafs of a whitish colour, adapted, as I conceive, to all the purposes of vegetation. This easy and familiar experiment is a just representation of what happens after the ope- ration of Burn-baking, and consequently may be considered as a confirmation of the hypothe- sis advanced. Let us attend to the procefs. The sward being reduced to ashes, a fixed alkaline salt is produced. The moisture of the atmosphere soon reduces that salt into a fluid state, which, mixing with the soil, brings about an union of the oily and watery parts, in the manner demonstrated by the experiment. When the under stratum sonsists of a rich vegetable mould, the effects of Burn-baking will be lasting. But when the soil happens to be thin and poor, the first crop frequently suf- fers before it arrives at maturity. C2 Sj5 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. The farmer, therefore, who is at the expense of paring and burning a thin soil, should be- stow upon it a portion of rotten dung, or shambles manure, before the ashes are spread, in order to supply the deficiency of oily par- ticles; and he should be ver)' careful not to keep this kind of land too long under the plough. In consequence of this prudent manage- ment, the crop will be supported during its growth, and the land will be preserved in health a^id vigour. Tor such weak lands, it is highly probable that the oil-compost described in the next efsay, will be found the cheapest and most effectual manure. Hitherto I have considered plants as nou- rished by their roots. I shall now take a view of them as nourished by their leaves. An attention to this part of the vegetable system is efsentially nccefsary to the rational farmer. Vegetables that have a succulent leaf, such as vetches, pease, beans, and buck-wheat, draw a great part of their nourishment from the air, and on that account impoverish the GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 37 soil lefs than wheat, oats, barley, or rye, the leaves of which are of a firmer texture. In this manner the vegetable creation renders the air pure by afsimilating to it- self those putrescent particles, which, if not removed, would render the atmosphere unfit for animal respiration. Some modern philo- sophers have attempted to destroy this opi- nion, but they must bring stronger proofs than those they have produced, before they can ex- pect to tear from the human breast an idea so full of harmony. Rape and hemp are oil-bearing plants, and, consequently, impoverishers of the soils but the former lefs so than the latter, owing to the greater succulency of its leaf. The leaves of all kinds of grain are succu- lent for a time; during which period the plants take little from the earth; but as soon as the ear begins to be formed, they lose their softncfs, and diminish in their attractive power. The radical fibres are then more vigorously employed in extracting the oily particles of the earth, for the nouiishment ot the seed. Such, I apprehend, is the course ot nature. C5 S3 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ESSAY II. 0)1 a rich and cheap Compojl^ Kc, In the last efsay I endeavoured to show that oil, made miscible with water, constitutes the chief nourishment of vegetables. A greater number of proofs might have been produed in support of that doctrine j but I flatter myself that those already advanced will be thought sufficient. Having reason to believe that my theory was founded upon facts and experiments, I was desirous of converting it to public utility. And as I apprehended that a compost might be discovered, upon the principles advanced, which would come cheap to the farmer, and be of easy carriage, I diligently employed myself in prosecuting the inquiry. In the course of investigation I took care to reason upon proper data; carefully avoid- ing every degree of partiality to my system. — In philosophy nothing is so delusive as pre- judice, S GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 39 After making various trials, I at last disco- vered what I so ardently sought after; but as I have not the vanity to think my experiments sufficiently conclusive, I embrace this oppor- tunity to request the afsistance of the practi- cal farmer, in order that the merits of the in- vention may be fully determined. Should my theory concerning the food of plants be found erroneous, the compost, of course, will be disregarded. But, on the contrary, should it be agreed to, that oil, under certain modifications, made miscible with water, constitutes the chief nourishment of vegetables, then the invention will probably become a subject for future experiment. Though theory may direct our inquiries, yet experience must at last determine our opinions, for which reason I propose to en- large my experiments; and as I have no other view but the investigation of truth, I shall lay them faithfully before the public, whether they prove succefsful or not. We know that a number of experiments, made by different persons, and in different places, are efsentially necefsary towards estab- C4. 40 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. lishing the truth of any received opinion in Agri- culture. How much more necefsary is it to re- quest the afsistance of the practical farmer, in determining the merits of a new invention ? for such I esteem the compost I here com- municate. Virgil, indeed, has recommended the lees of oil as a manure, and the ingenious Dr. Home has mentioned olive oil; but neither of them reflected upon the absolute necefsity of rendering the oil miscible with water, by means of an alkaline salt. I judge it unnecefsary to repeat what I have already advanced upon the food of plants. I shall therefore refer the reader to the £ t Efsay, as it contains the greatest part of trie reasoning upon which the following compost is founded. To make Oil-Cmnposi. I s. d Take North- American pot-ash 12 lb. 4 Break the salt into small pieces, and put it into a convenient vefsel with four gallons of water. Let the mixture stand forty-eight hours, then add coarse train-oil, 14 gallons 14 X^ 18 OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 41 In a few days the salt will be difsolved, and the mixture, upon stirring, will become nearly uniform. Take fourteen bushels of sand, or twenty of dry mould. Upon these, pour the above liquid ingredients. Turn this composition fre- quently over, after adding to it as much fresh horse dung as will "bring on heat and fer- mentation ; in six months it will be fit for use. I apprehend that the above quantity will be found sufficient for an acre : my trials, how- r, do not give me sufficient authority to de':ermine upon this point. For the convenience of carnage, I have di- rected no more earth to be used than will effectually take up the liquid ingredients. But if the farmer chooses to mix up the compost with the mould of his field, I would advise him to use a larger portion of earth, as he will thereby be enabled to distribute it with more regularity upon the surface. I have not yet had any extensive trial of its efficacy upon pasture and meadow grounds : but I presume that whatever will nourish corn, will also feed 43 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. the roots of grafs. When used upon such lands, it should be put on during a rainy sea- son, as all top-drefsings are injured by the solar heat. All kinds of, cattle must be; kept off the lands for some time, as they will bite the grafs too close in quest of the salt contained in the compost, which I have found to be the case in small trials. I shall here observe, that the oil-compost is only intended to supply the place of rape- dust, soot, woollen rags, and other expensive hand-drefsings. It is in all respects inferior to rotten dung : where that can be obtained, every kind of manure must give place to it. At the same time that dung affords nou- rishment, it opens the pores of the earth. Hand-drefsings, on the contrary, give food to plants, but contribute little towards loosen- ing the soil. This is an useful and practical distinction, and may be applied through all the variety of manures made use of by the farmer. ;I presume that the oil-compost resembles GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 4S the natural food of plants ; but I submit that, as well as every thing else, to experience, our unerring guide. It may be objected, that it has not suf- ficiently undergone the putrid ferment, to attenuate the oily particles. The use of rape- dust, soot, horn shavings, and woollen rags, take off that objection, and at the same time confirm the theory upon which the above compost is founded. I do not take upon me to direct the ex- perienced farmer in the manner of using this new compost. I would have every person apply it in the way most agreeable to himself. Many things will occur to the practical hus- bandman, that no reasoning of the philoso- pher could foresee. By attending to the dif- ferent ways of using it, we may reap con- siderable advantages. Improvements may be collected even from the highest degree of mismanagement. Facts must ever be the foundation of our reasoning. Without . them, the philosopher is a kind .of Ignis fatiius. Instead of unfolding nature, he covers her with a cloud, and en- 44 CEORGICAL ESSAYS. deavours, as it were, to bring old Chaos back again into the world. Should I presume to instruct the farmer in the management of the compost, I would re- commend it to be sown immediately after the grain, and both harrowed in together. The following experiment, though trifling in its own nature, gave me the first encourage- ment to prosecute the subject upon a larger scale.— I took four pots, N** 1, 2, 3, 4. N® 1. contained 12 lb. of barren sand, with 1 02. of the sand oil-compost. N® 2. — 12 lb. of sand, without any mix- ture. N** 3.— 12 lb. of sand, with i oz. of tlaked lime. N* 4. — 12 lb. of sand, with 4 oz. of the sand oil-compost. In the month of March, I put six grains of wheat into each pot, and during the summer I occasionally watered the plants with filtered GEORGICAL ESSAYS. '45 water. All the time that the plants were consuming the farina, I could observe but little diiference in their appearance. But after one month's growth, I remarked that N» 1. was the best. N° 2. the next. N" 3. the next. N*^ 4. much the worst. In August, I made the following observa- tions. N° 1 . had five small ears, which contained a few poor grains. N^ 2. had three small ears, which scarce deserved the name of ears, containing a few grains, niuch inferior in goodnefs to the for- mer. N^ 3. had no ears. Only I observed two very small ones within their respective sheaths, which, for want of vegetable strength, never made their appearance. N'' 4. had no earsj the stalks appearing stunted in their growth. I removed the plants from their pots, and took a view of the roots of each. 46 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. N° I . The roots tolerably large, and well spread. N^ 2. The roots not so large. N° 3. The roots very short and small. N" 4. The roots much the shortest, with the appearance of being ricketty. Upon this experiment I remark: 1. That the oil-compost may be considered as a vegetable food : but that, when used too liberally, the alkaline salt will burn up the roots of the plant, and hinder vegetation. For which reason I would recommend the compost to be exposed to the influence of the air, for some months, before it is laid on. 2. That lime contains no vegetable food, and is, in its own nature, an enemy to vege- tation. It is, however, of excellent use in afsisting vegetation, in the manner described in the first Efsay. My experiments teach me, that all kinds of soils may be benefitted by this manure. The lim.cstone, gravelly, sandy, and chalky soils GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 41 seem to require it most. The rich loams and good clays have nourishment within them- selves, and stand more in need of the plough than the dunghill. It is observed by farmers, that rape-dust seldom succeeds with spring-corn, unlefs plen- tiful rains fall within a few weeks after sow- ing. I have more than once made the same observation upon the oil-compost, which in- duces me to recommend it for winter crops only. From the unctuousnefs of its nature, it is more than probable, that it should lie ex- posed for a long time to the influence of the weather, which benefit it is deprived of when used for barley, and such crops as are sown late in the spring, I am confirmed in this idea, from repeated experiments made with the compost upon turnips, which generally proved unsuccefsful. But at the same time I in- variably found that those parts of the field on which the compost had been spread, produced the best crops of grain the following year. From this slow manner of giving its virtues, it seems to be an improper drefsing for all plants that have a quick vegetation. Agreeably to the theory advanced in the first Efsay, I presume that all lands, which 48 CEORGICAL ESSAYS. have been exhausted by frequent crops, are robbed of their oily particles, and consequently have become barren. The oil-compost, as it plentifully restores particles similar to those that are carried off, has a fair appearance of proving an excellent restorative. To lands under such circumstances, lime alone is the worst manure that can be applied. Tliis last observation naturally leads me to wish for a general history of manures, upon sound and rational principles. I cannot help regarding that necefsary part of husbandry, as a subject but imperfectly understood. AVho- ever succeeds in that difficult task, will prove himself a real friend to mankind. Without it, agriculture must remain a vague and un- certain study. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 49 ESSAY III. On regelation, and the Analogy betvccn Plants and Animals. Vegetables are pkccd in a middle degree between animals and minerals. They are superior to minerals, in having organized parts ; but inferior to animals^ in being desti- tute of sensation. As they are fixed to a place, they have few offices to perform. An increase of body and maturation of their seed, seems all that is re- quired of them. For these purposes Provi- dence has wisely bestowed upon them organs of a wonderful mechanism. The anatomical investigation of these organs, is the only rational method of arriving at any certainty concerning the laws of the vegetable Economy, Upon this subject Dr. Hales judiciously ob- serves, " that as the growth and preservation " of vegetable life is promoted and maintained - *' as in animals, by the very plentiful and re- " gular motion of their fluids, which are the Volume L D 50 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. " vehicles ordained by nature to carry nutri- *' ment to every part, it is therefore reasonable " to hope that in them also, by the same " method of inquiry, considerable discoveries " may in time be made, there being, in many " respects, a great analogy between plant^ " and animals." The seed of a plant, after it has dropt frorr^ the ovarium, may be considered as an im- pregnated ovum, within which the embryo plant is securely lodged. In a few days after it has been committed to the earth, we may discern the rudiments of the future plant, — tvery part appears to exist in miniature. The nutritive juices of the soil insinuate them- selves between the original particles of the plant, and bring about an extension of its parts. This is what is called the growth of the vegetable body. With regard to this increase by addition and extension, there seems to be a great analogy between the animal and vegetable kingdoms. In a former efsay I endeavoured to prove, that oily particles constitute the chief nourishment of plants and animals ; and as I apprehend that much depends upon &EORGICAL ESSAYS. 51 a proper investigation of the subject, I shall occasionally introduce some other proofs in support of my opinion. Every one knows that animals, instead oi being strengthened, are enfe(*bled by a supply of improper nourishment. It is the same thing with regard to vegetables ; but with this difference, that animals refuse whatever is improper; while vegetables, from their paf- sive nature, must be content with what we give them. AVhen a farmer once becomes acquainted with the nature of the food of plants, he will find himself rationally instructed in the manner of compounding dunghills, and the applica- tion of the various manures made use of in husbandry. At present, no part of rural Economy is so imperfectly understood. — But to return. The impregnated ovum of every animal, after it has pafsed down the Fallopian tube, and fixed itself to the bottom of the uterus, is found to contain the tender embryo within two membranes called Chorion and Amnion, In this situation the embryo could not long subsist without a supply of nourishment. — D2 52 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Nature has therefore bestowed upon it a pla- centa and umbilical chord, through which the blood and juices of the mother are trans- mitted, for its preservation and increase. Seeds are disiDOsed by Providence, nearly in the same manner. They have tv^'o cover- ings, answering to the Chorion and Amnion, and two lobes which perform the ofBce of the placenta. These lobes constitute the body of the seed, and, in the farinaceous kinds, they are the flour of the grain. Innumerable small vefsels run through the substance of the lobes, which, uniting as they approach the seminal plant, form a small chord to be inserted into the body of the germ. Tlirough it the nutri- ment supplied by the placenta, or lobes, is conveyed for the preservation and increase of the embryo plant. In order that I m.ay be clearly understood, it will be nccefsary to observe, that the lobes of farinaceous grains are fixed in the earth. — They are therefore improperly termed sem.inal leaves, being rather the placenta, or cotyledons of the plant. On the contrary, vegetables that have an oily seed, as rape, hemp, line, and turnip, carry their lobes upw^ard, and I INSERT FOLDOUT HERE GF.ORGICAL ESSAYS. 53 spread them upon the surface, in the form of broad leaves. These, though they perform the office of a placenta, are properly seminal leaves; — and to this distinction 1 shall ad- here. Plate 1 . Fig. i. represents the body, or pla- centa of a bean, with its germ, radicle, um- bilical chord, and rami^cations. — a. The germ. b. The body, or placenta, with the umbilical chord and ramifications. — c. The radicle. Fig. S. represents the placenta, or seed- leaves, of a turnip, with its radicle and germ. a. The germ. — b. The placenta, or seed-leaves. c. The radicle. Fig. 4. represents the germ of a grain of wheat, with its root and capsule, containing the milky juice for the "nourishment of the tender plant. — a. The origin of the crown, — ■ b. The pipe of communication between the first roots and the crown, at this time covered bv a membranous sheath. — c. The errain with its seminal root. At this season the grain is filled with a milky juice, for the support of the plant, during vvhat may be called its infant state. D3 - 54^ GEORGICAL ESSAYS, To illustrate the subject of vegetation, let us take a view of what happens to a bean, after it has been committed to the earth. In a few days, sooner or later, according to the temperature of the weather and the disposition of the soil, the external cover- ings open at one end, and disclose to the naked eye part of the placenta, or body of the grain. This substance consists of two lobes, between which the seminal plant is securely lodged. Soon after the opening of the mem- branes, a sharp-pointed body appears. This is the root. By a kind of principle, which seems to carry with it some appearance of instinct, it seeks a pafsage downwards, and fixes itself into the soil. At this period the root is a smooth and polished body, and per- haps has but little power to absorb any thing from the earth, for the nourishment of the- germ. The two lobes now begin to separate, and the germ, with its leaves, may plainly be dis- covered. As the germ increases in size, the lobes are further separated, and the tender leaves being closely joined, push themselves forward in the form of a wedge. These leaves take a contrary direction to the GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 55 root. Influenced by the same miraculous in- stinct, if I may be allowed the exprefsion, they seek a pafsage upward, which having ob- tained, they lay aside their wedge-like form, and spread themselves in a horizontal direc- tion, as being the best adapted for receiving the rains and dews. The radicle, every hour increasing in size and vigour, pushes itself deeper into the earth, from which it now draws some nutri- tive particles. At the same time the leaves of the germ, being of a succulent nature, afsist the plant, by attracting from the atmos- phere such particles as their tender vefsels are fit to convey. These particles, how^ever, are of a watery kind, and have not, in their own nature, a sufficiency of nutriment for the increasing plant. Vegetables and animals, during their ten- der states, require a large share of balmy nourishment. As soon as an animal is brought into life, the milk of its mother is supplied in a liberal stream, while the tender germ seems only to have the crude and watery juices of the earth for its support. In that, however, we are deceived. The Author of Nature, with D4 56 GEORGICAL ESSAYS'. equal eye, watches over the infancy of all his^ works. The animal enjoys the milky humour of its parent. The vegetable lives upon a similar fluid," though differently supplied. — For its use the farinaceous lobes are melted down into a rnilky juice, which, as long as it lasts, is conveyed to the tender plant by means of innumerable small vefsels, which are spread through the substance of the lobes. These vefsels, uniting into one common trunk, enter the body of the germ, and perform the office of an umbilical chord. Without this supply of balmy liquor, the plant must inevitably have perished, its root being then too small to absorb a sufficiency of food, and its body too weak to afsimilate it into nourishment.^ — See Plate 1. Fig. 1. and 4. Turnips, and all the tribe of Brafsicas, in- opposition to the leguminous and farinaceous plants, spread their seminal leaves upon the surface. These leaves contain all the oil of the seed, which, when diluted by the moisture of the atmosphere, forms an emulsion of the most nourishing qualitv. How similar is this juice to the milk of animals ! On account of its swectnefs, the seminal leaves are greedily devoured by the fly. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 37 Tliis demonstrably proves that oil con- stitutes the nourishment of plants in their tender state ; and, by a fair inference, we may suppose that it also nourishes them as they advance in growth, A grain of wheat, as soon as the germ has made its appearance, shows the milky liquor to the naked eye ; but the umbilical chord, with its ramifications, as far as I know, can only be discovered by anal(^y. As the plant increases in size, the balmy juice diminishes, till at last it is quite exhausted. The um- bilical chord then dries up, and the external covering of the grain appears connected to the root in the form of a shrivelled bag. — See Plate 1. Fig. 2. c. Here is no mortality. From the moment that the seed is lodged in its parent earth, the vegetative soul begins its operations, and, in one continued miracle, proves the wisdom and bounty of an almighty Providence. It is worthy of observation, that farinaceous vegetables and oviparous animals are nourish- ed, in their tender states, nearly in the same manner. 2 58 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. We have already seen that the embryo plant is supported by the farina melted down into a rTiilky liquor, and conveyed into its body by means of an umbilical chord, at a time when the radicle was unable to supply a sufficiency of nutriment. An oviparous animal, from the time that it is brought into light, seems to receive all its nourishment from without. This, how- ever, is only an appearance. The yolk of the tgg, remaining entire during incubation, is received into the body of the animal, and^ in a manner similar to the pafsage of the milky juice of the vegetable, is slowly con- veyed into the vefsels of the tender chick. — Thus a sweet nourishment is prepared at a time when neither the industry of the animal^, nor the attention of its mother, could have procured a sufficient supply. How beautiful are the general laws of Providence ! The more we explore them, th6 more we have cause for wonder and astonish- ment. Every thing is wisely disposed ; nothing is fortuitous : all is order, regularity, and wisdom. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 59 ESSAY IV. On Sleeps. f j 'T JL HE steeping of seeds in prolific liquors is not of modern invention. The Romans, who were good husbandmen, have left us several receipts for the steeping of grain, in order to increase the powers of vegetation. — In England, France, Italy, and in all countries where agriculture has been attended to, we see a variety of liquors recommended for the same purpose. Good nourishment has ever been observed to add strength and vigour to all vegetables. Hence it was natural to sup- pose that, by filling the vefsels of the grain- with nourishing liquors, the germ, with its roots, would be invigorated. How far this reasoning is founded upon just principle Sy. remains to be examined. For my part, I am not an advocate for steeps. All my experiments demonstrate that they have no inherent virtue. I have more than once sown the same seed, steeped and 60 G EORG I CAL ESSAYS. unstecped, and though all other circumstances: ^vere minutely alike, yet I never could observe the least difference in the growth of the crop. I ccnfefs that when the iiglit seeds are skimmed off, as in the operation of brining, the crop will be improved, and diseases pre- vented : but these advantages proceed from the goodnefs of the grain sown, and not from any prolific virtue of the steep. I am happy in not being singular in my objection to steeps. JMany rational farmers have been induced to quit their prejudices, and are now convinced, from their own trials, that there is no dependence upon proJific liquors, though ever so well recommended. — Some people have been hardy enough to per- suade themselves, that the tillering of wheat mav be so much increased bv invijroratins: the grain, that only one half of the seed will be required. Duhamel, one of the most accurate of the experimental husbandmen, and a most excellent philosopher, speaks, in the strongest terms, against the practice of steeping, so far as it supposes an impregnation of vegetative particles. I shall not here repeat his experi- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 61 mcnts. I shall only observe, that they are such as any farmer may make. They are plain and conclusive. Good seed, when sown upon land in ex- cellent tilth, will always produce a plentiful crop. The best of grain impregnated to the full with the most approved steep, and sown upon land indifferently prepared, will for ever balk the hopes of the farmer. I do not presume to condemn the practice in positive terms, because my experiments are against it. Other experiments may be op- posed to mine. I shall therefore rest the whole upon a description of what happens to the grain after it has been committed to the earth, and hope that I shall be able to explain myself with sufficient perspicuity. The sub- ject is curious, and the discufsion of it not very difficult. A grain of wheat contains, within two cap- sules,'' a considerable share of flour, which, when melted down into a liquor by the watery juices of the earth, constitutes the nourishment of the tender plant, until its roots are jrrown sufficiently large to absorb their 42 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. own food. Here is evidently a storehouse ot nutriment. And from that idea it is plain that the plumpest grains are the most eligible for seed. Some have imagined that poor grains may be so impregnated, as to make them equal in vegetative force to the largest. I have more than once made the experiment, and am con- vinced that plump seeds, of the same heap, are superior in goodnefs to the small ones, though ever so carefully macerated. The •farina being the food of the embryo plant, it follows that the vegetative powers will be increased in proportion to its quantity. This observation applies to those farmers who send their large and plump beans to market, and preserve the small ones for seed. I have sprouted all kinds of grain in a variety of steeps, and can afsure the farmer, that the radicle and germ never appeared so vigorous and healthy, as when sprouted by elementary water : an argument that the seed requires no afsistance. The same steep, when applied in quantity to the soil, will un- undoubtedly invigorate the roots, and nourish the plant ^ but in that case it operates in com- GEGRGICAL ESSAYS. 6$ mon with other manures, and loses the idea of a steep. As nitre, sea-salt, and dung, are generally added to the steeps, I have constantly ob- served that their application rendered the radicle and germ yellow and sickly ; a plain proof that they were unnaturally used at that season. Did the farina need any additional particles, it might be supposed, that broth made of the flesh of animals would be the most agreeable. To be satisfied of that, I sprouted some grains in beef broth, and an equal number in simple water. The result was, that the radicle and germ produced by the broth, were weaker and lefs healthy than the others sprouted by the pure element. — The seeds were afterwards sown, but I could not perceive any difference in the ears w^hen arrived at maturity. From these, and many other reasons, I am. induced to think that all invigorating steeps are only additional troubles and expense to the farmer. Correct experiments do not seem to prove their efficacy. It is customary for the farmer to brine his seed-wheat and afterwards to limq it, with ^ CEORGICAL ESSAYS. a view to prevent the smut ; conceiving that the brine and lime, by a kind of corrosion, will act upon such seeds as are infected with smut. But others are of opinion, that the brining onlv serves to enable the farmer to skim off the weak grains ; a circumstance that, with a certainty, will improve the crop. — And here I beg leave to observe, that I con- fine my idea of steeps to the supposed power of giving to seeds a vegetative force by means of certain prolific liquors which are thought to invigorate the germ, by mixing with the fari- naceous part of the seed. To sum up alL I shall venture to say, that plump seed, clear of weeds, and land well prepared to receive it, will seldom disappoint the expectations of the farmer: and upon these he should rely for the goodnefs of his crop. <;eorgical essays. 65 ESSAY V. On the Roots of Wheat, It is not sufficient for the farmer to be acquainted with the nature of the different soils. He should also know the shape of the roots of such plants as are used in field- husbandry. The soil and roots are so in- timately connected, that tl>e knowledge cf both becomes efser^tial. I have selected the roots of wheat for the subject of the present efsay. That grain, being the most valuable, demands our greatest attention. Wheat has two sets of roots. The first comes immediately from the grain ; the other shoots from the crown some time after. — I shall distinguish them by seminal and goronal roots. Plants, according to their species, observe a regular uniformity in the manner of spread- ing their roots , for which reason the same Volume I, E 66 CEORGICAL ESSAYS. grain cannot be continued long upon the same soil. It is not that each takes from the earth such particles as are congenial. The food of all plants is the same ; only some require more, some lefs. Sorrje take it near the surface, others seek it deeper. This opens to our view a noble field of instruction. A careful inspection of a healthy root will at once demonstrate the bias .of nature. An examination of the soil will show how far they will coincide. This is the rational basis of the change of species, so well understood in Norfolk, where tap-rooted plants always follow those that root superficially. "Wlieat being subject to the severity of winter, its roots are wonderfully disposed to withstand the inclemency of the season.— A view of their shape will direct us in the manner of sowing that grain to the most ad- vantasre ; and at the same time enable us to account for some of the phcencmena qb- servable in the growth of it. I have observed that wheat has a double root. The first, or seminal root, is pushed put at the same time with the germ, which, tor gether with the farina, nourishes the plant GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 67 until it has formed its crown. Plate 1. Fig. 4. a. The origin of the crown. — -b. The pipe of communication, at this time covered witli a membranous sheath, — c. The grain with its seminal root. In the spring, when the crown has become sufficiently large, it detaches a number of strong fibres, which push themselves obliquely downwards. Tliese are the coro7ial roots. — A small pipe preserves the communication between them and the seminal roots. It makes an efsential part of the plant, and is observed to be longer or shorter, according to the depth that the seed has been buried. It is remarkable, however, that the crown is always formed just within the surface. Its place is the same, whether the grain has been sown d«ep or superficial. I believe I do not err when I call this vegetabk instinct As the in- crease and fructification of the plant depends upon the vigorous absorption of the coronal roots, it is no wonder that they shoukl fix themselves so near the surface, where the soil is alwavs the richest. From an attention to this circumstance, we are led to explain the i^peration of top-drefsings. E2 C5 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. In the northern counties wheat is generally sown late. When the frost comes, the coronal roots, being young, are frequently chilled. — This inconvenience, however, may easily be prevented by sowing more early, and burying the seed deeper. The seminal roots being out of the reach of the frost, will then be enabled to send up nourishment to the crown, by means of the pipe of communication, Plate 1. Fig. 2. represents a plant of wheat sown at a proper depth. — a. The crown with its roots. — b. The pipe of communication. — c. The seminal roots, with the capsule of the grain. Plate 2. Fig. 5. shows a plant of wheat sown superficial. — a. The crown and roots. — h. The pipe of communication. — c. The s^mU nal roots, and capsule of the grain, Hence it is obvious that wheat, sowq superficially, must be exposed to the severity of the frost from the shortnefs of the pipe of communication. The plant, in that situation, has no benefit from its double root. On the contrary, when the grain has been properly covered, the seminal and coronal roots are dJEORGlCAL ESSAVS* 69 kept at a reasonable distance — The crovvn, being well nourished during the winter, sends up numerous stalks in the spring. — On the tillering of the corn, the goodnefs of the crop principally depends. A field of wheat dibled, or sown in equi-distant rows by the drill- plough, always makes a better appearance than one sown by the harrows. In the one, the pipe of communication is regularly of the same length j but in the other it is irregular 3 being either too long or too short. From these anatomical facts, many practical advantages may be reaped. I shall not here relate them. They will readily occur to tin «1iscerning husbandman. 70 GEOli&ICAL ES&AY^i ESSAY VI. Oti Vegetation and the Motion of the Sap. Animal bodlesy from the nature of theif structure, are liable to diseases. Vegetables, being lefs complicated, have fewer maladies. The laws of the animal economy are dis=- covered by anatomical inspection. Tlie vege- table economy has the same foundation. Malpighi and Grew, unknown to each other, undertook the anatonriy of plants nearly about the same time. The engravings that they have left us, are lasting monuments of their industry and attention. Many things, however, have been found out since their days. Many things remain yet to be discovered. The general and obvious parts of a plant !fire five. The root, the stem, the branches, the leaves, the flower. The component parts of these divisions are simple in comparison to the animal body. Tlie offices of a vegetable, being only increase and fructification, there^ was no necefsity for a complicated structure. ■ GZORGICAL ESSAYS. 7\ A good microscope discovers the con- stituent parts of a plant to be, 1 . A very thin cuter rind. 2. An inner rind, much thicker than the former. 3. A blea, of a spungy texture. 4. A w-iscular series; 5. A fleshy substance, which answers to the wood ot a tree, or shrub. 6. Pyramidal vefsels con- tained within the fiesh. And, 7. A pith. Whatever part of the plant wc examine, vvc observe these, and no more. The root, its ascending stalk, and or nearly as 5 : 2. " The area of the transverse cut of the " middle of the stem is a square inch ; there- ^* fore the areas, on the surface of the leaves, *« the roots and stem, are 5616, 2276. 1. " The velocities in the surface of the leaves, " roots, and transverse cut of the stem, are ** gained by a reciprocal proportion of the ^* surfaces. «*. r leaves = 5616 g -J roots =2276 '< (stem = 1 > } = \) (34 inch. " Now, their perspiring 34 cubic inches *' in twelve hours day, there must so much *' jpafs through the stem in that time j and the F2 ti GfiORGICAL ESSAYS. *' velocity would be at the rate of 34 inches in " twelve hours, if the stem were quite " hollow.** " In order therefore to find out the quantity " of solid matter in the stem, July 27, at 7, " a. m. I cut up even with the ground a sun- " flower ; it weighed 3 pounds ; in thirty " days it was very dry, and had wasted in all " 2 pounds 4 ounces : that is I of its whole " weight : so here is a fourth part left for " solid parts in the stem, (by throwing a piece " of green sun-flower stem into water, I found " it very near of the same specific gravity " with water) which filling up so much of the " stem, the velocity of the sap must be in- " creased proportionably, viz. f part more, *^ (by reason of the reciprocal proportion) that "34 cubick inches may pafs the stem in ** twelve hours ; whence its velocity in the ** stem will be 4 Si inches in twelve hours, *' supposing there be no circulation, nor re- " turn of the sap downwards. " If there be added to 34, (which is the " least velocity) f of it - 111, this gives the " greatest velocity, viz. 45f. The spaces " being as 3 : 4. the velocities will be "4:3 :: 457 : 34. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 8y " But if we suppose the pores in the sur- « face of the leaves to bear the same propor- " tion as the area of the sap-vefsels in the stem " do to the area of the stem ; then the « velocity both in the leaves, root, and stem, « will be increased in the same proportion. " A pretty exact account having been taken " of the weight, size, and surface of this plant, " and of the quantities it has imbibed and per- " spired, it may not be improper here to enter " into a comparison of what is taken in and *' perspired by a human body, and this « plant. <« The weight of a well-sized man is equal "to 160 pounds: the weight of the sun- " flower is 3 pounds ; so their weights are to " each other as ICO : 3, or as 53 : 1. " The surface of such human body is equal " to 15 square feet, or 2160 square inches. " The surface of a sunflower is 5616 square " inches ; so its surface is, to the surface of " a human body, as 26 : 10. " The quantity perspired by a man in F3 86 6E0RGICAL ESSAYS. "twenty-four hours is about 31 ounces, a3 " Dr. Keill found. Vkl Medic. Stat. Britait. '' p 14. " The quantity perspired by the plant, irt *' the same time, is 22 ounces, allowing *' two ounces for the perspiration of the be- " ginning and ending of the night in July, *' viz. after evening, and before morninof *' weighing, just before and after night. o " So the perspiration of a man to the sun- *' flower is as r41 : 100. " Abating the six ounces of the thirty-one ** ounces, to be carried off by respiration from " the lungs in the twenty-four hours ; (which " I have found by certain experiment to be so " much, if not more) the twenty-five ounces " multiplied by 458, the number of grains in " an ounce avoirdupois, the product is 10,950 " grains ; which divided by 254, the number " of grains in a cubic inch of water, gives " 43 cubick inches perspired by a man : " which divided by the surface of his body, " viz. 2160 square inches, the quotient rs " nearly j'o part of a cubic inch perspired off " a square inch in twenty-four hours. There- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 87 *' fore in equal surfaces, and equal times, the " man perspires ^Vj the plant t^t, or as 50 : 15. " Which excefs in the man is occasioned " by the very different degrees of heat in " each : for the heat of the plant cannot be " greater than the heat of the circumambient " air, which heat in summer is from 25 to 35 " degrees above the freezing point j but the " heat of the v^armest external parts of " a man's body is 54 such degrees, and the " heat of the blood 64 degrees ; which is " nearly equal to water heated to such a de- " gree as a man can well bear to hold his *' hand in, stirring it about ; which heat is " sufficient to make a plentiful evaporation. « 2u. Since then the perspirations of equal " areas in a man and a sun-Hower are to each " other as 165 : 50, or as 3i : 1; and since " the degrees of heat are as 2 : 1, must not " the sum or quantity of the areas of the " pores lying in equal surfaces, in the man " and sun-flower, be as 1 ^ : 1 ? for it seems *' that the quantities of the evaporated fluid " will be as the degrees of heat, and the " sum of the areas of the pores, taken " together. F4 S8 GEORGICAL ESSAY'S. " Dr. KeiJl, by estimating the quantities of " the several evacuations of his bodv, found ** that he eat and drank, every 24 hours, " 4 pounds 10 ounces. " The sun-flower imbibed and perspired in " the same time 22 ounces ; so the man*s " food to that of the plant, is as 74 ounces to " 22 ounces, or as 7 : 2. " But, compared bulk for bulk, the " plant imbibes 17 times more fresh food *' than the man ; for deducting 5 ounces, ** which Dr. Keill allows for the faeces alii, " there will remain 4 pounds 5 ounces of " fresh liquor, which enters a man's veins ; *' and an equal quantity pafses off every " 24 hours. Then it will be found, that •* 17 times more new fluid enters the sap- '" vefsels of the plant, and pafses off in '' 24 hours, than there enters the veins of '' a man, and pafses off in the same time. " And since, compared bulk for bulk, the " plant perspires 17 times more than the man, '* it was therefore very necefsar}', by giving it " an extensive surface, to make a large pro- '' vision for a plentiful perspiration in the GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 89 " plant, which has no other way of discharging ** superfluities ; whereas there is provision *' made in man, to carry off above half of what *' he takes in, by other evacuations, " For since neither the surface of his body " was extensive enough to cause sufficient " exhalation, nor the additional reek, arising ** from the heat of his blood, could carry off ** above half the fluid which was necefsary to " be discharged every 24 hours ; there was *' a necefsity of providing the kidneys to per- " colate the other half through. " And whereas it is found that 17 times " more enters, bulk for bulk, into the sap- " vefsels of the plant, than into the veins of " a man, and goes off in 24 hours : one rea- " son of this greater plenty of fresh fluid ia " the vegetable than the animal body, may be, ''^ because the fluid which is filtrated through " the roots immediately from the earth, is not " near so full freighted with nutritive particles " as the chyle which enters the lacteals of " animals ; which defect it was necefsary to " supply by the entrance of a much greater '' quantity of fluid. And the motion of the " sap is thereby much accelerated, which in 00 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. " the heaftlefs vegetable would otherwise be " very slow: it having probably only a pro- *' grefsive and not a circulating motion, as in " animals. Since then a plentiful pcrspira- " tion is found so necefsary for the health of "^ a plant or tree, it is probable that many of " their distempers are owing to a stoppage of " this perspiration, by inclement ^ir. " The perspiration in men is often stopped " to a fatal degree ; not only by the in- " clemency of the air, but by intemperance, " and violent heats and colds. But in the " more temperate vegetable, perspiration can " be stopped only by inclement air ; unlefs by " an unkindly soil, or want of genial moisture, *' it is deprived of proper or sufficient nourish- " ment. " As Dr. Keill observed in himself a con- " siderable latitude of degrees of healthy per- " spiration, from a pound and a half to three *' pounds ; I have also observed a healthy " latitude of perspiration in this sun-flower, *' from 16 to 28 ounces, in twelve hours day. " The more it was watered, the more plen- " tifully it perspired, (deteris paribus) and " with scanty watering the perspiration much " abated." GEORGICAL ESSAYS. §1 !from these accurate experiments, it is evident that vegetables inspire and expire. — Pure air is necefsary for animals. Vegetables require the same. When obliged to breathe their own vapours, they become unhealthy. — For that reason corn is seldom good in small inclosures; neither are trees healthy when much crowded. The superior goodnefs of the grain produced by the drill and alternate husbandry, evinces the necefsity of a free cir- culation of air. There is a certain height to which the soil ought to raise the ears of corn. When, from too much closenefs, they are ele- vated beyond that pitch, the real nourishment that should go to the grain, is spent upon the straw. The stems also that should have been hardened by the air, become weak, and unable to stand against moderate storms of wind and rain. The culture of beans shows the truth of this observation. When sown too thick, they push themselves upward with seeming vigour, and the crop has the appearance of being a good one. But when examined, we find the pods small, and few in number. On the contrary, when sown in drills, with proper in- tervals, the straw is shorter, and the- pods 92 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. much larger, and more numerous. I do not argue for the drill husbandry in general ; but with regard to beans and turnips, it is a rational and profitable practice. Farmers may object to the difficulty of keep- ing the intervals clear of weeds. When hoers cannot be procured, sheep are said to be excellent weeders. The intervals, how- ever, are best cleaned by the common horse- hoe. A drill crop of beans is always superior to a crop sown by the hand. But to return to our philosophical argument. Tlie analogy that subsists betvreen plants and animals, has induced some very eminent naturalists to suppose a regular circulation of the vegetable juices. M. Perrault, M. Major, M. Marriotte, Malpighi, and our country- man Grew, contended, much about the same time, for the circulation of the sap. Accord- ing to their microscopical observations, the wood of trees, and the flesh of plants, consist of fine capillary tubes, which run parallel from the root, through the trunk and. branches.— These they looked upon as arteries. Other minute vefsels were observed running between the wood and inner bark, which they distin- OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 93 guished by the name of veins. They also described, very correctly, the Trachea, or air- vefsels, which take their course through the fibres of the wood. These anatomical pre- liminaries being settled, they proceeded to reason in this manner. The root having absorbed a quantity of juice from the earth, it is made to ascend through the vefsels of the wood, by the alter- nate expansion and contraction of the Tracheae, afsisted by the natural absorption of the sap- vefsels themselves. They supposed the sap to be rarefied to the degree of a fine vapour, in which state it mounted upward to the ex- treme parts of the plant, where meeting with the external air; it became condensed into a liquor, and in that form returned to the root by the venal system, between the wood and bark. Dr. Hales, in the most satisfactory manner, set aside this doctrine, and sub- stituted another in its place, more consonant to reason and experiment. It is something remarkable that Dr. Hervey should have been the first who established the circulation of the blood, in opposition to most of the anatomists in Europe ; and that Dr. 94 GEORGICAL ESSAYS* Hales should have clearly disproved the c{r\ culation of the sap, contrary to the opinion of almost every naturalist of his time. In order that we may have a distinct view of the motion of the Sap, it will be necefsary to reflect, that the root, stem, branches, and leaves are constructed in the same manner. — Sallows, willows, vines, and most shrubs, will grow in an inverted state, with their tops downward in the earth. Dr. Bradley de- scribes the manner of inverting a young cherry-tree, the roots of which will put forth leaves, and the branches become roots. — . Hence it is obvious that the nutritive matter may be conveyed as well by the leaves as the roots, their vascular structure being the very same. We have now settled the anatomical struc- ture of a plant. Upon it depends much of what we know of the vegetable economy.—- Tlie motion of the sap comes next to be examined. During the heat of a summer's day, all plants perspire freely from the pores of their leaves and b^rk. At that time the juices OEORGICAL ESSAYS. 95 are highly rarefied. The diameters of the Trachese, or air-vefsels, are enlarged, so as to prefs upon and straiten the vefsels that carry the sap. In consequence of which their juices, not being able to escape by the roots, arc prefsed upward, where there is the least resist- ance, and perspire off the excrementitious parts by the leaves and top-branches, in the form of vapour. When the, solar heat declines, the Trachea: are contracted. The sap-vefsels are enlarged, and the sap sinks down in the man- ner of the spirits of a thermometer. In con- sequence of this change, the capillary vefsels of the leaves and top-branches become empty. Being surrounded with the humid vapours of the evening, they fill themselves from the known laws of attraction, and send down the new-acquired juices to be mixed with those that are more elaborated. As soon as the sun has altered the tempe- rature of the air, the Trachea: become again distended, and the sap-vefsels are straitned. The same cause always produces the same eftect ; and this alternate ascent and descent, through the same system of vefsels, continues as long as the plant survives. Jhc iregular motion of the stem and 96 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. branches, is another cause that contributes to the ascent of the sap. Every time that these parts are acted upon by the air, they are made to afsume a variety of angles, whereby the sap- vefsels are suddenly straitned. The contained juices consequently receive reiterated im- pulses, similar to what happens to the blood of animals from the contraction of the heart. This observation may afsist us in investigating the vegetable economy, so far as it regards the management of fruit-trees, and probably may be extended throughout the whole system of gardening, planting, and farming. It may be objected, that trees fixed to the wall do, notwithstanding, carry their sap to the extreme branches; but it should be considered that the warmth of their situation, afsisted by the horizontal direction of their branches, is fully fufficient to propel the sap, without the undulatory motion that I have mentioned. I beg leave to observe, that these observa- tions are only intended to convey a general idea of the motion of the sap. It varies ac- cording to the temperature of the weather. The air is seldom one moment alike. The sap must therefore sometimes move quick. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 97 ^t)metimes slow. It may rise and fall many (times in a day. Sudden heats push it upward, eudden cokls make it fall. Thus the juices are blended, and the secretions forwarded. The manner that the nutritive juices of the earth and atmosphere are conveyed into the «ap-vefsels, remains to be described. And this makes a necefsary part of our present ar- gument, as it may afsist us in finding out, and .explaining, the diseases of plants from the va- riations of .the weathej. The outer bark whicli covers every external part of a vegetable, as well below as above the surface, is full of perspiratory or absorbent iioles. The vefsels^of this bark being endowed with the powerinherenit in capillary tubes,draw «p the moisture that is applied to their sur- face. From them it is committed to the ves- -sels of the inner bark. After receiving some degree of melioration, the sap is delivered to the blea. From the blea, it pafses, by anasto- mosing canals,, to the vascular series. From thence to the vwod, or flesh, where it receives its last concoction. The nutritive particles being separated by Volinne /. G 98- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. the mechanism of these numerous canajs, are applied towards the fructification and increase of the plant ; while the watery and excre- mentitious parts are carried expeditiously to the leaves, where they are perspired off in the form of vapour. It is evident, however, that, as water contains but few particles that are fit for nourishment, it was necefsary that plants should have the power of imbibing a large portion of that fluid. For which reason the sun-flower, considered bulk for bulk, takes in seventeen times more nourishment than a man, and consequently perspires more. During the continuance of dry north-east winds, the leaves of corn are observed to grow 3'ellow, and the early-set fruit frequently falls off". This is owing to the want of moisture in the atmosphere to fill the vefsels of the leaves and top-branches, whereby the fruit is depri- ved of nourishment Under such circumstan- ces, it is probable that wall-fruit may be pre served by prudently watering the leaves and top-branches during the evening. It is, how- ever, a singular happinefs that the air is at no time perfectly free from moisture. Bring a bottle of cold water into the warmest room, and its surface will immediately be covered ■(SSORGIGAL ESSAtS. 99 with a thlek dew. An air absolutely dry, would, in a few days, annihilate the vegetable creation. .iC . h> .iOiiloq yi'sr' id In;:. : ::, ..j -. Thi^ ^iris jxiftly said' to cona:ain''the life of vegetables, as well as animals; It is a com- prefsible and elastic fiuidj surrounding the face of ■'Jhe globe, and reaching^ to a considerable height above it. Vegetables do not grow in vacuo, and animals die when deprived of air. It has two states 5 being either elastic or fixed. Dr. Hales observes, that, in its elastic and active state, it conduces to the invigorating the juices of vegetables j and, in its fixed and inert state, gives union, weight, and firmnefs to all natural bodies. By his experiments we are informed, that fixed air constitutes near one third part of the solid contents of the heart of oak. It is found to bear the same proportion in pease, beans, and other vegetable substan- ces. Heat and fermentation render it elastic. It is again capable ot being absorbed and fixed. Was the whole air of the universe brought at once into an elastic and repulsive state, everv thing would suffer a sudden dis- solution. Was it entirely fixed, then all things would be reduced to an inert lump. Almighty Providence has provided against these ex- G2 100 pEORGICAL ESSAYJ. tremes, and ia the most woo4erful manner preserves the balance ! Air is to be found in every portion of earth ; and as it always contains a solution of the vo- latile parts of animal and vegetable substances, .>ve should be careful to keep our stiff soils as open as pofsible to its influence. It pafses, both in its active and fixed state, into the ab- sorbent vefsels of the root, and, mixing with the juices of the plant, circulates through every part. Dr. Hales, in his statical experiments upon the vine, discovered it ascending with the sap in the bleeding season. Having demonstrated that the motion of the sap depends upon the influence of the air, and the power of ab^orption common to all ca- pillary tubes, it naturally follows, that it cannot remain one moment at rest. The gradations from heat to cold, and vice versa^ are infinite, and sometimes desultory : So must the motion of the sap. From the coinbinations of the nutritive particles, a num^'^r of different fluids are prepared in the same plant. Matter is the $ane in allj but the modificntion of it makes things sweet or sour, acrid or mild. The universal juice of a plant is a limpid GEORGICAL ESSAYS. lOl subacid liquor, which flows plentifully from a wound made in a tree when the sap is rising. The birch and the vihe yield it in great abun- dance. This liquor, as it moves through the innumerable small vefsels, becomes more and more concocted, and is the general mafs from which all the juices are derived. It may be: called the blood of the plant. By a certain modification it produces high-flavoured oils, gums, sugar, Wax, turpentine, and even the constituent parts of the plant itself. How this transmutation is performed, remains, and per- haps ever will remain, unknown. I hope it will not be objected to me, that in this efsay I have been too minute. In the history of nature we cannot be too particular: Every part of it demands our most serious at- tention j and every part of it repays us for the labour we bestow. The wings of the butterfly are painted by the same Almighty hand that made the sun. The meanest vegetable, and the most finished animal, are equally the care of Providence. We constantly view the wis- dom of God in his works ; and yet, as the wise man observes, " hardly do we guefs aright at *' the things that are upon the earth, and with " labour do we find the things that are before « us." G3 102 GEORGICAL ESSAYS, ESSAY VII. dn a Mn'' Metlwd of culiivatiyig weak Arable Lands. Various are the rrrell^ocTs' recommended by husbandmen for- the cropping of their Lands. Some employ themselves rationally in suiting the crops i?0'ttie-natJure;of the soil, while others follow thd irainemorial custom of the village. Farmers, in general, agree in this, that a fallow is necefsary ; but they differ as to the time of its rotation. In the scheme of Agriculture recommended by Virgil, there is no change of species. Wheat and fallow succeed each other. Collumella observes the same thing. This seems to have been the foundation of the drill and horse-hoeing husbandry ; a scheme pursued with indefatigable diligence by Mr. Tull ; but it requires so much nicety and at- tention, that I apprehend it never will be brought into general uf?e. The principles, however, upon which it is founded ought to be understood by every farmer, as they will' enable hiiil' to reason properly upon some of the most interesting operations of Agriculture, and -lead hini insensiblv toneatnefs in the ma- O GEORGICAL ESSAYS* 103 nagemcnt of his farm. I do not mean that he should adopt the theory of Mr. Tull. I would have him only reason upon his practice in re- gard to the destruction of weeds, and the loosening of the soil. Reflecting, some years ago. Upon the old and new husbandry, I thought that a system might be formed of a mixed nature, that would comprehend the advantages of both, without the inconveniences of either. I was the more desirous of reducing my reasoning into prac- tice, as the plan seemed well adapted to the cultivation of weak arable lands that lie remote from manure. I am sensible that, by the introduction of turnips and artificial grafses, these weak lands may be cultivated in the most profitable man- ner ; but in wide-extended countries without a hedge, these improvements cannot easily be introduced. It will be almost unnecefsary to observe, that arable lands have ever been restored by means of a fallow, which the judicious hus- bandman makes more or lefs frequent in pro- portion to the poverty of the soil. Upon ihe 104 CEORGICAL ESSAYS'. high Wolds ill Yorkshire, where the soil" iJ poor and thin, oats and barley are principally cultivated. The usual husbandry in open field-land is one crop and a fallow j and irt some places, where there is a greater poverty of soil, they are content with a single crop,, and then let the land rest for some years tcr re- cover itself. These appear unsatisfactory riiodes of culti- vation; A few straggling sheep, that browse upon the fallows, cannot restore to the earth what the weeds devour. Weeds and corn live upon the same food. To protect the lat- ter, we must destroy the former. Wherever abundance of weeds are observed upon the fallows, we may pronounce the husbandry of the district to be feeble, the husbandman poor, and the rents low. To remedy the defective cultivation of weak arable lands, I have adop- ted the following system. My practice fully justifies the recommendation. Instead of having the lands laid out in broad ridgesj I order them to be made only nine feet wide. When the seed-time comes, I sow every other land broad-cast, and harrow in the grain in the usual manner, llie intermediate fpaces, <3E0RGICAL ESSAYS. 105 which I call the fallow lands, are ploughed two or three times, at proper seasons, by a light plough drawn byone horse, in order to make a clean fallow for the succeeding crop. Upon these lands the seed is sown as before. The stubble in turn becomes the fallow, and is treated accordingly. In this alternate way I nlanage weak arable lands, and I have the satisfaction to find that very little manure is required, which is a most agreeable circum- stance, as such lands are generally remote from a large town. I dare venture to say, that the same field, managed in this alternate way for a few years, will be found to produce one third part more profit, than when cultivated in the usual manner. Farmers thdt have large tracts of weak ara- ble land, and live remote from dung, will find this mode both profitable and easy of appli- cation* I do hot recommend it where the lands are deep and rich — or within a reason- able distance of manure. To account for the advantages of this cul- ture, we need only reflect that vegetables, no more than animals, can subsist long in a state of health without, the free enjoyment of air. 2 106 G£ORGICAL ESSAYS* In a large ^dd, when the weather Is caJm^ the air remains in a state of stagnation, where- by the perspiration of the plants is pennitfced to continue too long upon the ears of corn. Hence many inconveniences arise to the crop. On the contrary, in the alternate husbandry, the air is constantly in motion. Tlie interme- diate fallows serve as funnels t6 carry it off, and, along with it, all supeiHuous? moisture. . In consequence of this freedom of air, up6n which I lay a great strefs, the ears of corn are always observed to be well fed, and the stalks firm and strong. When by severe weather the corn happens to be lodged, it is thrown upon a clean fallow, where it has no chance of being bound down by weeds. It is consequently sooner raised by the current. of air which is constantly pafsing along the fallows. It is, however, the particular happinefs of this method of cultivation, that the corn is seldom laid, even in the most stormy weathei'.; Turnips, or, when the soil is deep and sandy, a few carrots or potatoes^ mav be placed upon- the intermediate lands : but 1 have always found it best to keep them as perfect fallows. GfiORGlCAL ESSAYS. 107 Every thing that grows takes something from the soil ; and as our land is supposed to be weak, and not supported with much manure, we ought not to suffer the smallest vegetable to take root upon it. If the farmer chooses he may vary his crops ; but I am of opinion, and I. speak from some experience, that the same grain may be culti- vated, as long as he pleases, upon lands mana- ged in the manner that I have recommended. In consequence of this happy disposition of the soil, every kind of grain may be suited to the land most proper for it. I do not confine the alternate husbandry to oats, barley, and rye. I have tried it upon good wheat land ; and if the farmer attends to his businefs, he will find his wheat crops greatly to exceed his ex- pectations. In the cultivation of this grain the utmost attention must be paid to the cleannefi* of the fallow lands. For want of proper csre in that particular, I was once very unsuccefsful ia an experiment of two acres. Tn October 1759 I began an extensive trial with wheat upon good land, and as I was de- sirous of making two experiments at the same time, I manured the sown lands with 'the oil-' compost, at the rate of 9s, per acre, which/ 108 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. though an annual charge, may be considered as a trifling sum. At present (February) the field looks well, and promises a plentiful crop. I shall minutely attend to every particular, that I may be able to communicate the expe- riment upon a future occasion. I acknowledge that many of the advantages of this culture are in common with the drill husbandry ; but I flatter myself that there are others which that ingenious system does not enjoy. I know it will be objected, that in this man- ner the fallows will be lost to the sheep during the summer months. I answer, so much the better. If pofsible, the fallows should not be permitted to bear a single leaf. The farmer ought to find other ways to support his sheep j and, if he is an intelligent man, he will readily do it. It is an odd kind of husbandry, when, the fields bear corn one year for the owner, and the next, weeds for his sheep. > When first I practised this new culture, I was apprehensive that the pigeons and crows would prove my greatest enemies, by settling upon the fallow lands, and pulling down the ears of corn. I have now the pleasure to afsure GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 109 the public, that, after some years experience, I find my lands no more liable to those depre- dations than the neighbouring ones. I need not observe that, by this system of husbandry, the lands are rendered open and light In consequence of which abundance of nourishment will be conveyed into the body of the soil, instead of being left upon the surface, to be exhaled by the sun, or swept off by the winds. But as the best things sometimes bring inconveniences with them, it will be necefsary to correct this loosenefs of the soil by rolling the lands at proper seasons. For this the hus- bandman needs no directions. I have the satisfaction to find that inclosures are begun upon the Lincolnshire and Yorkshire Wolds; in consequence of which, a greater quantity of corn will be produced for a few years than formerly. To such gentlemen as have estates in those counties, or in similar ones, I beg leave to recommend the alternate husbandry. I dare venture to say, that, in point of profit and convenience, it will be found greatly superior to the drill husbandry. The implements used are those of the country, and the mode of cultivation is within the capacity of the meanest ploughman. llO GEORGICAL ESSATS. ESSAY VIII. OntheRobinia, or^ Fuhe Acacia; cowmonlj/ called the Locust Tree, This tree Is a native of North America. Its branches are armed with strong crooked thorns, and garnished with winged leaves, com- posed of eight or ten pair of oval lobes, ter- minated by an odd one. They are of a bright green, and sit close to the midrib. The flowers come out from the; sides of the branches in pretty long bunches, hanging downward like those of the Laburnum, each flower standing on a slender foot-stalk : These are of the But^ terfly, or Pea-blofsom kind j are white, and smell very sweet. They appear in June, and when the trees are full of flowers, they make a fine appearance ; but they are of short du- ration, seldom continuing more than a week in beauty. After the flowers fade, the ger- men becomes an oblong comprefsed pod, which in warm seasons comes to perfection in England ; these ripen late in autumn. The leaver come out late in the spring, and GEpRGICAL ESSAYS. Ill fall off learly in the autumn, which renders this, tree lefs, valuable than it would otherwise The False' Acacia is best propiigated by seeds, which should be sown in abed of light earth about the latter lend of March, or the be- ginning of >, April ; and if the bed has a wann exposure, the plants- will appear in six weeks, requiring no other care than keeping them clear from weeds. In this bed the plants should remain till the following spring, when they should be transplanted into the nursery about the end of March, placing them in rows at three feet distance, and a foot and a half asunder in. the rows. In this nursery they should remain two years, by which time they will be of size for transplanting into the places where they are designed to grow. As these trees, when they stand long unremoved,"send forth long tough roots, it will be advisable to cut them off when they are transplanted. This operation, however, sometimes occasions theic miscarrying. These trees will grow well almost upon any soil, but they prefer a light sandy ground, in which they have been known to shoot six feet 112 eEORGICAL ESSAYS. in one year. WhUe the trees are young, they Hiake a fine appearance, being well furnished with leaves ; but when old, they are rather unsightly, from the branches being frequently broken by high winds, especially when they happen to stand in an exposed situation. Ii> x\merica, this tree is called the Locust Tree. My excellent friend Joseph Harrison, Esq. of Bawtry, has fkvoured me with the following observations, in a letter dated July 25, 1782. " The first experiment that I know of, re- specting the application of the timber of the Locust Tree, to any purposes in ship-building, was in Virginia, where I resided some time about the year 1733 : And, there, happening to be acquainted with an ingenious ship-wright, that had been sent over by some merchants of Liverpool, to build two large ships, I had fre- quent conversations with him, respecting the qualities of the several principal timber-trees of that country. Being a person of observa- tion, he had made many useful remarks on that subject ; which the nature of his employment afforded many opportunities of doing with ad- vantage. He reckoned the Oaks, Elms, Ashes, and many other timber-trees common to both countries, much inferior to the same 6E0RGICAL ESSAYS. J l3 feorts in England : But frequently spoke of the Locust tree, as of extraordinary qualities both in strength and duration * ; and used often to say, if a sufficient quantity could be had, it would be the best timber he had ever met with for building of ships. After he had completed his engagements with his employers at Liver- pool, he set a small vefsel on the stocks for himself; but unluckily, not having a sufficient quantity of iron for the purpose, and none being to be had at that time in the country, he was obliged to put a stop to the work, till he bethought himself of the following succeda- neum. He had formerly (as hinted above) ob- served the extraordinary strength and firmnefs bf the Locust-tree, and on this occasion took it into his head that Trenails f of that timber "^Duration. This property has been well ascertained! by some pieces of Locust-tree, still continuing firm and sound in some old houses in New England, that were built when the country was first settled. fTRENAiLs, or Tree-Nails, are wooden pins that fasten the planks to the ribs or timbers ;— and to prevent drawing, or the planks starting, they are wedged at both ends, inside and out, so that the strength of a ship depetids much on the goodnefsof the Trenails j and if they are not made of wood that is both hard and tough, they will not endure driving so tight as to bear the strain that lies upon Volume I jj 114 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. might be substituted for Iron Bolts * in many places where least liable to wrench, or twist, as in fastening the floor-timbers to the keel, and the knees to the eods of the beams, which two articles take up a large proportion of the iron used in a ship, purposing, when he arri- ved in England, to bore out the Locust Tre- nails, and drive iron bolts in their stead. When he first informed me of this scheme, I rrfust own I thought the experiment very hazardous : However, as necefsity has no law, he put it in practice. The ship was built, in that manner, loaded, and sailed for Liverpool, where she ar- rived safe ; and though they met with some blowing weather on the pafsage, she never made so much water, but that one pump could easily keep her free. She returned ba6k tt> Virginia the next year, when I had an oppor- tunity of being informed by the burldcr hiin- self (who was then captain of her) of what had "been the fesiiTt of his project : He said, that them ; for, in fact, it is the Trenails that hold together the several, pieces ot which a ship is composed. V,* Bolts, are round iron pins, used to fasten the floor- timbers to the keel, and the beams that support the decks to the sides of the ship, and on all other occasions where Trenails are not strong enough to boar the strain that is tu be supported. 6E0RG1CAL ESSAYS. 115 during the pafsage, especially in blowing wea- ther, he was very attentive in examining the Water-ways*, as, at that place, weak ships are most liable to work, and strain, but that he could not perceive any thing more than is usual in other vefsels. When unloaded, she was hauled a-shore upon the bank, in order to be searched both outside and inside ; when, on the strictest examination, it was found that the Locust Trenails, that had been substituted instead of Iron Bolts, seemed (to all appear- ance) to have effectually answered the purpose intended ; however, it was thought prudent to take several of them out, and put in Iron Bolts in their room : And this operation afforded another proof of their extraordinary strength and firmnefs ; as they endured to be backed f *The Waterway is that part of a ship's deck that is next to the sides of the ship ; this seam, or joint, is very difficult to keep tight, and in weak vefsels will open and shut in carrying sail when it blows hard. f Backing out a Bolt, or Trenail, is driving it out by means of a tool called a Set-bolt, which is an Iron Punch, something smaller than the Bolt, or Trenail, to be taken out, against which it is driven, with a blacksmith's heavy sledge or hammer : But Oak Trenails, except such as are very hard and sound, will seldom bear this operation : in which case, they are obliged to bore them out with an auger. H2 116 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. out with a Set-bolt, just as well as though they had been Iron ; whereas Oak Trenails are usually bored out with an auger. The next voyage the ship made, was to the West Indies, where the Captain died, and with him ended (for the present) any further prosecution of this matter : For though the succefs of the above experiment was known to many, yet (as is fre- quently the case with new difcoveries) none, that I ever heard of, made any. use of Locust Trenails in ship-building, till many years after; though on the goodnefs of that article greatly depends the strength and durablenefs of a ship. I frequently recommended it, when opportu- nities offered, but all to no purpose, till about twenty years ago, when I was settled in trade at Rhode-Island, I persuaded some ship- builders to try the experiment j but notwith- standing all my endeavours, the use of Locust Trenails still continued to be little practised or known, till it happened to be adopted by a builder of some eminence at New York, and of late years has been introduced into general use there, and in some parts of New England : But as yet the use of the Locust-tree, in ship- building, is confined to the article of Trenails, on account of its scarcity ; for, was it near as plentjful as Oak, it would be a'pplied to more GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Il7 purposes, such as knees *, floor-timbers f, foot- hooks J, &c. bemg much superior to it, both as to strength and duration ; and from its spreading into branx:hes, affords full as large a proportion of crooks, or compafs-timber, as the Oak. " The growth of the Locust-tree has of late been much encouraged in North America : And here, in England, several Gentlemen have propagated great quantities of it, particularly Sir George Saviie, who has many thousands now growing in his plantations at Rufford ; so that in the next generation, it is probable there may be sufficient for the article of Tre- nails, which alone would be a considerable improvement in the building of ships. At present, the choicest pieces only of the very *KvEES, are those crooked pieces, that, by means of Iron Bults, fasten the ends of the beams to the sides of the ship. f Fi.ooR-TiMBERs, are those ribs or timbers that lie -acrols the keel, and are boiled into it. J Foot Hooks, are those circular ribs or timbers that form the body of the ship from the fl )()r to the top timbers : And all pieces of timber that are not straight, are called crooks or compafs-tunber. H3 118 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. best Oak Timber are applied to that purpose; and as the Oaks of Sufsex are generally rec- koned the best in England, most ship-wrights (even those in the north) have their Trenails from thence : And the demand for them is so great, that Trenail-making is there become a considerable manufacture. " The Locust-tree is not only valuable on account of the excellence of its timber, but its leaves also are useful, and afford wholesome food for cattle *. I knew a Gentleman in New England that sowed several acres for that purpose, which proved a good summer pasture for cows ; it is excellent in that country^ where the grafs is very apt to fail, from being burnt up by the summer droughts. — Hogs are eX' tremely fond of it, and horses seem to like it. " The method of propagating the Locust- tree in New England, is by seeds, suckers, or sets, as Willows are here ; but the first method is the best, as those plants raised from seeds are found to thrive better and produce larger ^ There is a difsertation upon this property of the Acacia in ©ne of the foreign Literary Journals : I think it. is the Memoirs of the Imperial Academy at Vienna. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 119 trees than the others. The seeds arc first sown in a nurser}', and then planted out young into the places where they are to remain. " Jonathan Acklom, Esq. of Wiseton, has now in his garden a Locust-tree, which, at three feet from the ground, is four feet ten inches in circumference, and sixty feet high : Also another of nearly the same height, but not so thick ; and in his nursery are several young plants from the seeds of these trees. They are both, at this time, [July 1782] full of flowers, and likely to produce many seeds, if the remainder of the summer prove favourable. Tliey were raised from seeds brought from North Carolina in 1742, so are now just forty years old," H4 120 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ESSAY IX. On a ners Species of Grain called Siberian or Halidayi Barley. jL he surface of the earth is clothed with ^ variety of grafses. Such as are intended for the use of cattle are spontaneous in their growth. Such as are intended for man require culture and attention. The grafses of the field yield a never-failing verdure. They shoot early in the spring, and continue to send forth radi- cal leaves, which are daily cropped without injuring the plants. Animals seldom destroy the flowering sterns. A variety of grafs-seeds are consequently sown upon our meadows and pastures by the hand of Providence. This dislike in animals to brouze upon the straw that bears the seed, is particularly favourable: to the annual grafses, and gives an useful hint to the intelligent husbandman, not to keep his grafs-lands too long under the scythe. Wheat, oats, barley, and rye are grafses * * Grafses are one of the seven natural families, into which all vegetables are distributed by Linnseus. They GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 121 for the use of man. These vegetables are found in almost every climate. Man is a ci- tizen of the world, and indulgent heaven sup- plies him with food wherever he goes. The earth produces a variety of grains. Different countries support some kinds more luxuriantly than others. In the northern climates we find plenty of oats and barley. The more southern latitudes are particularly favourable to wheat. Could we look back into the remote annals of time, we should discover that few countries were originally blefsed with the variety of grains and fruits which they at present enjoy. Crabs, sloes, and bramble-berries are the natu- ral fruits of this island ; and there was a time when wheat was hardly known. Oats, barley, and rye, fed the vafsal and his lord. In consequence of a liberal communication with foreigners, we have daily increased the number of vegetable productions, and have, are defined to be plants which have very simple leaves, a jointed stem, a husky Calix, termed Gluma, and a single seed. This description includes the several sorts of corn as well as grafses. In Tournefort they constitute a part of the fifteenth clafs, termed Apetali ; and in the Sexual System of Linnaeus they are mostly contained in the second grder of the third clafs, termed Triandria Digynia. 122 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. as it were, naturalized them to our climate, I shall in this efsay give an account of a new species of barley lately brought into this king- dom. As it has been made known to us by the care and attention of Mr. Haliday, I have called it by his name, as an honour due to him. Mr. Haliday, in the most correct and circum- stantial manner, communicated his sentiments upon this new species, in a letter to my inge- nious friend T. B. Bailey, Esq. of Hope, near Manchester, by whom I am favoured with the following extract. — — « On the 25th of May, 1767, I re- ceived about a moderate wine-glafsful of this grain, from a Member of the Society of Arts, &c. at London, with this information, that a foreign nobleman had presented that Society with about a pint of it, and that it came from Siberia. Not having seen Pontoppidan's ac- count of the Thor-barlei/, or Heaven'' s com, I was doubtful whether it was the product of a cold or Warm climate. The amazing extent of Siberia, and the low latitude of its southern bounds, created this uncertainty. I was from hence induced to divide my small quantity with a neighbouring gentleman, who had in his gar- den the advantage of glafses and fire. But the GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 123 result of his trials showed that it was a native of a cold rather than a warm climate. In the morning of the 26th, I sowed the other half, in drills, in a south border of my garden, each grain from four to five inches asunder. The rows were carefully weeded, hoed, and some- times watered ; but, proving rank, I was obliged to support them with stakes and lines. By the latterend of August some few ears were ripened, which I snipped off. I continued this practice, morning and evening, until the first week in October, and laid the ears by in jinen bags. " in April, 1768, 1 rubbed out by hand the last year's crop, and was happy in finding the quantity was near a quart, equal, if not supe- rior, in quality to the original seed. Having prepared all the south borders in the garden, and part of a last year's potatoe butt in a field adjoining, I sowed the whole in drills, as before, in the first week in May. The crops were kept clean and hoed. AVhat grew in the gar- den was snipped off as it ripened, and the butt was reaped in the common way on the 28th of August. The whole was hung up in sacks until the beginning of April, 1769, when it was thrashed out, aod produced near a bushel. 124 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. On rtie 1 9th and 20tli, having prepared about sn acre, of seven yards, pretty fine, I drew drills with a plough about ten inches apart, then a space of three feet, and so on. The grain was sown by hand, and the drills were smoothea with garden rakes. To keep the corn from falling, though, as it happened, there was no need, large beans, were dibbled in the middle of the three-feet spaces. In June, the whole was carefully hand-hoed, and on the i4th and 15th of August was reaped.. The calculation 1 made of the produce from the thraves, proved just about 36 bushels pf clean corn. " Having now got a stock, on which I could afford to make experiments of its utility in the grand points of bread and beer, I had two bushels of 35 quarts, weighing 132 lb. sent to a country mill. When ground, it yielded 80 lb. of fine flour, equal to London seconds, 40 lb. of a coarser sort, and about 12 lb. of bran, su^ perior to wheat bran. The best flour made excellent bread, sufficiently light, and so re- tentive of moisture, as to be as good at twelve or fourteen days after baking, as wheaten bread on the fourth day. But, to give it the fairest trial, I had 12 lb. of the barley, and GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 125 12 lb. of wheat flour, equally fine, kneaded with some yeast, and baked in the same oven. The wheaten loaf weighed 15 lb, and the bar- ley 18 lb. " These trials sufficiently established its ex- cellence as a bread-corn. The foregoing year had proved its fecundity. To find out its quality for ale, I readily accepted the offer made me by a Geritleman of Liverpool, of equal (kill and attention, and sent him two bushels to be malted. He obligingly took the trouble of this small quantity, and made me happy in the account he gave me of its work- ing. " In the latter end of January, it was brew- ed into a half-barrel of ale, and another of small beer. The latter was used at a month old, and proved good. The ale was tapt on the 27th of May, and proved of a fine colour, flavour, and body*. " You have now all the particulars of my *Dr. Lochster, in his Difsertation de Medlcamentis Norwegiae, extols the liquor made of it both as palatable and wholesome. " Palmam, (says he) quoque reliquis praeri- pitdecoctum hordei ccelestis, vulgoHimmelbyg, grato tarn sapore quam efFectu se coramendans." 126 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. three years experience of this excellent grain. If you think the information can be of service to your farming acquaintance, you are at liber-f ty to use it as you please, hoping, however, that my succefs will apologize for my enthu- siasm in its favour. The idea I entertain of its superior utility to any other spring-corn, has induced me to make it as universally known as the narrow circle of my acquaintance would permit. I thank you for afsisting my views, and am in hopes that Mr. Young will find oc- casion to celebrate its virtues from a more skilful, though not a more attentive cultiva- tion. " On the 30th of April, I laid down, in the broadcast way, two large acres, of eight yards, with six bushels and a half of this barley, white clover, and hay-seeds, and have sown four other bushels in a field of poor natural soil. Both fields look well, I am also happy in knowing that about 20 bushels of my last year's crop are now under skilful culture in the se- veral counties of Kent, Surry, Efsex, Middle- sex, Hereford, Stafford, Chester, Derby, York, Duiham, and many parts of this County ; in two or three counties in Wales, six or seven in Ireland, and s-ome in Scotland ^ from all GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 127 wliich I am filled with the hopes of its soon becoming as universally esteemed as known." ESSAY X. On Potatoes. ^/ KEn first the Eotatoe was brought into England, it was supposed to pofsefs some noxious qualities j but the experience of many- years has proved it to be a wholesome and nourishing root. Every kind of plant delights in a particular soil. The potatoe thrives best in a light loam. Its roots being tuberous, they could not swell in a stiff clay. In a former efsay, I recommended a strict attention to the shape of the roots of such plants as were the objects of field-husbandry. That anatomical investigation will afsist us in the rational cultivation of all kinds of veget- ables. The roots of oats are strong and pierc- ing.; they are therefore formed by nature to seek their pafsage through land but imper- fectly tilled, which accounts for the excellent 128 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. crops of that grain produced upon a single ploughing. The roots of wheat and barley- are, on the contrary, tender and fibrous : they consequently require a finer tilth. Beans are tap-rooted. Afsisted by their wedge-like form, they pierce through the toughest soils. I need not run through all the plants of the field, to prove that each has a choice of soil. In this the animal and vegetable worlds per- fectly agree, and a small degre^l of reflection will enable us to trace the affinity. The potatoe may be considered as a certain relief to the poor against a deficiency of the corn harvest : for that reason it requires our most serious attention. Vanous are the me- thods recommended for its cultivation. Prac* tical books of husbandry circumstantially re- late them. I therefore judge a regular detail unnecefsary in this place. As this most useful root delights in a loose soil and a great deal of sun, we should anxiously endeavour to obtain these ends in all the modes of cultivation. When raised in hil- locks the earth lies light upon the spreading roots, and the sun has free accefs to the crown GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 129 of the hills by the falling down of the haulm into the surrounding trench. By the frequent earthings that are required in this manner of culture, the soil is kept clear of weeds, and the whole field is reduced into the form of a garden. This is a very profitable method of cultivation, and the expense attending it is not so considerable as might at first be imagined. Two men and a boy will plant an acre iri four days, the expense of which must be estimated according to the rate of labour in the country^ Two men will give the second and last earth- ing in three days. I usually place the hills in the quincunx form, measuring four feet from centre to centre. Into each hill I put five cuttings, placing one in the middle, and the others round it. Excellent crops may be ob- tained by putting one large potatoe into the centre of each hill. When the land is fresh, and the businefs has been well attended to^ the cultivator may expect near a peck of potatoes in each hillock 5 which is a larger produce than can be obtained by any other method. It will here be necefsary to observe, that the spade, where hands can be procured, is greatly preferable to tlie plough; but, in Volume L I 150 GEORGICAL ESSAVS. countries where they are scarce, the plough is a good instrument, provided the farmer takes care to allow a sufficient distance between the rows, in order to destroy the weeds, and throw fresh mould up to the plants. This distance should not be lefs than three feet, especially in shallow soils. It is customary to put the manure over the sets, but the practice is injudicious. By attending to the manner that the potatoe grows above and below ground, we may be enabled to form very correct rules of culti- vation. As soon as the potatoe puts forth its stalk, in order to rise to the surface, it sends out several strong roots which run obliquely downward, and may be called the feeding roots. They do not produce fruit. When the manure is placed under the sets, the feeders pierce into it, and extract the oily and mucilaginous particles. The potatoe creeps under-ground, and^, in proportion to the cover- ing of earth, the stalk within the ground be- comes longer or shorter. From this stalk lateral shoots are detached, which are bearers. These bearers are, in fact, branches within GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 131 ground. They go off from the descending stalk in the same manner and distance as the branches do from the ascending one. Had they appeared upon the surface, they would have brought forth leaves, flowers, and apples, but being confined they produce potatoes. In the sixth efsay, I have demonstrated that all the parts of a plant are the same ; the only difference lies in the shape. Trees may be planted with their roots in the air, and their branches in the earth. In that state they will live and grow. A fibrous root that has escaped through the earth, becomes a tree perfect in all its parts. The tops of potatoes, cut off in June and planted in the earth, will take root, and produce a good crop. I have observed that the bearing shoots go off from the main root in the manner of the branches from the main stem ; consequently, we are directed to lengthen the main root, in order to increase the number of bearing shoots. This is accomplished by giving frequent earthings to the plant. That operation, however, re- quires discretion. For when too great a load of earth has been thrown up, as in hillocks, the lowest shoots being deprived of the sun and air, either become barren, or produce I2 132 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. very small fruit. Potatoes planted in drills are not subject to this inconvenience. In general they have too slight a covering of earth, so that they seldom put out above one layer of bear- ing shoots. There is another objection to this method : for unlefs the bearers run in the direction of the drills, they escape at the sides, and ascend in a stalk, which bears leaves and flowers instead of potatoes. The haulm also of one row falls upon the crown of the con- tiguous one, which, by keeping out the sun, diminishes the crop. When cultivated in hillocks, the haulm falls down into the trench, leaving the crowns exposed to the solar heat. The potatoe delights in the sun, and cannot bear the shade ; for which reason we should be careful, in all the modes of cultivation, to preserve this bias of nature. In some places it is usual to dibble in the sets at sixteen inches distance on a flat surface. The land requires a good drefsing of rotten dung, and must have deep stirrings wdth the plough, if the staple of the soil will admit of it. Soon after the appearance of the plants, the intervals should be carefully hand-hoed, which operation must be repeated occasionally. — GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 133 Some people trench with the spade, placing long litter at the bottom of the trenches j after which the sets are dibbled in. This is a good but expensive method. It is agreeable to the nature of the plant, as it encourages the run- ning of the bearing shoots. In whatever manner potatoes are cultivated, unlefs upon fresh land, dung must be used. It is an error to say that they do not exhaust the soil. On the contrary, they impoverish greatly; against which there is no remedy but plenty of dung and clean hufbandry. — » Under these circumstances they may be con- sidered as an ameliorating crop. In very coarse clays I have raised large crops of this root in hillocks, where it would have been impofsible to have cultivated them in drills. The reason is obvious. Of potatoes there are various kinds, and we are every day adding to their number by the industry of such gardeners as raise them from the apple. I shall only remark, that the sorts which yield the great -st increase are the most proper for the firmer. The early and tender kinds come more immediately under the care of the gardener. 13 134 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. In this general view, the reader will ob- serve, that I do not consider the potatoe itself as the root of the plant, but rather as an under-ground fruit, produced upon a confined branch. The real roots do not produce potatoes j they only serve the purposes of drawing nutriment from the soil, in the same manner that the leaves above extract it from the atmosphere. The apple above, and the potatoe below, are, in fact, the same 3 but, living in different elements, they afsume dif- ferent appearances. The one seems to have been intended for the food of animals, and the other for the preservation of the species. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 135 ESSAY XL On the culture of Turnips. J. HE drill method of raising turnips is generally practised by such Farmers as wish to be considered - in the light of correct husbandmen. The broadcast, or old method, is, however, better adapted to the generality of farmers. The instruments used are plain and simple in their structure, easy and familiar in their application. The drill system requires complicated machinery, and being founded upon principles, demands a degree of reason- ing to understand it. After which, the prac- tice requires a spirited kind of attention, not to be met with in every village. I do not propose to give a comparative view of the two methods. My intention in this efsay is only to throw a general light upon the drill culture of turnips, and to point out to the plain farmer an easy and certain method of raising a large crop upon almost any soil. The land being well ploughed and harrowed, but not manured, furrows must be drawn all 14 i36 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. over the field with the common plough, at three feet distance. These open furrows must nearly be filled with rotten dung. This operation is conducted by women and children, as usual in setting potatoes. After this the earth must be returned into the furrow, by a light plough drawn by one horse. The ■jvhole field being now disposed in ridges at three feet distance, the seed must be sprained upon them from the fingers : after which a bush-harrow must be brought in to cover the seed, or a person with a rake may follow the seedsman. For the purpose of sowing the seedj I always make use of the hand- drill described by Mr. Young in the first volume of his Northern Tour. It is a cheap instrument, and does the work with expedition and certainty. In drilling of turnips, the farmer should be advised not to be sparing of seed ; for, as the rows undergo the operation of the hand-hpe, there can be no danger from a superfluity of plants. As soori as the turnips have got into the rough leaf they must be thinned by the hand- hoe, which operation may be performed by common servants. Broadcast turnips, on the contrary, require the utmost dexterity. This J esteeifl a material advantage. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 137 When the weeds come up in the intervals, they must be turned down by ploughing a furrow from the turnips, which will leave an arch of earth between the rows. At a proper season, when the weeds advance, this arch must be split, so that the turnips will be left upon ridges, with a trench in the place of the former arch. The rows should undergo a second hoeing ; and if any double turnips are left, they must be removed by the hand. Women and children perform this operation with great expedition. It is impofsible to conceive a finer sight than a field of turnips drefsed in this man- ner. The expense appears to be great; but the superior excellence of the crop, added to the cleannefs of the land, will much more than over-balance the additional expense and trouble. I do not take upon me to estimate the expense of this method of culture, as it depends greatly upon the addrefs of the per- sons employed ; on which account the second year will be lefs expensive than the first. — I do not mean to confine the farmer to a servile obedience to the rules that I have laid down. If he only observes the general principle of laying the manure at the bottom of the furrows, " he may reduce every other part of the operation to his own sentiment. 138 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Mr. Benson, an excellent farmer and in- genious mechanic, who lives in the neighbour- hood of Ripon, is the person that contrived the above mode ofcultivation,andhas followed it himself for many years, with great succefs. His method varies in some particulars from what I have described. He drills the seed upon the dung, and draws the earth over it with a kind of harrow without teeth. It is something of the shape of a crooked elbow. I believe this method is better than what I have described, especially in sultry weather. The seed, when placed upon the moist dung, and covered with the earth, soon vegetates, and pushes upwards with surprising vigour. The plants being strong, soon get into rough leaf, and by that means escape the ravages of the fly. I once sowed an acre of turnips in this manner during a sultry season. The plants were up on the seventh day, while the broadcast part of the same field did not show the least appearance till the fourteenth day after sowing. The field was sown at the same time, and the only difference lay in the culture. In hot and sultry weather the manure, as com- monly used, is exposed to the scorching rays of the sun J great part of it isconsequently exhaled. But when confined in the furrows, the exhala- tion from it is absorbed by the earth, and re- tained. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 1 S9 It may here be observed, that the above method does not efsentially difTer from the drill and horse-hoeing culture, excepting in the distribution of the manure. The horse-hoeing method begins to gain ground in this country. It is far superior to the broadcast, especially in districts where expert hoers cannot be procured. An ingenious friend of mine now raises excellent crops of turnips by the help of the drill and horse-hoe, where that useful vegetable is scarcely known. AVhat few are raised in his neighbourhood are so overrun with weeds for want of hand-hoeing, that the crop be- comes destructive both to the landlord and tenant. He has been so obliging as to com- municate to me his sentiments upon this head, which, I dare say, will be useful to such farmers as are desirous of raising large and clean crops of turnips at a small expense. This ingenious cultivator brings the land destined for turnips into excellent tilth by fre- quent ploughings. At the last stirring which is about Midsummer, either a little before or after, according to the season, he harrows the i^pd very fine, and, with the hand-drill 140 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. described in the first volume of Mr. Young's Northern Tour, sows the seed in rows at two feet, and a half distance. After this the land is haiTowed once over with light harrows, in order to cover the seed. When the turnips are up and pretty strong, they are set out at about a foot distance with the hand-hoe. — AV'hen the land is much infested with weeds, he ploughs two furrows from the rows to the centre of the intermediate space ; and when the weeds make a second shoot, he splits the ridge with a horse-hoe with a double mould- board. When the land is not very foul, the latter operation is sufficient without the former. In this manner a large and clean crop of tur- nips may be procured with very little afsist- ance from the hand-hoe. In countries where hands are scarce, this is an excellent and judicious method. Every person may introduce such variations as may suit his own convenience, provided he takes care to preserve the general principle. I have known a large field of broad-cast turnips very well hoed, by cutting them into stripes with a light plough, and afterwards hand-hoeing the stripes by common labourers. This method is no despicable one in countries GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 14-1 where hands are scarce. Women and children at a small expense, may afterwards be sent into the field to draw the double turnips, and set out the whole in a correct manner. ESSAY XII. On the Culture of Carrots^ cuid their Use in fattening of Hogs, JN the year 1769, I took two acres of rich sand land, which the year before had been ploughed out of swarth, and had borne a crop of very fine cabbages. About the 27th of March I ploughed and cleared the land from the cabbage stalks, and grafs that had grown between the rows, and prepared it without putting any manure upon it, for sow- ing my carrots in the following manner. — A plough with two horses drew a furrow of the common depth, and was followed by another plough with two horses in the same furrow, which turned up the soil ten or twelve inches deep. This is called double ploughing. Two ploughs will do about an acre a day. On the 5th of April I sowed the seed, about four pounds to an acre. My gardener finished the two acres with ease in 142 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. a dav, having mixed the seed with about a bushel of dry sand. The seed was imme- diately harrowed in. When the carrots were about a month old, I sent some women into the field to hoe them. The hoes were only three inches broad. I afterwards had the field weeded twice by the hand, which, although very expensive, I found to be in- finitely the best way. The crop when taken up weighed twenty tons without the tops. I shall now proceed to the expense of culti- vating these two acres of carrots. £. s. d. Rent, 500 Taxes, 040 Two days ploughing with two ploughs, 14 Three days harrowing, .... 9 Cleaning the ground from the cab-) n n r 6 bage stalks, Szc. J Eight pounds of seed, . . . . 12 A man one dav sowins: . . .016 Hoeing, 1.5 O Hand-weeding, first time, ... 1 Ditto*, second time, 1 11 6 ^8 13 * The reason why the second weeding cost more than the first, was because the women had sixpence per day, it being hay-time, whereas the first time they had only fourpence. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 143 Mr. Young, in his treatise upon the ma- nagement of hogs, is of opinion that boiled carrots arc the best food for fatteninsr that useful animal. He prefers them to pollard, white pease, buck wheat, or potatoes. I beg leave to transcribe the experiment upon which he founds his opinion. " In January, 1766, I drew from the herd ten hogs, as equal in size as pofsible, and weighed them alive in five lots. S. P. N° 1. weighed 13 4 2. 12 6 3. ■ 13 4. 12 11 5. 13 1 " A nearer equality than this, in matters that can neither be added to nor diminished, can scarcely be expected. " N^ 1 . was fatted with white pease, that weighed sixty-six pounds per bushel, the price 30s. per quarter. " N° 2. with pollard, that weighed twenty- 141 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. two pounds per bushel, the price 9d. per bushel. " N° 3. with buck-wheat, that weighed forty-seven pounds per bushel, the price 2s. 3d. per bushel. " N° 4. with boiled potatoes, that weighed fifty-four pounds per bushel, the price 2s. per bushel. " N° 5. with boiled carrots, that weighed raw fifty-five pounds per bushel, the price Is. Id. per bushel. " I thought it best to fix on a given sum, as proper to fat each hog. The people I con- sulted were of opinion, that eight bushels of white pease were necefsary to fat one such hog well. This I accordingly fixed on as my criterion. The account of the expense there- fore stood thus : £. s. d. N° 1. Pease, 16 bushels, - - - 3 2. Pollard, 80 bushels, - - - 3 3. Buckwheat, 27 bushels, - - 3 9 4. Potatoes, 28 bushels, - 2 16 Labour and Coals, - - 4 5. Carrots, 49 bushels, 2 13 2 Labour and Coals, 6 10 3 3 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 145 ** Kacb lot was weighed as soon as the food was done: The result was as follows : S. P. N^ 1. weighed 27 6 2. 27 9 3. 29 2 3 4. 25 7 5. 31 o " It is evident from this experiment, that carrots boiled are superior to any other food. I did not expect that potatoes wor.ld be so much inferior j but I have found from divers other trials since, that it is requisite to mix the meal of somekind of corn with them. Pol- lard in this trial, as in the last, is superior to pease." From this experiment of Mr. Young, the boiled carrots appear in a favourable light. I was therefore induced to follow his advice, and accordingly bought in twelve hogs as follows; S. P. K*^ 1. 15 2 2. 16 l^. 14 12 4. 13 13 Carried over 59 1 '^ Volume I. 146 GEORGICAL ESSAYS s. p. Bi^ought over 59 N^ 0. 6. 7. 8. o 10. 11. 12. 59 13 12 6 17 2 14 10 13 3 16 10 17 12 10 13 6 177 On the 26th of October, 1769, I put them up to feed upon boiled carrots, which they eat with seeming pleasure. On the 28th of De- cember I weighed them again, being fat, and found that they had gained, in the nine weeks, just 33 St. 10 lb. During this period they con- sumed 574 bushels of carrots, at 4 St. per bushel. These 574 bushels, if estimated at^ /. s. d. Is. Id. per bushel, would have V34 13 ^0 cost ) Attendance, fire, &c. for nine weeks, 3 12 O ^. 38 5 10 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 14-7 A farmer presuming upon Mr. Young's ex- periment, and purchasing carrots at 1 s. 1 d. per bushel, would just give 38 1. 5 s. 10 d. for 33 St. 10 lb. of live flesh. Thus far I have related my experiment, and so far it accompanies Mr. Young's. The dif- ference in the result is amazing. Mr. Young gets 17 St. 13 lb. of live flesh for 3 1. I pay 38 lb. 5 s. lOd. for'33 St, lOlb. which is up- wards of 23 s. per stone. It will be unn^cefsary to make many reflec- tions upon the result of this interesting experi- ment. I shall onlv observe, that ever, thing relative to it was conducted with that care and attention which trials of this important nature require. Towards the latter end of fattening, I found it necefsary to bestow upon the hogs as much bean meal as cost me 6 i. without which the bacon would not have been market- able. Willing to carry my trial as far as it could be prosecuted, I killed the hogs. When dried, they weighed, without the cheeks, 104 st. which sold in the London market for 40 s. a hundred. The cheeks were valued at halt a K2 148 GEORGIGAL ESSAVS. crown a piece. In the course of drying, ih(^ bacon lost upwards of 70 st. which great con- sumption was, in some degree, made up by the excellence ot its quality. /. s. d. PHmccQSt of 12 hogs, :.2 9 0~\ Bean meal, 6 O Fire and attend-ance fori f^ vr. /-. nine weeks, J j Value of the bacon and cheeks. /. s. L ^ 32 1 27 10 O Lofs/'. 4 11 From the above experiment it is plain, that we fliould not depend upon carrots alone for fattening of hogs. A judicious mixture of food conftitutes the moft rational and profitable method. Mr. Young makes his carrots worth i3d. a buflael in fattening. I lose upwards of 4l. befides 574 buPaels of carrots, which I could have sold for 28l. It may be proper to obferve, that my hogs, being much larger than ^Ir. Young's,, eat a proportionable quantity of carrots before they were fat. This difference in size may probably account, in some degree, for the different results of our expcrlmcntji GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 14<) ESSAY XIII. On the Stw[y of Nature. JL HE study of nature is one of the moit plea- sin? amusements that caneno-ajj^e the mind of man. The entertainment that it gives, is a,'? infinite as the variety of the subjects of which it is composed. When we consider the his- tory of nature as interwoven with religion, our breast is immediately opened, and the divine goodnefs sinks down into the licart with energy and conviction. Akenside beautifully exprel- ses himself when he says. ■"The men Whom nature's works can charm, with God himself Hold converse ; grow famihar, day by day, With his conceptions j act upon his plan, And form to his, the relish of their souls. Wherever we cast our eyes, a field of con- templation opens to our view. The anima], vegetable, and mineral worlds teem with mat- ter for the exercise of our minds. Man, in a state of nature, is obliged to his Iv3 150 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. industry for meat anc] clothinfr. He is born r.akod and defencelefs. Early he loaves the tostcring hands of his parents, and goes into the wide world, where his understanding must supply the wants of nature. Being a social animal, he herds with his fellow-creatures. Societies are formed for mutual protection. Providence having bestowed upon man, from the beginning, all manner of power over the beasts of the field, the fowls of the a'r, :uid the fishes of the sea, he executes his power, and subjects them to his will. The vegetable crea- tion lies open to his view. Minerals, though hid in the bowels of the earth, yield to his in- dustry. For him all things seem to have been made. Every thing ultimately resolves itself into the ease, comfort, and satisfaction of man. Whether we consider them as supplying his natural wants, or contributing to his artificial desires, the argument is still the same : He is lord of all, and enjoys the whole. Over some animals he is forced to exercise command. Others follow him, and cannot exist without his protection. Sheep that sup- ply him with food and clothing, stand most in need of his afsistance. They lodge, as it were, in his bosom — and are never found in countries untrod by man. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 151 The face of the globe is covered with a last- ing verdure for the use of animals that are friendly to man. In every countrv, and in every place, the bountitul eartli brings forth its fruits in due season, and rewards the in- dustrious care of the husbandman. Corn is spontaneous in no climate, but the industry of man can raise it in all. The just contemplation of the works of Pro- vidence is the humble adoration of a Christian. He views, with gratitude, the good things that 'God has made, and enjoys them cheerfully. Let the melancholy Recluse shrink into his wretched habitation, and, with hisTiself, bury the gloomy horrors of his mind. God delights in the cheerful contemplation of his works. The Saviour of the world bids us consider ihc lilies of the afield hozv they grozv ; t/ifj/ toil not, neither do they spin ; and yet Solomon in all his glory zcas not arrayed like one of these. The regular return of seasons, and the inva- riable order thatvegetablesobserve in budding, leafing, and flowering, bespeak almighty wis- dom and almighty power. A mind harmoni- zed to such divine contemplations, sees at ail times, and feels with warmth, the goodnefs of K-J. 152 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. the Creator to the created. He considers the works of nature as the silent, but exprefsive language of the Diety ; and while he seems only to admire, is wrapt in gratitude and de- votion. ESSAY XIV. On the Time of Sowing. JVlR, Harold Barck, in his ingenious difser- tation upon the foliation of trees, published in the Amten. Acad. Vol. III. informs us, tliat the illustrious Linnaeus had, in the most ear- nest manner, exhorted his countrymen to ob- serve, with all care and djjigence, at what time each tree expands its buds and unfolds its leaves ; imagining, and not without reason, that his country would, some time or other, reap some new and perhaps unexpected be- nefit from observations of this kind made in diiTerent places. As one of the apparent advantages, he ad- vises the prudent husbandman to watch, with the greatest care, the proper time for sowing ; because this, with the divine afsistance, pro- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 153 duces plenty of provision, and lays the founda- tion of the public welfare of the state, and of the private happinefs of the people. Tlie ig- norant farmer, tenacious of the ways and cus- toms of his ancestors, fixes his sowinij- season generally to a month, and sometimes to a par- ticular day, without considering whether the earth be in a proper state to receive the seed ; from whence it frequently happens that what the sower sowed with sweat, the reaper reaps with sorrow. The wise economist should therefore endeavour to fix upon certain signs whereby to judge of the proper time for sow- ing. We see trees open their "buds and expand their leaves, from v/hence we conclude that spring approaches, and experience supports us in the conclusion ; but no body has as yet been able to show us what trees Providence has intended should be cur kalendar, so that we might know on what day the countryman ought to sow his grain. No one can deny but that the same power which brings forth the' leaves of trees^ v/ill also make the grain vege- tate ; nor can any one af^ert that a premature sowing will always, and in every place, acce- lerate a ripe harvest. Perhaps, therctore, we cannot promise ourselves a happy succefs by ?iny means so likely, as by taking our rule for 154 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. sowing from the leafing of trees. AVe must for that end observe in what order every tree puts forth its leaves according to its species, the heat of the atmosphere, and the quality of the soil. Afterwards, by comparing together the observatiofiS of the several years, it will not be difficult to determine, from the foliation of the trees, if not certainly, at least probably, the time when annual plants ought to be sown. It will be necefsarv likewise to remark what sowings made in different parts of the spring produce the best crops, in order that, by com- paring these with the leafing of trees, it may appear which is the most proper time for sowing. To these most ingenious remarks, Mr. Barck has added the order of the leafing of trees in Sweden. Mr. Stillingfleet is the only person that has made correct obser\'ations upon the fo&tdcn of the trees and shrubs of this king- dom. The following is his kalendar, which was made in Norfolk in the year 1765. 1 Heney-suckle - - - - Jan. 15 2 Gooseberry - - - - March 1 1 S Currant 11 4 Elder 11 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 155 5 Birch ------ April 1 6 Weeping Willow ----- i 7 Raspberry --- -_--3 8 Bramble 3 9 Briar ---------- 10 Plumb 6 11 Apricot -- 6 12 Peach 6 13 Filberd -- 7 14 Sallow --- -- ---7 15 Alder 7 16 Sycamore -------9 17 Elm 10 18 Quince -10 ] 9 Marsh Elder H 20 Wych Elm 12 21 Quicken Tree ------ 13 22 Hornbeam -- 13 23 Apple Tree 14< 24 Abele 16 25 Chesnut ---- ---16 26 Willow 1"^ 27 Oak 18 28 Lime 1^ 29 Maple --- 19 30 Walnut 21 31 Plane 21 32 Black Poplar 21 156 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 53 Beech ----- y\pril 21 r>4 Acasia Robinia ----- 21 35 Ash --•- . - _ --22 36 Carolina Poplar - - - - - 22 In different years, and in different soils and expositions, these trees and shrubs vary as to their leafing ; biit they are invariable as to their succefsion, being bound dov/n to it by nature hcjself. A farmer, therefore^ who would use tliis sublime idea of Linnieus, should dili2:eiitlv mark .the _timjp of budding, leafing, and flower- ing of different plants. He should also put down the days on which his respective grains were sown ; and, by comparing these two tables for a number of years, he will be enabled to forni an exact kalendar for his spring corn. An attention to the discolouring and falling of the leaves of plants, will afsist him in sowing his winter grain, and teach him how to guefs at the approach of winter. Towards the end of September, which is the best season for sow- ing wheat^ he will find 'llie leaves of the plane tree, tavvney ; of the oak, yellowish green ; of the hafsel, yellow ; of the sycamore, dirty brown , ~ of the maple, pale yellow ; 6 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 15" The leaves of the ash, fine lemon ; of the elm, orange ; ■ — of the hawthorn, tawnev vcllow ; of the cherry, red ; of the hornbeam, bright yellow. There is a certain kind of genial warmth which the earth should enjoy at the time the seed is sown*. Vere lumenl terrac et genitalia Semina poscunt. Vikg. In the animal world we observe this in the most convincing manner. In brutes the symp- toms of that period are plainly marked. The budding, leafing, and fiovvering of plants, seem to indicate the same happy temperature of the earth. Appearances of this subHme nature may be compared to the writing upon the wall, which * In the North of England, when the earth turns up with a mellow and crflmbly appearance, and snioaks, the farmers say tiie earth is brimmiug. This state is but ci short duration, and shows the exact tin^.e when the seed should be sown'. This appearance will ever coincide with the budding, leafing, flowering, &c. of some plants that grow in the field. The husbandman should, therefore, at that time, make his observatiun.Sj in orJ':-r to form hi^ karleiidar of Flora. 158 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. was seen by many, but understood by few. They seem to constitute a kind of harmonious intercourse between God and man. They are the silent language of the Deity. The ingenious and indefatigable Mr. Young has endeavoured to ascertain the time of sow- ing by another method. His experiments are accurately conducted, andhis conclusions from them fairly drawn ^ but it were to be wished that he had interwoven the idea of Linnseus with his own experiments ; we should then fcave had an unerring rule to go by; The tem- perature of the season, with respect to heat and cold, drought and wet, differs in every year. Experiments made this year cannot de- termine, with certainty, for the next. They may afsist, but cannot be conclusive. The hints of Linnaeus constitute an universal rule for the whole world, because trees, shrubs, and herbs, bud, leaf, flower, and shed their leaves, in every country, according to the dif- ference of seasons. In order to induce some careful observer to prosecute this useiul inquiry, I shall select some of Mr. Young's experiments, as an ex- cellent pattern to go by ; and I flatter myself GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 159 that the observations in the former part of this efsay, will be sufficient to direct him in com- bining the experiments of the field, with the sublime ideas of the philosopher. — The expe- riments I refer to are recorded in the first vo- lume of Experimental Agriculture, under the article Wheat. " Experiment V. p. 293. " In 1765, I marked several drills, each a perch long, in a piece of fallow. The soil a loose woodcock loam on the surface, and under that a clay. Sowed each with an ounce of wheat, at the following times : N°. 1. August 18 2. . 31 3. September 10 4. 17 5. • 24- Ploughed again. 6. October 1 7. 13 8. 20 Another ploughing. 9. - 31 10. November 9 11. If> ioO GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Another ploudiino-. 12. November 23 13. December 3 14. 13 *' The drills in all the experiments were two' feet asunder. They were all hand-hoed at.the same time. The Produce.* i^o, I. , 6L ounces 2. — 6i o. 61 4. 6i 5. 6i 6. 6^ 7. .1 — . 5^ 8. 5i 9. .^ 5 10. 5 ]J. 5:- 12. 4-1 13. Si 14. 3 . " This experiment, though not decisive in every point, is very important in the result of late sowing. October is, in Suffolk, supposed to be the best time for wheat-seed sowing : GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 161 but this shows that September is at least equal, if not superior: and, what would astonish one half of the farmers in the country, is, that the latter part of August is as good as either; but after October the product de- creases ; and in December it comes to a trifle. This effect is particular, as the latter sown corn had the advantage of three ploughings more than the early. " Experiment VI. p. 294. *' In 1765, marked some perches of fallow in the same field, and sowed them each with one ounce of seed, at the following times : N*' 1. August 2.'? 2. 31 3. September 3 Ploughed again. 4. September 16 5. 21 6. 28 Another Ploughing. 7. October 7 8. 16 9. -36 Volume 7. L 162 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Another ploughing. N° 10. November 4 11. 14 12. ■ 20 13. 28 Another Ploughing. 14. December 6 15. — 12 16. 18 " Hoeing, cleaning, &c. performed on the same days. THE PRODUCE. N° 1. produced si: ounces 2. 51 3. 7i 4. ei- 5, -<; H 6, 6 7, 6i 8. 6 9. 5^ 10. H 11. 5 12. 41 IS. 5 14. 4f 15. 4i: 16. 4i GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 163 " This experiment, like the last, appears to me to have an important result. So early as August, seems to be somewhat improper for sowing : from the beginning of September to the middle of October, the most advantage- ous season : November bad, but December worse ; and this degradation, notwithstanding the progrefsion of ploughing, which is a ma- terial point, and by no means to be over- looked. " Experiment VII. p. 295. '^'^ In 1765, marked some perches of fallow in a field consisting of a light gravelly loam, and sowed them each with one ounce of seed, at the followinsr seasons : 1. August 23 2. 3. September 3 10 Fresh Ploughed. 4, September 21 5. 28 6. October 4 7. 11 8. 18 L2 164 GEORGICAL ESSAYS Another ploughing. N^ 9. October 25 10. November 2 11. 9 Another ploughing. 12. November 16 13. 23 14. 30 Another ploughing. 15. December 7 16. 18 17. 26 THE PRODUCE. N« l; produced 4^ ounces* 2. 5i 3. 7 4. 7i 5. 7i 6. 7^ 7. 71 8. 74 9. 61 10. 61 11. 6i 12. 6 13. 5^ CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 165 N'' 14. produced 5 ounces-. 25. 4t 16. 4 17. 4 " We find in this tabic, that the prin- cipal produce is from N*' S to 8, that is, from the 10th of September to the 18th of October j before and after which time we do not find any date with so considerable a one. The simi- larity of the produce of the dates, within that period, gives much reason to suppose an equahty from the beginning to the end of it — Number of ploughings are apparently of no effect in making up for too late a sowing : but whether that is really the case, cannot be absolutely known, as the product might others wise have been lefs. "Experiment VIII. p. 296. " In 1765, marked some perches in the same field, on a clover lay that had been mown once, and part twice ; the ploughings did not vary in this experiment. They were sown in the following seasons : N'^ 1. August 17 2. . 26 L3 166 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. N° 3. September 3 4. 10 5. . 21 6. . . 28 7. October 11 1 9. 25 10. November 2 H. — ^ 9 12. 16 13. . 23 14. 30 15. December 7 16. 18 17. — 26 " Those numbers that were sown before the second crop of clover had come to a pro- per height for hay, were mown young, and the produce carried off. The hoeing and weeding were performed the same days to all. THE PRODUCE. N'' 1. produced Si ounces. 2. 3l 3. 5 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 167 °5. producd 81 ounces. 6. n 7. 7 8. 7 9. 7 JO. 6^ 11. 6i 12. 6^- 15. - 5r 14. 5«. 15. H 16. 5 17. 41 " This experiment, upon the whole, con- firms the result of the preceding ; which is of the more consequence, as it is a total variation, being a clover-land crop, and all the rest fallow ones. But the trifling product of the first numbers sown early, shows that very early sowing is vastly worse on clover than on fallow land ; which I suppose, is owing to the roots of the clover not only being short of their proper size and growth, but also in an im- proper state for forwarding the growth of the xvheat ; perhaps so full of juices as to mould the seed. L4 168 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Experiment IX. p. 297. "In 1166, I marked several perches of fallow land, in the field of experiment V. and sowed them each with one ounce of seed as before, at the following seasons : N° 1. July 30 2. August 4 3. 11 4. 18 A fresh ploughing. 5. August 25 6. September 1 7. 8i heavy rain. Another ploughing. 8. September 15 9. - 22 10. 29 Another Ploughing. 11. October 7 12. 13 13. 20 14. 27 Another ploughing. 15. J^'ovember 3 16. IS^heavyrain fell the 8th 17. 17 18. 24 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 169 Another ploughing. N° 19. December 1 20. 8 21. 35 22. . 22 23. 29 24. January 29 3 the seve- rity of the weather prevented sowing sooneiv 25. February 7 Another ploughing. 26. February 14 27. 21 28. ■ 28 29. March 7 SO. 14 Another ploughing, 31. March 28 32. April ^ 33. 13 34. 23 Another ploughing. 35. Apiil 28 " I should here remark, that the plough^ ings v/ere never performed when the ground was in an improper state for the operation for a wheat sowing ; respecting wet, I mean. 170 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. The hoeing and weeding were performed on the same days to all, except the spring sow- ings, which varied once. THE PRODUCE. N° 1 produced 3 ounces. 2 3i 3 31 4 5 5 5i 6 71 7 8 8 7i 9 8 30 7^ 11 74 12 6| 33 7 14 61 15 6k 16 61 37 6i 38 6 39 5^ 20 4i 21 5 22 4i 23 4 GEORGICAL JISSAYS. 171 N° 24 pr. odi uced Si- ounces, 2b 26 3 27 31 28 S 29 8 30 31 31 3. 32 31- 33' 3 34 2i- 35 3 " The result of this trial, I apprehend, is very important : the seasons, from first to last, are so extremely various, that the effect might easily be supposed to carry conclusions of con- sequence. The end of July, and the first fortnight in August, are evidently very impro- per seasons ; the last fortnight better. From the 1st of September to the 20th of October, the prime season of the whole experiment : from the 27th of October to the 24th of No- vember, the produce is not greatly inferior. The December sowings are much lower. Those of Januarv, and all after, very low ; not much difference between them. Now, it must h^ considered, that there are eight ploughings 372 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. between the first and the last sown, and yet the produce of each is the same ; and it is ob- servable, that there appears much reason to think, that the ploughings have little, if any effect. The season appears to be the cause alone of variation : a point of great conse- quence for every farmer thoroughly to attend to. Early sowing (earlier than is common) is evidently advantageous ; which should like- wise be remarked, as a ploughing, or perhaps two, may be saved with profit — an object of much consequence to every husbandman. " Experiment X, p. 3G0. " In 1766, marked 35 perches, as in the preceding trials, and sowed them in the same days. The ploughings were all repeated at the same time ; but a variation made in all, of ma- nuring the land with rotten dung, at the rate of about twelve loads per acre ; which was on all ploughed in by the earth preceding the sowing. THE PRODUCE. N° 1 produced 3 ounces. 2 3 o ox o 0% €EORGICAL ESSAYS. K°4 produced 6 ounces 5 5*- 6 6 7 n 8 8 9 8:- 10 8i 11 7^ 12 7i 13 6| 14 7 15 ^t 16 7 17 61- 18 6i 19 5| 20 5i, 21 5i 22 5i 23 5i 24 5 25 4J 26 4f 27 4 28 31 29 3 30 3 31 3J >-i73 174 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. N*' 32 produced 3 ounces. S3 3 34 2i 35 2 " The general result of this experiment seems to confirm the preceding one ; only it is observable, that the manuring renders later autumnal sowing more beneficial than in the unmanured : and it is, I think, consistent with reason that this should be the case. The very early and veiy late sowings seem to be the worse fiDr the dung. Experiment XI. p. SOI. " In 1766, marked 35 perches of fallow in the field of experiment VII. and sowed them as before, on the same dates, and with the same ploughings as the two last inserted trials. THE PRODUCE. N^ 1 produced 3i ounces. 2 3i 3 SI 4 6i 5 5l 6 6i GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 175 N° 7 produced 7 ounces. 8 74 9 61 10 n 11 u 12 n 13 n 14 H 15 H 16 ' 7 17 7 18 7 19 6^ 20 6^ 21 51 4- 22 6 2S ^t 24 5t 25 5t 26 5 27 5t 28 5 29 5 30 4^ 31 3^ S2 3^ 33 3i 34 H 35 3 176 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. " This experiment is a confirmation of most of the preceding. From September 8th to November 24th, is the chief produce j whicii agrees much with the result of former trials. Very late sowings, notwithstanding the in- crease of ploughings, are pernicious ; and very early ones the same. There cannot be a greater proof of the importance of sowing at the proper season, than its more than balanc- insT all the advanta;?es of extra-tillage. o o o Experiment XII. p. 502. " In 1766, marked 35 perches, and sovi^ed them as before, on a clover lay, in the field of experiment VII. The dates the same as in the preceding trials. THE PRODUCE. N« 1 produced 2i: ounces 2 3i 3 Si: 4 4 5 Bl 6 51 7 8 8 8i 9 7i GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 177 N° 10 produced 7i ounces. 11 7 12 7i 13 7 14 7 15 7 16 6| 17 7 18 7 19 ' 61 20 61 21 6 22 6i 23 51 24 5 25 4i 26 5 27 4i 28 4i 29 4^ 30 8f 31 Si 32 3 S3 3 34 2| 35 - 2i ** From September 8th to December 22d, Volume L M 178 OEORGICAt ESSAYS. is the season of the greatest produce : it lasts longer in this trial than in former ones, which must certainly be attributed, in part, to the soil being a gravel. The other dates are good or bad, in proportion to their being near or far removed from that period. " GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. " I must observe upon this series of experi- ments, that all were kept quite clean of weeds ; which management occasioned a variation of expense, according to the variety of seasons. " The early-sown corn required a thorough weeding before winter j in respect of tillage after sowing, this was all the difference in the expense, (ploughings excepted,) between sow- ing in July or August, and September or October. The common farmers' principal objection to early sowing was this point of weeds: " If,** said they, " we were to sow " so early, our crops would be overrun with "weeds, and destroyed by them.*' But this would have been no objection to the practice, had it otherwise proved beneficial : for, upon a supposition that the fallow could not be freed so soon from weeds, yet the crop admits GEORGICAL ESSAYS^ 179 of the most exact cleansing; I tiavef often had broad-cast crops thoroughly cleaned from all sorts of weeds by hand-work ; and, by an earlier growth of them, such a work might be performed so much the easier: and, if such a system was not approved, that of hand- hoeing, with small three or four inch hoes, would effectually answer every objection. — ■ Upon the whole, I may afsert from experience, that in broad-cast sowing the additional clean- ing from weeds, arising from early sowing, will not, upon an average of several years, amount to above 5s* per acre, supposing the fallow to have been managed as it ought in common husbandry j viz. the tillage to begin in the autumn, or before : but, as to the execrable method of not beginning to plough till after barley-sowing, I certainly need not add that, with such a conduct, a very early- sown crop must stand a chance of being ab- solutely destroyed. And I should further observe, that these remarks are proportionably applicable to that season which these experi- ments show to be the most beneficial, viz. September, and the first fortnight in October, ■which is, upon the whole, a full month earlier than the Suffolk farmers venture their seed in the ground ; consequently, any objections to M2 T80 GEORGICAL ESSAY'S. that season, of this nature, are void o^ foundation. " As to the dates of the time of sowing, if, upon the whole, appears decisively, that the month of S-cptcmber is the most advantageous ; and next, with a slight inferiority, the first fortnight of October : succeeding months to April are all bad ; the more remote the worse ; and that notwithstanding all advantages of extra ploughings. This result is peculiarly important for giving much tillage to land; for a certain decrease of product proves it evidently a pernicious practice, and such as never could obtain, without the afsistance of false ideas. " The common idea of this neighbourhood is, that a fortnight after old Michaelmas is the prime wheat-seed season ; but these experi- ments, I apprehend, clearly prove the con- trary. " I never perceived any difference between • the corn sown at different seasons, in respect of distempers, or being beaten down." — So far the ingenious Mr. Young. Looking over the memoirs of the Laudable GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 18,1. 'Society of Berne for the year 1761, I was most agreeably entertained with M. de Saufsure's account of the time of sowing wheat. His experiments and reasoning upon tliem do honour to the most consummate philosopher. The length of time employed in this interest- ing part of rural economy, gives weight and solidity to his arguments. I think I .cannot finish this efsay in a more useful manner, than by transcribing the'sentiments of this most in- genious foreigner. The reader is desired to carry in his mind, as he goes along, a just idea of distinction between this kingdom and the country of Swifserland, where .the experiments were made. " On the 8th of August, 1740," says M. de Saufsure, to whom we owe these experiments, " I sowed a coupe* of wheat in the middle of a field, which required ihxcQ coupes to sow the whole of it, being of opinion that this might be a more favourable season for sowing that grain, than the time which is usually chosen for it. This opinion was founded on my having often heard say, that those crops were * The cowpe is a Swils measure, nearly equal to two of o ir t)ashels. M3 Xt2 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. the best which had taken good root before the winter ; and this, I thought, must be most effectually brought about by sowing early. — The rest of this field was sown in the latter end of September, the usual time of sowing in this country, that I might the more easily compare the two methods. Every part of the field had received the same manure and the same tilth, and was sown with the same par^ eel of wheat. " The peasants, who were witnefses of what I did, declared, that if the wheat did not re-f main a month in the ground without sprout- ing, it certainly would not yield any crop. — The succefs exceeded my hopes, and proved contrary to their prognostic. ** The wheat sown in the month of August was, at harvest, taller, thicker, and cleaner than the corn in the rest of the field. In general there was a great deal of smutty wheat that year. The sides of my small field were much infected therewith, but there was not one smutty ear in the middle of it. Here is a very efsential advantage of early sowing, which this experiment promises. " The cleannefs of the sheaves of the first- GIORGICAL ESSAYS. 183 sown wheat induced me to thresh them sepa- rately and they yielded a good deal more corn than those which came off the rest of the field. ** I repeated the experiment tire next year. On the same day, the 8th of August, I sowed two coupes and a half of wheat upon narrow ridges, and in a small field v/here the land lay flatter, and of which the soil was not all of «qual goodnefs. The event was the same as before. The crop yielded eighty-five sheaves, seven feet in circumference at the binding of the sheaf. Twenty such sheaves give usually from four to five coupes of corn, more or Jefs, according to the goodnefs of the soil and season. The sheaves of this experiment yielded, in general, about a quarter of a coupe each. One place, of about twenty square toises of eight feet, yielded six sheaves; a very great crop. These six sheaves had indeed Jefs grain in them than the others. The corn was laid, and these sheaves yielded but an eighth part of a coiipe each, which was, how- ever, an increase of ten for one. Tlie corn was not laid in any other part of the field, the strength of the stalks keeping it upright. M4 194 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. " From this time I continued to sow every year a little earlier and a little more, and always with the same succefs. In the year 1744, I sowed a field all of the same kind and soil, and ploughed into high ridges, each alternate ridge, one in August and the other in September. The crops were very different. The corn sown in August was taller and thicker than the other. They w^ere each reaped apart, that I might the better compare their increase. Twenty sheaves of that sown in August yielded four coupes and three quar- ters. The same number of sheaves of the other vielded but three and three quarters, ^s is usual elsewhere in the countr)-. " I now looked upon this time of sowing ^s sufficiently confirmed by experience, and have continued the practice constantly, beginning to sow in the first week in August, and end- ing it as soon as pofsible. I compare my corn of every year with what is sown later, and constantly find the comparison is in favour of my method. <* In 1751, I found a remarkable difference between my crop and those of my neighbours. There was a great fall of snow that winter^. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 185 and the thaw was followed by frequent and alternate frosts and thaws. My neighbour;* reaped only a few sheaves of corn, which grew where the ground was sheltered by hedges, and the snow lay longer ; whilst on the whole of my sowing, I reaped fifteen sheaves for every coupe thiit was sown, and they yielded me three coupes of good wheat. This was indeed a small crop when considered by itself; but it was considerable when com- pared with the neighbouring no-crops, or nearly so. The superiority of my crop was owing, not only to my early sowing, but, I believe, also to my lands being laid in high ridees ; the furrows carry off the melted snow before the returns of the frost. " My neighbours began now to be sensible of the advantage of my practice, and I had the pleasure of seeing many of them begin to sow on the first of September, some even in the month of August. By degrees, their reason got the better of their prejudices. " I make no scruple now to declare, after an experience of twenty-three years, that the best time for sowing wheat in this country (Swifserland) is the beginning, or at farthest the middle of August. I sow my heavy and 186 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. my light lands at the same time, without any distinction. In the field on which I first began this practice, there is some light land, and some of it even mixed with gravel ; yet there, as in every other soil, the early sowing has constantly succeeded.' " It is a common opinion, that if wheat goes into stalks before the winter, it perishes. This is a maxim which pafses from mouth to mouth, and is established by tradition, with- out ever making the experiment ; for that would at once give it the lie. I can declare, that my wheat, sown in a good soil, constantly rises into stems, which have sometimes several knots, before the winter. They begin even to tiller ; for I counted seven or eight stalks on one plant in the month of October. The wheat which I sowed on the 8th of August, 1741, was as much grown in the month of November, as it usually is in the latter end of April ; yet it preserved its verdure and strength all the winter, which was not milder than common. There were some plants of rye which had gone into ear, and perished in the winter : yet they rofe again in the spring, the roots having remained entire. " Some people are frightened at the yellow GEORGICAL ESSAYJ. ItH colour which the early-sown wheat is sometimes of at the end of the autumn. It has frequently happened to mine, but was not attended with any ill consequences. The cause of it seems to be the same with that which makes the leaves fall from trees. The juices which had hitherto risen in great plenty, stop in the win- ter. The same happens to grafs which withers, but the roots suffer, not ; on the contrary, per- haps they increase the more. The wheat sown later is lefs subject to this accident, be- cause its blade require lefs juices to support them. " I sow my wheat even in the greatest drought, which being frequent here in the month of August, would prevent my sowing was I to delay it on that account. My wheat, I think, makes a considerable progrefs during the dry season ; and though that progrefs be not apparent, it is, perhaps, not the lefs real. There is at all times in well-ploughed grounds a moisture, if not sufficient to make the grain spring, at least enough to swell and prepare it. I have never found any inconvenience arise from it, and have thought that my crops, which came from corn that had lain a fort- night or three weeks in the earth, were better 18^8 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. than when a wet season had brought them upi sooner. " The grain which has undergone this pre- paration, springs up on the first rain ; whereas they who delay sowing till the rain comes, must also wait till the earth is again a little dried. This rain sometimes continues too Jong, and may prevent the wheat's being sown till winter, as happened this year to our neighbours in Savoy. They intended sowing their wheat in October. It was not drought that caused this delay. It was indolence in some, and proceeded in others from their having too great a quantity of land to plough in proportion to their cattle, however it was, a month or five weeks' rain prevented their sowing till November, and their corn now, in May, at the time of my writing this, looks very poorly. " By beginning to sow early, I am never in danger of having my seed-time thrown back in this manner. It may perhaps be said, that a continued drought may prevent my corn's rising before the winter. The year 1746 showed me that I had nothing to fear from this incon- venience. The summer of that year was very GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 18?> hot and dry. I sowed my wheat in the be- ginning of August, in a very hot season, and in a strong soil, with a gentle declivity to the south ; and as I sow under furrow, the grain was lodged pretty deep. The dry weather continued through the autumn, and the few showers that fell, did not penetrate deep enough to reach the grain. The winter was cold and dry till Eebruary. During all this time there was not a blade of my corn to be seen, except from a few grains which had fallen in the furrows. At length the rain fell plentifully in February, and the corn came up nearly as thick as if it had risen in due time. The stalks became large, and the ears looked well, but did not contain much grain, the time for its vegetation being too short. " In the beginning of this practice, I was afraid that crops so superior to others might too much impoverish the land, which had not received any additional help, and thereby make it afterwards yield poorer crops. Full of these thoughts, after having reaped more plentiful crops from those parts of my field which were sown in August 1744, than from, the rest, I sowed the whole field the next year at the same time, and was impatient to 1©0 GEORGICAt ESSAYS. see the event. I saw, with surprise, that the same ridges had a shadow of superiority over the others. Whether this proceeded from the plants drawing a greater quantity of nourish- ment from the air before the late sowing had risen, and continued so to do by their larger surface ; or whether the parts sown, being six weeks lefs time in fallow, had lost so much lefs by evaporation, I will not determine.— A similar observation is laid before us by the Sieur Grauque, of the mountain of Diefse.- — Recommending a certain mixture of grain for spring sowing, he says that it is necefsary to get as great crops as pofsible, because, the greater the crop the land hears, the lefs it is altered or impoverished by it s and on the con- trary, the lefs the crop is, the poorer the land becomes. ** We know that wheat sown late in November will bring a crop, and that more plentiful than what is sown in March : yet the progrefs which the former makes more than the latter, can be only in the roots; for the blades will soon be nearly the same in both. This is likewise the case in the several garden-plants, where the seed sown early gives a better ,crop than that of the same kind which is sown GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 191 late. Trees also transplanted in autumn, thrive better than those planted in the spring; though to appearance, the juices remain in- active during that interval. " On these principles it will be an easy matter to account for the advantages which the wheat sown in August has over that sown later. The greater quantity of nourishment which it collects, renders the straw stronger and bigger, and yields larger and better-filled ears. The grain itself is also larger. This I have found to be invariably the case in all the comparisons I have made. " The strength of the straw is of great ad- vantage in being able to withstand storms, which would otherwise lay it. The most fer- tile parts of my land give sometimes forty or forty-four sheaves for one coupe sown. The com of this country, which is so thick as to yield that number of sheaves, is constantly laid by the first storm in June ; mine stands till harvest, though sometimes bent in the middle, so that the ears hang down; but this does not in the least diminish the crop. — ■ When the corn is exceedingly thick, as that in 1741, it will be laid- That has happened 192 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. but seldom. In order to prevent this incon- venience, our farmers take quite the contrary method. They sow later, and say, that by this means the corn grows thinner, the straw is shorter, and the ears lighter. But surely it is much wiser to make sure of a crop by rendering it more fruitful, than, by lefsening it, to prevent the danger. " I may ascribe to the same practice, the advantage I have enjoyed of having no smutty or otherwise diseased ears in my fields ever since I began to sow earlyj or at least but very few, when my neighbours have suffered therebv very much." CEORGICAL ESSAYS. J93 ESSAY XV. On a Wine, called by the Tartars Konmijs. In an age like the present, when few thing;; in nature seem to have eluded the researches of philosophy, when the communications of learning are as well established as those of •commerce, it may appear somewhat surprising, tliat one of the most important productions of milk should still remain, in a great measure, unknown to the most enlightened parts of £urope. The production I mean is the vinous liquor which is procured by fermentation from mares milk. And it was scarcely to be expected, that, after it had escaped the observation of men the most skilled in chemistry, it should be taught us by a horde of Tartars, whose rank in society is not above that of barbarians. Even in Rufsia itself, it was with difficulty I could learn the particulars of the prepara- tion ; and though it has been used, for some ages, by several tribes of people who belong f^olume L N 194 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. to that empire, yet, in the year 1781, when I first began to think of employing it in medicine, it was as little known in what may be called Rufsia proper ^ as it is now in Great Britain. If the academicians of St. Peters- burgh gave some accounts of it, these accounts have never excited the attention of the phy- sicians of Rufsia. This neglect is most probably to be ascribed, partly to the obscure relations of travellers, and partly to the pride of system, which men of learning are too often apt to indulge, in rejecting as incredible whatever does not co- incide with their own pre-conceived opinions. On consulting the authors who have made mention of this subject, I find, that they give little satisfactory information concerning it. Tlicy all agree, that a vinous liquor, from mares milk, was used by some of the Tartar nations, under the name of Koumifs ; but none of them enter into a detail of the procefs by which that wine was prepared, much Icfs does any one of them point out the purpose s, cither in economy or medicine, to which it may be applied. Marcus Paulus Venetus gives some account GEORGICAL E§SAYS. 195 of it in his History of the Eastern nations*, wliich was published as long ago as the tiiirtcenth century. He says it was used by the Tartars as their common beverage, but makes no mention of the method of pre- paring it. Strahlenberg, in his description of the Rus- sian empire f, relates some circumstances of the preparation ; but his method, if followed, could not be attended with succefs ; for he mentions, that the Kalmucks take off the thick substance, which, in consequence of souring, rises to the top of the milk, and employ this in their food, while they use the remaining liquor either for drink or ^ distillation. Now, this is not only contrary to the usage of that people, when they wish to obtain a fermented' liquor of any strength ; but experience proves, that no perfect fer- mentation can be produced, unlefs all the. parts of the milk be left united in their natural proportion. Gmelin, in his history of a tour which he * De Region. Oriental, lib, 1. cap. 57. f Beschreibung des Rufsichen Ueichs, p. 319. N2 19G GEORGICAL ESSAYS. made through Siberia*, pays more attention tc^ the Tartar m thod of distilling a spirit from the wine of milk, than to the fermenting procefs by which that wine is procured. The latest writer that I find mentioning: Kmnnifs^ is the celebrated profefsor of natural history in St. Petersburgh, Dr. Pallas |. His account is as circumstantial as could well be expected from a traveller, whose object was natural history in general ; yet the principles on which the fermentation depends, as well as the mode of conducting the procefs, are not suiTxiently explained in his work. Tliese accounts, however imperfect, might have led philosophers, loi g before this time, to a discover}' of the true method of ferment- ing miilk, had net the writings of Newman^, an eminent German chemist, contributed to deceive them. He was himself imposed upon by one Lucas, a Dominican monk, uho ascribed its fermentation to the flour of ir.ilJet * Gmei'iL's Eeifse diircli Siberien, t. 1. p. £!73. f Phvi-icalish. Reise durch einig. provintz. des Rufsisch. Rticb, t. 1. p. 316. :j: Xewnian, Chem. expeiiinental. t. 1. part 2. p. 13. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 197 and the grains of barley, which, he said, the Tartars added to it, and to the wine-cask in which the operation was performed. New- man, it would seem, was unwilling to admit of the fcrmentability of milk, because it was contrary to the ideas he had entertained of an animal liquor ; and, therefore, adopting the opposite opinion, he seems glad to have an authority, however weak, to support it. Voltelen*, too, a chemist of Holland, affords a striking example, how easily men are misled, even in matters of science, by their own prejudices. He had no doubt of the existence of a fermentable principle in milk, inasmuch as it contained a certain quantity of a saccharine substance. He knew also, that the whey contained the sugar in solution ; it was on it, therefore, that he instituted his ex- . periments ; he added ev^en more sugar to the whey than the natural proportion ; but no vinous fermentation could, by any means, be produced in it. Nor did even his want of succefs undeceive him. He never once imagined, that the butyraceous and caseous * Observat. de lacte humauo cum asinino et ovillo com* parato, p. 54. N3 198 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. parts of the milk were no lefs necefsary to its fermentation than the saccharine and serous. Even Macquer,inhisChemical Dictionary*, has fallen into an error of the same kind. — Speaking of whey, he says, " In whey is con- " tained difsolved, a considerable quantity of " extractive substance, of the nature of the " saccharine juices, and it is accordingly sus- *' ceptible of the spirituous fermentation. — *' The Tartars certainly make from it a *' spirituous drink, or kind of wine." From this it appears he had not made the ex- periment. The following method of making Koumifs, is that which I adopted in my own practice with succefs. It is common among the Baschkir Tartars, who inhabit that part of the government of Orenhoiirg which lies between the rivers Kama and Volga. It was commu- nicated to miC bv a Rufsian nobleman, in whose case I was consulted, and who was the first who made use of it by my advice He went into that country on purpose to drink it ; and, as he resided for some time there, he ■^ Macqucr Dictionary cf Chemistry, p. 432, GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 199 could not be mistaken with respect to the procefs. Take of fresh mares milk, of one day, any quantity ; add to it a sixth part of water, and pour the mixture into a wooden vefsel j use then, as a ferment, an eighth part of the sourest cow's milk that can be got ; but, at any future preparation, a small portion of old Koumifs will better answ^er the purpose of souring ; cover the vefsel with a thick cloth, and set it in a place of moderate warmth ; leave it at rest twenty-four hours, at the end of which time, the milk will have become sour, and a thick substance will be gathered on the top ; then, with a stick, made at the lower end in the manner of a churnstafT, beat it, till the thick substance ^bovementioned be blended in- timately with the subjacent fluid : In this situation, leave it again at rest for twenty-four hours more 3 after which, pour it into a higher and narrow^er vefsel, resembling a churn, where the agitation must be repeated, as be- fore, till the liquor appear to be perfectly homogeneous ; and, in this state, it is called Koumifs; of which the taste ought to be a pleasant mixture of sweet and sour. Agita- N4 20O GEORGICAL ESSAYS. tion must be employed every time before it be used. To this detail of the procefs, he subjoined, that in order to obtain milk in sufficient quantity, the Tartars have a custom of sepa-? rating the foal from the mare during the day, and allowing it to suck during the night. — ■ And, when the milk is to be taken from the mare, which is generally about five times a-day, they always produce the foal, on the supposition, that she yields her milk more copiously when it is present. To the above method of making Koumifs^ which I have translated as literally as pofsible from the original Ruffian manuscript now in my pofsefsion, i will add some- particulars, taken from oth^jr communications with which I was favoured by Tartars themselves. For though 1 think no addition necefsary to render it either more simple or more intelligible, yet I think it my duty to withhold nothing which may, in any wise, throw light on so efsentiaj a part of my subje<;:t. According to the account of a Tartar who lived to the south-east of Or^enbourg, the pro= GEORGICAL ESSAYS, 201 portion of milk and souring ought to be the same as above ; only, to prevent changing the vcfsel, the milk may be put at once into a pretty high and narrow vefsel j and, in order to accelerate the fermentation, some warm milk may be added to it, and, if necefsary, more souring. From a Tartar whom I met with at the fair of Alacanejf upon the Volga, and from whom I purchased one of the leathern bags * which are used by the Kalmucks for the preparation * This bag was made of a horse's hide undreliied, and by having been smoked, had acquired a great de- gree of hardnefs. Its shape was conical, like the figure in the mar- gin, but was at the same lime, somewliat triangular, from being composed of three different pieces set in a circular base of the same hide. The sutures, which were made with ten'.l'..iis, were secured by a covering on the outside, with a doubling of the same skill, ver\ closely secured. It had a dirty appearance, and a very disagreeable smell. On being asked the rea- son of this, he said, " The remains of the old Koufiiifs " were left, in order to supply a ferment to the new t< milk." " ' 6 202 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. and carriage of their Koiimifs, I learned, that the procefs may be much shortened by heat- ing the milk before the souring be added to it, and as soon as the parts begin to separate, and a thick substance to rise to the top, by agitating it every hour, or oftener. In thiis T\ay, he made some in my presence in the space of twelve hours. I learned also, that it was common, among some Tartars, to pre- pare it in one day during summer, and that with only two or three agitations j but that in winter, when, from a deficiency of mares milk, they are obliged to add a great propor- tion of that of cows, more agitation and more time are necefsary. And though it is com- monly used within a few days after the prepa- ration, yet, when well secured in close vefsels, and kept in a cold place, that it may be pre- served for three months, or even more, with- out any injur}' to its qualities. He said farther, that the acid fermentation might be produced by sour milk, as above, by a sour paste of rye-flour, by the rennet of a lamb's stomach, or, what is more common, by a portion of old Koinnifs; and that, in some places, they saved much time, by adding th^ new milk to a quantity of that already fer- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 203 mented, on being mixed with which, it very soon undergoes the vinous change It was according to the first procefs, howovor, that all the Koumifs which I have empIo}'ed in medicine v/as prepared. From all these accounts, it appears, that three things are efsential to the viiious fer- mentation of milk. These are heat, souring y and agitation. Heat is necefsary to every species of fermentation, and souring is perhaps pot lefs so, though not in so sensible a degree as in the present case ; but the chief art of fermenting milk consists in agitation. This last circumstance has wholly escaped the at- tention of chemists, notwithstanding it appears to be consonant to the operations of nature in other species of fermentation. In ferment- ing vegetable juices and infusions, nature has no need of the afsistance of art ; the intestine motion which accompanies the fermentation is sufficient to produce the degree of agitation which seems necefsary to keep the parts of the fluid in mutual contact, or to fit them for mutual action. Milk, on the contrary, is no sooner soured than a separation of its parts takes place ; the cream rises to the top, while the cheese either falls to th« bottom, or is sus- $0i GEORGICAL ESSAYS. pended in the whey. When these parts are brought, however, into close contact with one another, by agitation, and this repeated at proper intervals, a vinous liquor is produced 5 of the medical virtues of which I shall now treat. From the time I had heard of Koumifs\ I had conceived an opinion of its importance in the cure of certain diseases. I judged, that a preparation of milk, which could not be curdled by the juices of the stomach, while, at the same time, it pofsefsed all its nutritive qualities, with the superaddition of a ferr mented spirit, might be of efsentiai service in all those disorders wliere the body is defective dther in nourishment or strength. The case of the above mentioned nobleman, who communicated to me the first procefs, gave me an opportunity of trying, how far my conjectures were well founded. He was in that state which seemed to me strongly to in- dicate the use of such a medicine as Koumifs, J accordingly advised him to it, At twenty-six years of age, he laboured under a complication of chronic complaints. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 20J A cdnfirmed lues venerea, injudiciously treated, with three succefsive salivations by mercury^ added to bad management of himself under these, had given rise to his disease. His body was much emaciated ; his face was of a livid yellow colour; his eyes were sunk, and round his eye-lids there was a dark shade ; he felt a severe pain in his breast, and that was accompanied with a considerable cough and mucous expectoration ; his appetite and di- gestion were greatly impaired ; he had fre- quent tremblings and faintings ; he began to feel the symptoms of hectic fever. In a word, his whole appearance was consumptive, and he was so weak that he required afsistance to get into the carriage in which he was to be conveyed into Tartary. xVfter drinking Koinnifs six weeks only, he returned perfectly free from all the above symptoms, and was become so plump and fresh -coloured, that, at first sight, it was with difficulty his friends could recognise him. As he did not come immediately to Nischne- Novogorod, where I then was, he wrote me a letter, the substance of which, as far as it related to this subject, I shall give here. After telling me the sudden and remarkable 206 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. change the Koumifs had produced, during the first few days ; that he ceased to be disturbed in his sleep ; that his nervous and dyspeptic symptoms left him ; that he felt as if his vcfsels had been distended with a fresh cool- ing liquor ; that he became cheerful ; that it served him both for food and drink ; that though he used it to the quantity of a gallon and a half, and sometimes even more, in the twenty-four hours, yet he always drank it with pleasure, and without intoxication ; that his body, during its use, was regularly open ; but that his urine v.^as so much increased, that he was usually excited to make w^ater every hour: He proceeded to exprefs himself in the followino- strong terms, which serves to show how much he had proSted by it. " I am disposed to consider Koiimifs, (says " he) with all deference to you, as an universal " medicine, which will cure every disease, if " you do not choose to except fever ; for I am " persuaded, that the most skilful physician, " with all the drugs of the shop, could not " have restored me to the health I now " enjoy " The next case in which it was employed, though not so desperate as the former, gave GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 2:7 sufficient proofs of its nutritive and strengthcn- qualities, A lady, who had been witnefs to its uncommon efficacy in the nobleman's case abovementioned, was encouraged to try it in her own. It was not convenient for her to go herself to Tartary, and therefore she had it sent to her, well secured in casks, during the autumn. She had been long subject to a train of nervous disorders. By these, she was much extenuated, and reduced to a state of extreme weaknefs and irritability. She used it for about a month, at the end of which time, the functions of her nervous system were restored, and, with health and vigour, she acquired a plumpnefs and fresh complexion. The following year, I resolved to try it at Nisch?ie'Novogo}vd under my own eye. As mares milk could not be obtained in sufficient quantity in town, it was made at the seat of a nobleman, not far distant, from which it w-as occasionally transported. The season was far advanced, however, before a case was presented, in which its efficacv might be tried. At last, about th - middle of Augu^t 1782, I was coiiaulted by the General Governor's 208 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. nephew. He had all the symptoms of iii- cipient phthisis ;. pain of breast, dry cough, occasional hceraoptysis, and great emaciation ; he was not, however, become hectic. His two elder brothers had died of true pul- monary consumptions. He had taken much medicine, in a different part of the coun- try^ and had observed a very strict anti- phlogistic regimen; but though milk had con- stituted the greatest part of his diet, yet there were no signs of recovery. He drank Koumifs ioY about two months only, and that in rather an unfavourable season ; but the consequence was, that ail the above symptoms disappeared, and his flesh and strength re- turned ; nor was there any reason to appre- hend a relaps^e, at the time 1 left that country^ About the same time I advised its use to another yonng nobleman, who had laboured under an abscefs in the left side, about the region of the twelfth rib. As he had then resided in a remote part of the country, nd attention had been paid to it; on the contrary^ by improper application:-;, the sides of the ulcer were become hard. He had lost his flesh and strengtr ; he had occasional faintings ; and there were all the appearances of incipient GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 209 hectic. By the use of Koiiinifs for about six %veeks, proper chirurgical drefsings being at the same time applied, his health was per- fectly re-established. There was some other cases in which I em- ployed it with equal succefs ; but of which, as being lefs important, I omit the detail. All those who drank it agreed in saying, that, during its use, they had little appetite for food; that they drank it in very large quantities, not only without disgust, but with pleasure ; that it rendered their veins turgid, without producing lariguor ; that, on the con- trary, they soon acquired from it an uncommon degree of sprightlinefs and vivacity ; that even in cases of some excefs, it was not followed by indigestion, headach, or any of the symp- toms which usually attend the abuse of other fermented liquors. To this may be added, that the Baschkir Tartars, who, towards the end of winter, are much emaciated, no sooner rettrm in summer to the use of Koumi/s, than they become strong and fat*. * The author of a historical description of ail the na- tions which compose the Rufsian empire, says, speaking of KouTfi'ifsy " Elle est fort nourifsante, et peut tenir lieu Volume L O 210 CEORGICAL ESSAYS. From, all these circumstances, I think my- self entitled to infer, that this wine of mares milk may be applied to many of the purposes of medicine. From the mild acid which it contains, may it not be considered as a cooling antiseptic ? From its vinous spirit, may it not become an useful stimulant, cordial, and tonic ? And, from its oily and mucilaginous parts, may it not prove a valuable article of nourish- ment ? If chronic diseases, as is generally allowed, depend on a debility of the solids ; and if they are difficult of cure, because the organs, which ought to supply the body with nourishment and strength, do not only them- selves partake of the general weaknefs, but are too often, by the indigestible nature of the food with which they are overcharged, still more debilitated ; may not a substance of easy digestion, which at once strengthens the stomach and nourishes the body, become a powerful remedy in all such cases ? And if acute diseases, especially of the " de tout autre aliment. Les Baschkirs s'en trouvent *' tr^s bien, elle les rend bienportans et gais; elle leur *' donne de I'erobonpoint, et de bonnes, couleurs." — Descri/i, de tout, la Nai. de FEmJi. Rii/s. t. 2./;. 1 18. C-EORGICAL ESSAYS. 211 fcbfil(i kind, are frequently attended with symptoms of weaknefs and putridity, may it not be found, from its antiseptic and tonic powers, to be an useful corrector of the one, and a restorative for the other ? Alay not the sudden change it produced* in the ^^rsi case, in the state of the patient's feel- ings, and especially of his sleep, point it out as of use in all cases of excefsive irritabiHty ? May not the effect it had in restoring his stomach to its functions, recommend it in dyspepsia? and may not the vigour and. plumpnefs which ensued from its use, indicate it in cases even of confirmed atrophy ? Have we not reason to believe, that it may be used to advantage in the cure of nervous disorders in general, from the manner in which it operated in the second case ? And in the incipient, perhaps even in the advanced stages of phthisis, from the rapid and effectual change it occasioned in the pulmonary symp- toms of the third ? And may not its efficacy in the fourth case, encourage us to employ it in all cases of suppu- O2 212 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ration or ulcer, in which the body is threatened with hectic fever ? Whether alF these questions can be an- swered in the affirmative, must be determined by future experience ; and, if they should, perhaps the scarcity of mares milk in this coun- try would greatly circumscribe its utility. Hence inquiries will naturally be made, T^'hether other species of milk admit of a similar vinous fermentation, and what propor- tion of spirit they contain. As these have never been the object, however, of my atten- tion, I will here give the substance of what I have been able to learn from others respect- ing that which is the most common, the milk of cows. Dr. Pallas*, in tlie work above quoted, says, that cows milk is also susceptible of the vinous fermentation, and that the Tartars pre- pare a wine from it in winter, when mares milk- fails them ; that the wine prepared from- cows * Physicalisch. Reife durcli verschied. provintz. dcs Rufsisch. Reichs, t. 1. p. 3l«. et 517- CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 213 milk, they call Airen ; but that they always prefer Koionifs when it can be got, as it is more agreeable, and contains a greater quan- tity of spirit; that Koumifs on distillation yields of a weak spirit one-third, but that Airen yields only two-ninth parts of its whole quantity ; which spirit they call Arika, This account is confirmed by Oseretskowsky, a Rufsian* who accompanied J^epechin, and other academicians, in their travels through Siberia and Tartary. He published la-teJy a Difsertation on the ardent spirit to be ob- tained from cows milk. From his experiments^ it appears, that cows milk may be fermented with, or even vvithoiitp souring, provided sufficient time and agitation be employed ^ that no spirit could be pro- duced from any one of its constituent parts taken separately, nor from any two of them, unlcfs inasmuch as they were mixed with some part of the third ; that the milk, witb all its parts in their natural proportion, was the most productive of it; that the closer it * Specim. inaiig. de Spir. Ardent, ex lact. Bub, Argentorat. 1778. 3 214 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. . was kept, or, which is the same thing, the more difficultly the fixed air is allowed ta escape during the fermentation, (care being taken, however, that we do not endanger the bursting of the vefsel,) the more spirit is obtained. He also informs us, that it had a sourer smell before than after agitation , that the quantity of spirit was increased, by allow- ing the fermented liquor to repose for some time before distillation ; that from six pints of milk, fermented in a close vefsel, and thus set to repose, he obtained three ounces of ardent spirit, of which one was consumed in burning ^ but that from the same quantity of the same milk, fermented in an open vefselj he could scarcely obtain one ounce^ These particulars of the fermentation of mares and cows milk are an interesting ad- dition to the facts concerning fermentation in general; a subject so very obscure and im- perfectly understood, that I shall not hazard any remarks on it. My principal intention was, to point out to physicians what appears to me a powerful means which may be employed by them on many occasions in the cure of diseases. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 215 ESSAY XVL Qii the Conmctmi ktween Botmi/i and Agricidtm-e, y. HE justly celebrated 1.,'nnaeus, in his Amaenitates Academicae, ha- traced out the dependence which Agriculture has upon Botany, in a very masterly manner He wishes the farmer to revive that old useful custom of observing the times of budding, leafing, and flowering of plants and trees, because these appearances seem to have been designed by Providence as our surest guides in conducting rural matters. They ascertain the exact times for sowing, planting, and reaping. They are the best thermometers (if I may be allowed the exprefsion) which we can use, ifter they have been regulated ^nd confirmed by experience. If we look into the annals of history we may remark, that many nations have observed certain periods for sowing, planting, and reap- ing, confirmed by the appearance of leaves on Q 4 216 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. particular trees, or the migration of birds, which almost invariably corresponds with the leafing of those trees. There seems nothing unreasonable in sup- posing the vegetable and animal world an excellent lefson to the rational. In the sacred history we are told, that the Stork in the heavens hiozveth her appointed times j and the turtle^ and the crane^ and the swfilloWi obsei^e the time of their coming; and we are reminded that the leafing of the fig-tree usually deter- mines the approach of summer. It is curious to see how steadily the antients have adhered tp these principles. Theophrastus, that parent of natural knowledge ! has left us many remarks of this kind, which Hesiod has much improved. But no one, since Hesiod's time, considered the matter in its proper, light, till the great Linnjeus started forth to be nature's more refined historian. Among other things, Hes'od says, " That jf it should happen to rain three days when the cuckoo sings, then late sowing will be as good as early sowing. That when snails be- gin to cfeep out of their holes, and clinqb up GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 217 the plants, you must leave off digging about the vines, and take to pruning. That when the crane is heard, the tipie of ploughing comes on." Dr. Linnaeus obser\''es that, in Sweden, the ** wood anemone blows from the arrival of the swallow, and that the marlh marigoI4 blows when the cuckoo sings. That barley h sowi^ when the birch tree leafs." These are sufficient propfs to convince us, that if the improvers of agriculture considered botany as a necefsary illustration of it, we should be likely to advance our discoveries still higher in the scale of perfection. Indeed, to do justice to the present age, our improve- ments in agriculture seem to be built more firmly upon the foundation of philosophy and natural knowledge ; a mode of proceeding which will undoubtedly be productive of the most pleasing consequences. For, by taking nature as a guide, the farmer may adjust his times of sowing and reaping with more cer- tainty. He may frequently insure a good crop, by keeping his seed in the granary, till nature has pointed out a proper time for sow- ing it, 218 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. In Sweden^ the study of Agriculture is much in fashion. And I date the asra of those refined improvements from the time that Lin,- nceus held out his discoveries to public view.' He has himself made observations of these kinds in every country he examined. And he gives us a list of a great number of different persons he employed to communicate to him the result of similar experience. The only experiment of this kind made in England, is by the ingenious Mr. Stillingfleet, at Stratton> in Norfolk, in the year 1755, If we would derive any benefit from these kalendars of Flora, they should be made iri every material variation of latitude, and should be made for three or four years at the least ^ that the forwardnefs or backwardnefs of some chance seasons might still be considered as ex- ceptions only to a general rule. With these helps, I can scarcely imagine the farmer ig- norant of the time of budding, leafing, flower- ing, sowing, and reaping of any individual plant or grafs in the whole extensive field of nature. Some general knowledge of astronomy might likewife be of use in farther confirming GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 219 these periods for sowing and planting. It is beyond a doubt, that the ancient husband- men esteemed their practice not complete without it. Virgil begins his Georgics with the same thought : Quid faciat la;tas segetes ; quo sidere terrain Vcrtere, Mxccnas, ulmisqiie adjungcre vite?, Conveniat : ■ . Hinc canere incipiam. Another grand use of botanical knowledge to the farmer, would terminate in this point: That as a kalendar of Flora would acquaint him with the duration and existence of most plants ; so he would be better able, in general, to suit the produce to the nature of his soil. It is a just matter of wonder in this im- proving age, that so little attention should be paid to the laying down our meadow and pasture grounds. The quantity of land that is annually laid down makes an attention to this branch of rural economy efsentially ne- cefsary. Every farmer knows how to suit his grain to the quality of his soil, but few are ac- quainted with the nature and disposition of the grafses that cover the field. The surfiice of the earth is clothed with a pleasing and 220 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. necefsary variety of grafses. Some delight in a moist soil ; others prefer a dry situation ; and 'yet so little do we observe this order of nature, that grafs-seeds of all kinds, good and bad, are promiscuously sown upon the same soil. A small degree of reflection will tea.ch us that vegetables, as well as animals, have a choice of soil. Therefore to stock our warm and dry lands with seeds produced upon wet meadows, is no lefs absurd than if the farmer was to bring down his sheep into the marshes^ and send his bullocks to the hills. Of late there has been much encourage- ment given to the collecting grafses by hand. It is here that the botanist becomes useful to the farmer. He knows from his kalendar of of Flora what plants blow together, and if a a mixture is required, can tell what species will render that mixture agreeable. For this useful purpose a small degree of botanical knowledge is required. Nature is ever con- stant and uniform with herself. She points out to us the plants peculiar to every soil, if we could be prevailed upon to trace her along the walk she delights to tread. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 221 It is not an unusual thing to see a piece of excellent land over-run with wild ranunculus and coarse grafses. In that state it cannot maintain a ^tock in proportion to the good- nefs of the soil. Other lands of a much worse quality, by being laid down with a more judicious choice of seeds, are found to pro- duce larger and more profitable crops of grafs. This consideration ought to awaken the attention of the farmer to a more skilful method of laying down his lands. In the present situation of things, the farmer is liable to the imposition of the seedsman. It he purchases the seeds of weeds, he must- expect a plentiful crop of them in return for the painful care that he has taken of his lands. This inconvenience, however, may, in some degree, be removed by the help of botanical knowledge. Let the farmer examine the seeds well before he buys them. If he has rnade himself conversant with the shape and appearance of the seeds of natural and good - grafses, and also of the seeds of such weeds as infest the meadows, he will find it easy and familiar to determine the goodnefs of the sample shown him. Nay, he may discover with certainty whether the seeds grew upon 2*22 GEORGICAL ESSAYS, a wet or dry soil, and consequently may avoid the mischief that arises from not suitin£c the seeds to the nature of the soil. It is not onlv curious, but necefsarv, for the practical farmer to be able to find out the natural taste of his cattle. Of this he may soon make himself acquainted, without enter- ing deeply into the science of botany. Cows, horses, and sheep, all differ in their tastes, and are more partial to one sort of grafs than another. And no wonder, when every plant delights in its proper soil ; nay, every insect has its own peculiar plant to feed upon. Linnseus reckons up above two thousand experiments, made by himself and his friends, on the tastes of animals. He gives us tables not only of the number of plants each animal eats or refuses, but the names of the plants themselves. The former may be grateful to the reader, but the latter would not con- veniently come within the compafs of this eff.ay. Oxen cat 27() refuse 218 plants. Goats - 449 - - 126 Sheep - 387 - - 141 Horses - 262 - - 212 Swine - 72 - - 171 1446 86S GEORGICAL £SSAYS. 22S If this plan was pursued, we should not hear the farmer so often complain that his pastures are overrun with rough barren grafses, which the cattle will not eat. In most pastures we do not observe above half of the grafs eaten. The fact is this, that from neglecting the material point of suiting the palates of our cattle, grafses odious to the taste, and barren in themselves, overrun and destroy the good. f'" It would both be superfluous, and extend- ing this efsay to a tedious length, to reckon up such grafses as are barren in themselves. But the following are the most prevalent in our meadow and pasture grounds. The carex tribe chiefly infest the moist parts of our meadows. The bent and hard meadow grafses overrun both meadow and pasture grounds. The mat-grafs is injurious to sheep- walks. And the quick-grafs is troublesome to the farmer in the extreme. E24 GEORGICAL ESSAYS, ESSAY XVIL On the Nature and Properties of Mart J.N many parts of this island the value of land has of late been greatly raised by the applica- tion of marl. It is divided into shell-marl and earth-marl Shell-marl is composed of animal shells difsolved. Earth-marl is a fofsil. ItJf colour is various 5 white, black, blue, red.-^ Its hardnefs is as various as its colour ; some- times it is soft and ductile like clay ; some- times it is hard and solid like stone; and sometimes it is extended into thin beds like slate. Shell-marl is easily distinguished by the shells which always appear in it. But the similarity betwixt earth-marl and many other fofsil fubstances, renders it difficult to dis- tinguish them. Marls, like all the subjects of the mineral kingdom, differ in their degrees of purity.— But how to discover, with certainty, the purity of any given marl, is not generally known. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 225 From these circumstances we must con- clude, that marl, though a substance of in- estimable value, hath scarce ever been the subject of an attentive inquiry. In this efsay it is proposed, first to analyse the different marls, as newly dug from the ground ; and afterwards to examine what changes they suffer from being exposed to the air. SECTION I. The most known properties of marl are, its (effervescing with acids and fertilizing the soil to which it is applied*. By these two pro- * Dr. Hill, in his v'olume upon Fofslls, has ranked among marls many substances which do not effervesce with acids. But I cannot see by what reason such an arrangement can be justified. Perhaps all the substances which we find in the c!a(s of marls have, with advantage been employed in agriculture. But that is not sufficient. We know that pure clay itself, applied to certain soils, produces the most happy effects. All Dr. Hill's non- efiervescent marls are pofsefsed of the distinguishing pro- perties of clay: and therefore ought in justice to be ranked among the argillaceous bodies. After com- paring this author's definition of marl with his defini- tion of clay and bole, I can fix upon no particular Volume I, P 226 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. perties I was directed in the prosecution o^ my Inquiry. Among the subjects of the mineral king-* dom, some are soluble in water, some not. — Of the first, one only, the fofsil alkali, is- pofsefsed of properties similar in any degree to those of marl. For this salt, which is collected principally along the coasts of the Mediterranean sea, effervesces violently with acids, and has been time immemorial, in the highest esteem as a manure. From these circumstances it might be suspected, /-that a very intimate affinity subsists betwixt this alkali and marl, and that the similar effects of both these substances proceed from the same cause. To satisfy mjyseif with regard to this particular, I miade the two following ex- periments. character by which the first of these substances may, with certainty, be distinguished from the other two. Marl seems, by his definition, to differ from (lay and bole in degree of visciditj only. But how shall the degree of viscidity which constitutes a clay, or a marl, or a bole, be ascertained? A very considerable number of earth-marls a.re of a stony hardnefs; but all marls, by Dr. Iliil's de- iinition, cohere slit^htlv. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 227 Experiment I. Two drachms of clay-marl, newly dug from the pit, were put into an ounce of water, and for twelve hours digested with a considerable heat. The marl, when separated by filtration and dried, retained precisely its orginal weight. The digested water was devoid of taste and smell, and suffered no change from the ad- dition of syrup of violets, or the acid of nitre. The event was in every respect the same, when a quantity of the same marl was boiled in water for a considerable time. — ISIany varieties of clay, stone, and slate marls were treated in the same manner, with the same appearances. II. Two drachms of newly dug shell-marl, free from mofs, fragments of putrid wood, &c. and previously dried, were digested as in the first experiment. The marl neither lost any of its original weight, nor communicated to the water any thing discoverable by the trials mentioned above. The appearnnces were the same when this marl was boiled in water*. * Caution is here necefsiry. Shell-marl not only con- tains many separate fragments of putrid wood, but i: P2 228 geoRgical essays. From these experiments it is evident, tliat no salt, similar to the fofsil alkah, is contained in marl. For all natural salts, of an alkaline quality^ are distinguished by their easy solu- bility in water, by effervescing with acids in the same manner when difsolved, as before solution, and by converting the colour of blue or purple vegetable infusions into green. — But marl, neither when digested, nor when Boiled in water, communicates any of its sub- stance to that fluid; therefore contains nothing soluble by it, nor any salt of an alkaline, or any other nature. Besides, none of the waters filtered from the marls in the preceding ex- periments, suffered any change from the in- stillation of the nitrous acid, or of the syrup of also very commonly mixed with parts of the mofsy stratum, under which it is generally found. If marl, containing cither of these substances, is employed in the preceding experiment, it never tails to communicate a bitternefs and peruliar smell to the water. Besides these properties, tiiis water, upon the addition of any alkaline solution, acquires a milky hue, and lets fall a small quantity of a white powder. That these effects procecfl solely from the heterogeneous bodies mixed with the marl, is evident from this, that shell-marl when per- fectly pure, and freed by evaporation from mofsy water^ never comniunicates any perceptible quality to water in which it is digested. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 229 violets. From these circumstances it is mani- fest, that marl does not contain the smallest proportion of an alkaline salt. And, as no other salt will account for the phjenomena, this, added to some particulars mentioned above, renders any farther search for a saline substance in marl unnecefsary. SECTION II. Being satisfied with regard to this particu- lar, the affinity betwixt calcarious earths and marl next occurred to me. Calcarious earths effervesce with acids, are remarkable for their fertilizing properties, and cannot, in a natural state, be difsolved by water. So far they agree exactly with marl. But their most charac- teristicalqualitiesare, their difsolving entirely in the mineral acids, and calcining to quick-lime. By these two properties such earths may be distinguished wherever they occur. With a view to the apparent affinity betwixt calcarious earths and marl, I made the follow- ing experiments. Experiment III, To a drachm of newly-dug stone-marl, re- duced to powder, I gradually added the mu- P3 250 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. riatic acid, till no further effervescence ensued upon the addition. This mixture, diluted with a sufficient quantit. of water, wa thrown into a filter of grey paper: A pure pellucid liquor pafsed through, and a grofs earthy substance remained behind at the bottom of the filter. This substance, when properly washed and dried, weighed just eighteen grains. In this experim.ent, we find the marl divi- ded into two different parts ; the one carried, off by the muriatic acid, and invisioly suspend- ed in it ; the other an earthy substance, on which that acid seems to have no influence. Havmgadvancedthusfarin the de-composition of our subject, the next step is to examine into the nature of these i Vv'o constituent parts. SECTION III. Experiment IV. The substance which remained in the filter, pofscfsed, almost in every respect, the proper- ties of clay. In drying, it concreted into a mafs of considerable hardnefs; made no effer- vescence widi any oi the acids j fell down and diffused readily in water; and was, by the action of fire, converted into a reddish-coloured "brick. Twenty grains of such a substance. GEORGICAL ESSAYS, 231 extracted from the same marl, gave, by elu- triation*, five grains of sand. Hence the na- ture of the unsoluble part of this marl is abun- dantly evident. It must be remarked, hov^^ever, that neither the quantity nor composition of this unsoluble part is, in any two marls, precisely the same. Clay, or clay and sand, are, it is true, the con- stituent parts of it in all marls f ; but the dif- ferent proportions, in which these are mixed with the soluble part, are almost infinite. V, The residue of a drachm of clay-marl, which was easily diffusible in water, weighed forty grains, and consisted of equal portions of clay and fine sand. *This term is applied to the separation of clay from sand by means of water, f It must be observed, tliat the residue of all or most marls contains, besides clay alTd sand, a considerable num- ber of flat shining particles. These particles are unso- luble in acids, as is evident from their remaining in the residue. Few of them suffer any diminution of lustre in the fire. Whence they appear to be flakes of foliaceous talc. P4 232 CEORGICAL ESSAYS. VI. A drachm of another clay-marl containecj fifteen grains of unsoluble matter, which was altogether clay. VII. Forty grains of a smooth laminated marl af- forded eight grains of a clay residuum. VIII. The residue of forty grains of a stone-marl ■weighed twelve grains, a third of which wa? ^and. IX. A drachm of another stone-marl gave only nine grains of unsoluble matter, mostly clay. X. The residue of forty grains of another stone- marl* weighed sixteen grains, thirteen of which were sand. * I have here given the name of marl to some sub* stances which perhaps, in strict language, ought to gq under another denomination ; but they are generally ac- counted marls, and employed as such indiscriminately with the marly strata contiguous to them. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 233 XI. A drachm of a friable slate-marl afforded a residuum of eighteen grains of yellow sand. XII. A drachm of lime stone contained twelve grains of unsoluble matter, which was altoge- ther sand. XIII. A drachm of another limestone gave only six grains of residue, which appeared to be a slime. XIV. A drachm of shell-marl, dug out at the depth of two feet from the surface, containe4 thirty-six grains of unsoluble matter, which ac-r quired little cohesion by drying, and conii;^tcd in a great measure of a very fine sand. These are the most remarkable differences that have hitherto occurred to me in examining the residua of diilerent marls. I thought it ne- cefsary to give a detail of them, both because the composition of the unsoluble part of our subject is thereby demonstrated, and because ^he preceding experiments will afterwards 254 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. serve to explain a difficulty which would not Otherwise admit of an easy solution. SECTION IV. We must now return to the pellucid liquor which pafsed through the filter in Experiment III. As this liquor contains, in an invisible state, the substance which, in combination with the part examined in Section III. com- posed the original marl, if w-e can discover the nature of that substance, the nature and com- position of marl will of consequence be evident. An alkaline salt, added to the solution of any other substance in an acid liquor, instantly pre- cipitates that substance. The part of the marl difsolved and carried off by the muriatic acid in Experiment III. had no affinity to an alka- line salt * ; therefore a salt of this nature, add- ed to that solution, cannot fail to separate from it the soluble part of our subject, and conse- quently to give us an opportunity of examining it to greater advantage. Experiment XV. With this view, the fore-mentioned filtered * See Expel-. I. U. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 235 liquor was mixed with a small quantity of a solution of salt of tartar.' The mixture became immediately milk.}' and turbid ; but in a short time recovered its transparency by the copious precipitation of a whitish powder. More of the alkaline solution was then added j and as a new lactescency and precipitation ensued, the addition was from time to time repeated, till it produced no such effect. Then it was evi- deni-, that whatever the acid had carried off from the marl, was now thrown to the bottom. The precipitated powder, when separated by filtration, washed and dried, weighed precisely forty-tvA^o grains ; which, added to the eighteea grains of unsol.ublc matter in Experiment III. makes up the original v/cight of the marl em- ployed in that experiment. This powder v/as altogether insipid j suffered no change from water ; and was, after a very brisk efferves- cence, totally difsolved both by the acid of nitre and of sea salt. The liquors filtered off from the unsoluble matters in all the experiments related in Section III. were separately treated in the manner de- scribed above, and in every respect v\ ith the same appearances : Particularly the weight of each of the precipitated powder^, added to that 536 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. of its respective residue, equalled, with remark- able exactnefs, the original weight of the marj from which it had been extracted. SECTION V, These precipitated powders are totally so^ luble in acid spirits ; for it was by this solution that we obtained their separation from the other parts of the marls in which they existed. The knowledge of this single property, how- ever, is not sufficient to determine their nature. The changes produced upon them by the action of fire must be also considered. Experiment XVI. For this purpose seventy grains of powder, extracted, in the manner described above, from the marl of Experiment III. were for two hours detained in a strong fire. The weight of the powder was thereby reduced to forty grains, and its colour from white changed to grey or ashy. When water was poured upon this cal- cined substance, many air-bubbles rose to the surface with a hifsing noise, and as strong a lime-water was in a short time produced as I had ever obtained from any quick-lime. Tlie calcination of the powders extracted from the other marls wa5 attended, in every GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 237 circumstance, with the same succefs ; that from shel]-marl not excepted. From these experiments, I think, the nature of marl is sufficiently evident *. Marl con- sists of two parts, pofsefsed of very opposite qualities. The one, clay, or a mixture of clay and sand , the other, a substance soluble in acids, convertible by calcination into quick- lime, and consequently a real calcaneus earth, differing in no respect from the calcarious earth of lime-stone and the shells of animals f. * Here it may be asked, if such is the composition of all earth-marls, whence comes it, that some earths of that kind, or what strongly resembles them, arc so destruciive to the growth of vegetables? In answer to this it must be remarked, that many fofsils, differing widely in their Mature from marl, have frequently, from resemblance, been employed as marl. Among the fofsils of this country, is oft-times found a species of the Pyrites, La/iis atramen- 40SUS of Cramer, which in colour nearly ressmbles some of the earth-marls. I have seen a bed of this which con. tained a considerable proportion of calcarious earth. It may occur among beds of marl ; but, whenever it is em- ployed in agriculture, its effects must be unfavourable. f The very efsence of marl seems to consist in this earth j for that name is bestowed on no substance that does not contain an earth of this nature. However all bodies, into whose composition calcarious earth enters, do not fall under the denomination of marl. To entitle 258 CZORGICAL ESSAYS From the foregoing experiments it is also manifest, that the nature of clay-marls, stone- iTiarls, and slate-marls, is altogether the same. Tor marls of equal purity, and consisting of the same proportions of constituent earths, are found under all these different appearances. Different names have been affixed to them, from their different degrees of hardnefs, and the different dispositions of the beds into which they are extended. But from what cause pro- ceeds the diversity in the cohesive power of marls, equal in the proportions of their consti- tuent parts, is difficult to say. It appears from the experiments related in Section III. that, in different marls, the pro- portion of the calcarioiis to the other earths is not always the same. As this diversity m.ay probably render a choice of marls for particu- lar soils, if not neccf^ary, at least beneficial, a more minute account than that formerly given, of the procefs for discovering the proportion of earths contained in any marl, m.ay not be im- proper. them lo this, they must fliH into powder upon being ex- posed to tlie air. Hence, the purity of niarls will be in proportion to the quar.tity of calcarlous earth in tlieir composition. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 25D Having dried and powdered the marl to be examined, pour upon any given weight of it a small quantity of water. To this mixture, well shaken, add a little of the acid of sea salt*, and when the consequent effervescence is over, add a little more. Repeat this addition at proper intervals till no more effervescence en- sues. Then throw the wholc^ with an equal or greater proportion of water, into a filter of grey paper, whose weight is known. When all the fluid parts have pafsed through, fill up the filter, again and again, with warm water. By this means the difsolved particles of calca-- rious earth, adhering to the residue, or en- tangled in the pores of the paper, will be washed away, and nothing but what is really unsoluble will remain in the filter. This re- siduum with the filter must be completely *'Any mineral acid may be employed with equal ad- vantage, the vilnolic excepted. For, though this acid etfervesces violently with all marls, it does not difsolve their calcarious earths ; it only forms %vith them a whitish coagulum, which will not pafs through the filter. In any trials that I have hitherto made with the ve- getable acid, I have not been able by its means to ex- tract all the calcarious earth contained in any marl. For, after the usual filtration, the residuum always efFervescel violently with the mineral acids. 240 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. dried and weighed. Then the difference be-» twixt its weight, and the original weight of the filter, gives you the weight of unsoluble parts contained in the marl under examination. This being known, the proportion of calcari- ous earth in the same marl is evident. The proportions of clay and sand in it are dis- covered by subjecting the residuum' io a pro- per elutriation. This operation is very simple, and performed thus : Having weighed the dry residue, mix and shake it well with a sufficient quantity of water. After allowing a little time for the subsidence of the grofser parts, let the water, with the finest particles of clay suspended in it, be gently poured off. When this is done, add more water to the remainder, and, after sufficient mixture and subsidence, pour that off likewise. In the same mannet repeat the operation, again and again, till the water comes over perfectly^ pure. The sub- stance which then remains is sand, mixed, perhaps, with some flakes of talc ; and what- ever this substance wanti of the weight of the residue employed, is the weight of pure clay carried away by the water in the procefs of elutriation. It may be here observed, that the efFervea- GEDRGICAL ESSAYS. 241 cencc ensuing upon the application of acids to marl, cannot be relied upon as a certain indi- cation of the quantity of calcarious earth con- tained in such substances. Numerous in- stances of the truth of this afsertion have oc- curred to me. For the effervescence varies, both in violence and duration, according to the strength of the acid employed ; but it varies still more according to the penetrability and other more secret circumstances of the cal- carious bodies. SECTION yi. I next examined what effects fire would produce upon marl in its natural state. As many marls contain a very considerable pro- portion of calcarious earth, I expected that nearly the same changes would be produced upon them by calcination, as upon lime-stone. Experiment XVII. A piece of the marl of Experiment III. ^weighing eighty grains, was kept in a strong fire for two hours. Its weight was thereby reduced to fifty-two grains, and its colour, from a blueish white, changed to a reddish brown. Its hardnefs was at the fame time Volume L Q 242 CEORGICAL ESSAYS. considerably augmented; and though, when immersed in it's natural state into water, it gra- dually relented and fell down into powder; yet now it neither suffered any change from that fluid, nor communicated to it any thing per- ceptible by the sight, taste, or smell. Not- withstanding this, when it was reduced to pow- der *, it afforded, upon the affusion of water,, as pungent lime-water as any quick-lime could do. XVIII. The marl of Experiment VI. by burning loft" near a third of its weight, and acquired a very remarkable hardnefs. When put into water in this state, it did not relent in the smallest degree, though naturally it difsolved readily in it. The laminated marl of Experiment VII. suffered precisely the same changes from burn- ing. * The pulverization of all burnt marls, that contain any considerable proportion of clay, is absolutely necef- sary to extract' a lime-water from them. Inattention to this circumstance has, I believe, produced some mistakes. When shell-marl is burnt, pulverization is seldom re- quisite; because this substance being naturally of a loose and spungy texture, and acquiring little cohesion in the fire, allows the water an easy accefs to its calcari- ous earth. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 243 XIX. The marl of Experiment VII t. when burnt and thrown into water, did not fall freely into powder, but loosened into pieces, which easily- yielded to the prefsure of the finger. This marl, before burning, difsolved very slowly in water. XX. The marls of Experiment IX. X. XI. suf- fered, in their natural state, scarce any per- ceptible change from water; but, when suffi- ciently burnt, they swelled and fell down in water like lime-stone. XXI. A drachm of shell-marl. Experiment XIV. was, by burning, reduced to forty-two grains, and then spontaneously yielded a strong lime- water. From these experiments it appears, that the calcarious earth of marl is equally calcinable to quick-lime, whether it is exposed to the ac- tion of fire before or after its separation from the other earths. Q2 244 GEORGlfcA'L ESSAYS. It is now sufficiently evident, that the nature of marl * has a very intimate affinity to that of lime-stone. A gentle gradation from the one to the other of these substances may be easily traced out J but it will be difficult, I believe, to establish the precise limits of either. Both of them are found in continued strata; both of them difsolve in part, with considerable ef- fervescence, in acids; and both of them yield by calcination a quick-lime In the foregoing experiments, however, two very remarkable differences occur: By being exposed to the air, marl' falls down into dustj lime-stone re- tains its original stability. On the contrary, after undergoing the action of fire, lime-stone is reduced to powder by the application of water; marl suffers ho such change. This diversity cannot, with justice, be ascribed to the different proportions of calcarious earth in these two bodies. For the marl of Experi- ment VII. did not contain lefs of this than the lime-stone of Experiment XII. and in the marls of Experiments III. VI. VII. the pro- * By marls I mean such calcarious substances as are visibly reduced to powder by influence of air and moisture. Such only are real marls. Others, as those of Experi- ments IX. X. XI. decline towards lime-stone. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 245 portion of this earth was. considerably greater than in the marls of Experiments X. XL; yet, after sufficient burning, the latter relented in water, the former did not. Nay, when a part of a bed of stone, which contained only one- third of calcarious earth, was calcined and put into water, it instantly fell down into powder; whereas marl, containing four-fifths of calcari- ous earth, underwent no such change from the same treatment. The cause of the difference then must be sought for in the unsoluble part of these sub- stances. Upon comparing the Experiments related in Sections III. and VI. I observe that all the residua^ consisting of any considerable proportion of sand, were extracted from sub- stances which, in a natural state, suffered veiy little change from water ; though, after calci- nation, water immediately reduced them to powder. On the contrary, the residua of clay were obtained from bodies pofsefsed of just the opposite properties. That this observation will apply uaiversally, I dare not venture to affirm; but it appears to point out a probable solution of the present difficulty. To explain this in the most intelligible manner, it is necefsary to observe, Imo, That dry clay suffers a very Q3 246 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. singular change from immersion in water. For its particles, then gradually receding from mutual contact, come at length entirely to lose their cohesive power ; in consequence of which, the whole mafs, after increasing in its volume, crumbles down into powder. 2do, That clay, by the action of fire, not only acquires a con- siderable degree of hardnefs, but is at the same time so altered in its nature, that the water can no longer make any imprefsion on it. 3^/o, That gand in its natural state suffers, from the influ- ence of water, no change as to the cohesion of its particles J and that it acquires no consider- able hardnefs in the fire. 4^o, That calcarious earth, when uncalcined, suflfers as little change from water as sand does; but that, after calci- nation, it is affected in the same manner by that fluid, as clay is in its natural state. These things being premised, the difficulty is easily surm.ounted. Upon the exposing of marl to the air, the clay in its composition, moistened from time to time by the rain and dews, gra- dually moulders away; and, in consequence of this, the cohesion of the whole mafs is at last destroyed. On the other hand, when this niarl is calcined, the increased cohesion of its clay locks in the calcarious particles, and, denying admifsion to the water, fupports the G.EORGICAL ESSAYS. 247 mafs against the action of this fluid *. Lime- stone, on the .contrary, and other substances consisting of .calcarious earth, or calcarious earth and sand compacted into a solid mafs, undergo no change from being exposed to the air; because none of their constituent parts have their cohesion diminished by the in- iiuence of moisture. But, when these sub- stances are calcined and thrown into water, .as the calcarious particles then recede from mutual contact with a force which the cohesion of the particles of sand, if there is any, is not sufficient to resist, the whole composition must immediately fall into powder ■(•.. * Stone marls, upon being exposed to the air, divide ifirst into mafses of a considerable bulk. These divisions run for the most part horizontally or perpendicularly, with respect to the natural situation of the marl. Upon •examining the divided surfaces, I find them covered with a thin coat of very fine clay, with little or no mixture of •calcarious earth. Hence it is evident, why the resolution •begins at the parts where this clay lies. •}• It would appear that, in clay-marls, the particles of -clay are disposed in such a manner as to touch one ano- ther, and, at the same time^ to prevent the mutual con- tact of the calcarious particle.s. According to this dis- position, each particle of calcarious earth will be surroun- ded with a coat of clay. It is difficult to conceive how, Q4 248 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Thus it appears, that matls differ from other calcarious substances, only by containing a certain proportion of clay. On which account, the clafs of calcarious bodies will admit of a division into such substances as in the air fall down into powder, and such as do not. without some such arrangement, the changes mentioned above should be produced. Unlefs the clay cements the calcarious earth, water, which only influences the clay, would scarcely bring about the resolution of marl ; nor would the calcination of this substance, which transports the property of relenting in water from the cla) to" the calcarious earth, produce the effects ascribed to it above. Besides this, water, so far as is yet known, only destroys the attraction of the particles of clay to one another, not the attraction of those particles to any other substance ; therefore, uniefs the particles of clay contained in any marl were in mutual contact, the application of water to that marl would produce no effect. On the other hand, when marl of considerable purity is calcined, if the cal- carious particles were in contact with one another, not even the increased cohesion of the clay would be able to prevent their separation, considering the quantity of calcarious earth contained in such marls, and the force .with which that earth, after calcination, explodes in water. But if you conceive the calcarious particles as separately involved in clay, which in its natural state readily falls down in water, and, after burning, denies admittance to that fluid, all the phenomena are easily accounted for. Besides all this, facts are not wanting to justify the supposition of this arrangeqient. Acids, GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 24-9 SECTION vir. The two following experiments were made with a view to discover what change the action of fire produced upon the calcaneus earth of marl with regard to its solubility in acids. however stronjr, cannot extract anv calcarious earth from calcined marl, except such particles as lie upon tlie brokea surface ; and when these particles are thus carried away, the surrounding particles of clay, though more easily separated, still retain their former situation and attach- ments; which shows that such particles are fixed to one another, and can support themselves in their place with- out any afsistance from the calcarious earth. But when water is applied to marl in its natural state, it gradually makes its way through the whole mafs which it reduces to powder. This, therefore, is a proof that the calcarious particles of marl have no mutual cohesion, since the whole mafs moulders down as soon as the cohesion of the clay is destroyed. And, as no acid can find admittance deeper than the surface to difsolve the calcarious earth in cai- cined marl, we may conclude, that taking out one particle of this earth does not open a ])afsage to another; und therefore, that these particles lie in separate cells. From what is here said, we may plainly see the necc'sity of pulverization in Experiments XVII. and XXII.; and like- wise how it happens, that when the clay, mixed with a calcarious earth, is below a certain proportion, the com- •position, when burnt, cannot resist the influence of water. It may be here asked, how it happens that acids can find admittance to the calcarious earth of marls, even in their fSO GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Experiment XXII. Thirty grains of the marl of Experiment IIL were, by burning, reduced to twenty. These ■just taken from the fire, and powdered, were mixed with a quantity of diluted acid of sea- natural state, as each particle is supposed to be surrounded by a coat of clay ? As to this particular, it must be con- sidered, that ajcids contain a x:onsiderabIe quantity of water, which acts upon the clay, at the same time that the acid is acting upon thecalcarious earth. Hence it is that the addition of water to the purer acids, facilitates the resolution of the marls to which they are applied. Besides this, in all pieces of marl, some particles of cal- jcarious earth must be exposed. The acid, in difsolving these, sets at liberty their entangled air. This now restored to an elastic state, pushes every way with great force, breaks the shells of clay contiguous to it, and, by that means, exposes more of the calcarious particles to the contact of the acid. Thus the solution is carried on. Some of the foregoing reasoning may be applied in favour of the following supposition. Jt is probable, that in a compound consisting of calcarious earth and sand, the particles of the former surround and cement those of the latter. From this arrangement it is, that when such a composition is calcined and put into water, the whole relents into powder, though only the calcarious earth is affected. In the same manner, when acids are applied to this calcined substance, they iind no difficulty, even with- out a previous pulverization, and without the afsistance of effervescence, to reduce the whole to powder j because .they difsolve the cement. GEORGICAL ESSAYS.-- 251 salt*. No visible effervescence ensued upon the mixture ; but a remarkable degree of heat was generated. When as much of the acid was added, as I judged necefs^ry to difsolve all the calcarious earth contained in the marl, I filtered the mixture in the usual way. The residue weighed four grains, did not concrete by drying, and was considerably whiter than the residue of the marl in its natural state. The filtered liquor was of a yellowish hue, and, upon the addition of an alkaline solution, precipitated twenty-eight grains of a reddish powder. XXIII. Twenty grains of shell marl, calcined in Experiment XXI. generated, with the acid of ^ea-salt, a considerable degree of heat, but without any effervescence. The unsoluble residue weighed thirteen grains, and the powder precipitated from the filtered liquor, eighteen. * The raution formerly given with regard to pro- curing lime-water from ca'cined marl, must also be ob- served in the applicalion of acids to this body; for, with- out a previous pulverization, the experiment is generally unsuccefsful. 252 GEORGICAE ESSAYS; Twa circumstances, worthy of attention^ occur in these Experiments, The one is, the absence of effervescence during the solution of the calcarious earth ; the other is, the remark^ able difference betwixt the w^eight of substance carried off from the marls by the acid of sea salt, and the weight of the powders afterwards precipitated from that acid. ■I Both these unusual appearances may be easily accounted for from Dr. Black's ingenious experiments *. As to the first, the efferves- cence which ensues upon the application of acids to any calcarious substance in its natural state, proceeds solely from the expulsion of air contained in that substance, Calcarious earths are, by calcination, totally deprived of their air J therefore those earths, in this state, never can excite any effervescence with acids. Hence the absence of any such commotion in the two foregoing experiments is easily explained. As to the other circumstances, calcarious earths by calcination lose about a third of their weight. This lofs is found to proceed from the expulsion of air and moisture naturally * Edinb. Phys. Efs. vol. II. Art. 8. ^EORGICAL ESSAYS. 253 contained in such earths. Both this air and moisture, and consequently the original weight, are, according to Dr. Black's observations *, restored to such calcined substances by difsol- ving them in acids, and then precipitating them by an alkaline salt. As the marls em- ployed in the foregoing experiments had un- dergone the action of fire, their calcarious earth would necefsarily be deprived of its natural proportion of air and moisture ; on which ac- count, the solution of this earth in the muriatic acid, and its subsequent precipitation, by re- storing what was lost in the fire, could not fail considerably to increase its weight. And from thence it happens, that the weight of the pre- cipitated powders, added to that of their re- spective residues, equalled pretty exactly the weight of the marls before calcination. It may be also remarked, that the burnt marl of Experiment XXII. yielded, a smaller pro- portion of residue than the same marl in its natural state did. For when this marl Was ex- amined as taken from the pit, its unsoluble parts were nearly a third of the whole -, after •undergoing the action of fire, they did not * Treatise formerly cited. ^54 GEORGICAL ESSAYS exceed a jfifth *. This difference, I imagine, is the effect of iron contained in the present marl. Iron in ore, discovers none of its me- tallic properties, and consequently is not then soluble in any of the acids f . But when a body containing iron is calcined in contact with an inflammable substance, that metal im- mediately afsumes its distinguishing qualities, and of consequence becomes obedient to the magnet, and soluble in acids. Therefore when our marl, in its natural state, was examined * They did not amount to a seventh part of the weight which the mar! had before it was put into the fire. For the weight of the marl then was thirty grains, the weight of the residue extracted after cakination was, only four, f it^forri a lale observation, I have some reason to doubt the truth of this afsertion. Whilst I was exaraifting some shell marl, the following unusual appearances occurred to me during its efferveieence with the muriatic acid : A pungent sulphureous vapour struck the nose ; vvhen the effervescence was at an end, the acid had acquired a peculiar disagreeable. styptic taste, resembling the taste of the tinctura martis. Upon the addition of an alkaline salt to this liquor, when filtered, an ochrey film rose to the surface ; and a brown-coloured powder fell to the bottom. Having re-difsolved part of this precipitated powder in the acid of sea-salt, I added to the solution some drops of the tincture of galls. Instantly a deep black colour was produced by the mixture. The ex- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 255 by the acid of sea-salt, the iron contained in it suffered no change, but remained in the filter as part of the residue. On the other hand, when this marl, surrounded on all sides by burning pit-coal, was properly calcined, its iron became soluble in acids, and consequently fit to pafs through the filter, with the calcari- ous earth invisibly suspended in the acid of sea salt. Thus it is evident that, in all marl's containing iron, the proportion of unsoluble parts must be diminished by calcination. A istence of Iron in the marl under examination being thus demonstrated, I wanted to know what proportion of that metal was contained in this substance. For this purpose, having mixed fifty drops of the acid of sea-salt with one hundred and twenty drops of pure water^ I difsolved in this mixture ten grains of the precipitated powder above- mentioned ; consequently seventeen drops of this solu- tion contained a grain of the powder. Into twelve ounces of water were put seven drops of this solution. In an equal quantity of the same water was difsolved half a grain of pure salt of steel. To each of these were added forty drops of a tincture of galls. The water which contained our solution became thereby consi- derably darker in its colour than the other. Therefore ten grains of the precipitated powder contained more iron than fourteen grains and a half of pure salt of steel. This marl communicated none of its iron to plain water. About a third part of its substance was soluble in the " acid of sea-salt. 2c^6 GEORGiCAL ESSAYS. proof of the existence of iron in the rnarl undef consideration, is its acquiring ^a reddish cast in the fire, which all clays that contain iron are observed to do. That this iron remains with the residue, when the marl is analysed in its natural state, and pafses off with the calca- neus earth, when the analysis is performed after the marl is calcined, is evident from some circumstances in the foregoing experiments. For the calcarious earth, extracted from marl in its natural state, was always white * ; the residue by the the action of fire became red f . On the other hand, the calcarious earth of cal- cined marl had a reddish appearance, and the residue was w,hite J. SECTION VIII. All the foregoing experiments were ^directed towards the resolution of marl. I next at- tempted an artificial composition of this sub- stance. Experiment XXIV. Seven parts of pure chalk were mixed, and, * Experimer.t XV. f Experiment IV. J Experi- ment XXII. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 257 by the afsistance of water, well kneaded with one part of tough clay. This paste, when dry^ relented suddenly upon the application of water. Water also readily reduced it to powder, after a sufficient calcination. From this, and the Experiments IX. and XX. it appears, that all proportions of clay and calcarious earth com- pounded together, will not resist the influence of water applied to them after calcination. XXV. Fotir parts of chalk were properly kneaded with one part of clay, and dried. This mix- ture, when calcined and put into water, suf- fered no perceptible change. The event was the same, whatever proportion of clay was used ; provided this was not lefs than the pro- portion employed in the last composition. XXVI. Four parts of chalk, one part of sand, and one of clay, were well kneaded together, and dried. When this mixture was put into water after calcination, it cracked in several places, but did not fall down into powder. From this we see, that the addition of a little sand to the proportions used in the last experiment, makes Volume /. R 255 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. a composition unable, when sufficientlyburned^ to resist the influence of water. And this hap- pens, because such an addition augments the surfaces to be connected farther than the clay can be properly extended. For this reason it is, that a greater proportion of sand than what is employed in this experiment, gives a com- position which the action of fire renders unable to resist water in the smallest degree. Com- pare Experiments VII. and VIII. with Expe- riments XVIII. and XIX. XXVII. Six parts of chalk, two parts of sand, and one part of clay, gave a composition, which, when calcined and put into water, immedi- ately fell down into powder. I have seen a lime-stone consisting of the same proportion, of earths. It may be remarked, that though the last composition, and that of Experiment XXIV. quickly relented in water after calcination, yet many little mafses in both suffered no change. This was probably owing to some inequalities in the mixture, by which the particles of clay were in some places allowed to remain in con- tact with one another. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 259» xxviir. Equal parts of quick-lime * and sand were kneaded together and dried. In this state the mafs suffered no change from water ; but when properly burnt, it exploded in water with con- siderable violence. XXIX. A piece of old mortar, after calcination, fell down immediately in water. This mortar, ex- amined by the acid of sea-salt, appeared to consist of calcarious earth and sand, in equal proportions f. Thus it is manifest, that calcarious earth and clay constitute a substance pofsefsed of the properties of marl ; and that a mixture of the same earth and sand, even in equal proportions^ * I could by no means make crude calcarious earth cohere with sand in such a manner as to resist either the slightest touch, or the influence of water. f In the same manner, the proportion of sand in any mortar may be easily examined ; and, consequently, the composition of such mortars as have, for many ages, with- atood the effects of time, may be thus discovered. R2 260 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. is not destitute of the most distinguishing cha- racters of lime-stone. These circumstances serve to support the account formerly given of the natural composition of marl and lime-stone, whilst at the same time they show that marls, considered as calcarious bodies, may surpafs many lime-stones in purity. Marls, however, are limited in the proportion of their calcarious earth. They cannot, according to my obser- vations, contain much above four-fifths of it. Lime-stone may consist entirely of this earth. From the affinity betwixt marls and lime- stone, we may see whence it happens, that a bed of the latter is often found interposed be- twixt two beds of the former. The calcari- ous earth in both is the same. The subsidence of clay in the one case, and sand or nothing in the other, along with that earth, makes all the difference. Among beds of marl, a bed of coarse stone sometimes occurs. This stone, however, I have generally found to contain a considerable proportion of calcarious earth ; but the quantity of this earth was too small to procure the stone the denomination of lime- stone ; and the quantity of clay in it was not sufficient to intitle it to a place among marls. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 261 SECTION IX, Having in this manner analysed marl as newly dug from the ground, I next proceed to examine this substance after its exposition to the air. The Experiments III. IV. XV. XVI. XVII. were repeated upon marls that had been exposed for many months. The events were the same, as when the experi- ments were made upon newly-dug marl ; nay, part of a stratum of stone-marl, after it had been exposed for three years to the open air, and had undergone all the visible changes that usually proceed from such an exposition, dis- covered the same proportions of calcarious earth and clay, as when it was taken from the pit. Marl, when used as a manure, is generally supposed to attract from the air a certain acid spirit, with which it combines into a neutral salt, the powerful promoter of vegetation. I shall here add an account of two experiments, made with a view to ascertain the existence of that salt. Experiment XXX. Two drachms of clay-marl, which had been R3 262 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. exposed to the air for six months, were digested, with a considerable heat, in ten ounces of w^a- ter. This water, after twenty-four hours, was filtered off, and the same quantity again added. After the same space of time, this second wa- ter was also filtered off. The marl being then dried, wanted a grain of its original weight. None of the filtered waters suffered any change from the addition of an alkaline salt. Both of them were, by a gradual evaporation, reduced to the quantity of an ounce. This differed in no visible manner from the waters before eva- poration, except that, after standing a little time, it deposited a small quantity of a grayish insipid earth, which, after a very brisk effer- vescence, difsolved entirely in the acid of nitre. Nothing but such an earth remained, when the evaporation was pushed to drynefs. XXXI. Two drachms of shell-marl, which for three years had been exposed to the open air, were treated precisely in the manner described in the foregoing experiment, and in every respect with the same appearances. The marl, after digef- tion, wanted half a grain of its original weight. The filtered waters suffered no change from the alkaline solution, and left, upon evaporation, a small quantity of calcarious earth. GEORGICAL ESSAY'S. 263 These two experiments seem to contradict the common opinion with regard to the opera- tion of marl in agriculture j for the marls here employed had certainly been exposed as long as might have been sufficient for the attraction of a considerable portion of the aerial acid, and the consequent formation of a sensible quantity of a neutral salt. But these marls evidently contained nothing of a saline nature. For, by digestion in water, the proper menstruum of every salt, they suffered in weight no dimi- nution of any consequence. The grain want- ing in Experiment XXX. and the half grain in Experiment XXXI. may be safely allowed as the consequence of lofs of substance, which no attention can prevent in the procefs of such experiments. But supposing this diminution of weight really to proceed from the solution of some saline substance, such an inconsider- able quantity of salt will by no means account for the effects produced by marl j therefore these effects must proceed from some .other -cause. The filtered waters left, upon their evapora- tion, a substance which did not in the smallest degree partake of the nature of salt. Besides this, an alkaline solution added to these waters R4 264 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. produced upon them no visible alteration ; which would not have been the case, if they had extracted anything of a saline nature from the marls. For, as marl contains no alkaline salt*, the calcarious earth alone of this sub- stance could serve as a basis for the formation of a neutral salt; and it is well known, that all such neutral salts are, after solution in water, immediately decompounded by the addition of an alkaline salt, which never fails to throw the earth to the bottom in form of a white powder. Therefore, if our waters had ex- tracted any salt from the marls with which they were digested, the alkaline solution would infallibly have discovered itf , It may be objected, that the heat employed in the foregoing experiments was too incon- * Experiments I. II. f Having difsolved twenty-seven grains of pure chalk in a drachm of the nitrous acid, and mixed the solution, with five diacl.ras of water, I found that one drop of this mixture couid, by the alkaline solution, be discovered in two ounces of soft water. But no more than a sixth part of that drop, at the utmost, can be considered as salt; therefore one drop, equal in weight to a grain of pure salt, will be discoverable in twelve ounces of water. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 265 siderable to promote the solution of the salt contained in the marls under examination. But, to obviate this objection, it must be con- sidered, that the heat, in which these ex- periments were made, greatly exceeded any heat to which the soil in our climate is ever exposed. From whence it is evident, that whatever proportion of salt our marls may ac- quire from the air, this salt never can con- tribute by its solubility to vegetation j and consequently marls cannot act in the manner that is generally supposed. Besides, to re- move all doubt with regard to this point, I boiled in water, during an hour, two drachms of the marl of Experiment XXX. This marl, when afterwards settled by filtration and dried, weighed two drachms and a grain. — The filtered water suffered no change from the alkaline solution. This experiment was repeated with the same appearances upon the shell-marl of Experiment XXXII. — Hence it is manifest, that our marls, by ex- position to the air, had acquired nothing of a saline nature. In Experiments XXX. XXXI. it is men- tioned, that the digested waters left, upon 266 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. their evaporation, a small quantity of real cal- carious earth. Lest this earth should be sus- pected to proceed from some marly salt de- compounded in the progrefs of the evaporation, it must be observed, that the pure fountain water employed in these experiments, de- posited, by the same treatment, a quantity of calcarious earth equal to what was afforded by the digested waters ; and, from this cir- cumstance, we may perceive whence pro- ceeded the increase in the weight of the marl which had been subjected to so long boiling. Upon the surface of some marly rocks which looked towards the north, and had. been exposed time immemorial to the open air, I found a thin white efflorescence. In many places, where water trickled down from the rocks above, mofs, to the thicknefs of some inches, had been in time accumulated,, and was now crusted over with a hard white substance. Below this crust, the different plants of mofs were found disposed in a very regular manner, and soldered together by a substance similar to the crust. Here I ex- pected to have found the salt of marl, but could not, by any treatment, discover the GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 267 smallest indication of it, The mineral acids, after a very brisk effervescence, difsolved en- tirely both the efflorescence from the surface of the rock, and the matter which adhered to the mafs. From this circumstance it appears, that these substances consisted solely of the calcarious earth of the marl, freed from t\\& other earths, by the moisture, &c. whosfi action it had for many years undergone. These marls were exposed alone to the air. Whether, when incorporated with the soil, such substances may be more readily con- Verted, in their calcarious part, into salt proper for the nutrition of vegetables, experi- ment alone can determine. Some circum- stances in the manufacture of nitre seem to persuade us that they may. On the contrary., observations are not wanting which appear to take greatly from the probability of such all opinion j for marls are found to produce the most remarkable effects on light exhausted soils, where they can find little* or nothing proper for furthering the nitrous procefs, oi" the production of any salt we are yet ac- quainted with. Hov/ever that may be, I think we are authorised by the foregoing experiments to afsert, that marl acquires 268 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. nothing of a saline nature by being exposed alone to the open air*. If no salt is formed upon marl from its ex- position to the air, how does marl operate ? An answer to this questiod would necefsarily lead us to consider the operation of manures in general ; a subject too extensive and in- tricate to be discufsed within the narrow Jimits of this efsay. * The following observation, however, must not be concealed. Upon a stratum of marl, which, with others, had been exposed for ages to the open air, I found a whitish saline efflorescence in considerable quantity. — This efflorescence was moist,and difsolved readily in water. An alkaline salt added to a solution of it immediately precipitated a calcarious earth. After separating this earth by filtration, the remaining liquor afforded, by a proper evaporation, many distinct crystals of a cubical figure. They tasted like sea-salt, crackled in the fire, and, by the addition of the vitriolic acid, emitted copious suffocating fumes. Hence it appears, that the salt found upon this marl consisted of the muriatic acid, united to calcarious earth. It is singular that no vestige of this salt appeared upon any of the beds of marl but one, and this one had nothing peculiar either in its composition or situation. It differed from the rest in this only, it was pofsefsed of a greater degree of moisture. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 269 ESSAY XVIII. On Agriculture and Manufactures. J HE improvement of agriculture is an object of more real importance to Great Britain, than any that we can ever have in view. Our com- merce and manufactures are very productive ; but, if in search of this kind of wealth, we neglect the necefsaries and comforts of life, we shall retain the shadow, and lose the sub- stance ; while in the act of doing so we incur the risk of losing both our spirit and inde- pendence, together with that importance among nations which we have gained ; the necefsary effect of our becoming dependent on others for our subsistence. Agriculture, as the first and most important object with all nations of territory, should be carried to the greatest pofsible perfection, before any considerable encouragement is given to manufactures. It ought, indeed, to be considered as the life and soul of all manu- factures, which will every where prosper and 370 GEORGICAL ESSAYS., flourish nearly in proportion as the agriculture of the country is more or lefs in a state of perfection. Some, indeed, who are accustomed to be- lieve that every thing may be accomplished with money, are induced to suppose, that by giving full encouragement to manufactures; bringing them to a state of prosperity, and thereby attracting wealth from abroad, that we must necefsarily encourage our national agriculture at the same time. But, in reality, this is seldom found to happen; perhaps in no instance whatever wdth countries that pofsefs any considerable extent of territory. Nations abounding in population, as well as in the necefsaries of life, will always derive advantage from a flourishing state of their manufactures ; and the wealth which these produce will give farther encouragement to the improvement of their soil. But where money is already abundant, and the popula- tion not great, as is precisely the case with this country at present, manufactures, if car- ried beyond a certain extent, will be pro- ductive of the very contrary effect ; and may €ven be carried so far as completely to check the improvement of land. In this state of GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 271 a country, a few opulent merchants and manufacturers, may improve the small landed properties which they pofsefs, in the highest pofsible manner j while a great proportion of the contiguous districts, and even of the whole lands in the nation, equally fit for cultivation, may remain for ages in a state of slow improvement. If much larger profits are to be obtained by manufactures than can pofsibly be got in -agriculture, and if higher wages are given to workmen in the one line than the other can afford, as now is undoubtedly the case in this country, the money-capital of the kingdom will be withdrawn from every scheme con- nected with agriculture, and placed in manu- factures j at the same time that labourers will daily become more difHcult to procure, and at last too expensive to admit of being em- ployed. Even at present, this is so far the case with us, that in many districts agricul- ture is not advancing, and evidently from this cause. For, over the whole nation, it will be found, that while improvements in tillage are still carried on with spirit in counties not pofsefsed of large manufactures, they are very commonly in a state of languor, and even fall- 2ti2 GEORGICAL ESSATS ing behind, where these have prevailed in any considerable degree ; which not only attract almost the whole labourers of their several districts towards them, but even the monied properties of the landholders, as well as of the farmers, who from the temptation which the profits of these extensive works hold forth to them, are often induced either to become partners in them immediately themselves, or to fix their sons in them as partners : by which their farming capitals being diminished, all farther improvements of their farms are either put entirely out of their power, or they pro- ceed with much lefs energy and effect. So far, indeed, has the influence of this in many districts gone, that if it be not quickly counter- acted, more national harm is likely to ensue from it than all the wealth which the most flourishing state of our manufactures can pro- duce, will ever be able to compensate. ~ Nor is our situation, in this important point, in any degree singular : similar causes will every where be productive of similar effects. And, accordingly, in every kingdom of Europe, (I am still alluding to nations pofsefsed of considerable territorial property) such as France, Germany, and Italy, it is GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 273 \voll known that, with scarcely any exception, agriculture has been most perfectly carried on in those places where extensive manufac- tures have never existed. I do not from this mean to conclude, that manufactures in this country ought not to be encouraged ; but I consider it as a fair argu- ment in support of an opinion which I wish to establish, that while any considerable part of our improveable territory is left neglected and unproductive, particularly while we are obliged to apply yearly to other nations for a large supply of corn, which an improved cultivation of our own fields would render un- necefsary, it is for the general interest and security of every part of the realm, that the most decisive encouragement should be given to agriculture : by which abundance being secured of all the necefsaries of life, with their constant concomitant, an extensive popula- tion, every manufacture in the kingdom might then with more propriety be encouraged, than can with safety be done at present. Some have been induced to suppose, and even boldly to afsert, that the agriculture of Great Britain cannot be brought to a higher Volume // S 274 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. state of perfection than that to which it has already attained : but this is so entirely con- trary to fact, that all who are versed in rural- affairs will admit, that, \vith due encourage- ment, our agriculture might with ease be im- proved so as to yield considerably more than double ,• probably, three times the present amount of it. For it is not merely the commons and those grounds usually termed wastes, and of which the quantity over the nation is very great, which require improvement : on almost every farm, except perhaps in a few districts of naturally rich soil, and which have long been in a state of high cultivation, every farmer will allow, that with more ample funds, the produce might be greatly in- creased ; by which we might not only be rendered at all times, and in all circumstances, completely independent of other nations for our supplies of corn, but enabled to support a much more extensive population! Objects of such magnitude and importance, that, in the view of national strength, security, and comfort, scarcely any other can be compared to. Nor W'Ould it be either difficult or expen- sive to give such encouragement to this georgicAl essays. 273 source of wealth and prosperity, as, in no great length of time, would carry it to a de- gree of perfection which it may otherwise never be able to attain. All that a scheme for this purpose appears to require, is an annual and generous allowance in money, which the nation, even in the expensive war in which it is engaged, appears to be suf- ficiently able to afford ; this money to be placed under the direction of the Board of Agriculture, to be employed in giving anima- tion to the husbandry of the united kingdoms. The immediate advantages would be, that it Would quickly produce a more ample supply of all the necefsaries of life, than hitherto we have ever pofsefsed, together with all the beneficial effects which never fail to result from their being abundant. And here I beg leave to observe, that, among other improve- ments, a particular encouragement should be given to the cultivation of potatoes, which, being a nutritious and perishable root, will at iill times operate against the combination of monied men^ who having it in their power to hoard up all kinds of grain, can, by that act, make a plentiful harvest have the same opera- tion upon the public as a bad one. Agricul- ture, under due encouragement, will neces- S2 216 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. sarily tend to a rapid increase of population ; and by exciting in our youth a greater bias for the improvement of land than for manu- factures, it would render them more healthy, more attached to their country, and therefore more to be depended on for its protection, than men can in general be whose lives are usually spent in difsipation, as too frequently happens with the lower clafs of manufacturers, when collected, as they now commonly are, in large numbers together 3 and who seldom place any value upon a country^ but in pro- portion to the money that they receive in it for their workmanship. Exceptions to this are, no doubt, to be met with ; but it must be admitted, that a nation, whose youth consists mostly of manufacturers, will never be so secure or independent, as it would be with the same population employed in the cultiva- tion of land. We have now the satisfaction of knowing that the population of England is not lefs than ten millions ; and as it is incum- bent upon Government to provide for the support of so many persons, without having recourse to foreign nations for every kind of grain, I flatter myself that the adoption of the annexed plan will be attended with the ma- terial advantage of letting us know the quaii- INSERT FOLDOUT HERE CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 277 tity of land that ought to be in constant cultivation for the maintenance of a given number of people. Upon the supposition that seven millions of persons eat wheaten bread, about six millions of acres should be annually employed in raising wheat sufficient for eighteen months consumption. This, in a few years, would place us in the amiable situation of being exporters of grain to a con- siderable amount : a thing devoutly to be wished for. Notwithstanding there can be neither difficulty nor danger in the execution of this plan, I am convinced that Parliamentary authority will be required towards attaining regular and correct Returns from the respective parishes. The mildnefs of this mode is a great recom- mendation to it. Measures of a more rigor- ous nature would not be well received. 278 GEORGICAL ESSAYS, ESSAY XIX. On Goose Dun:;, nihil improbiis anser, Strymoniaeque grues, et aniaris intuba iibris, Officiunt, aut umbra nocet ViRG. Georg. Book I. V. 119, Mr. HOLDSWORTH, in his very judicious remarks upon Virgil, makes the following ob- servation upon the above pafsage. " Virgil speaks of geese, as a very trouble- some bird, and very pernicious to corn.— They are still so, in flocks, in the Campania- Felice, the country which Virgil had chiefly in his eye when he wrote the Georgics." In that remarkable long and severe frost, which happened in the year 1739-40, vast flocks of wild geese came and settled upon the green corn in many parts of Cambridge- shire and Huntingdonshire, which were nearest to the Great Bedford-Level, The farmers, it being quite a new visitation, were very greatly GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 279 alarmed, thinking their crops would be en- tirely ruined by the depredations of those voracious birds ; but very soon after their departure, all those fears subsided, and. they were agreeably surprised in finding, that those corn lands which had been most preyed upon by such new visitants, gave as pleasing a pros- pect for a plentiful crop, as those that had not been touched at aH by them. The very un- common severity of that remarkable winter, locking up all those watery resources for food, within the lower and interior parts of that great level, obliged the birds to migrate in search of it elsewhere ; and having found u new and palatable supply from the green corn, they have ever since come up in vast flocks upon the setting in of sevep^ frosts, and feed upou it, undisturbed by the farmers, as long as the cold weather lasts ; their dung and their trampling, being found, from experience, serviceable, and not in any respect prejudicial. It must be ob- served, that they chiefly rest upon the out- laying lands, or those at a good distance from the towns or villages ; and ti^.at tliose lands are generally of a lighter nature of soil, and also poorer, than those in the lower parts of tbe common fields, which come in for more S4 280 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. than a proportionate share of the yard dung. The green corn, especially the rye, being also commonly depastured, in those lower parts of the field, with ewes and lambs; a most noble advantage to the farmers, where the land is in sufficient heart and strength to allow it. What I would wish to infer from the above observations, is, that general rules, in regard to practices in husbandry, will seldom hold just and true ; I do not doubt, but the wild geese coming in such vast flocks upon the green corn in the Campania-Felice, might, in the time of that very accurate and judicious writer, be found to do injury to the crops 5 and, pofsibly, the same observation may still hold true — much depends upon the nature of the soil, much upon the climate, and, probably, still much more upon the stage of growth the corn is in when it is preyed upon by those de- vouring birds. Doctor Martyn is pleased to observe upon this pafsage, *• That the goose is injurious wherever it comes, by plucking up every thing by the roots." Columella quotes Celsus much to the same purpose, ^'Quicquid tenerum contingere potest, carpit." Palladius says, " Locis consitis, inimicus est, quia sata, et morfu la;dit et stercore." This notion of the dung of geese injuring thq GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 281 grounds where they feed, still prevails amongst some few country people ; but experience will convince us, that grafs grows as well under the dung of those animals as most others. As to those bare places which are observable where geese very much frequent, they are occasioned by their drawing up some of the g'-afs by the roots, and not from any noxious quality in their dung ; as there is great reason to believe it to be of a very fertilizing nature, though not so much so as that of sea- birds, they feeding much upon animal food. There is a small island at the entrance of the Lancaster channel, called Fowlly Island; a name supposed to be given it from the immense quantities of sea-fowls or birds, that constnntly frequent it; the grafs upon it is uncommonly sweet and nourishing ; the beef and mutton fed there being remarkablv fine flavoured as well as fat. This island main- tains an unusual quantity of stock, for the size of it, both summer and winter; and its fertility, as well as the excellent quality of the grafs, are seemingly owing to the vast quan- tities of dung deposited there by those marine birds. The tarmers are so much convinced pf it, that they will not suffer those birds to 282 GEORGfCAL ESSAYS. be disturbed, if they can prevent it, at any time ; but especially at the breeding season, when the whole island is covered with nests of various kinds. I am certain that considerable quantities of most valuable manure might be raised by farmers who live near large commons, and keep great flocks of geese, if they would use the best methods of obtaining it. It is ob- servable, that the goose being a domestic bird, generally makes towards its own home- stal, or place of breeding, about the close of day, and remains there till about sun-rising. If they were to be regularly housed at night, in some empty out-buildings, and the place, every four or days, littered with straw, or weeds cut down before they perfect their seeds, much valuable manure might be ob- tained from that neglected source. The same advantage might be reaped by littering the places where other kinds of poultry regularly go to roost, or strewing the places frequently with saw-dust, or coal-ashes finely sifted. — Every three or four weeks the places should be cleaned out, and the dung laid up in heaps to ferment, either by itself, or mixed with soil, or scourings of ponds or ditches, which GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 283 would considerably increase the quantity, and, for some uses,' improve the quality too. By such attentive managements, farmers would probably obtain seven or eight additional loads of excellent manure annually, an object that will not be contemned or neglected by any farmer that understands his businefs well : for the great difference that is found or ob- served between the management of different persons in that useful businefs, arises more from the very different attention paid to the minutiae of it, than to the great outlines or general practices ; for, he that does not pay daily and hourly attention to the latter, does not deserve the name of a farmer, nor will he continue one long, at least to any beneficial purpose j but he that pays strict attention to the former, will soon experience the mani- fest advantages resulting from it ; his fields, his crops, will evidently show it. Any one versed in the valuable writings of the ancients upon subjects of husbandry, will soon perceive the very great strefs that is laid by them upon an unremitting attention to every pofsible method of procuring manures. The great advantage of folding sheep upon ploughing grounds, is too well known to re- .quire noticing ; yet there are many sensible ■2t4- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. writers and farmers too, that think it more eligible to house the sheep every night in pro- per buildings for the purpose, which arc littered with straw, or covered frequently with layers of fresh dry mould, and that the advan- tage procured by such practice, in the quan- tity of rich manure obtained by it, will far more than compensate for the additional trouble and expense. There are many good farmers also, in the grazing way, who con- stantly keep collecting the dung or dropping* of their cattle ; laying them up in heaps, mixed with straw or other vegetable sub- stances, or with soil. And when the heaps have lain for some time to meliorate, turn them over, mixing with them lime, or sifted dry coal-ashes, or both. This excellent com- post is afterwards regularly spread over such parts of their grafs-grounds as stand most in need of such afsistance. Such a practice contributes much to the neatnefs, as well as improvement of such grounds, by preventing partial ranknefs, as well as poverty ; a defect that is visible in most lands, where such necefsary attention has not been paid to them. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 285 ESSAY XX. On the Advantages of raising Potatoes on Fallffws. xN the parish where I reside, the whole of which, except five acres, is my property, there are thirty cottages, containing 13 1 poor people. I have, for five or six years past, allotted, free from rent, four acres of land, in- tended to be sown with wheat the following autumn, for the cottagers to plant with potatoes ; by which means^ each raises from ten to fifteen sacks, equal to 240 pounds per sack, yearly, in proportion to the number of their children : each has not only sufficient for his family, but he is enabled also to fat a pig. They declare, was I to give among them a hundred pounds, it would not be of' so much benefit to them ; and it is not one shilling out of my pocket, for I have as good, I if not a better, crop of wheat from this land,| as I have from the other part of the field. The method I take is this : the latter end of November I plough the land ; the frost, during the winter, mellows it : the beginning 286 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. of March following, I plough it again, and harrow it ; at both which times I have little to do with my horses : I then divide it into lots ; a man with a large family has a larger lot than a single person, or one who has only two or three children, allowing about five perches (of 167 feet square) to each in a family : they then plant it, and put over their potatoes what manure they have collected the year preceding (for ever}^ cottager has more manure than necefsary for this, from their fires and a variety of other things); and during the summer, after their day's labour is done, they and their wives hoe them ; and as every man works more cheerfully for himself than for another, they do not suffer a wxed to grow. In October they dig them up ; and it is the most pleasant thing imaginable, to see the men, their wives and children, gathering the produce of their little farms, which is to ser\'e them the ensuing winter. AVas this plan generally adopted, the labourers would con- sume but little com ; which would supply the manufacturing towns, and we should have no occasion to import. As four acres are suf- ficient for thirt}' families, it would take but a small qusTitity of land from ever}' farm in the kingdom. The way practised here, is to GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 287 plant the potatoes in furrows, eighteen inches apart, and a foot apart in the rows. The land about me is of different qualities ; on the hills, rather light ; in the vale, near the parish, in- clining to clay ; but all fit for turnips : the potatoes are planted in the low land, being nearer home. The poor, at present, will not live entirely without bread, as many do ia Ireland, though potatoes daily get into use more and more ; and I am persuaded, was my plan generally adopted, in two or three years the labourers in the country would con- sume but little or no corn. Thirty years ago, the poor in this part of the country would not eat potatoes, if they could get other roots or vegetables. 288 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ESSAY xxr. On Drill-Sffwing. X HE anatomical investigation of the roots of wheat and other grain, has convinced me of the necefsity of placing all kinds of seeds at a certain depth in the earth, in order to their producing vigorous and healthful plants. For this wise purpose a variety of drill- ploughs have been invented and recommended; but from the expense attending the purchase, and the extreme complication of their struc- ture, there is not an instrument of that kind, as yet discovered, that is likely to be brought into general use. When I speak of the drill-plough, I do not connect the idea of its working with the horse- hoe. I here consider it only as an instrument for sowing land in equi-distant rows, which, by opening a furrow, shedding the seed and covering it, leaves the land stocked with plants in the manner of broad-cast sowing. Grain sown by the hand, and covered by the harrows, is placed at unequal depths ^ the seeds GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 289 consequently sprout at different times, and produce an unequal crop. When barley is sown late, and a drought succeeds, the grain that was buried in the moisture of the earth soon appears, while such as was left near the surface lies baking in the heat of the sun, and does not vegetate till plentiful rains have moistened the soil. Hence an unequality of the crop, an accident to which barley is particu-- larly liable. The same obsen'ation, but in a mo.re striking manner, may be made upon the sowing of turnips. It frequently happens that the husbandman is obliged to sow his seed in very dry weather, in hopes that rain will soon follow, and either rolls or covers it with a bush-harrow. We will suppose that, contrary to his expectations, the dry weather continues. The seed, being near the surface, cannot sprout without rain. The husband- man is mortified at his disappointment, but is soon satisfied and made easy by a perfect ac- quiescence in what he thinks is the will of Providence. The scourge that he feels must not be placed to the dispensation of Provi- dence, but has its source in the ignorance of the man himself. Had he judiciously buried the seed in the moisture of the soil with the drill-plough, or harrowed it well with the com- - Volume /. T 290 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. mon harrow, his seed would have vegetated in due season, and bountifully repaid him for his toil. The man that expects the seed to vegetate by heat alone, little knows the immutability of nature's laws. Heat and moisture, when combined, unfold the particles of matter closely connected in the seed, and, by a kind of fermentation, bring the living principle into action. The husbandman that knows and studies these sublime truths, will often discover his want of succefs in his want of knowledge. Such a man will never repine at Providence ; but, amidst the adverse calamities of seasons, will at all times look up to the Deity with comfort and satisfaction. Reflections upon this sublime subject can- not be brought down to the level of vulgar minds. Modes more familiar will, in general, be better understood, and more agreeably re- ceived. All mankind are not philosophers. In the year 1769, I prepared a fifteen-acre close for turnips. The land was in fine con^* GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 291 Ciltion as to lightnefs, and had been well ma- nured. On the 24th of June, I sowed four- teen acres of this Held, broad-cast, and har- rowed in the seed with a bush-harrow. The remaining acre I sowed on the same day with the drill-plough, allowing fourteeen inches be- tween each row, and set the shares near two inches deep. At the time of sowing, the land was extremely dry, which induced me to make the experiment with the drill-plough, knowing that I could place the seed into the moisture of the soil. From the time of sow- ing to the fifth day of July we had a continual drought, so that the broad-cast seed did not make its appearance till about the 8th of that month, at which time the drill turnips were in rough leaf, having appeared upon the surface on the sixth day after sowing. In the driest seasons, at the depth of two inches, or lefs, we are sure of finding a suffi- ciency of moisture to make the seed germi- nate. When that is once accomplished, a small degree of moisture will c;irrv on the work of vegetation, and bring the tender plant forward to the surface. When extreme dry weather obliges the T2 292 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. broad-cast farmer to sow late, he has no op- portunity of sowing a second time, if the fly should get into the field. The drill secures him, in some degree, against that misfor- tune, by giving hin^i a full command over the seasons. I do not confine the excellence of the drill- plough to turnip seed : It is an useful instru- ment for sowing all kinds of grain. By bury- ing the seed at an equal depth, it secures an equal crop in all circumstances of the weather. But this is not the only consideration to the cultivator. It saves near one half of his seed, which is an object of importance to the tillage- farmer. In order to be clearly understood upon this subject, 1 beg leave to observe, that I here recommend the drill-plough as a good instru- ment for sowing turnip-seed, when the weather is so dry and sultry as to give the farmer reason to apprehend danger from the late sprouting of the seed. But when the weather favours germination, the broad-cast method, by being more expeditious and lefs expensive, will in general be preferred. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 293 When the farmer chooses to introduce the horse-hoe, the drill must then be recommend- ed in all seasons, on account of its distribut- ing the seed in rows. The shares must be placed deeper, or shallower, according to the drynefs or wetnefs of the season. Was I to give my opinion upon the best method of raising turnips, I should not hesi- tate one moment to declare in favour of the drill and horse-hoe, with intervals of three feet ; but an enlargement of this subject does not come within the idea of the present efsay, which only respects the drill culture, in equi- distant rows, independent of the horse-hoe. Having sufficiently enlarged upon the ne- cefsity of lodging the turnip seed within the earth during an extreme drought, I shall now proceed to an experiment made upon barley, with a view to recommend the sowing of that grain, as well as all others, by the drill- plough, in preference to the customary me- thod. In the spring of the year 1769, I sowed an acre of barley, in equi-distant rows, with the drill-plough, in a field which was sown with T 3 294 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 'the same grain, and upon the same day, broad- cast. The broad-cast took three bushels per acre; the driJl required only six pecks : This circumstance is worthy of observation. The drills were eight inches asunder, and the seed was lodged about two inches within the soil. The drill acre was finished within the hour, and the most distinguished eye could not dis- cover a single grain upon the surface. In the course of growing, the drill barley seemed greener, and bore a broader leaf than the broad-cast. AVhen the ears were formed throughout the field, the ear of the drill bar- ley was plainly distinguished to be near half an inch longer than the broad-cast, and the grains seemed fuller and better fed. This appearance occasioned a general surprise, and I confcfs I was at first at a lofs how to account for this apparent difference. Reflecting upon some experiments, that I had made upon the roots of wheat, I was in- duced to dig up some roots of the drill and broad-cast barley, and was most agreeably sur- prised to find the cause of the difference to be in the roots. The pipe of communication between the seminal and coronal roots of the GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 295 drill-barley, was considerably longer than the broad-cast. And upon that appearance I was convinced that the length of the car, and the strength of the straw principally depended. I shall not here repeat what I have formerly advanced upon the shape of the roots of wheat. The curious reader will find that subject clearly and satisfactorily explained in the fifth efsay of this book. Without an at- tention to this simple mechanism, it is im- pofsible for the cultivator to have any ade- quate idea of the vegetation of corn. It is matter of surprise that such a self-evident truth should have hitherto escaped the ob- servation of naturalists. Upon it the doc- trine of top-drefsings depends. Every person knows their use, but few can explain the man- ner of their operation. But to return. The product of two hundred square yards of the broad-cast and drill barley, was care- fully housed, and afterwards thrashed out. The drill exceeded the other nearly one-fifth in measure, and being a bolder and better grain, weighed heavier, at the rate of two pounds in the bushel. From the experience that I have had of the T 4 296 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. drill-sowing, I can recommend it as a most ra- tional and judicious practice. But as it has many difficulties to overcome, I apprehend it never will be brought into general use. A proper instrument is wanting that would come cheap to the farmer, and have the requisites of strength and simplicity to recommend it. The present instruments cannot, by any means, be put into the hands of common ser- vants. Should we ever be so happy as to see this objection removed, it is probable that all kinds of grain will be cultivated in drills. Corn growing in that manner has a freer en- joyment of air, and the farmer has an oppor- tunity of hand-hoeing and weeding without injury to the growing crop. This is an object of the utmost consequence in the cultivation of beans and winter corn. Wheat placed into the earth by the drill plough, is not liable to be turned out after frosts : The seminal root serves the purposes of an anchor. This is a consideration of great consequence to the farmer. Much more might be advanced upon this curious and interesting part of agriculture, but I flatter myself that these loose thoughts will GEORCICAL ESSAYS . 297 be the means of awakening the attention of others, who have more leisure and greater abi- lities than I have After what I have advanced it will be need- lefs to observe, that in this efsay I only mean to recommend the drill-plough for sowing the land in equi-distant rows, instead of distribut- ing the seed by the hand in the manner called broad-cast. The drill, when connected with the horse-hoe, constitutes quite a different sys- tem, which has great merit when judiciously- conducted. It will not be improper to observe in this place, that most gentlemen who have fa- voured the public with comparative experi- ments between the drill, in equi-distant rows, and the broad-cast, or old method, have chosen an improper distance between the rows, and by that means rendered their comparative trials inconclusive, A foot is the distance generally taken, which, beyond doubt, will not only encourage the growth of weeds, but also prove a considerable lofs of land. The distance should never exceed eight or nine inches, and then the comparative; trial would be conclusive, as both methods are supposed 298 GEORGICAL ESSAYS, to be conducted in the most perfect and ad- vantageous manner, The instrument that I have hitherto used for drilling of grain, is the invention of the inge- nious Mr. Craickj and made by Mr. Creigh- ton, coachmaker, in Edinburgh. It works with four coulters, and is the completest in- strument of the kind that I know of. The price is twelve pounds. One man, a horse, and a boy can easily sow four acres a day : so that if I was only to estimate the saving in seed, I should readily recommend the drill- sowing in equi-distant rows, as a method worthy of national attention. Mr, Benson, of Stainly, near Ripon, is the only farmer that I know of, who conducts his whole farm in this oeconomical and judicious manner. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 299 ESSAY XXIL On Manures J and their Operation. JLT is observed, 'that there are substances^ which, when mixed with the earth, greatly promote vegetation. These are called manures. To apply manures in such a manner, as most effectually to promote vegetation, it is of im- portance to know their natures, and the ways in which they operate. This is the more necefsary, as, without it, we cannot know- how to apply tliem in the most proper man- ner to the different soils. To inquire into these things is the design of this efsay. Manures operate in all the different ways by which vegetation is promoted. They operate, by communicating to the soil, with which they are mixed, the vep;etable food which they contain 3 by communicating SOO GEORGICAL ESSAYS. to it a power of attracting this food in greater pknty from the air; by enlarging the vegetable pasture ; and by difsolving the vegetable food which it is already pofsefsed of, and fitting it for entering the roots of plants. Manures are very different in their natures. Some of them operate in all the ways men- tioned, and there are none of them that do not operate in more ways than one. Great mistakes have arisen, from supposing that manures operate only in one way. None have been attended with greater Icfs, than supposing that they serve only to divide the soil, and that tillage may be substituted in their place. This is Mr. TuU's opinion ; and is, indeed, the fundamental principle of his horse-hoeing husbandry. Before one changes the ordinary practice of agriculture, in so important a point as banish- ing manures from his fields, the good effects of which are so obvious ; he must be certain, that the principle which determines him to so important a change, is itself well founded. Mr. Tull has endeavoured to prove, that GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 301 earth is the food of plants ; and hence infers, that to divide the earth into minute particles, by which it is fitted for entering their roots, is all that is necefsary in agriculture ; And this, he afserts, may be done by tillage, without manures. But it is abundantly evident that other principles, besides earth, are in the com- position of this food : And, if this is true, the want of manures, which provide these other principles, cannot be supplied by tillage. Supposing we allow, with Mr. Tull, that earth is the food of plants, yet still it does not follow, that tillage may supply the place of manures. It is certain, that every particle of earth which we observe, is not of the kind that is the food of plants. Every soil is a composition of different earths -, several of which, it is obvious, are not of this kind. The great difference in soils, equally pul- verised, is a plain and convincing evidence of this. Now, let it be observed, that the earth contained in dung is of this kind j it has al- ready been food to plants, and therefore though all that is contained in the greatest quantity 30{? G&ORGICAL ESSAYS. of dung laid on at one time, is but small in proportion to the quantity of soil employed in vegetation, as Mr. Tull justly observes ; yet it may be considerable in proportion to the quantity that is really the food or pabulum of plants. If the quantity of earth contained in the quantity of dung commonly laid on at one time, is compared with the quantity of earth contained in the richest crop, it will be found several times larger ; and therefore, by tbe laying on of this dung, food is provided for several good crops. Besides, let it be observed, that the me- chanical action of the plough cannot increase tlie number of the particles by which plants are nourished; they are so small as not to be observed in water. Mr. Tull supposes, that they are as small as those upon which the colour of bodies depends. Now, though pounding earth in a mortar may perhaps do something to increase them, yet the action of the plough can never be supposed to do it. The plough can do no more than open the soil, or enlarge the pasture of plants, and allow tliem to extend their roots in search of their food, but does not increase the quantity of it ; and therefore tillage cannot supply the GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 305 place of dung, which not only opens the soil by Its fermentation, b"ut also increases the vegetable food by the earth which it contains. It may be further observed, that the fer- mentation raised by dung, continues for a con- siderable time ; so that though, by plough- ing, the soil may be as completely divided as by the fermentation -of dung, yet it will not continue so ; for, after seed is sown, the arti- ficial pasture raised by ploughing is con- tinually decreasing while the crop is growing; whereas the artificial pasture, raised by the fermentation of dung, is continued by the continuance of this fermentation ; and there* fore, though in the horse-hoeing husbandry, the want of dung may be supplied by hoeing, yet, as Mr. TuU indeed observes, dung is still necefsary in the old husbandry. If persons attentively consider the effects of manures, it will appear that they operate in all the ways mentioned. Manures are found to enrich the best pul- verised soil; and to do this again and again, after it is exhausted by crops. It is almost an universal practice to lay dung upon land that SOI- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. h kept constantly in tillage, once in three, four, or five years. It is observed, that after the dung is laid on, the land becomes rich, and that the crops turn gradually worse and worse, till the whole virtues of the dung are exhausted ; and it is also observ'ed, that im- mediately upon the dung being again applied, the* land becomes rich as before. It is natural to conclude from this, that dung promotes vegetation by increasing the quantity of the vegetable food. It is found, that some manures lose part of their virtues by being long exposed to the air. After dung is sufficiently rotten, the longer tliat it lies it becomes of lefs value, and does not enrich so large a quantity of land as when used in proper time. The dung of cows dried upon their pasture, gathered, and laid upon other land, is scarcely to be discerned in its effects on the crops produced : The same quantity applied, \^hether carried from the cow-house, or by folding the cattle, en- riches the land. From this it is obvious, that this kind of manure contains the vegetable food in itself, and does not receive it from the air. It is found that some manures operate the GEORGICAL ESSAYS. SOS sooner, and with the greater violence, the longer they are exposed to the air ; before they are used. Lime and marls are of this kind ; the longer they lie exposed, they operate the sooner ; and it is observed, that they have a strong power of attracting the virtues of the atmosphere. From these things it is reasonable to infer, that these manures operate, by communicating to the soil with which they are mixed, a power of attracting the vegetable food from the air. It is observed, that some manures exhaust land of its vegetable food, and do not restore it again when immediately applied. This is found to be the case with lime. Land, thoroughly limed, has been found to carry i-nany very good crops ; by degrees, however, the virtues of it have been exhausted, and the land reduced to a worse situation than before the lime was laid on. In this situation lime has been applied a second time, but its effects found to be far inferior to what they were when first applied. This is sufficient to con- vince us, that this manure operates by dis- solving the vegetable food which it meets with in the soil, and fitting it for entering the roots of plants. Vvlume I, V 506 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. It is certain, that all kinds of manures open the soil. Any person will be convinced of the truth of this, who will take the trouble to compare a piece of land, on which dung, or any other manure has been laid, with a piece contiguous that has not been manured ; he will find the one much softer, much more free and open than the other. It must be allowed, therefore, that all manures operate by enlarg'- ing the vegetable pasture. Manures are commonly divided into clafses. Some divide them into natural and artificial; others divide them into the fofsil, the vege- table, and the animal, and treat of them ir^ order, as belonging to each of these clafses. The manures belonging to some of these clafses differ, both in their nature and opera- tion, from those in the other clafses. Some of them likewise differ from others in the same clafs. The dividing them into clafses, there- fore, serves no purpose. All that is nccefsary is, to treat of the different particulars which the farmer can command, without considering to what clafs they belong Dung is commonly used to signify not only GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 307 the excrement of animals, but also all rotten vegetables, when used as manures. In treat- ing of it in this efsay, we understand it in the first sense of the word. The food of animals, reduced to a corrupted state, constitutes dung. The stomach dis- solves that food, and reduces it to a state of putrefaction much' sooner than is done by the air. It is'by being in this state of putrefac- tion that the juices, fit for the nourishment of the body, are conveyed by the lacteals into the blood. While bodies are in a sound state, their parts adhere firmly together, and they are incapable of being turned into the parts of other bodies. To render them incapable of this, they must be reduced to their first principles. This is done by corruption. It is observed, that by corruption all the parts of bodies are relaxed, and the salts, oils, and other juices which they contain, from being fixed are- made volatile. It is , by being re- duced to this state in the stomach, that the things which the animal feeds upon become nourishment to it, and are turned into parts of its body. All the juices contained in the things which V 2 30^ GEORGICAL ESSAYS. animals feed upon, are not exhausted by the guts i many of them, along with the earthy part of the food, are thrown out. There is no doubt that some of the earthy part of the food goes also to the nourishment of the animal ; but as the earth is rendered volatile by the salts and oils, there must be but a small quantity of it, in proportion to the quantity of these, exhausted by the animal ; and there- fore in the dung there must be a great quan- tity of earth in proportion to the other prin- ciples. However, as the dung contains all the principles of the food, we may consider the dung of those animals that feed on vegetables, as vegetables in a putrefied state. Of the same nature is the dung of animals that feed upon other animals. Vegetables are the original food. All animals either feed on pure vegetables, or on other animals that feed on vegetables. Animals that feed on vegetables are made up of the same things with vegetables, only under a different form^ and therefore the dung of animals that feed upon these, is still to be considered as vegetables in a putrefied state. Chemists inform us, that dung is com- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 309 pounded of the same principles of which vegetables are compounded 3 of water, air, oils, salts, and earth. The earth which it contains is of the absorbent kind, and attracts the other principles. They also inform us, that dung attracts and ferments with acids, and by this fermentation produces salts. — A quality of salt, as was before observed, is to attract and difsolve oils, and make them capable of being mixed with the water? If these qualities of dung are considered, it will appear that it promotes vegetation in alj the different methods mentioned. It promotes vegetation by increasing the vegetable food. It is compounded of the same principles of which the vegetable food itself is compounded, as we endeavoured to show when treating of the food of plants. This is also confirmed by the experience of ail places and all ages ; and it is what no person will doubt of, who considers that it has the same effects upon land of all kinds, and in all situations. It promotes vegetation by enlarging the pasture of plants 3 it attracts acids from the SIO GEORGICAL ESSAYS. air and soil ; and, by raising a fermentation with them, thereby separates the particles of the soil with which it is mixed. Every farmer knows the truth of this from ex- perience. The land upon which dung is laid, though naturally stiff, becomes soft and mellow, and is more easily ploughed than before. Dung, we have said, enlarges the pasture of plants, by attracting acids, and fermenting with them. Tliese acids are in the soil and air. They are in the soil ; for the soil pro- duces acid plants. Chemists tell us, that the neutral salt found in soil is compounded of an alkaline salt, such as is found in vegetables, and an acid spirit. All alkalies are strong attractors of acids ; so that, in the procefs of an experiment upon soil, perhaps it may be difficult to keep them separate, though they may exist separate in it. The acid plants prevent these from mixing ; or, perhaps, have a stronger power in their vefsels to separate them than other plants have. But though there may be no acids in soil, excepting in the compound of neutral salts, yet there is no doubt but they are in the air. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 311 Chemists find this by innumerable experi- ments. Ashes, when exposed to the air, pro- duce neutral salts ; the application of acids has the same effects. Any person may ob- serve a salt adhering to the lime of old walls; this salt is not in the lime, it is produced by the air. The same salt is produced by acids. Other experiments might be mentioned, but these are sufficient; Dung promotes vegetation, by communi- cating to the soil a power of attracting the vegetable food from the air. The earth which it contains is of the absorbent kind, and attracts all the other principles of the vegetable food ; and the salts which it con- tains and produces, attract oils. It likewise promotes vegetation, by pre- paring the vegetable food for the nourishment of plants. By the salts which it contains and produces, it not only attracts oils, but also difsolves them, and makes tiiCm capable of being mixed with water. It is probable, that oil is a principal part of the food of every plant which we cultivate in our fields, at least is the ingredient of which it is easiest to ex- haust the soil, and which it is most difficult U4 $12 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. to restore to it again. In proportion to the quantity of oil contained in any plant, in pro- portion it robs the soil, by which it is jiourished, of its vegetable food. But the nature of oil must be changed before it can enter the roots of plants. This change is made by salts ; they difsolve it, and make it to mix with water. Though dung promotes vegetation in all these ways mentioned ; yet, as there are other bodies that are much stronger attractors of acid^, by which many of its effects are pro- duced, it is probable that it principally ope- rates by increasing the food of plants. Its effects in difsolving the vegetable food in the soil must be very trifling. The salts which it contains and produces, having its own oils to work upon, and being along with them con- veyed into the roots of plants, cannot operate with any violence upon the oils which the soil contains. This is confirmed by expe- rience. When the virtues of dung are ex- hausted, the soil is no poorer than before it was laid on. Some new improvers are pleased to ridicule the old farmers, because they are so fond of GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Sl3 dung ; but none will do this who attentively consider the virtues of it. Such manures as can be obtained, are to be used ; and tillajre is carefully to be attended to : but this must not supersede' the use of dung, which can be employed to so great advantage. The Author of the ^z\v System of Agri- culture takes upon 'him to afsert, that duno- destroys some land j and that it is as great folly to apply dung to land that requires cool- ing, as to administer brandy to a man in a fever. He tells the farmers that they mifs a crop by dunging an improper soil, and lay on more dung to remedy the misfortune. — These afsertions may impose upon a man that is fond of novelty and paradox; but, with men of sense and experience, they must bring into discredit every thing that such an author afserts. Tliough dung in general has all the qualities mention d yet there are some kinds of it pofsefsed of some of these qualities in ^ higher degree than others. There are as many kinds of dung as there are of animals ; and in some respects they all differ one from another. 314 CEORGICAL ESSAYS. The difference betwixt one kind of dun^ and another, is commonly supposed to arise from the different food of the animals. Green herbage, straw, or hay, do not contain so much vegetable food in the same quantity as grain does. Hence it is supposed, that the dung of cows is not so rich as that of horses, nor the dung of horses so rich as that of fowls. But this difference must partly arise like- vAse from the nature of the animals, if it be true, that the dung of horses, cows, sheep, hogs, and geese, all differ one from another, though fed upon the same pasture. Some animals digest their food more quickly than others. This makes a difference in the dung produced by the same food. Some things are digested and turned into a state of corruption by some animals, that pafs through others sound and undifsolved. The matter then in the stomach that digests the food, must be different in the different animals. The dung must partake something of the nature of this, which makes another aifference in the dung produced by the same food. Some writers on agriculture treat of thf GEORGICAL ESSAYS. S15 dung of the different animals separately. But it is needlefs to do this ; for it requires more pains and expense to keep them separate, and use each of them by itself, than all the advantages arising from this way, above the ordinary way, can pofsibly amount to. The dung of fowls, particularly of pigeons, is an exception to this. It is commonly used • "vvithout any mixture, and it can be kept separate from other dung without any trouble or expense. It is observed, with respect to jt, that the effects of it are more violent, and sooner over than the effects of common dung, The effects of some other kinds of duns: would perhaps be the same, if they were used without any mixture, ^he dung of pigeons, teing thoroughly corrupted, soon difsolves, and becomes vegetable food. But the straw, with which the other kinds of dung are com- monly mixed, not being so thoroughly cor- rupted, prevents the effects of them from being §0 violent, and so soon over. The way in which pigeons' dung operates, points cut the manner in which it should be applied. As it is very rich, and its qualities soon exhausted, a very small quantity should \)Q applied, in proportion to the quanti-ty of 316 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Other dung. If care be not taken of this, the crop will be destroyed by being too luxuriant. Perhaps mixing it with some other things may have good effects. The strewing small chaff of any kind, from time to time, on the bottom of the pigeon-house, is very proper. The chaff sucks up the moisture, and makes it easy to reduce the dung to powder, which is an advantage -, for thereby the dung is scat- tered more equally, and manures a greater (quantity of land. It is a custom, in some places, to fold sheep and cattle for the sake of their dung; which, in this way, is used without any mixture. Some writers on husbandry give particular directions how to do this in the most advan- tageous manner. But it is needlefs to con- sider these. The farmer must consult the advantage of his sheep and cattle, and not the advantage of the land by the dung; and therefore must fold them in the most con- venient manner. A score of sheep, with the best management in folding, will not produce much more than ten shillings worth of dung, in the season, above the expense of folding; a sum soon lost by an injucjicious manage- ment of them. GEORGICAL ESSAYS, 3l7 ESSAY XXIII. On Oil used as a Manure. XaAVING, for many years, considered oil as the great pabulum of plants, I was much hurt by the result ofsome experiments, which state oil as 2l poison; and turning this in my thoughts a thousand times over, it at last occurred to me, that though oil, as oil in its crude state, might act as a poison, yet it might be so changed as to convey it with great ad- vantage to the soil, and I instantly recollected Dr. Hunter's mode by ashes ; it also occurred to me that rape-oil cake, was known to be an excellent manure, that no objection had ever been made to it but its expensivenefs, and that if it was beneficial to the soil, it could only be so from the quantity of oil contained in it, though that quantity must be very sm.all indeed, considering the procefs of first grind- ing the rape-seed, and the vast force used to drive out the oil, so that what remains is little more than a caput mortuum ; yet the cake formed of these very remains, is known to be a rich manure. L'18 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Think for a moment from how many seeds, p'ants, shrubs, and trees, we draw oil ; from rapeseed, linseed, mustard, fennel, ani- seed, juniper, carraways, mint, olives, &c. Thus we evidently draw an immense quantity of oil from the earth, but when and how, do we convey any to it ? I know of little or no attention paid to this circumstance in our compost dunghills, so that all the oil con- veyed to them, can only be from animal dung* IVhatever may be the quantity of oil remain- ing in each each rape-cake, and I believe that no one will state it at half an ounce each, yet it must be remembered that after all it is only a vegetable oil ; reflecting on this circum- stance, and fully persuaded that animal oil, must be much superior to it, I directly went to town to inquire the price of whale or train oil, and there I was informed, that it was about 2s. 8d. per gallon ; this I considered as too expensive, but pursuing- my object, I was informed by Mr. Wilfred Reed, oil merchant, in Thames-street, that he could supply me with the bottoms or foots of oil, and a rich thick South Sea whale oil, at 14d. per gallon — This was the very thing I wished for, and GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Sl§ directly ordered 60 gallons, for a five acre field, and thus went to work. Having a plat- form or bottom of twenty load of mould with eight load of dung on it, I carried on three load of light sandy mould, and one load of brick and mortar rubbish, ground fine, and having mixed these well, and made a kind of dish of it, about five feet wide and ten feet long, with a ladle we put over it one half of the oil — It was in August, and the warmth of the sun soon made the thick oil soak into this compost, when it was directly thrown up in a heap, broke down again, and by five or six turnings, well mixed together, and left in a heap two days, when it was spread equally over the whole dunghill ; twenty load more of good mould was then carried on, eight load of dung, and the remaining thirty gallons of oil was mixed as before, in sandy mould, and brick and mortar rubbish, and equally spread over, and the whole was covered by triinming the four sides of the dunghill, and throwing it on the top. Thus the dunghill lay more than tvvo^ months, when it was cut down by mattocks,, carefully broke, well mixed, and turned over. The end of March it was carried on the fields S20 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. spread, and ploughed in -, it lay about a fort- night, was then ploughed again, and on the 22d of April last, it was drilled with the Rev. Mr. Cooke's most excellent drill j I mean his last, with hoes and scarifiers, which I think much superior to his former one : the last I think every farmer, w^ho has seen it at work, will consider as incapable of further im- provement. The field was drilled with barley, two bushels to the acre ; the crop came up in a most even and beautiful manner ; every seed was up within forty-eight hours of each other; all was ripe at the same time, and, from a couple of months after seed-time to harvest, was rated by all who saw it, and it was seen by many, as a sixty bushel crop. At harvest, three rows were cut acrofs the field, directly thrashed and measured ; one load out of thirteen was also thrashed and measured, and both stated the crop to be sixty bushels; but to wave all pofsibility of dispute or doubt, I am content to state the crop at seven quarters per acre. As to the quality of the barley, I could here cite the opinion of one of the most eminent brewers in London, who saw the crop grow* GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 321 ing, and declared he would readily give lOOOl. to be afsured that all the barley crops in the kingdom were of equal burthen and weight ; five quarters of it have been lately sent to Nethrapps, in Norfolk, as seed-barley, under the denomination of 15 comb-barley; and an eminent maltster tells me it weighs 220lb. per sack, or 55lb. per bushel, Winchester measure. Among the many gentlemen and farmers who saw the crop on the ground, was the celebrated Mr. Bakewell ; he came with three or four others, and walking down the Held, observed the hedge and bank ^ the bank, upon being touched with a stick, run down as sand and gravel generally do, and Air. Bakewell being asked his opinion of the value of the land, if I do not mistake, valued it at 18d. per acre, but turning to the crop, and desiring his friends to do so also, he ad- mitted that it seemed as if growing on l"nd of 15s. or 20s. per acre. I must not omit saying that the barley followed oats, upon a lay of six years old, that the land was, as is too common in such cases, much infested with the little red or wire worm, and that the oats suffered much Volume I. X 322 GEORGICAL ESSAtS. from them ; when we were ploughnig for the barley the first time, I observed many turned up by the plough, when a distant ray of hope instantly darted upon my mind, that the oil in its then state, or from its strong effluvium, might prove obnoxious to them, and 1 am happy in saying, that the barley did not suffer from them in the least. I can, however, add here, that I am now trying that experiment in Hampshire, having last autumn made up a dunghill, with twenty gallons of oil, on one-third of it, for a six acre field, which is now drilled with pease. It is well known that all animal-substances, in a state of corruption, wonderfully promote vegetation, and are the actual food of plants. The whale-oil which I used, is an animal sub- stance, perhaps the richest part of the animal ; whether I used enough, or what is the proper quantity per acre, experience must point out. Say I used eight loads of mould, three or four loads of dung, and twelve gallons of whale oil, per acre. That oil applied to land, as a food for plants, in its crude state, acts as a poison, I GEORGICAL ESSAYS. S23 cannot deny, but my procefs is very different ; I believe that oil. particularly animal oil, is the pabulum of plants, that is, oil sub- tilized by the salts in a compost dunghill, left there a considerable time, in a state of putre- faction, and until the whole is become pu- trescent, then, I say, I believe, I have got the best and richest manure that can be carried on land. The barley evidently proved its excellence ; a ridge of summer cucumbers, in my garden, pointed out to many its great power, the leaves being in general, from ten to ten and a half inches broad, and the vines occupied an un- common space of ground. Five hundred cabbages and savoys, planted by the side of four thousand more, and which had only one handful of the oil manure put into each hole made by the dibble, at the time of planting, were evidently near as big again as the others. X2 ;24 CEORGICAL ESSAYS, ESSAY XXIV. On Top-drefsings. Soot, malt du.t, pigeon dung, and rape- dust, are considered as top-drefsings. They are never worked into the land by the plough. In that, they efsentially differ from other manures. The theory of top-drefsings is not generally known ; the practice, consequently, is but imperfectly understood. When any kind of manure is worked in by the plough, we mean to lighten the soil, and at the same time to fill it with nourishing particles. But, when we apply top-drefsings, we only consider the nourishment of the plants, having no regard to loosening the earth. Light, sandy, and lime-stone lands are best managed by top-drefsings. Stiff loams and clays require lime and rotten dung to break the cohesion of their parts. The one remains in the ground for the benefit of suc- ceeding crops ; the other is only the food of the year. The tillage-farmer, whose soil is GEORCICAL ESSAYS. 325 thin, should pay a careful attention to top- drefsings. They are the soul of his husbandry. On the Jime-stone lands in Yorkshire, rape- dust is chiefly used ; but the price is so much advanced, that the farmer can hardly afford to purcJias.e it. An acre of wheat land cannot be well drefsed with lefs than four quarters of rape-dust : three quarters are sufficient tor an acre of barley. The price is about eighteen shillings per quarter. To obviate this great expense, I shall recommend a compost ma-fe of shambles-blood and saw-dust, which I have found experimentally to equal, if not excel, most hand drefsings. This compost has the peculiar property of being no way offensive to the smell. It comes cheap, and may be pro- cured in every large town. I cannot give any directions relative to the quantity necefsary for drefsing an acre of land. My experience upon it has been confined to a small scale^ — it is speedy in its effects, but not lasting. In Flanders, where manures are well under- stood, they dry and powder human ordure, which they use as a top-d^efsing, and find it of a rich quality. In large manufactories, and in places where a number ot people live together, it may be a judicious practice to re- X3 $26 CEORGICAL ESSAYS. ceive all excrementitious matters upon saw- dust ; which, by frequently turning over, may be converted into one of the richest drefsings. In order to have a distinct idea of top- drefsings, we must reflect that wheat, oats, barley, and rye, have two kinds of roots. The one is called the seminal, the other the coronal root. The first lies deep in the ground, and proceeds immediately from the grain : The other is formed just within the surface. In proportion to the vigour of this last, the crown becomes stronger or weaker; or, in other words, the plant tillers more or lefs. In winter corn, the plant is nourished, during the severe months, by the seminal root only. It should therefore be placed pretty deep, to secure it against the eflfects of the frost. On this account drill-wheat stands the winter better than the broad-cast. The coronal root seldom appears before the beginning of March. This is therefore the season for the application of top-drefsings. The first shower of rain washes them just within the surface, where they become the immediate nourishment of the coronal root. Jn most places, rape-dust is harrowed in GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 327 Avith the winter corn ; but soot is always laid on in the spring. By the application of this last, the plants soon recover the injuries of the winter, and a large crown is formed, from which a number of stalks are produced in proportion to the size of the crown. In spring corn, the coronal roots form them- selves within a few weeks after sowing ; for which reason the top-drefsings should be harrowed in with the grain. It will be necefsary to remark that, as top- drefsings can only operate but a little way within the surface, they are therefore only proper for horizontal feeders ; as wheat, oats, barley, and rye. Beans, and tap-rooted plants require such manures as are worked into the land by the action of the plough. It may be objected that turnips, though tap-rooted, yet receive benefit from top- drefsings ; but it must be considered that they operate upon the plant by pushing it hastily into rough leaf, and thereby securing it against the fly. After this, the turnip flourishes or declines in proportion to the richnefs or poverty of the soil. X4 328 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. So much depends upon the right use of manures, that we cannot employ too much time in investigating their natures. Notwith- standing what Mr. Tull and other ingenious gentlemen have advanced, I am clearly of opinion that manures are the life and soul of husbandry. Till the farmer can scientifically explain the manner that manures operate, he will find it impofsible to reduce his profefsion to the standard of reason. I therefore flatter myself, that, from these efsays, he will be able to collect some hints that will be of use to him in forming a just notion of one of the most important branches of agriculture. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 329 BOOK II. ESSAY I. On the different Snan/ities of Rain tvhichfall at different Heights over the same Spot of Ground. XLVERY operation of nature, which in- fluences vegetation, is interesting to the spe- culative and philosophical farmer. The dis- charge of the ELECTRICAL FLUID, by the descent of rain, may be considered as a pri- mary agent in producing the germination of seeds, and the rising of the sap in vegetables. Electricity accelerates the motion of the fluids in the capillary tubes of plants, increases their perspiration, heightens their verdure, and powerfully promotes their growth. Hence perhaps, in some degree, arises the instanta- neous vivifying effect of a summer shower on the vegetable creation. It is hoped, therefore, that the following attempt to account for the different quantities S30 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. of rain which fall at diiferent heights over the same spot of ground, will not be deemed en- tirely foreign to the purpose of these efsays. In the last volume of the Philosophical Transactions, some experiments arc related, by which it appears, that there fell below the top of a house, above a fifth part more rain than what fell in the same space above the top of the same house ; and that there fell upon Westminster- Abbey not above one half of what was found to fall, in the same space, below the tops of the houses*. These ob- * I am informed by an ingenious correspondent at Bath, that similar experiments have been made in that place with the same result ; and a friend of mine at Liverpool, on whose judgment and accuracy I can rely with confidence, has lately favoured me with the follow- ing account, dated March \i, 1771 : " During the late rains 1 repeated Dr. Heberden's experiment : The upper vefsel received thirteen ounces and a half of rain, the lower vefsel twenty-seven ounces. The difference of altitude was about sixteen or seventeen yards. The wind blew a brisk gale from the south-east. I made the trial also during a fall of snow : and, in that, found tlie proportion as three to five." The following experi- ment, communicated t« me by the same gentleman, varies a little in its result from the former, owing, per- haps, to a difference in the serenity of the air: for the wind has a more powerful effect on the descent of snow than of rain, because its specific gravity is lefs. — CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 3S I servations, however new and singular, are too well authenticated to admit of the least de- gree of doubt ; and philosophy should be employed not to invalidate a fact so fully ascertained, but to furnish a rational and adequate cause of it. Dr. Heberden conjectures that this phseno- menon depends oh some property of electricity, which he thinks remains hitherto unknown. To me it appears probable, that the common laws by which this power influences the ascent and suspension of vapours, are sufficient *' March 27, 177 I, there was a continued fall of snow, from eight in the morning till five in the afternoon. The air was still ; the snow came down very thick, and in large flakes. Daring the nine hours which the snow continued to fall, the upper vefsel received thirteen ounces, the lower vefsel twenty-six ounces." In the years 1773 and 1774, the observations on the different quantities of rain, which fall at different heights, were repeatedly made at Liverpool : and it was almost in- variably found, that a vefsel, standing on the surface of ■ the ground in a spacious garden, received double the quantity of rain which fell into another vefsel of equal dimensions, placed near the same spot, but eighteen yards higher. At Middlewich, during part of the year 1774', the quantity of rain caught at the top of the church-steeple was 15,75 inches; and in a garden, eighty feet below, 19 Inches. The garden, it should be remarked, was not contiguous to, although at no great distance from the church. 532 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. to explain their precipitation in rain, and the lately-discovered mode of its descent. The electrical fluid is ftrongly attracted by water, and by destroying the cohesion be- tween its particles, and repelling them from each other, it becomes a powerful agent in evaporation. The waters of the ocean abound in this fire, and vapours raised from them float in the air, forming clouds which retain their electricity, till they meet with other bodies, either destitute of it, or containing it in a lefs proportion than themselves*. This, in all probability, is frequently the case with those vapours or clouds which are produced by exhalations from the earth, from fresh water, and the perspiration of plants and trees J at least it is an undoubted fact, that some clouds (to use the language of this branch of philosophy,) are electrified positively, and others negatively. No sooner does the communication take place, but the repulsion between the particles of water is diminished, those which have discharged part of their electricity, are succefsively attracted by the contiguous ones which have not j and thus * Vid. Franklin on Electricity. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 335 thev prefs nearer together, become specifically heavier than the atmosphere, and descend in small drops, which, losing every instant more and more of the electric fire, coalesce, uniting into larger and larger drops, and consequently filling a space which is continually diminish- ing, as they approach nearer to the surface of the earth. This may be illustrated by electrifying the -stream of a fountain, which will spread itself into the form of a brush by the mutual recefsion of the particles of water: but withdraw the supply of electric fire, and the fountain discharges itself in one continued current*. A pair of cork-balls suspended together by silken threads, when electrified, recede from each other ; and if the air be dry, return by degrees only to their natural posi- tion. Two feathers electrified will float in the atmosphere, mutually repelling each other, when in a certain degree of contiguity, and gradually descending as they lose that power, which, by expanding their plumulce^ rendered them specifically lighter than the air. But if one of them discharges suddenly the electric fire, it will instantly be attracted Vid. Franklin on Electricity. 554 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. towards the other, and receive a fresh supply ^ when a repulsion (acting indeed at a much lefs distance than before,) will again take place between them. When two clouds, one replete with electric fire, the other destitute of it, come within the sphere of each other's attraction, they will rush together, and the electrical fluid being diffused through a larger space, the particles of water will unite, and form themselves into drops of greater magnitude, and a heavy shower will be produced. Still, however, as the rain descends through an atmosphere con- taining little electric fire, it will be continually communicating it ; and the discharge being greatest from the circumference of the cloud, because the surface is there largest, the drops will be drawn nearer and nearer to each other, and, approaching towards one common centre, will gradually coalesce in their pafsage. — Dr. Franklin has related a most ingenious ex- periment, which elucidates the formation of rain as thus described. Take two round pieces of pasteboard of two inches diameter; from the centre and circumference of each of them suspend, by fine silk threads eighteen inches long, seven small balls of wood, or GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 3S5 seven peas equal in bignefs, so will the balls appending to each pasteboard, form equal equilateral triangles, one ball being in the centre, and six at equal distances from that, and from each other ; and thus they represent particles of air. Dip both sets in water, and some adhering to each ball, they will re- present air loaded. Dexterously electrify one set, and its balls will repel each other to a greater distance, enlarging the triangles. Could the water, supported by the seven balls, come into contact, it would form a drop or drops so heavy as to break the cohesion it had with the balls, and so fall. Let the two sets then represent two clouds, the one a sea cloud electrified, the other a land cloud; bring them within the sphere of attraction, and they will draw towards each other, and you will see the separated balls close thus : the first electrified ball that comes near an unelectrified ball, by attraction joins it, and gives it fire ; instantly they separate, and each flies to another ball of its own party, one to give, the other to receive fire, and so it proceeds through both sets, but so quick as to be in a manner instantaneous. In their collision they shake oflT and drop their water, which represents rain. This experiment would 536 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. better illustrate and confirm my hypothesis^ if a larger number of balls were appended at equal distances, to each pasteboard, so as to form several circles, having one common centre. But it rarely happens that a land cloud is equal in magnitude to one raised from the sea; consequently the rain produced by their ■union will be proportionabjy lighter in the upper, and heavier in the lower regions of the atmosphere, as the electric matter is more or lefs gradually diffused. When an electrified cloud, without mixing with another cloud, or losing part of its elec- tric fire, becomes specifically heavier than the atmosphere, by cold, or some local change in the density of the air, it will descend at first perhaps in a mist ; but will form, as it ap- proaches nearer to the earth, and is lefs re- plete with the electric fluid, a light shower of rain. Besides the clouds which float separately ia the higher regions of the atmosphere, the air contains a large quantity of water in the state both of solution and of diffusion ; and dews. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. S37 fogs, and sometimes even showers of rain, are probably produced by the precipitation of the water thus suspended. Now the quantity of water which the air is capable of difsolving and suspending, is proportioned to its degree of density ; and this density de- creases in a certain ratio, according to its dis- tance from the surface of the earth. Rain, therefore, in its descent will be every instant acquiring an accefsion to the bulk of its drops, by attracting these aqueous vapours. For the cold produced by a falling shower, will precipitate from the air, both its difsolved and diffused water. And thus, at different heights, will be produced, from this cause, some difference in the quantity of rain which falls over the same spot of ground. The dis- charge of the electrical fluid from a falling shower, may also act as a powerful precipitant of the vapours, which are chemically difsolved in the air. For by conveying an electrified wire to the surface of a quantity of water, saturated with any saline substance, an imme- diate and copious precipitation is produced, and the salt forms itself into largc^occw//. Rain, when undisturbed by winds, de- ends in lines converging towards the centre Veliune I, Y 358 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. of the earth, like the radii of a circle. This direction towards the perpendicular, however trifling in degree, gives some little tendency to the drops to coalesce together, and concurs in the general effect of producing a different quantity of rain at different heights. From what has been advanced, it appears probable to me, that the gradual discharge of the electrical fire is the principal cause of the phaenomenon I have attempted to explain. As the rain descends, the drops coalesce more and more together, by the continued diminu- tion of the repulsive power which counter- acted their mutual attraction ; and con- sequently, in a given space, a much larger quantity will fall near to, than at a distance from, the surface of the earth. A cloud which fills many thousand acres in the higher regions of the air, when the electric fluid operates upon it with full force, may not cover one-third of that extent when it has de- scended in a shower of rain. To this effect the precipitation of the vapours contained in a difsolved or diffused state, in the lower re- gions of the atmosphere, and the influence of gravitation in producing a convergency of the drops of rain, will in some degree cox\t tribute. GEO-RGICAL ESSAYS. 339 P. S. Having communicated the preceding paper to Dr. Heberden and Dr. Watson, I have been favoured by the latter with the follounng curious fact. — '* The water in the rain-gage at the top of Lord Charles Caven- dish and Dr. Meberden's houses, which are about a mile distant from each other, pretty nearly correspond ; but at the botton of Lord Charles's house, though the level is forty feet above the top of Dr. Meberden's, the quantity always exceeds that of Dr, Heberden's. Last year, for instance, at the top of both their houses, there were collected about twenty- two inches of rain ; but in Lord Charles's garden, at a distance from any buildings, tlicre fell twentv-six inches ; and this, in his Lordship's garden, has been constant for several years. Dr. Heberden has been too much confiried to make accurate observations at the bottom of his late house ; but he is now removed to Pall-^Iall, where his opportunities of observing ar-e more favourable." This fact, at first sight, appears to be a strong objection to the hypothesis I have ad- vancea. May it not, however, be obviated, by supposing that the discharge of the electrical fluid from a falling skow<:r, is not so much in- Y2 340 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. fluenced by the absolute, as by the relative height of the places where the rain descends ? And as the earth may be considered as the great recipient and attractor of electrical fire, is it not probable that the quantity of rain collected will be proportioned to the distance^ of the receiver from the ground immediately below, and not to its absolute height, mea- sured from any distant level, except in such altitudes where the density of the air, and the vapours floating in it, are so far diminished as to produce a sensible variation? But I offer this conjecture with diffidence ; and am sensible indeed that the whole of my attempt to account for the different quantities of rain, which fall at different heights, is liable to ob- jections, because the data are yet few upon which it is founded. To promote the solution of so curious a phccnomenon, I shall here sub- join a few queries, proposed to me by different correspondents. The fourth should, I apprehend, be reversed, because it appears probable to me, that trees, plants, water, and moist earth, afford more copious exhalations than paved streets, houses, burning fuel, or the bodies of men. 1, Does a glafs funnel catch an equal quan- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 341 tity of rain, at the same height, as a metal funnel ; the former being an electric, the latter a non-electric*? 2. Is there a difference in the quantity of rain and snow catched in similar vefsels at different heights ? 3. Is the difference of rain, catched at dif- ferent heights, greatest at the beginning of fi. shower ? 4. Is not this difference greater in large *■ A very ingenious friend of mine, at Chester, has lately favoured me with the following experiments, which fur* nish a satisfactory answer to this query, and at the same time confirm the hypothesis I have advanced, by proving that rain contains, and discharges in its descent, the electrical fluid. Two vefsels of equal diameters, the one ofglafs, the other of tin, placed at the same height, and within a. foot of each other, varie4 as follows in the quantities of rain which they received : From April 15, 1771, to 29, the glafs vcfsel received 0,954-, the tin vcfsel received 1.432. From May 5, to 30, the glafs vefsel re- ceived 1.630, the tin vefsel received 2.027. From June 1, to 28, the glafs vefsel received 2.144, the tin vefsel received 3.674-. The same accurate observer found, that in the months of June and July, 177 1, contrary to the common course of nature, a larger quantity of rain was received in the V3 54^2 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. cities than in the country, owing to the lower regions of the air beinj^ more loaded with watery vapours, which have been exhaled by fires, and from the human body ? 5. Has the v/ind no share in producing the disparity observed in the quantities of rain W'hich fall at different heights ? 6. ^lay not- the column of air, througii which a drop of rain pafses, in the space of twenty or thirty yards, contain a sufficient quantity of wateiy particles to double the higher, than in the lower funnel. For Instance, the rain caught in a vefscl placed at the lop of St. John's steeple, from June 2, to July 1, amounted to 1.8S6, and from July 2, to August 3, to 1.423. Whereas a similar vefsel, placed- in a garden below, received during the same space of tirce, only 1.404-, and 0.4'52. This inverse proportion of rain, received at different heights, cannot be supposed lo depend either upon chemical or me- chanical principles, but may be accounted for by the same electrical laws, which have been adduced to ex- plain the more usual phaenomena of its descent. If th# falling showers proceeded from clouds negatively elec* trifled, the drops of rain would diverge more and more as they approached nearer to the earth, because, instead of communicating, they would receive some portion of electricity from the vapours floating in the lower region?- •f the atmosphere. 6 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 545 bulk of the drop ? This may be illustrated by- precipitating any saline substance from a satu- rated solution of it, contained in a cylindrical vefsel, and examining the proportional quan- tities of precipitate at different heights. Or, perhaps, it may be determined by the following experiment : Take a cylindrical glafs vefsel, four inches in diameter, and eight inches high ; fill it with ice or snow, and place it in a warm room. A watery dew will soon be congealed upon its surface, which being committed to a nice scale, may probably be found to be equal in gravity to a drop of rain. Suppose this cylinder to be drawn out to the length o£ twenty or thirty yards, the surface of it will still continue nearly the same, though the diameter of it be diminished ; and such a tube will aptly represent the column of air through which a drop of rain descends in its pafsage to the earth. Y4 S44 GEORGICAL ESSAYS ESSAY II. On the Culture of Potatoes. -L HE potatoe plant was first brought from America into Ireland by Sir Walter Raleigh. Though a species of the Solamim, or Night- shade, yet experience has most fully convinced us, that it is one of the best and most nutri- tious of all the esculent roots cultivated in this island. The great use and advantage of this vegetable, as a food, was never more happily experienced than four years ago, when an extraordinary crop*, both in quan- tity and quality, reduced the high prices of grain so much in this very populous neigh- bourhood f, as to give the poor an opportunity of buying bread upon more reasonable terms * From an acre and a half, statute measure, I had as many potatoes as sold (at the low price of Is. 3d. per bushel) for near 3-tl. besides serving my own family, (in which large quantities are consumed) and reserving a sufficient quantity for planting near two acres the year following. •j- Rochdale, GEORGICAL ESSAYS. S45 than it was to be had in many of the most considerable corn counties of the kingdom. — I therefore flatter myself that it may be of use to point out the best methods that have occurred to me, not only of obtaining a large and good crop, but also of preparing the ground at the same time, and in the best manner, for a succeeding one of wheat. An object of no small importance to the farmer. In the first place, I shall mention the kind of soil that is the best and most proper for the culture of this excellent root. The potatoe plant will indeed grow in almost any soil j but the mere growth of the plant, or the poor return of a few small and insipid roots, are pot worthy the care and attention of the farmer. The soil which I would prefer above all others, for this plant, is the same which Columella recommends for vines : Necspifsum sit nimis, nee resolutum, propriiis tamen re* solulo ; nee exile iiec Letifsimiimy tamen Leto proximum ; nee campestre nee prceceps, sed potius edito campo s nee sieciim nee nimis uliginosum : that is, the soil should neither be too stiff and untractable, nor too light and S4G GEORGICAL ESSAYS, crumbling, yet rather of the crumbling kind ; neither too poor nor too rich, yet inclining to richnefs; neither too i]:>t nor too hilly, but rather gently rising ; neither quite dry nor yet surcharged with moisture. With such a soil, and proper management, a noble return may be expected ; and the nearer any soil ap- proaches to the nature and qualities above recommended, the more proper and suitable it will be for the cultivation of the potatoe plant. But even from soils, not blefsed with all those desirable qualities, very beneficial crops may be obtained, if a little more labour and pains are bestowed upon the necefsary operations. The different ways of preparing the ground for this crop, (which are either by ploughing, trenching, or common digging) are so well knowm in all, or most parts of the island, that it would be uselefs, as w^ell as impertinent in me, to give any directions on that head. I will only give it as my opinion (founded on some experience) that when the ground, intended for a potatoe crop, is not of any great extent, trenching (though the most expensive) is far preferable to the others, and will generally more than repay the additional expense. — GEORGTICAL ESSAY§. 347 I will venture also to condemn the common Irish way of planting, which is known and used in some parts of the kingdom, and is properly denominated the lazy-bed way. In this method the eyes, or sets, are placed upon the surface of the ground, with a little dung under them, and then a deep trench is made on each side, with the earth of which the sets are covered. By this horrid practice a barren, and perhaps noxious under- stratum of earth or rubble is thrown up so high as never to get covered again, but remains there as a woful exchange for some of the finest mould, that is buried beneath the reach of the plough. I shall now endeavour to point out the best method of planting the sets, both for the pre- sent crop, and also for a due preparation of the ground for a succeeding one of wheat. Tlie sets (with one good eye, or two at most) should be planted in rows two feet asunder at least, if the crop is intended to be cleaned with' the hand-hoe, and at the distance of fifteen or sixteen inches from each other in the rows ; after which the ground should be broke in with a rake or light harrow. After the plants are come up, the first growth of the S.48 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. weeds should be carefully observed ; and, taking the advantage of a dry and hot season, should be cut down, both betwixt and in the rows, and the earth hoed up a little towards the roots of the plants. The weeds being checked in their first shoot, and in such weai- ther, will be long before they make any con- siderable head again. About midsummer it will be necefsary to go over the ground once more with the hoe ; and if the advantage of a dry and hot season can then be taken, it will generally be sufficient to keep the land clean and free from weeds for the remainder of the summer, as the plants will then be grown so strong and bushy, as nearly to cover the whole surface of the ground ; and thercr fore, by their shade and dropping, will pre? vent any future growth of weeds. These stirrings by the hoe will keep the land in proper tilth, and kindly dispose it to receive the benign influence of the sun, air, and dews j and the intervals betwixt the rows of the plants will also allow due admifsion to the air, so absolutely necefsary for vegetation. " The air," as Bishop Berkley observes in his Siris, *' is the receptacle as well as source of " all sublunary forms, the great mafs or chaos CEORGICAL fiSSAYS. S49 " which imparts and receives them. The at- " mosphere which surrounds our earth, con- " tains a mixture of all the active volatile " parts of all vegetables, minerals, and " animals. Whatever perspires, corrupts, or " exhales, impregnates the air ; which, being ** acted upon by the solar fire, (here is literally " conjiigis in gremhim UcLe descendit) pro- " duceth within itself all sorts of chemica! " operations, dispensing again those salts and '^ spirits, in new generations, which it had rc- " ceived from putrefactions The air, there- " fore, is an active mafs, composed of number- " lefs differ^ent principles, the general source of " corruption and generation, in which the " seeds of things seem to be latent, ready to " appear and produce their own kind when- " ever theyilight upon a proper matrix. The " whole atmosphere seems alive ; there is " every where acid to corrode, and seed to en- " gender, in that common seminary and re- " ceptacle of all vivifying principles." That the free admifsion and circulation oi air, are not only conducive, but also absolutelv necefsary to a speedy and vigorous growth of plants, might be easily proved by many ex- periments j but it is too obvious to everv 350 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. one, who has taken the least notice of the operations of nature in the important work of vegetation, to need such proofs of its necefsary influence. Without some air, it is well known, vegetation would neither begin nor continue. Dr. Fordyce, in his Elements of Agriculture and Vegetation, says, that even roots require air ; so that if a root is planted too deep, it will not grow on that account. He is of opinion also, that light is necefsary for the growth of a plant, but not so much a^ <3 air. Many growers of potatoes, froiti want of experience, are apt to imagine that the greater number of plants they have, the greater will be the increase. In regard to numbers it possibly may be so, but even that admits of a doubt. The true proof of the increase, or return, is in the weight and goodnefs of the crop, and not merely in the number of pitiful roots. In the common promiscuous and close way of planting, the stems of the plants are drawn up so high and slender, by their con- tiguity to each other, that they become weak and languid long before the proper time of perfecting their roots ; a certain indication of a miserable crop. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 551 The ground, as is observed by Mr. Tull, (to whom, not only his own country, but many others in Europe are so much obliged for laying a rational foundation for most of the modern improvements in husbandry) contains a certain quantitv o^ pabulum, or food for vege- tables, which, though it mav be considerably increased by manures, has its stated bounds, its ne plus ultra. The same gentleman men- tions an experiment that he made, \^'hich very fully proves the great advantage of planting the potatoe-sets at a considerable distance from each other, and also the very great utility of hoeing and stirring the soil well about them. " A piece of grounc^" says he, " was planted with potatoes, the greater part in the icommon way ; but in one part (worse than jthe rest) they had been set at a yard distant every way ; the rest of the ground ^vas dunged ; this poor part had no dung, but was ploughed four times in diiferent v/ays, so that the ground wa^ broken and stirred thoroughly every way about the potatoes. The conse- quence was, that though no dung was used here, and the plants appeared shorter than in the duTigeti part, yet the crop was greatly better than in the other part of the field. The pots here were all large ] in the other part 552 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. T\'hich was dunged, and planted in the com-» nion way, and also without such ploughing,, they were so small, that the crop was scarce worth taking up." Where great quantities are planted, hoeing with a small light plough will be necefsary for despatch, and will do very well, and in some respects better than hand-hoeing, as the ground will be more effectually stirred ; but the weeds should be cleared at least once with the hand betwixt the plants in the rows j and care should be taken not to throw too sreat a quantity of earth upon the roots, as that would be almost fatal to the potatoes in every respect, but especially in the goodnefs of them. The plants in a healthy vigorous state will, by the zanbragcous defence of their thick leaves and stems, sufficiently protect the roots from the too scorching rays of the sun, and even retain a due degree of moisture in the ground, without excluding so much of his energetic power as is necefsary for perfecting the great work of vegetation : but, if the roots are buried too deep, that cheering and vivifying power of the sun is so impeded in exerting its necefsary influence, that the roots never arrive at their utmost state of perfection. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 353 If the potatoe-crop is intended to be drefsed both with the plough and the hand-hoe, two rows should be planted about the distance of eighteen inches from each other ; but the in- tervals, or spaces betwixt each double row, should be at least four feet, or there will not be room enough for the plough to work, with- out injuring the stems of the plants. If the crop is to be cultivated with the hoe-plough only, then single rows are best, leaving a space, as above, of four feet at least betwixt every row. This is a very expeditious way of cleaning a crop, and will answer all the pur- poses of hoeing very well. The way of plant- ing the sets for this last kind of cultivation is very expeditious, and is as follows : The ground being laid level, and in fine tilth, a straight furrow must be made from one end of the field to the other, leaving a space of two feet wide betwixt it and the verge, or border of the ploughed land. A boy follows after the plough, with the sets in a basket, and drops one at every fifteen or sixteen inches. When that is done, the ploughman turns about, and throws the furrow back again upon the sets, then begins with another furrow, leaving the proper space betwixt ^ re- robmic I. Z 354 G.EORGICAL ES$AYS. turns again ^ap ib6^fqr^,^nd go on till the whole pi€,ce .of g^^un only say in favour of this account, that it is very accurate. I saw the potatoes taken up and weighed, and also entered them (upon the field whe'fe they were weighed) into my memorandum-book, from whence the above account is taken. Many will be sur- prised at the apparent advantages arising fron;i tJIEORGICAL ESSAYS. S3$ the use of whins find mofs. Th»f former 1 had knovVn tried bcfoi-c, and with succcfsvir\ the culture of potatoes ; and the latter I found ranked at the head of a clafs, termed the fatltning manures, in a periodical work, published at Paris under the title ol Journal CEconomique. As stable-dung and mofs seemed, from the ;above experiments, to have the advantages over all the rest, I was determined to make a fair trial of their respective merits. Accord- ingly I had tvv^o rows of potatoe-sets planted alternately upon sta,ble-dung and mofs, so that there could be no advantage, either from soil, exposure, or cultivation, to one plant more than another. I had one row dug up in my presence, and immediately weighed. The, consequence was, the crops were so equal in weight, that the balance could not determine -the difference. Those that came from the -dunged plants were more in number, the others better and more equally sized. The last experiment was made upon some seedling potatoes, called the Ogdcn Seedlings^ raised the preceding year from one of the forward kinds. They promife much, both for Z.4. 360 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. goodnefs and perfecting their roots very early. All our varieties have been procured from the seed, and more may be expected : This is certainly the best method to keep our present sorts from degenerating. This year I took up one row of potatoes^ part of which was manured with stable-dung and coal-ashes, the other with the same quan- tity of stable-dung and mofs. The conse- quence was, that those from the dung and mofs, not only exceeded the other in size, but were about a third more in weight. The soil and cultivation the same. Many inferences may be deduced from the above experiments, some of which are very obvious ; as that mofs is a very good manure for potatoes ; stable-dung very good and proper ; coal-ashes the same, but not equal to the former; soapers' waste a very good one, but it is too dear, as well as difficult to be obtained in large quantities. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. S6l ESSAY III. On the Analogy between Plants and Animals, I N a former efsay, the laws of vegetation were plainly discovered to be analogous to those maintained throughout the animal world. Andif we extend our inquiries, we may trace the connection so far, that it would be difficult to determine where it ceases. It is amazing to observe the infinite wis- dom of the Creator in his works, and the en- tire dependence which one part of them has upon the other. We, who at best can only reason from second, and those very imperfect causes, must necefsarily stand amazed when- ever we contemplate the works of the creation. It is our duty, however, to extend all in- quiries, which are subservient to the advantage of. society, to the highest pitch of perfection in our power. The study of nature can never be sufficiently attended to. Nor can agricul- Sfe2 GEbRGICAL ESSAYS, ture be ever brought to perfection, till a just theory be drawn out from the walk of nature herself. She is so bountiful to us, that her treasure is never exhausted ; and the more dif- coveries we make, the more we find intirely ^unknown to us. It is true the vegetable world is a very pafsive one. The want of sensation, and the means of self-preservation, render it efsentially different from the animal world. In most other points, the image of the one may be distinctly traced in the mirror of the other. They have a code of laws draXvn up for them by the Author of Nature himself, and to it they steadily adhere. It need scarce be remarked, that nature observes her stages and periods of life, in the vegetable, -as well as in the animal world. We observe the greatest tendernefs and delicacy lii the first growth of every plant. Their maturity wears every mark of health and viigour:. and this is the period for produce and increase. Vegetables, as well as animals, afford strong evidences of the decline of life. When nature has run its course, we observe the brawny oak" gradually decay : hoary old CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 36^ age tumbles it into ruins, and (lie place thereof hionietJi it no more. Some plants are of longer duration than others. Annuals, Biennials, Perennials may all be observed within a very narrow compafs of ground. Some produce flowers but once in the time of their existence, and then ex- haust their own life in giving it to their offspring. One revolving sun often measures the duration of bthei" flowers, particularly the Ceres, which, like children, frequently come into the world, as it weVe, but to try to live. We certainly may imagine, with great tfuth, that plants have few offices to perform. And yet nature has afsigned them more than vC'^'are avt^are of, for our use as well as in- -^tructlon. The story of the sun-flower in Ovid's Metamorphoses, is confirmed by dail/ observation. Thomson beautifully describes it's affection : But one, the lofty follower of the sun, Sad when he sets, shuts up her yellow leaves. Drooping all night; and when he warm returns, Points her enamour'd bosom to his ray. ' Most of the diScbus flowers, by some elastic ?64 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. power unknown to us, follow the sun in its course. They attend him to his evening re- treat, and meet his rising lustre in the morn- ing with the same constant and unerring law. Vegetables enjoy their periods of sleep and rest ecjually with the animal world. The common goat's-beard seems designed to re- mind us of the sun pafsing the meridian, by closing up its flowers at that time ; whilst all the trefoils serve as a barometer to the husbandman, by constantly contracting their leaves against an impending storm. I need scarce mention the contracting qualities of the tamarind, acasia, sensitive plant, the com- mon whitlow-grafses, and cuckoo-bread, to strengthen my afscrtions. They are facts sujiiciently known to mankind in general. In the animal world we observe, that many creatures undergo various changes during the course of their existence. The caterpillar, in particular, undergoes several changes before it produces a butterfly. The very same efl^ects may be traced in the vegetable world. Who could imagine, without knowing the fact, that ivy, in its infant state, bears lanceolated leaves. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 365 and produces neither flowers nor fruit ? In its next state the leaves are quinquelobed, and the plant adheres, in a barren state, to trees and rocks for support. Three years generally elapse, like a peacock in getting his plumes, before it branches out into a troe, with trilobed leaves, and produces both flowers and fruit. And it is still as wonderful to observe that it finishes its growth with plain oval leaves. Diseases are as incidental to plants as ani- mals. The amputation of a limb, or the lofs of it by the violence of a tempest, spoils the symmetry of the plant, and retards its growth. The vine bleeds too much if it be pruned by an unskilful hand, or at an improper season. The orchard refuses its crop of apples, if we use the knife frequently or improperly. — Canker, on another hand, corrodes the very- vitals of existence. And nothing is so com- mon as to see insects and vermine destroy the most vigorous shoots. Excefsive drought, or intense cold, and above all, an improper soil, shoot the arrows of certain death. "We readily allow that an inhabitant of the Torrid Zone would soon be starved to death in Greenland •r Lapland : But we forget that the same wise P^^ QEGORICAL ESS^X?' Creator pfal^ thbgs^ h^s, also appropriated a proper. soil,^ij^ .qlij^te to,;^]^e^^|pp)^U ^^ i;:70fr '3 ESSAY I^^, On Experiments. J1*Xperiments correctly made, and fairly related, form the data on which agriculture should be founded. To plan an experiment well, to trace it minutely through its progrefs, and to draw a just conclusion, is expected from the philosopher. And yet experiments that spring from chance more than reason, should not be neglected. The following experiments, with some short pieces of prac- tical information, have been transmitted to me. Their authenticity and correctnefs sufficiently recommend them. Experiment 1. On the';OU-Compp^tfi,^i ,^ In the month of June I selected four lands, of equal goodnefs, in a field intended for turnips. The soil was a light sand, with *By A. Hunter,M.I). GEORGICAL ES.SAY^. 567 a smaH portion of vegetablQ. earth amongst it. It was ploughed out of sward in November^ ajad -had upt borne a crop for many years. I sliall distinguish my experimental lands by N« 1. 2. 3. ,4. N® 1. was manured with rotten dung. 2. wi til oil-compost. 3. with lime. 4. was left without any drefsing. On the 20th of June they were all sowq with turnip-seed, broad-cast, and during the course of the season were twice hoed. In November I viewed the field, and mad« the following remarks : , [ ■::jOt N« 1.— the^best , 2. — the next. 3. — the worst. 4.— better than N** S. Here the oil-compost appears in a favour- able light ; but other trials, made with equal accuracy, seem rather to, prove that it is no): proper for turnips, barley, or quick-growing vegetables. It requires being meliorated by the action of the atmosphere, and therefore 368 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. IS better adapted to winter crops. By re- peated experiments made since the publica- tion of the first edition of this efsay, I am convinced that the addition of an alkaline salt is not sufficient to alter the nature of oil, so as to make it fully capable of entering into the roots of plants in its native form : But when decomposed by the mixture of fresh dung, I am convinced that it then becomes the true pabulum of plants. The farmer considers car- feone as giving to " airy nothing a local habi- tation and a name." When the land happens to be stifFer than Is required for turnips, it may be good hus- bandry to lay upon it a large quantity of lime to open its body for the free admifsion of the tap-root of the turnip. The lands will also be rendered more dry, without which the turnips will never arrive at any size. Farmers, in general, take great pains to pulverize their light soils intended for turnips ; but they seldom plough deep enough. A turnip is found to root deep, and in all operations oP husbandry we should be careful to follow the, bias of nature. It is for that reason we ought to make ourselves acquainted with the size and shape of the roots of such plants as arc OEORGICAL ESSAYS. S69 objects of field-husbandry. "When once we have obtained that necefsary knowledge, it will be an easy matter to suit the preparation of the soil to the nature of the grain. It will also enable us to direct the variations of our crops upon just and rational principles. It is abundantly evidently that all plants live upon the same food. Some require more, some lefs. Some take it near the surface, others take it deeper. Upon these principles we may account for the necefsity of varying the crops in the old husbandry. The old drill husbandry makes all change of species un- necefsary. In it all kinds of grain may be suited to the lands most proper for them. The succefs of that sort of husbandry, when pro- perly conducted, proves to a demonstration that all plants are nourished by the same food. That food, I apprehend, consists chiefly of oily and mucilaginous particles. It is of great moment to fix upon what is really the nutriment of vegetables, as it will enable us to conduct our compost dunghills upon just and rational principles. The doc- trine of manures is but little understood. The farmer should at all times retain in his memory Volume /. A a 570 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. a general idea of them. He may divide manures into four kinds. 1. Such as give nourishment only; as rape- dust, soot, malt-dust, oil-compost, blood- compost, pigeon dung, and all hand- drefsings. 2. Such as give nourishment, and p.dd to the soil 3 as horse dung, cows dung, human ordure, rotten animal and vegetable sub- stances, 3 . Such as open the soil, and do not nourish in their own nature ; as lime, light marlsjj sand, and vegetable ashes, 4. Such as stiffen the soil, and at the same time nourish a little j as clay, clay maris, and earth. An attention to these general remarks, and a few cbserv'ations upon the opennefs, stiff- nefs, and depth of the different soils, will enable the farmer to lay down a rational sys- tem of cultivation The theory of Agriculture being but little I GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 371 understood, it is no wonder that the prac- tice has remained for ages, so vague and uncertain ; but I flatter myself that the time is advancing when the husbandman, will vie with the gardener in the rationality of his employment. ir. On Miumring Meadow Lands'-. It is a general practice for the farmers in the southern counties to manure their mea- dow lands at Christmas. We, on the contrary, put it on as soon as pofsible after the sithe. I have made a number of trials with a view to de- termine the merit of each respective way, and dare venture to say that it is better to manure when there is some life in the grafs, than at a time when all vegetation is stopt. The southern farmers alledge, that the volatile parts of the dung may, during that hot season, be exhaled by the sun. I grant that this objection may have some weight; but it must be considered that rain frequently falls » By Mr. T. Bond, of Hewortb, near York. A a 2 572 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. at that se.ason of the year, a small quantity of which will be sufficient to wash the dung amongst the old foots of the gtafs, which, by- shading it from the rays of the sun, enables it to preserve its vigour. This effect is the more readily accomplished, as we constantly employ a heavy bush-harrow to spread the dung equally upon the ground. By following this method, our aftermath generally becomes luxuriant. Besides, it more effectually en- courages tiie shoctin 18 5 5 oil-compost ) One acre adjoining, sown^ with barley, and m'^i-f 3 ^ q ^ 3 ^ nured with rotten dung, C twelve loads, worth J Difference 112 * By James Stovin, Esq. of Doncaster. 382 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. The compost barley was bolder and better corn than the other. In the year 1770, the dunged acre produced of rye, three quarters. The compost acre, of ditto, two quarters six bushels. In the year 1771, the same lands were sown with oats, and the produce was greatly in favour of the dunged acre This last experi- ment, being contrary to the idea of good husbandry, was made with a view to deter- mine the absolute strength of the compost. All top-drefsings are exhausted in the year. The oil-compost seems to retain its vigour longer. It will here be proper to observe, that these experimental lands were in a com- mon field, which had been many years under the plough. X. On the Oil-Compost* . In the spring 1770, I prepared a piece of ground for onions. It was laid out into six beds of equal size, and all sown at the same time. * By Richard Townley, Esq. of Belfield. CE.ORGICAL ESSAYS. 383 Over two of them, the oil-compost was scattered in a very moderate quantity. Over other two, pigeon-dung. And over the re- maining two, some of my weed-compost, which I esteem one of the best manures, for most vegetables, that can be made*'. The onions came up very well in all the beds; but, in about six weeks, those that were, fed with the oil-composr plainly distin- guished the advantage they had over the rest, by their luxuriancy and colour ; and, at the end of the summer, perfected the finest crop that 1 had ever seen, beinj^ greatly superior to the others both in quantity and size. The same spring I made an experiment ypon four rows of cabbages, set at the dis-- tance of four feet every way. Tv.o were manured with the oil-compost, and two with my own. Ail the plants were unluckily damaged, just before they began to foini, by some turkies getting into the field, and pluck- ing off the greatest part of the leaves. How-. ever, they so far recovered as to weigh, in the' * This compost is formed of vegetable substances re- duced into putrefaction. S84 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. September following, from 22 to 28 lb. a-piece. The rows proved so equal in goodnefs, that I could not determine which had the ad- vantage. The same year, one part of a field of wheat exposed to the north-east winds, which that spring continued to blow for a month or five wrecks, appeared very poor and languid at the time of tillering. Over it I ordered some of the oil-compost to be sown with the hand, which not only recovered, but also pushed forwards the wheat plants in that part of the field, so as to make them little inferior, if any, to the rest. The same spring I made a comparative ex- periment upon four contiguous lands of oats, between the oil-compost and my own weed- compost. The latter had manifestly the advantage, though the other produced a very fine and large crop. I also tried the oil- compost upon carrots, and it answered ex- ceedingly well. I did the same this year, (1771) both upon them and my onions; and have the finest crops of those vegetables I ever saw any where upon the same com* pafs of ground. 6E0RGICAL ESSAYS. S85 XI. To make a rich Compost of Pojid-mud, 5sV*. We may naturally suppose that the mud of ponds, in general, is of a rich nature, when we consider the materials of which it is com- posed. First, Ponds, from the lovvnefs of their situation, receive the drainage, and conse- quently the riches' of the adjacent lands around them. Secondly, A supply of various matter is constantly brought by the wind, and particularly the leaves of trees during the winter season. Lastly, Cattle afford the greatest supply by their dung and urine, as they frequent ponds at most seasons, but chiefly in warm weather. Let the pond be cleaned out any time during the summer 3 if the mud is soft and slimy when taken out, it will be proper to let it lie a short time near the pond bank to harden; Then mark out a staddie, in proportion to the quantity of mud taken out, which if not very considerable, the first course, or founda- tion of the intended heap, may be made of common mould, taken from any mound, * By Mr. William Speechly. Volume I. B b 586 GEORGTCAL ESSAYS. hillock, &c. where it is most convenient, which should be laid at least one foot thick ; upon this lay a cours.e of dung, fresh from the stable, fourteen or fifteen inches in thicknefs : next put a layer of pond-mud, nine or ten inches thick, upon which lay a course of lime, fresh from the kiln, five or she inches thick ; and so alternately a layer of dung and lime between every two layers of pond-mud, till the whole is finished. In this place it should be remarked, that it is absolutely necefsary to separate the layers of lime apd* dung by a layer of pond-mud. In places where they can be got, the offal of animals, soot, saw-dusty sweepings of streets, or in short any vegetable or animal substance that is reducible, will be exceed- ingly proper to add to the compost. The whole may be covered with a coat of common mould. The dung and lime will occasion a gentle ferment throughout the whole mafs^ the bottom layer excepted. After the heap has lain three or four months, it should be turned over with the spade, and by the next spring it will be ready to lay upon tillage land 5 but if it is intended GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 387 to be used as a top-drefsing, it should then continue in the heap till the following winter, by which time it will become a fine rich com- post, exceedingly proper for that purpose. — In the latter instance, a good crop of potatoes may be got upon the heap, and it will save expense and trouble in w^eeding. The quantity of mould in the bottom liayer, and also in the coveting, may be varied at pleasure, xir. On protecting Wall Fruit*. Hearing that covering fruit-trees growing against a vvall, would protect them from the effects of frost, at the time when the blofsoms make their appearance, I determined on making the trial upon a well-spread Apricot- tree, which grew upon a south wall j and in order that the Experiment should .prove conclusive, I covered one half of the tree with a net, leaving the other half exposed to the weather. The consequence was, the covered branches produced fruit abun- dantly, while the exposed branches did not * By William Duffin, Esq. Bb2 388 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. bear a single apricot. The net was put on when the blofsoms made their first appear- ance, and kept on till the fruit was fairly set. I observed on this experiment, that the net attracted the moisture of the atmosphere, which occasioned the threads of the meshes to be constantly covered with ice, when the evenings and mornings were disposed to be frosty. XIII. How to improve the Turf of poor Pasture Lands*. It is well known that the turf on poor land, constantly gets worse a few years after having been laid down for pasture. The cause is obvious. There are a few spirey grafses, natural to most poor lands, and these are called natural grafses. The seeds of clover, and other kinds of grafses introduced, are generally termed artificial. The roots of these are not very durable on poor land, and as cattle are greedy of these grafses, they con- stantly crop themi and prevent their going into seed, whereby the land is deprived of fresh supplies of young plants ; whereas the natural grafses, in general, being much iur * By Mr. William Speechly. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 389 ferlor to the former in quality, are refused by cattle, and the land, consequently, soon be- comes plentifully stocked with them. The general mode of practice to improve land when the turf gets thin and bad, is to bring it under a course of ploughing. But when that is not convenient, or when the occu- pier of such lands is not inclined to introduce the plough, they may be greatly improved by having fresh seed sown upon them. The best season for doing it is in the beginning of April. Let the ground first be well worked over with a heavy bush harrow, this will brush up and raise the soil, and the better prepare it for the seed to strike. A drefsing of compost-earth should then be given, and the seed sown thereon ; after which, let the ground be lightly brushed over, and well rolled. If the season prove moist and kind, the seed will thrive to admiration, and wonderfully improve both the turf and ver- dure. Land that has been greatly cut up by carriages, or much trode up by cattle, is also capable of being thus improved, without the drefsing of compost-earth. Bb3 ^90 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. In paddocks where the land has been cut up even to an extreme degree, by rude and wait- ton horses, I have seen a new and verdant turf arise, even to amazement, in a few weeks after sowing the seeds. It will be necefsary to observe, that cattle should be prevented from coming upon the land till the turf get well set. It were much to be wished that farmers Would at all times pay the utmost attention to the saving of hay-seeds, but particularly at the season of making the hay-ricks ; a con- sideration of great importance. Large quan- tities of seed may be saved, by having a cloth constantly kept between the rick and the waggon, at the time of unloading the hay. The seeds, that shell out at that season are certainly in the greatest perfection, being per- fectly ripe, and totally uninjured by the heat- ing of the hay. XIV. IIo'u) to renovate an old Mulberry-tree*. It often happens that old Mulberry-trees become bad bearers, or cast their fruit before * jB V Mr. William Speeclil/. GtORGICAL ESSAYS* 391 It comes to maturity. In either of these cases, let a trench be cut about two feet deep round the tree, and about four feet from the bole. Let this trench be filled with fresh mould, enriched with cow-dung ; and as the large roots may be raised without incon- venience, let the compost be put under them, so as to make the bed, over which the tree stands, as rich as pofsible. At the same time, let the old wood be cut from the head of tha tree, in order that the young wood may have space to grow in. These operations being judiciously conducted, you will, in a few years, have an old tree converted into a youn"- one. Let it also be observed, that, if you expect plenty of fruit, you must never permit the ground to be cropped near the tree, for by the spade, the feeding fibres of the roots will be cut off at the time when the fruit -re- quires the utmost nourishment. XV. A general Idea of the Oil-Compost*. This compost was originally formed upon the supposition that oily particles constitute the chief nourishment of vegetables. The use * By A. Hunter, M.D. Bb4 ti^2. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. of rape-dust, and other oily and saponaceous manures, place this doctrine in a favourable light. It now remains that we determine the merit of the compost by accurate experiments. The oil-compost may be used two ways: It ynay either be sown upon the surface with the hand, or worked into the soil by the plough or spade. For corn and horizontal feeders, the first method is most proper. The latter is best for cabbages, hops, beans, carrots, and all tap-rooted plants. When distributed upon the surface, it is soon meliorated by the action of the air, rains, and dews. When worked into the soil, it is deprived of those necefsary influences. Here lies a material distinction which leads to its right use and application. Previous to the planting of any deep-rooting vegetable, the compost should be worked into the soil by the plough or spade. Its particles, when undivided, are too hot for the tender shoots. Some injudicious inquirers have placed a handful of the compost close to the roots of a cabbage plant, flattering themselves that they were then conducting an experiment u?n crucis. 6E0RGICAL ESSAYS. l895 Death, or a feeble vegetation, ensued. Hence arose an argument against the nutritive power of the compost. Lime, the ashes of burnt ve- getables, stale urine, goose and pig-dung, when improperly applied, are also poisons. It requires some judgment to plan, as well as to reason upon an experiment. Experiments correctly made, constitute the basis on which agriculture fliould be raised; but those experiments should rather be the ef- fect of reason than of chance. To plan an experiment well, to trace it minutely through its progrefs, and to draw a just conclusion, re- quires a perfect knowledge of the history of nature and of art. From a defect in these par- ticulars, we often become hasty in our praise, as well as indiscreet in our censure. From a variety of experiments, I find that the compost should be prepared some months before it is used : It should also be frequently turned and exposed to the influence of the atmosphere. This last operation is absolutely necefsary when the compost is intended to be worked into the soil with the spade. By that means the acrimony of the salt will be abated, and the plant, instead of being burnt up, will S94 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. be encouraged to spread it& roots in quest of nourishment. It will here be necefsary to observe, that the oil-compost was originally intended as a substi- tute for rape-dust, and other expensive top-* drefsings. In all respects it must be considered as inferior to rotten dung. XVI. A profitable Method of sowing Wheat on Land tds strong for Turnips*, In the year 3 768, I had a field about six acres, which, in the common course of hus- bandry, should have been summer-fallowed, in order to prepare it for sowing wheat at the latter end of the year. The soil being a loose crumbling clay, I sowed it with rape, about a fortnight before midsummer, instead of fal- lowing. On the 25th of September, it was stocked with sheep, and eat close to the ground 3 and about a month after that, it was sown with * By Mr. E. Cleaver, of Nunnington. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 395 wheat upon one ploughing. The winter being open, great part of the rape, which was ploughed in, revived in the spring. This, I feared, would endanger the crop. In that situation things remained till about the 20th of April, at which time I thought the rape was in full sap. I therefore judged this the most favourable season for destroying it. For that purpose I turned in as many ewes and lambs as eat both rape and wheat down in a week j and this had the desired effect, by utterly de- stroying the rape. The field was then left to take its chance. As no weeds appeared, ther© was no expense upon that article. The pro- duce was thirty-six bushels per acre, Malton measure, which is five per cent, above Win- chester. I must here observe, that the year 1769 was remarkable for the largenefs of its produce on lands in general ; and, though I am very in- clinable to prefer this method of cultivating wheat, yet, upon an average, I should think that twenty-eight bushels per acre is as much as we can reasonably expect, though the land be in good condition. I say I am inclined to prefer this method. 396 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. because turnips would be of little value to eat off on that kind of land, and at that early sea- son of the year, when they are not sufficiently swelled. Were we, in order to remove that difficulty, to sow them earlier than the usual season, they would probably be either thick- necked or run to seed. It will hardly be necefsary to observe, that the corn produced upon this field was remark- able for the goodnefs of its quality. THE PRODUCE ; S 6 bushels of wheat at 5s. £9 O O Rape eatage at Michaelmas 1 10 O Ditto in April 5 Per acre 10 15 O XVII. On Siberian Spring Wheat *. On the 2d of April, 1771, I drilled two pecks of Siberian spring-wheat on one-third of an acre, in rows one foot asunder. Previous • By Sir Digby Legard, Bart, of Ganlon. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 397 to sowing, the wheat was limed iii the usual manner. The land a rich loam, which had borne a crop of turnips fed off with sheep. The turnips were fine ones, and the land, which lets at sixteen shillings per acre, was in such good order, that I judged one ploughing a sufficient preparation for the wheat crop. The season was at first unkindly, and the corn cam^ up very thin, witli many weeds amongst it. It was hand-hoed, and soon after flourished and tillered amazingly. I'hough it appeared fine about the time of maturity, there were, notwithilanding, marly weeds amongst it, and it did not seem quite a full crop.. In the be- ginning of October the corn was cut, and on the 19th of the same month was thrashed. The produce, 12 bushels, 2 pecks, viz. 25 for 1 . 'This appears a considerable produce on the seed sown. The grain was well ripened, and in appearance (for I have not yet sent it to the mill) not inferior to any of the common wheats sown at the usual time. This kind of wheat seems a real acquisition to husbandry j and yet some common white wheat, sown at the same time, had the appearance, whilst growing, of producing somewhat a larger crop, only it did not ripen so kindly, and was also later in ripen- ing. But if this Siberian wheat was superior 398 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. to the common spring-wheat, it was certainly greatly inferior to some wheat of Switzerland sent me by the Society of Arts, and sown on Jand contiguous to the above, and at the same time. This last was as fine a crop as one could look on, ripened a fortnight sooner than any of my spring-wheats, and was as early as any of the autumnal sorts. XVIII. On the Method of raising Seedling Potatoes^. Take a bunch of the apples of a white pota? toe. Hang it up in a dry place during the winter, and in February separate the seeds from the pulp, by washing the apples in water, and prefsing them with the fingers. Then dry the seeds upon paper. In the month of April, sow these seeds, in drills, in a bed of earth well dug, and manured with rotten dung. When the plants are about an inch high, draw a little earth up to them with a hoe, in order to lengthen their main roots, When they are about three inches high, dig them up with a spade, and separate them carefully from each other, in order for planting out in the follow-^ ing manner. * By A. Hunter, M. D. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 399 Prepare a piece of fresh ground by trenching it well. Dig up the seedling plants as before directed, and plant them out in the ground, thus prepared, in such a manner, that there shall be sixteen inches between each plant. — As they advance in growth, let them receive one qr two earthings up, in order to lengthen the main root, and encourage the shoots under ground. By this management the potatoes will, in tlie course of one season, arrive at a considerable size, and the haulm will be as vigorous as if sets had been planted. But what proves the luxuriancy, in the most convincing manner, is, that flowers and apples are sometimes pro- duced. In Lancashire, where the gardeners raise potatoes from seed, they are always two years in bringing them to full size. By the above method of transplanting, with wide distances, many of the potatoes will attain their full size in one season. It is observable, that these seedlings pro- duce potatoes of many different kinds ; and sometimes new sorts are procured. Wc do 400 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. not find any difference whether the apple comes from a round or a kidney kind. It i* not so when we use the set, which invariably produces the same kind. Apples taken from a red potatoe that has flowered in the neighbourhood of white ones, will sometimes produce a kind internally marbled red and white, as I found from an ex- periment made in the year 1773 — and I pre- sume, for the same reason, that apples taken from a white potatoe that has flowered in the neighbourhood of red ones, will produce something of the same kind. This proves to a demonstration, that the male farina is re- ceived into the female organ, without which there could notpofsibly be an impregnation of the seeds lodged in the ovarium. The idea of animal generation, as given us by Lewenhoek, is similar to this, and is in a great measure^ confirmed by it. In both cases, however, there remains a difficulty in explaining how those mongrel productions are formed, that partake of the nature of the male and female parents. But this disquisition is foreign to the present purpose, and more properly belongs to the Efsay on the Sexes of Plants. Potatoes, when propagated from sets, after GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 40l a number of years, are found to decrease in bearing ; for which reason they should be brought back every fourteen years to their original. From a want of attention to this circum stance, I have known potatoes so run out, that they hardly returned treble seed. The farmer complains tlvat his land is tired of then* but the true cause is the age of the se*i: The increase of potatoes raised frcm seed is astonishing. They continue in vigour for about fourteen years ; after which, the pro- duce gradually declines. XIX. On the Alternate Hushandri/i The alternate husbandry seeming well calculated for lands in this part of the world, I was induced to make trial of it in a field of forty acres Irish f; the soil a good kind t3f loam, but so full of large stones as continually * By Lewis Irvin, Esq. of Tanrigoe, in the kingdom «f Ireland. f Ten acres Irish are equal to sixteen English. Volume L C c 402 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. to interrupt the plough. Add to this, its being sadly mangled with old rotten ditches, the foundations of which were mostly com- ])osed of these large stones. To bring this iield into proper culture, the alternate hus- bandry was admirably calculated, as it gave me an opportunity of rolling off the stones and rubbish upon the lea, where they remained till I had leisure to remove them. These stones I got drawn off, and built into a wall five feet high, at the rate of three shillings the rod (21 feet); and which I may have capped and pointed with lime-morfar for half-a crown more. By this method I get a fence that will last for ever. Agreeable to this plan I pro- pose to divide my whole farm into inclosures of ten acres Irish. My grounds being much exposed to the sea, I prefer that size on account of the shelter. It was in the spring of the year 1770 that I began my experiment upon the alternatef husbandry ; and, from what I have observed, in the first year, I am determined to continue that system of farming. It diminishes the expense of manure, and secures a clean fallow ; tvvo objects of the utmost im- portance. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 403 I have above observed, that my experi- mental field was forty acres Irish. The whole was disposed in lands about four yeards broad. Somewhat lefs than one half of the field was sown with 220 stones of oats, which is about half the seed usually put into the ground here. The corn ripened kindly, and I reapeti 3200 stones ; a greater crop than, my neighbours had from double seed. I could not help being greatly satisfied with my succefs, as I was much ridiculed by the name of the Striped- Lutestring Farmer. The oat-lands are now (Jan. 1771) ploughed and split, and will be fallowed for wheat in September. The lea- lands I shall sow in the spring with oats ; and make no doubt of obtaining a crop superior to the last year. The period of time employed in this ex- periment, cannot justify me in making abso- lute conclusions. It is, however, sufficient to encourage me to prosecute the plan as laid down in the seventh efsay of this volume. Cc2 th^ 404 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. XX. The Dimensions of an Earthen Fence, as made in Northumberland* . The fence must be five feet in breadth at the bottom. One foot to be allowed for to plant the quicks on the side next the ditch, and one foot on the other side for the breast of the dike ; so that the whole breadth will contain seven feet. The fence must be made four feet two inches high. The ditch four feet wide at the top, and one yard in the slope, and must be one foot three inches broad at the bottom. The top of the fence must be one foot three inches in breadth. The fence, at the top, must be covered with a sod, the green part uppermost. Four quicks in everv foot. These must be put in horizontally ; so that, when the stem shoots upward, it forms a right angle with the old stock. And this method is found practically better than when the set is put down in a per- pendicular direction. By this mode of fencing, no posts or rails are required. The price in Northumberland is sixpence for each rood of seven yards. ^ B} Thoraai Riddel!, Esq. Felton Park, Northumberland. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 403 XXI. A Method of preparing a rich Co)t)pod'*. Take a sufficient quantity of saw-dusf. — incorporate with it the blood and ofTal of a slaughter-house, putting a layer of one, and a layer of the other, till the whole becomes a moist and foetid .composition. Two loads of this compost, mixed' with three loads o.f of earth, will be sufficient for an acre of wheat, or spring-corn. Being a kind of top-drefsing, it should be put on at the time of sowing, and harrowed in with the grain. It will be necefsary to remark, that this spiecies of manure seems best adapted for lands of an open texture. Tough clays require lime and plenty of dung to break the cohesion of their parts. Farmers should attend to this distinction. This present year I have a field of wheat manured in this manner, and have the pleasure to say, that it is extremely clean, and has all the appearance of turning out an ex- cellent crop. As this kind of compost lies in * By A. Hunter, M. D. C C S 406 GEORGICAL ESSAYS a small compafs, it seems well adapted for the use of such farmers as are obliged to bring their manures from a distance. It is besides extremely rich, and will probably continue in the land much longer than fold-yard or stable-: dung. I apprehend that it is capable of re- storing worn-out land to its original freshnefsj and I am induced to be of that opinion from' the appearance of the above wheat crop, which is now growing upon land much im- poverished by bad management. All animal substances being of the same nature, it is probable that the refuse whale-fat, after the oil is boiled out, will make a com- post of equal goodnefs with the above. I have at present a dunghill made of that offal and horse-dung, hot from the stable. I prefer the fresh dung on account of its reducing the blubber more speedily into a putrid state. — The preparers of train-oil constant-Jy throw this offal into the sea,; but I apprehend that saving it for the purposes of vegetation will be of national advantage. Being an animal sub- stance, there is no doubt of its containing all the principles of other animal bodies j con- sequently it must be an object worthy of the attention of such gentlemen as live in a neigh- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 407 bourhood where train-oil is prepared*. We cannot recommend in too forcible a manner, a proper attention to every substance that is capable of being brought into a state of putre- faction. Notwithstanding what the ingenious Mr. TuU and others have wrote, it is certain that manures, properly managed, are the life and soul of husbandry. Few things, however, in the extensive field of rural economy, are so imperfectly understood. Until the doctrine of manures is clearly and distinctly, laid down, agriculture will remain a vague and uncertain study. XXII. A comparative View of the three different Methods of sowing Barley \. It is undecided amongst farmers which is the best method of sowing grain. To deter- mine the debate, as far as one experiment can be said to determine any thing, I made the following trial. * In a field of twenty acres, which the year before had borne a crop of turnips, I selected * Proposed about thirty years ago. It is now (1801) universally attended to. tBy the Rev. Sir W. Anderson, Bart, of Kilwick. Cc4 408 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. three contiguous lands, each of which mea- sured five roods. The soil, a loamy clay of five inches upon a hard bed of chalky lime- stone. I sowed N° 1 with the four-socked drill-plough, in rows eight inches asunder. — N° 2, under furrow. N** 3, above furrow. The drilled land was finished in two hours, and took three bushels and a half of seed. The other lands were finished in the usual time, and had each the same quantity of seed as the drilled part. The saving in seed is not an object of so much importance in the drill husbandr}'- as is commonly imagined. On the contrary, I am of opinion that the failure of drilled crops often proceeds from too great an attention to this economical part of the system. For about a fortnight after sow^ing, the sea- son was rather dry. N° 1 appeared first. N° 2, next. N° 3, last, during the time of growing, the lands had the appearance of being equally good, and, as the season was a favourable one for barley, the ears ripened kindly. On the 4th of October the corn upon the three expericiental lands was cut. G*EORGICAL ESSAYS. 40^ THE PRODUCE : N«> 1. 60 stocks. 2. • 67 stocks. 3. 65 stooks. Not having the opportunity of thrashing out the whole crops at this season of the year, I ordered one stook of each land to be housed, and carefully thrashed. measure; N«' 1. 3 pecks. 2. — St pecks. 3. 3i pecks. To be satisfied of the relative goodnefs of each, I weighed the products. WEIGHT : N'' 1. 2 St. 12 lb. 2. 3 St. 3i-lb. 5. 2 St. 9i lb. From this experiment we are led to make the following reflections. 1 . That sowing barley under furrow, gives the greatest produce. 410 GjLt^GlCAl ](SSAYS 2. That sowing above furrow is next, 5. That drill-sowing in equi-distant rows of eight inches, is inferior, in quantity, to both. 4. That the drilled barley is considerably the heaviest. 5. That the under-furrow is next. 6. That the above furrow is lightest. I ought here to observe, that N" 2 had two ploughings, but that N** 1 and N° 3 were sown upon a single ploughing. It will also be proper to remark that, for want pf ex- perience in the person who conducted the drill-plough, the bouts were not so regular as they ought to have been, which occasioned, in many places, a considerable lofs of land. — From these circumstances I am induced to think the experiment not so perfectly de- cisive as I could wish. In a short time I hope to be able to measure and weigh the whole produce, by which means the above comparative trial will be rendered more conclusive. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 4lt XXIII. On the Oil-Compost*. On the 1st of October 1771, I sowed two acres of a light channelly soil with wheat, and harrowed in the conipost with the grain. Being at a considerable distance from a large town, we find it very difficult and expensive to pro- cure rotten dung in sufficient quantity for our tillage lands, for which reason we have recourse to hand-drefsings both for our winter and spring corn. Rape-dust and soot are princi- cipally used, but the present price of both these articles is a heavy tax upon the farmer. To obviate that inconvenience, I resolved to make trial of the oil-compost j and from what I have observed in this one experiment, I am encouraged to make a more extensive use of it next year. Being well acquainted with the nature and efficacy of soot, I am satisfied that the above two acres produced as good a crop of wheat as if they had been drefsed with that excellent manure. ^ By Mr. J. Broadbent, of Barwick in EIraet, near Leedi. 412 GEORGICAL ESSAYS, XXIV. On the Juice of Carrots j S(c*. For many years carrots were appropriated to culinary uses only. They are now found to be an excellent food for horses and hogs f . 1 have often thought that their exprefsed juice might be converted by a cheap procefs into ale, spirit, and vinegar. Some experiments that I made in the year 1772 J, though they did not perfectly succeed, confirm me in that opinion. I beg leave to recommend to the philoso- phical farmer an examination of the carrot juice. It is a subject worthy of his attention, * By A. Hunter, M. D. f Fidn the ingenious Mr. Young's Effay on the ma- nagement of hogs. i The vinous fermentation went on agreeably for about six hours, after which it suddenly ceased. This experiment was several times repeated, and with the same appear- ances. Probably a portion of brown sugar, or molafles, may be of use in keeping up the fermentation ; though, from the sweet taste of the juice, one would not suspect an addition of that kind necefsary. The pulp of the carrot, when mixed with bean meal, makes an excellent food for hogs, and is preferable to grains for milk cows, GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 41S One acre of good carrots (eighteen tons) will produce forty hogsheads of a saccharine juice. Dr. Marggraf was not able to obtain crystalli- zed sugar from carrots, though he got it from skirrets and beets. An examination of these juices, with a view to obtain wine, spirit, and vinegar, may be worthy of notice. The pro- cefs for sugar is too expensive for practical use. As an Inducement to others, I shall here subjoin Dr. Marggraf's experiments. " The plants," says this ingenious inquirer, " which I chymically examined in order to ex- tract sugar from their roots, and which yielded a considerable quantity, are very common in most countries, and require neither a fine soil nor afsiduous culture ^ such, for instance, are, 1. White Beets. 2. Skirrets. 3. Red Beets. " The roots of these three plants yielded a large quantity of pure sugar. You may know the roots of the plants which contain sugar by these characteristics : When you have 414 GE0R6ICAL ESSAYS. cut the roots in pieces, and wiped them very clean, they have a very agreeable taste ; and if you examine the pieces by a microscope, you will perceive whitish crystalline particles, which are a true sugar. *^ As sugar is a salt which difsolves even in brandy, I imagined that the sugar might be separated from the parts of plants by means of the best and strongest brandy I could get. Previously to determine the quantity of sugar difsolvable this way, I put into a glafs an ounce of the finest and best sugar, well pul- verized, together with four ounces of the strongest brandy ; the whole being well digested, I boiled them together, and the sugar was soon perfectly difsolved. Whilst this solution was yet warm, I strained it through a linen cloth into another glafs ; I corked it close, and after it had stood eight days, I had the pleasure of seeing the sugar form itself anew into very fine crystals • To succeed in this experiment, the sugar and glafs must be quite dry, and the brandy well rectified. " Having prepared the way by this experi- ment, I took the roots of white beets, and. OE0R6TCAL fiSSAY»« ll$ "having cut them into small slices, I laid them by the fire to dry, taking care not to burn them ; I then reduced them to a coarse pov/der, and laid it to dry a second time, be- cause it is very apt to contract moisture : whilst this course powder was yet warm, I put eight ounces of it into a glafs vefsel, and poured upon it sixteen ounces of brandy, so strong that it fired gunpowder. The vefsel was above half full, and having corked it close, I set it in a sand-heat till the brandy began to boil ; stirring it from time to time, that the powder might not settle to the bottom. ** As soon as the brandy began to boil, I took the vefsel off the fire, and poured the mixture as quickly as pofsible into a linen bag, and prefsed it well to squeeze out all the liquor j I then pafsed this liquor through a linen cloth whilst it was yet warm, and put it into a glafs vefsel well corked, and set it in a warm place. The liquor was at first turbid, but after some weeks a crystalline sediment appeared, which had all the cha- racters of an impure sugar, and was full of very hard crystals. To purify them yet more, I difsolved them a second time in brandy, and 416 CEORGICAL ESSAYS. proceeded in the same manner as I had done' with the real sugar. " By this method, which was the first that I fell upon, I obtained from the three roots above-mentioned the following quantities of sugar: " 1 . From half a pound of white beets, half an ounce of pure sugar. " 2. From half a pound of skirrets, an ounce and an half of pure sugar. " 3. From half a pound of red beets, one ounce of pure sugar. " It is evident, from these experiments, that lime-water is not at all necefsary to dry and thicken the sugar, as some pretend, since the sugar crystallizes without it. " Being thus afsured that there was real sugar in plants, I endeavoured to find out a lefs expensive manner of extracting it ; and the best way seemed to me, first to prefs out the juice of the plants, then to purify this juice, and to prepare it for crystallizing by GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 417 evaporation ; and lastly to purify the crystals that proceeded from it. " I took a certain quantity of skirrcts ; I cut the roots, whilst fresh, into small pieces, and pounded thorn as small as pof^ible in a;i iron mortar ; I then put them into a linen bag, and prefsed out the juice in a prefs pre- pared for the purpose : after this I poured water upon the roots remaining in tiie bag, and prefsed them a second time. I then put the liquor all together into a very clean vefsel, and let it stand to settle in a cool place for forty-eight hours ^ in which time it became clear, and a mealy substance settled to the bottom ; I then poured off the liquor gently, and pafsed it through a linen cloth into another vefsel. " The first clarification being thus made, I put some whites of eggs to the juice, and boiled it in a brafs pan, scumming it con- tinually till no further impurities appeared on the surface ; I then pafsed it through a linen cloth, and the liquor was as transparent as the clearest wine. I boiled it again in a lefs pan till it was considerably decreased, and so again and again, in yet lefs vefscls, till there Volume L D d 418 GEORGICAL ESSAYS, remained only a pretty thick syrup, which I put into a very clean glafs vefsel, and set it in a warm place. I let it stand above six months, and then found the sugar sticking to the sides of the glafs in the form of little crystals. *' To purify these crystals, I put the vefsel into warm water, and when the heat had penetrated the glafs, so as to render the mix- ture fluid, I poured both the liquor and cr}'stals into an earthen vefsel, broad at top and narrow at bottom, and the bottom per- forated with several holes ; this vefsel I put into another, and covered both up, and set them in a temperate place : by these means the syrup gradually dropt into the lower vefsel, and the crystals were left in the upper one. This crude sugar I then put into blot- ting paper, folded different ways, and prefsed it lightly in a prefs; this dried it, and rendered it more pure, the paper imbibing a good deal' of the tenacious viscid syrup, which yet stuck to the sugar. *' The sugar, thus cleaned of the greatest part of its impurities, I difsolved again in 'N^ater,pafied it tli rough a clean linen cloth, and GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 419 boiled it to the consistence of a thick syrup, then put a little lime-water to it, and boiled it gently till it became ropy; I then took it off the fire, and stirred it about till it cooled and thick- ened a little ; after which I poured it into a well-burnt earthen vefsel in the form of a cone, closed at the small end with a wooden stop- per, which vefsel I put into others that were deeper, and set them in a temperate place. In a few days the sugar became tolerably hard and full of crystals ; and when it had stood eight days, I took out the stopper, and set the vefsels in a warm place that the syrup might run off: this syrup is fit for the same uses as common treacle ; and the sugar, after drying and purifying by means of the blotting paper as before, is equal to the best brown sugar of St. Thomas, commonly called Moscovad. By a similar procefs, sugar may be extracted from red and white beets. The sugar of skirrets is of a better quality than that of red beets, but the sugar of white beets is best of all. " I endeavoured to extract sugar from the stems and leaves of these plants, but could obtain from them oniv a sort of tartar: it is very remarkable that the roots of these plants Dd2 420 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. should contain sugar, and that the stems and leaves should be entirely destitute of it. " These experiments may be useful to farmers and other people of this country in low circumstances. Instead of buying sugar, which is very dear, they may obtain it from the plants at their own doors ; they need not go through all the steps of the foregoing pro- cefs ; for them it may suffice to exprefs the juice, to strain and purify it a little, and then to boil it down to the consistence of a syrup, and so use it ; it will certainly be more pure than the grofs treacle of the shops. Besides, from these experiments we learn, that those countries which produce the sugar-cane, are not the only ones which nature hath furnished with sugar. " I made trials upon several other vege- tables besides those I have mentioned ^ I could obtain no sugar from carrots ; the juice they yielded was extremely sweet, but resembled honey rather than sugar ; parsnips yielded a little sugar j two species of dogs- grafs yielded a very sweet juice, but not sugar; the juice of the Birch-tree yielded a sort of manna." GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 421 From these experiments it is abundantly evident, that many common roots of this country contain a Jarge share of saccharine juice. They consequently are capable of being converted into wine, spirit, and vinegar. To determine this point, (in 177S) I took 24 bushels of carrots in the month of October. After being washed, topped, and tailed, I. put them into a large brewing copper with four gallons of water, and covering them up with cloths, to hasten the maceration, I ordered a fire to be kindled underneath, which in a short time reduced the whole into a tender pulp. They were then put into a common screw- prefs, and the juice taken from them, which, together with the liquor left in the copper, was run through a flannel bag. The juice was then returned into the copper, and, as it was my design to make it into ale, I put to it a proportionable quantity of hops. The liquor was then boiled about an hour, when it acquired both the taste and colour of wort. It was next put into a cooler, and afterwards into the working vefsel, where the yeast was added to it. It worked kindly, and in all re- spects was treated as ale. I allowed it to remain in the cask about four months, when I broached it, but found it of a thick and Dd 3 4-22 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. iDuddy appearance. I attempted to fine it, but in vain. The taste was by no means dis- pleasing, as it much resembled malt liquor. My first intention being frustrated, I threw it into the still, being about forty gallons in measure, and by two distillations obtained four gallons of a clean proof-spirit. It had, however, contracted a flavour from the hop, which should be left out when the intention is to reduce the liquor into spirit. From a grofs calculation, I an^, induced to think that a good acre of carrots, manufactured in this manner, will leave a profit of forty pounds after deducting the landlord's rent, cultivation, distillation, and other incidental expenses. In this calculation, I presume that the spirit is worth six shillings per gallon, and not ex- cised. An acre of barley will by no means produce so much spirit. A rich sandy loam is the best land for c?rrots, which, after the crop is removed, will be in high cultivation for corn. The succefs of my trial, will, I flatter myself, be the means of inducing others to repeat the experiment, with a view to determine how far the growth of car- rots for the use of the distiller may be con- sidered in the light of a national advantage. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 423 XXV. On a Method of raising Potatoes in JVintcf*. Make a compost of earth, sand, and coal- ashes. With this mixture fill a tub about sixteen inches deep. Plant this artificial soil with some sets of the early round potatoc, and place the tub in a stable opposite to a window, taking care to water the earth now and then. In all seasons the sets will sprout, and give a tolerable increase of potatoes. Last November I planted some sets in the above manners and, in the February following, I took up a considerable number of young potatoes, clean skinned and well flavoured. XXVI. On sowing Turnips for late feeding \. The advantages of having Turnips good till the spring-feed is ready, are so obvious and so great, that it is matter of wonder that so few farmers do follow the custom in Norfolk, * By Mr. Seth Agar, York. •J- By a Suffolk Farmer. Dd 4 424 GEORGICAL ESSAYS which is to continue sowing turnips to the latter end of August, by which means their ]atc crops remain good m the field till the latter end of April, pur int^eated me to make the experiment. I should be glad to hear that the Baron's com- post has succeeded better with others who have given it a fair tri^l i for was it pofsefsed of half the boasted virtues afcribed to it, it would prove a most valuable acquisition to the farmer and the public. The same year in which these experiments were made, Ltried the oil-compost upon some parts of my wheat crops, which discovered great weaknefs and poverty at the time of tillering, and with considerable succefs. XXXIX. On Egyptian Wheat*. In September, 1772, I received from a friend twelve grains of Egyptian wheat, which * B_y Richard Townley, Esq. of Belfield. GEO^GICAL J^SSAYS. 44S I have reason to believe was the Triticinjt ramosiim et centumgranium of Pliny, of the produce of which he gives such extraordinary accounts. After giving an account in what parts of Africa this remarkable species of wheat is produced, he says, " Et imprimis /Egypto." Six of these grains I gave to a neighbouring gentleman, the other six I put down in my own garden, at the depth of two inches within the soil, and nine inches dis- tance from each other. The ground was kept hoed and clean from weeds, which was the only afsistance that was given to the plants. When the ears became heavy, I ordered the stems to be tied up to stakes, to prevent their breaking down with wind or rain. These six grains produced one hundred and two stems, with large branching ears, and the ears contained, upon an average, one hun- dred and twenty grains, or better j so that the produce of the six grains, at the medium of one hundred and twenty grains to each ear, makes 12,240, or 204-0 from each grain. Most of the grains were plump and large, and the flour within was of a s:ood colour. I cannot help exprefsing my fears, that this species of wheat, produced in the fertile soil and serene climate of Egypt, will be apt to 444 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. degenerate in this island ; though we have often found, by experience, that different kinds of grain, as well as plants, natives of countries far more favourable to vegetation than our own, have flourished very well amongst us ; and to appearance have, in a series of years, afsimilated their natures to our soil and atmosphere. I propose to sow this kind of wheat at different seasons of the year ; and if it can be kept up to its present standard, with early sowing, it will prove a great acquisition to agriculture. According to my trials, it stands our frosts as well as our common wheats ; and being a strong-bearded grain, it is well defended against the ravages of the birds, which, near villages and inclose^ countries, is no inconsiderable advantage, XL. On the Culture of Cabbages*, In a field from which I gathered last year a prodigious crop of turnips, amounting to one hundred tons per acre, (Cheshire measure) I this year have raised cabbages. The land was ploughed into ridges of three and a half, or -N . - r * By T. B. Bailej, Esq. F. R. S. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 445 four feet, and each ridge prepared with ma- nure as for potatoes, i. e. the dung or litter was only laid under the middle of the ridge. The plants, raised from seeds sown in August, 1772, and transplanted on beds in October following, were set out in this field at the dis- tance of about two feet and a half, or three feet, in March and April ; were once hand- hoed and twice horse-hoed through the sum- mer, but were greatly retarded in their growth by the excefsive heats and dry weather in June and July. The number of plants set out on a Cheshire acre was near eleven thousand. — As a greatquantityof my autumn plants were killed in the winter, I sowed more seed in February ; but this year's experience, added to that of the preceding ones, has convinced me, that it is absolutely in vain to expect a. weighty crop of cabbages from spring plants. Tlie sorts I sowed were the North American and Scotch ; but I find that the Scotch is, on all accounts, preferable, and far more durable. In the month of November, I took up and weighed a square rod, or sixty-four yards, con- taining sixty-eight cabbages, of which fifteen or twenty were small, being spring plants. The weight was 1211 lb. — on an averag,^ 17 lb. or 446 GEORGICAL ESSAYS eighty-six tons ten hundred. — Taking out fif- teen spring plants, at 2 lb. each, out of the above number sixty-eight, the average will be 22 lb. or 103 tons to the Cheshire acre, and this, I take, will not much exceed the acreable produce of my autumn-sown plants. — Sup- posing, therefore, that, on a medium, each cow or ox eats half a ton a week, or 143 lb. each 24 hours, and that this keep is only worth 4s. per week, an acre of cabbages, as above, at this estimate, will be worth 41 1, per acre , but at the first calculation of 86 tons ten hundred, it will be worth 341. EXPENSES •- Rent, £z 10 Manure, - 5 Two ploughings. 1 Plants, - 4 Setting, - 8 Hand-hoeing - 4 Two Horse-hoeings, ■ 10 Harrowing, - 3 14 15 34 19 5 O GEOSGICAL fiSSAYS. 447 In the account of expenses I have rated them beyond the truth, and have estimated the land at an high value -, but it v^ill be objected, that 51. an acre is not enough fof- manure ; I answer, more than enough for land rich likfe mine j but allowing 121. an acre, still the profit will be 121.- 5s. This account will-, I hope, pVeva'il on others to iriake tri^l 6f thfese plafttsl THey come to their perfeiti'oh when ttie eddish is over, ari(l greatly exceed turnips in feeding either fat cattle or milk coVvs, and are not only to be sought for, as they are an excellent food, and produce riiucli dung, but as they save hay, which; i'n general, is very dear and scarce iii this country, and does by ho means produce so mUch milk, or fat beasts so well. Will four shillings a-week keep a large cow in fine order when hay is 6d. pjer stone ? and it is often more. XLI. The Method ofiising Se'd-lVeed in IS^coilariii*. '' " Of sea-weed there are three difTerent kinds. The best is that which is cut from the rocks, * By Sir A. Purves, Bart. 443 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. and of which kelp is made. The second-b^st is called the peasy sort. The worst is that with a long stalk. All these kinds are used in Scot- land, but chiefly for the barley-crop, in which case, or for fallow, it is ploughed in directly. The people of the country have so high an opi- nion of its fertilizing quality, that they some- times lay it on after the barley is in the ground, but that is a slovenly and injudicious method. In the neighbourhood of Berwick, it is used in their compound dunghills, with fold-yard, stable-dung, and earth j and in that manner an immense quantity of dung is produced by such farmers as are situated near the sea. In that neighbourhood, the farmers are very intelli- gent ; and it is a pity that such excellent ma- nagement should be so little known in many parts of the northern coast of England,* where the sea-weed is produced in great abundance. It is remarkable that such farmers as use the sea-weed properly, have their lands in such heart as seldom to have occasion for a fallow to restore their freshnefs. This species of manure is experimentally found to be excel- lent for gardens, as it not only enriches the ground, but also destroys all kinds of vermin. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 449 XLir. The Method of preparing Land for so^ji'ing Liiccrn broad-casl*. It having been found by repeated experi- ments, that broad-cast lucern will not succeed upon lands that are not perfectly clean, I de- termined upon the following method of pre- paration, which has succeeded beyond my most sanguine expectations. In the month of August, 1771, I mowed tlie grafs from one acre three roods of land intended for lucern, and immediately after the hay was removed, I pared and burnt the surface. The ashes were put into two heaps, and covered with sods, to prevent the in- fluence of the air upon the salts produced by this operation, 'i'he ground was then ploughed as deep as its staple would admit of. On the ] 1th of November I harrowed it with heavy harrows, and on the 2jth I ploughed it acrofs. On the 4th of January, 1772, it was harrowed again. One heap of the ashes was spread on the 23d of- March, and on the 2d of April the land was ploughed and sown - Bv A. St. Lcgf?r, Esq. Volume I. F f 450 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. with lentils. Had the weather permitted, I should have sown immediately upon spread- ing the ashes. About the beginning of August the lentils were cut, and the other heap of ashes was spread upon the surface ; after which the land was ploughed, and immediately sown with turnip-seed. The turnips were well hoed, and produced an exceeding good crop. Being late sown, they consequently kept later in the spring than such as were sown at the usual season. From this mode of management, I dare say that no land was ever in a better state for the Norfolk course of crops— of all others the most rational and profitable. But as my de- sign is only to give the best method of pre- paring land for sowing lucern broad-cast, I shall drop any observations upon the pro- priety of the Norfolk husbandry, viz. turnips, barley, clover, and wheat. The exact esti- mate of the expense incurred by my manage- ment is as follows 5 Two years rent, - - c^ 1 8 O Mowing and getting the hay, 7 Carried forward, 115 O GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 451 Brought forward, jC V 15 O Paring and burning, - - 1 10 7i Ploughing three times, - 14 Harrowing, - - -050 Gathering the ashes into heaps, 15 O Spreading ditto, - - 10 O Lentil and turnip-seed. - -0150 Mowing and getting the lentils, 9 Hoeing turnips,' - - 7 Produce of hay. Ditto of lentils, - Value of turnips. 7 6 . 4 3 10 7-^ 13 7 10 7i Profit, 5 9 4i In May, 1773, T sowed the field, broad- cast, with lucern-seed, after being properly ploughed. and harrowed. The quantity of seed twelve pounds per acre, which I re- commend to be sown at twice, in order that the seed may be the more equally distributed upon the surface. Every time that the lucern is cut, the land must be run over by the Ff2 452 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. harrows, to tear up the grafs and weeds that otherwise would eat out the lucern. The year after sowing, the plants should be hand- weeded, being then very tender ; but the succeeding years, when the roots have firmly penetrated the soil, the heaviest harrows may be introduced, without a pofsibility of in- juring the plants. After the frosts are over, and vegetation begins, the lands may be harrowed, if foul ; but if clean, that operation will not be re- quired till after the first cutting. At this present time, (August 1775) I am cutting the third crop, and expect another cutting this season. With the above preparation of the land, and a proper attention to the lucern after being sown, there is no doubt but that this foreign grafs will be a means of im- proving the British Husbandry, by liberally supplying our cattle with green forage of a most luxurious and nourishing nature. XLiir. On Transplanting Potatoe Tops*. On the 18th of May, 1772, finding some beds I had sown very early with onions to be * By Mr. Ellera;, near Manchester. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 453 a mifsing crop, I was induced to make the following experiment. The year before, I had set some potatoes in another part of my garden, in the common way j and as it is im- pofsible but some will remain in the ground all winter, so I found a number of sprouts about three inches high, which I nipped off close to the ground, and transplanted them into the onion beds, without any further pre- paration, about a foot and a half asunder, in the same manner that cabbages and cauli- flowers are planted. As the season became immediately very dry, I was obliged to give my plants a little water for four or five suc- cefsive nights ; after which they began to flourish, and had the appearance of a promis- ing crop during all the summer. At the usual time, in October, I ordered them to be taken up s and for size, quantity, and quality, they exceeded all I ever had in the common way. Had the ground been fresh, properly manured and prepared, and the plants put down at a proper distance from each other, I am of opinion that the succefs would have been still greater. Cuttings from the full grown plant will take root in the same kindly nianner, if gently watered when put down. Ff3 4j4 georgical essays. Both these experiments are, however, but matters of curiosity. XLIV. On ?nifiitiie Lime*. Take twenty-four bushels of slaked lime ; train-oil foot, sixteen gallons. Mix these together, taking care that the lime be suf- ficiently cold before the oil is added. This quantity is thought sufficient for an acre of winter or spring corn. It is intended to sup- ply the place of rape-dust, and should be put upon the land in the same manner. It may also be recommended as a top-drcfsing for wheat in the spring ; the earlier the better. From the few trials that have been made upon this compost, it appears to be pofsefsed of considerable nutritive powers ; but as nothing should be adopted as a truth in agriculture, which has not stood the test of numerous trials, the above compost is recommended as an object worthy of future experiment. It is also recommended to gardeners as a top- drefsing for all kinds of seeds, as it is pre- sumed that it will prevent the mischiefs '^ By A. Hunter, M. D. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 455 occasioned by insects. By the experiments of Mr. Townley, of BelfieJd, near Rochdale, the oil-compost is found to be of great use in raising large crops of onions. This nutritive lime being upon the same principles, and much easier of preparation, will probably answer the same purposes. It will' here be proper to remark, that light soils are best managed by top-drefsings : Stiff lands require lime and plenty of rotten dung to break the cohesion of their particles. This distinction should be seriously attended to by the culti- vators of land, who wish to enlar'^e their understandings by tracing effects up to their proper causes. XLV. On feeding Hogs with Potatoes*. From an accurate experiment made last year, I dare venture to recommend baked potatoes as an excellent food for ho<^s. The pork produced by this food, was equal to that from barley and beans ; but at present I can- not exactly ascertain the comparative experi- ment with regard to expense ; however, I am of opinion that roasted potatoes, consideriu"- By Mr. Charles Chaloner. Ff4 456 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. the improvement of the hogs, is as cheap a foodj if not cheaper, than can be given them. I roast my potatoes upon a kiln, similar to what is used by oat-meal shellers for drying their oats. The difference in ex- pense between boiling and roasting the pota- toes is prodigious, both with regard to the labour ancT fuel. A kiln that will cost 3l. will roast potatoes sufficient for the main- tenance of more than 20 hogs ; and one man will bestow all the necefsary attendance upon them, and do other work besides. The action of the fire, by difsipating the crude juices that are contained in raw potatoes, re- duces them into a state highly wholesome and nutritious. Boiling does this in part, but not so effectually. A potatoe roasted in the man- ner above described, partakes much of the nature of a chesnut, and perhaps is not greatly inferior to it. . XLVI. A Comparison between Red and White Wheat*. It is a mistaken notion in those who buy wheat for family use, to give the preference * B> Mr. JL. Cleaver, of Nunningtor, near York. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 457 to the white sort, it being a demonstrable fact, that the red is considerably heavier. It is moreover of suoh a strong body, that provided you weigh 100 lb. of the flour made from white wheat, and 100 lb. from red wheat, the latter by taking a greater quantity of water, will make a larger weiglit of bread. This circum- stance is known to few, except bakers and corn-dealers, who, iii many of the country markets, buy the red wheat at 8d. and some- times Is. per bushel under the price of the white and weaker kind. XLVir. On the best Method of raising Early Potatoes* As the culture of potatoes, and particularly of the early sorts for the table, has of late be- come an object of very general attention, I hope the following account of a new method of obtaining these (without the help of hot-beds) will be acceptable to the public. On the 2d of January, 1 772, I made a hot- bed for the forward sort of potatoes, and on the 7th put in the sets, placing a glafs and frame By Mr. M. Kirk, ofWiidcrspool, near Manchester. 458 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. over them, and taking every precaution to de- fend them from the frost. Of these small pota- toes, or sets, their remained about forty in a basket, which was accidentally hung up in a warm kitchen, and there remained unnoticed till about the '2jth of April. I then accident- ally observed the basket, and perceiving some- thing green on the edge of it, took it down, and, to my great surprise, found that the po- tatoes had sprouted half a yard in length, and that there w ere a great number of very small potatoes formed on the fibrous roots which had grown out. 1 took them into my garden, and planted them in a rich sandy soil, without any manure. The roots I put into the ground three inches deep, and laid down the stems that had sprouted, horizontally, and covered them with two inches of soil, but left the tops uncovered. Without farther attention they grew surprisingly. On the 26ih of May, I took up the roots planted in the hot-bed on the 7th of January. They by no means answered my expectations, or paid for the trouble of their culture : But at the same time, I was astonished to find the others, which were put into the ground so late, to have produced larger potatoes than the GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 459 roots in the hot-bed. I took up all the roots, and picked off the large potatoes from them, which amounted to from 4 to 12 on each root, and then set the roots again on the same ground. This, indeed, I have succefsfully practised for many years, sometimes even twice, and hav«: had a good third crop at Michaelmas. When this method is tried, the roots must be watered on the evenings of hot days. In January, 1773, in order to make a second trial of this experiment with a large quantity, I placed a great many potatoes of the early sorts on a thick layer of gravelly soil, close to each other, over an oven, slated over, but open to the south-west, and covered them two inches deep with the same earth. At the end of April I took them up, and found the stems about a foot long or more. For fear of injuring the fine and delicate fibres of the roots, I took great care in taking them up, and planting them in the soil. This I now manured, but in all other respects treated them in the manner above described, many of the fibrous roots having then potatoes formed upon them, nearly as large as walnuts. For a week the plants came on surprisingly, when, by one 460 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. sharp night's uncommon frost, they were nearly destroyed. However, notwithstanding this, fresh stems grew up in a few days, and I actu- ally gathered from them, on the 3d of June following, finer potatoes than were sold at that time, at Manchester, from Is. to Is. 6d. per lb. being the produce of hot-beds. After taking off the larger potatoes, I again planted the roots for a second crop, and in September obtained a very large produce. I weighed the increase of many separate roots, which amounted from 4 lb 8 oz. to 14 lb. 12oz. the potatoes being the largest of the forward kinds I ever saw. XLVIII, On Lime*, From the repeated succefs I have had in liming of land, I am induced to relate an ex- periment, which I am convinced may be at- tended with as much public utility, as it has been productive of my own private advantage. In the year 1765, I ploughed up a piece of lean swarth, containing 1 8 acres, which, to all * By Mr. E. Cleaver, of Nunningtonj near York. CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 461 appearance, had it been sown with oats, would not have produced above 3 quarters per acre. The quality was a wet, cold clay, not very stiff, but spungy, and worth about 10s. an acre, tithe-free. It will be proper to mention, that, in the time of the distemper amongst the cattle, it was under the plough, and continued in tillage till it would scarce bring the seed again ; after which -it was suffered to lie down without either grafs-seeds or manure, and con- sequently had no chance to improve but by rest and length of time. — This, as near as I can describe, was the quality of the land. , My course of husbandry was as follows : Early in the spring I ploughed it outof swarth, and laid on 167 chaldrons of lime, 32 bushels, upheaped, to the chaldron. The whole was laid on immediately after the first ploughing, or as soon as I could get it burnt and led to the land. After being four times ploughed, and well harrowed between each ploughing, I sowed the whole 18 acres with rape. From the leannefi and toughnefs of the swarth, I could not get it into proper order j so that towards the time of the wheat ripening, rapes put up in the places where the crop was thin- 462 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. nest, and did me considerable damage. I have observed that I laid on 1 67 chaldrons of lime upon the whole 1 8 acres ; which is at the rate of 9t per acre j but as I had a desire to know the effect of the lime in different pro- portions, I divided the field into two unequal portions, N" 1 . and N° 2. On N" 1 . (7 acres) were laid 84 chaldrons, which is 12 chaldron per acre ; on N'^ 2. (11 acres) were laid only 83 chaldrons, which is about li chaldrons per acre. The acreable Produce for three Crops. 1. N^ I. 1770. Rape, (4 ploughings) SST bushels, at 20 1. per last, f 1771. "Wheat, fl ploughing) 501 stooks, or 40 bushels, — j 1772. Oats, (1 ploughing) 68 bushels; but would have been more had not the harvest proved remarkably wet, whereby one fourth of the crop, at least, was lost, s. d. 8 12 5 19 Produce of 3 crops, 25 19 O GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 463 N" II. 1. s. d. 1770. Rape,(4ploughings)24 bushels, 6 1771. Wheat, (I ploughing) 52 ditto, 9 12 1772. Oats (1 ploughing) 68 ditto, 5 19 O Produce of 3 crops, 2111 O Produce of N<» 1. 25 19 O Ditto of N» 2. 21 11 O Difference in 3 crops, 4 8 It must here be remarked that the oats on this part were cut first, and did not receive so much damage by the wet season as N" 1. other- wise they were not near so strong. As I burn my own lime, it does not cost mc above 7s. 6d. per chaldron ; so that the whole 12 chaldrons are paid for in three crops by the extraordinary produce, and the land left in better condition by three or four shillings per acre. I would not have it understood that all land can bear an equal quantity of lime with what I have here mentioned. AVhoevcr tries the ex- periment on old tilled land will find himself in 464 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. an error, especially if the soil be clay, which is apt to be too much bound after the fermenta- tion of the lime is over — but sand lands can never be over-done with lime, provided it be laid on in the spring, and not of that fiery kind which many of the sorts are. Lime differs in quality as well as land itself. In many coun- tries the crops would be burnt up if two chal- drons were laid on an acre ; whereas in Derby- shire there are instances of people laying on 12 and 14 chaldrons per acre on grafs land. As this quantity of lime exceeds any expe- riment I have heard of in this country, I am apprehensive the farmers in general will not give credit to it ; however, I attest it as a fact ; and as it is a thing of much consequence, I shall have a particular pleasure in having it confirmed by similar experiments. XLIX. On preparing Seed-Wlieat with Oil*. The autumn of the year 1770 being remark- ably wet, and a bad time for sowing wheat, whereby many acres of land could not be con- * B}' Mr. E. Cleaver, of Nunnington, near York. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 465 verted to the intended purpose, but were obliged to be cropped witli oats or barley in the spring; I was induced, through the pro- spect of a great scarcity of wheat, to sow down fiv^e acres of land at Candlemas, after eating off a crop of turnips with sheep ; and as th;i season continued extremely unfavourable, I had recourse to the following preparation of my seed, with a view to counteract the wetnefs of the season : I put a pint of fish oil, and 3 lb. of salt, to every bushel of seed ; and as the birds at that season would of course be trouble- some, I sowed three bushels and a half of seed to the acre. 1 had a further reason for bestow- ing this additional yOX rather exiraoi'dinaiy qu^ri'- tity of seed, which was, that the thicker the corn came up, the lefs it would gather, and consequently would ripen quicker. My seed was the common Red Lammas, which is the hardiest as well as the heaviest sort. The pro- duce was 245 stooks (or 45 stooks to the acre) which yielded as follows : B. 50 stooks, threshed out at Michael-") mas, produced — \ ^ 30 ditto at Candlemas, 27 30 ditto in May, — 24 81 Volume /. G iT 466 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. From the computation of 90 stooks to 81 bushels, the whole crop of 245 stooks would yield 220- bushels, or 44 bushels to the acre. Tlie straw was about 24 thraves per acre, and sold so high as Is. 6d. per thvave, wliich is ll. 16s. per acre, though the a'\-eragc price of straw, in this country, is not Is. per thrave. VALUE. 44 bushels, at 6s. each, jOlS 4 24 thraves, at Is. 6d each 116 O Per acre, 15 From the experiment of the proof of the corn by the stock, it plainly appears that, be- tween Michaelmas and Mav-dav, the farmer loses in measure 6 bushels in 30, or y part, by the mere pining of the grain. I find this method of steeping seed-corn in cil was formerly practised by the Romans. Seniina vidi equidem multos medicare serentes, El ujtro prius, cL nigra perl'undere araurca, (jiar.dior ut fctlus siiiqiiis fallacibus efset. ViRG, Georg. lib. i. 1. 193. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 4G7 ^ There is reason to believe that thisproccfs of oiJing the seed will be found highly service- able in wet seasons, and perhaps at all times may contribute to the enriching the farina of the grain, which we know, from experiment, constitutes thenourishmentofthe tender o--rm' L. On Dibbling Wheat *. It is now become very common m the coun- ty of Norfolk to dibble their wheat instead of drilling, or sowing it broad-cast. The advan- tages of this method are numerous It secures a clean crop of excellent seed, and saves to the community an enormous quantity of wheat, that mevitablyinust have been consumed and lostin the common method. It besides finds em- ployment for the women and children, at a tmie when th. ir afsistance is not required bv the farmer for other purposes. Their labour IS therefore a clear gain to the public. Jt has been objected, that if this method should be- come general, the farmer could not procure hands to put his work sufficiently forward. I readily grant that the villages could not suffici- ently supply the necefsary hands, but it should ^y John Curzon, Esq. G rrO o 468 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. be considered, that, where work is certain, numbers of people are invited from towns and other remote distances. I need produce no ar- guments, after mentioning the facility with which hands are procured for the gathering saffron and hops. Previous to setting the wheat, the land must be ploughed and ma- nured as for a crop of broad-cast grain. After harrowing it well, and smoothing the surface with a light roller, it is prepared for setting, w^hich is performed by making holes with a kind of dibble used for pease, the man work- ing backwards, and the women and children following, and dropping two or three grains of wheat into each hole. The dibbles are so contrived, that a man may, with one stroke of his foot, make three or four holes at once — the holes about seven inches asunder, and two inches deep. After the whole ground is set, a light harrow must be introduced to fill up the holes ; and when the weeds advance, some tumip-hoers must be employed to stir the ground and cut down the weeds ; after this, no further care is required till the harvest, when the farmer may be afsured of a plen- tiful and clean crop, in reward for his extra- ordinary attention. Two pecks of wheat will set an acre ; the price of labour about eight GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 4G9 shillings. It is now become a common prac- tice to dibble wheat upon a clover lay after a single ploughing. LI. On Claying Land *. Where the land has never been broke up, the clay may be carried and spread, and suffer- ed to lie a whole year before it is ploughed in. The flag will set the clay a- working; but where there is no flag, a coat of dung will be necef- sary before the land is sown. Where the clay is short, and the soil light, 120 loads will be required for an acre ; but where the clay is strong, and the land not so light, then 60 or 80 loads will be suflicient. It is better to Jay on too little than too much ; it will be suffi- cient if the land is made moderately cloddy. About a cubical yard of clay makes a load. Carry the clay at any convenient time of the year. If time permit, carry it after harvest, and lay it upon a wheat stubble ; there let it remain spread all the winter. In March, plough it in ; again in May, and twice in June, and sow turnips about Midsummer. In Norfolk * By the Rev. Mr. Buxlon, Norfolk. Gg3 470 GEORGICAL ESSAYS they formerly paid one guinea for filling and spreading 120 loads of clay, but now (1772) they are obliged to allow something more. LII. On Siberian Barley *. It is not yet determined what kind of land is most suitable for the cultivation of Siberian barley. From the weight of the grain, it would seem that it requires good rich land ; and in- deed my experiment, when compared with others made upon poor land, seems to me very decisive in favour of a rich soil. In the first week of April, 1774, I ploughed half a rood of land that the year before had borne a crop of cabbages, and sowed it with a bushel of Siberian barley. The soil a rich hazel earth. The crop was reaped before the common bar- ley. The product seven bushels. LIIL- A coniparati-ce J'iew of Manures -f. In the year 1771, I marked out a rood of land into divisions, and sowed them with oats. The variety of manures made use of in this experiment are marked as follows : * By Mr. Wright ofCraike. + By A. Young, Esq. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 471 O -^ --i CN c-1 C-l O CI O s § < a, cj -I o « ho a .2 o' o^ o" "Q ii i! ti 3 ._ ^ ._ o 13 "C -a o o o o ■^J- CN ^ -' ^ O o o -a c o « -a a ^ •5^ rt 6 c •^ a "o i2 .S sT o s ; ^ s ^ n D O J3 — ' S S o a.) •- -2 „ S g rt ^ S -C .C -C ^ bjO """ ^ "^ ~ -C ?5 " w) iJ rt w o O 'T3'^0_000000 « >• rt .■;:; .t: .ti ."ti .■? .-5 .-5 ^^"^ =^-a "T! -o -o ^3 -c -o o oooooooo s s j2 -a "(Nco'^'o^t^ooaiO-IcMc^^'o'-oi^ 1^ G g4. 472 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. LIII. On Potatoes*, When potatoes are planted on land that has a disposition to too much moisture, especially when the sumnler is wet, it gene- rally happens that the crop is injured by water standing in the furrows between the rows. In land so circumstanced, it is a a juicious practice to plant the potatoes acrofs the ridge, which will effectually prevent the water from injuring the crop by giving it a ready descent into the furrows that divide the lands. LIV. On fatting Hogs *. As there were some young hogs that we wanted to keep over the summer, seven of the largest were put up to fat on the 25th of February. They were fatted upon barley- meal, of which they had as much as they could eat ; some days after, the observation of a par- ticular circumstance suggested the following * By Gilbert Crompton, Esq. ■\ By the Earl of Egremont's Steward. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 478 •experiment, A hog, nearly of the same size as the seven, but who had not been put with them because they appeared to be rather larger, but without weighing them, was con- fined on the 4th of March, in a cage made of planks, of which one side was made to move with pegs, so as to fit exactly the size of the hog, with small holes at the bottom for the water to drain from'him, and a door behind to remove the soil. The cage stood upon four feet, about a foot from the ground, and was made to confine the hog so closely, that he could only stand up to feed, and lie down upon his belly. He had only two bushels of barley meal, and the rest of his food was boiled potatoes. They were all killed on the ISth of April, and the weights were as follow, (8 1b. to the stone:) The hog in the cage, 13 st. 2 lb. The other hogs, all of the same breed, 12 St. 21b. 12 ' 3 11 2 11 4 11 4 11 2 12 2 47i GEORGICAL ESSAYS. The hog in the cage was weighed before he was put in ; he then weighed, aliv e, 11 St. 1 lb. He was kept five weeks and five days, and then weighed, alive, 18st. 3lb. He eat two bushels of barley-meal, and about eight bushels of potatoes. He was sulky for the two first days, and would eat nothing. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 475 ESSAY V. On the most profitable Method of managing light Arable Lands. J\ Judicious course of crops constitutes a most efsential part of an arable farm. The following is practised in Norfolk, a country remarkable for the best courses. First Year--- — Turnips. 1. Plough the stubble up about Christmas. 2. The beginning of March, plough again and harrow. 3. The beginning of April, plough and har- row ; but before you begin to plough this third time, spread twelve loads of good manure upon each acre. 4. Plough again a fortnight before Old Mid- summer; then sow your turnip-seed, two pints to an acre, and harrow it in. — Hoe the turnips twice. Second Fi?a7\—— Barley and Clover. Get the turnips off the beginning of March — plough and harrow. Three wTeks after, plough and harrow again. The latter end of 476 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ApriJ, or beginning of May, plough the third time ; but before you begin to plough, sow half of the seed upon the land, namely, a bushel and a half per acre, then plough and sow the same quantity of seed above furrow. Harrow once ; then sow ten pounds of good clover-seed, and let the barley and clover be harrowed in together. Thh'd Year Clover. Take two crops of clover -, or, if you think proper, reserve the second crop for seed. Fourth Year Wheat. A fortnight, or three weeks, after Old Mi- chaelmas, plough your land. As soon as ploughed, throw two chaldrons of hot lime upon each acre. Harrow the lime and the seed in together. Provided the land be clean, I think two bushels of wheat or barley suffi- cient seed for an acre. Expense of the Turnip Crop. 1. s. d. Four ploughings and harrow- 1 ings, at 3s. 6d. each ^ Twelve loads of manure, and" carriage, at 5 s. per load Seed,2 pints. Is. Hoeing twice, 7s. 8 11 J. 3 4 2 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 477 Expense of Barley and Clover. 1. s. d. Three plou^hin^s and harrow-l ^ , J. 10 6 ings, at 3s. 6d. each I Seed, two bushels, 5s. Clover 10s. 15 Reaping Is. 6d. Beer Is. 6d. Getting in 5s. , I 8 1 13 6 Expefise of the Clover Crop. 1. s. d. Cuttingandbeer 2s. Making Is. S Carrying 5s. Second crop 7s. 6d. O 12 6 15 6 Expense of the Wheat Crop. 1. s. d. Ploughing once and harrowing -040 Lime, 2 chaldrons, ll. Carriage 10s. 1 10 O Seed, two bushels — 10 O Reaping 6s. Beer Is. 6d. Carrying 5s. 12 6 2 16 6 47S GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Expense of the four Years* Turnip crop Barley ditto Clover ditto Wheat ditto 1. s. d. 4 2 1 13 6 15 6 2 16 6 9 7 6 ]. s. d. Nine pounds seven shillings and'J sixpence, for four years, makes /• 2 6 lOi each crop, upon an average, J Add rent ll. Tithes and rates 7s. 9d. I 7 9 Rent, rates, and cultivation per^acre 3 14 Profits of four Crops. Turnip crop worth Barley ditto, 36 bushels at 2s. 6d. Clover ditto, first crop, three loads Second ditto, two loads — Wheat ditto, 28 bushels at 5s. Nineteen pounds tfn shillings, makes each crop upon an aver-^ 4 17 age — \ 3 : 14 1. s. d. 3 4 10 3 2 7 19 10 1. s. d. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 479 I s. d. 4 17 6 S 14 6 Profit per acre — — Expenses — — Clear profit per acre 13 Lands cultivated in this manner will never be over-run with weeds 5 neither can the ground be distrefsed, as tap-rooted plants regularly follow such as spread their roots superficially^ -^The system is fiDunded on reason, and sup- ported by experience. Nice farmers dibble in the wheat, dropping three grains into each hole. For this practice a clover lay, after one ploughing, is the most favourable. 480 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ESSAY VI. On the Sexes of Plants . VV HEN we unfold the volume of nature, the human mind may very justly be compared to a bee unable to settle amidst a \rariety of sweets. Every \^'^g^ presents us with a sub- ject inexprefsibly pleasing, and every object fills us with admiration as well as delight. We are at a lofs to acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being, or the benign influence of that Being in providinsr for the happinefs and convenience of his creatures, in stronger terms. Every person who takes a view of nature in this light, must undoubtedly conclude, that as the wants and conveniences of life were designed to be supplied ftom the storehouse of nature, from the very moment that man started into existence, so the means for executing that design on the most advan- tageous terms, must be a laudable as well as necefsary undertaking. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 481 Man, above all other creatures, is blefsed with a power of improving his understanding, and his actions, to an amazing degree of per- fection. And he that is desirous to drink clear water, rather than muddy and cor- rupted, usually neglects the distant stream, and prudently repairs to the fountain head, where the element flows pure and un- adulterated. In arts and sciences, the practical part will be conducted upon a vague and uncertain plan, till the theoretical be founded upon rational and consistent principles. The eco- nomical part of nature depends much upon the phisiological ; and even in common life, causes must ever be prudently adjusted, if we expect their consequences to be pleasing. It is this that has led on science, through the different periods of time, to the height she has now arrived at ; and it is this that, in future ages, will render the improvement of the present a;ra, admired, carefsed and imitated. The present century is very remarkable for its various improvements in natural history, among which agriculture deservedly claims Volume L H h 482 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. the foremost rank. And since agriculture has been reduced to a regular science, and its principles established upon facts and experi- ments, it has made a commendable and ex- tensive progrefs. We every day experience the most pleasing efTccts from the industry of men of literature and ingenuity, who are continually taking up the pencil to fill up the outlines of so grand a design. Much has already been done, and yet a great deal re- mains to be executed. Nature unfolds not all her treasures at once, but is slow and gradual in her operations. The hyacinth and the tulip require the warmth of many re- volving suns to produce their inimitable beauty and attire ! The labours of the great Linnaeus can never be sufficiently admired , and his en- deavours to new-model the study of nature, have already exceeded the most sanguine ex- pectation. He has sketched out the phi- losophy of nature so strongly, that he is every where considered as the wonder of his age. The subject of this efsay, in particular, owes much to his penetration ; and though he docs not claim the sole merit of discovering the «exes of plants, yet he deserves our utmost GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 483 acknowledgements for having brought all the arcuments in favour of it into the clearest point of view. It is now a truth too glaring to be denied. We find that the ancients were by no means strangers to the notion of the sexes of plants ; and though their writings do not bear any very strong evidence in their behalf, yet their observations and their practice clearly demon- strate it. They appear to have been perfectly satisfied that nature pursues the same plan of preserving the species in the vegetable, as in the animal world : That male and female are as distinct in the one kingdom as the other, and that they are governed by similar laws. Herodotus tells us that the Babylonians, in cultivating the Palm-tree, with which their country was plentifully stored, were forced to gather the flowers of the male tree, and carry them to the female, if they expected to reap any fruit ; but their notions went no further than the customary practice. Theophrastus, in his history of plants, observes that some kinds of trees were distinctly male and female, and strengthens his supposition by adding that the one bore fruit, and the other was barren. II h 2 484 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. It Is amazing that nothing material should have been struck out upon the subject from Theophrastus's time till Sir Thomas Milling- ton, Savilian Profefsor of Astronomy at Oxford, towards the clofe of the last century, revived the notion, and cleared the way for the ex- periments of the celebrated Grew. Since that time many able naturalists have discufsed the point with clearnefs and precision, among whom our illustrious countryman, Mr. Ray, appears with Camerarius, Moreland, Geoffroy, Vaillant, Blair, Bradley, and others, This new doctrine met with some con- siderable opponents. Monsieur Tournefort was a violent adversary ; and Dr. Alston, the late Profefsor of Botany at Edinburgh, mustered all his forces in the opposition. The critical reader will be much pleased with the anatomical description of the parts of flowers, and the nice difsection of their organs of generation, in Grew's Anatomy of Plants, Linnaeus's Philosophia Botanica, and in the Sponsalia Plantarum in the first volume of the Amasnitates Academicee, to which I refer him. But however obvious the sexes of plants may appear in some clafses in the GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 485 same flower, in others in different flowers, and in others upon cUfferent plants, yet I fear the peculiar mode of operation, by which nature ultimately effects her generations in the ve- getable world, will continue a secret so long as the theory of animal conception remains undetermined. All that seems useful to us is already discovered ; and let man, the finite creature of an hour, leave the rest to the Author of Nature to disclose, by those gentle degrees which always terminate in some un- foreseen bounty and munificence. In the 47th volume of the Philosophical Transactions, there is a letter from Mr. Myhus of Berlin, dated from thence February 20, 1750-5 1, to Dr. Watson, which was presented to the Royal Society by the Doctor in the succeeding year, and published by him, with his own observations, in the Transactions. It contains a proof of the sexes of plants, from an experiment made on the Palm-tree. The singularity of the experiment will apologize for its appearance in this efsay. " The sex of plants is very well confirmed by an experiment that has been made here on the Palma Major foliis ftabclliformihus. H h 3 486 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. There is a great tree of this kind in the garden of the Royal Academy. It has flowered and borne fruit these thirty years, but the fruit never ripened, and when planted it did not vegetate. The Palm-tree, as you know, is a Planta Dioecia., that is, one of those in which the male and female parts of generation are upon different plants. We having no male plants, the flowers of our female were never impregnated by Wit farina of the male. There is a male plant of this kind in a garden at Leipsic, twenty German miles from Berlin. AVe procured from thence, in April 1749, a branch of male flowers, and suspended it over our female ones, and the experiment suc- ceeded so well, that our Palm-tree produced more than an hundred perfectly ripe fruit ; from which we have already eleven young Palm-trees. This experiment was repeated last year, and our Palm-tree bore above two thou- sand ripe fruit. As I do not remember a like experiment,! thought it convenient to mention it to you ; and if you think proper, be pleased to communicate it to the Royal Society.'* A person who is a stranger to natural, and more particularly to botanical knowledge, may make himself an entire master of what is meant GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 487 by the sexes of plants, and form an accurate idea of the mode of generation, in the grofs, whose garden produces a single tulip. When the flower opens, if he looks within the leaves, or, to speak in the language of botanists, with- in the petals^ there will be found six slender erect chives, or staminaj surrounding a three- squared stronger body, called the poinf.aly or female part of the flower. Upon the top of each of the staviina hangs a small oval body, which, in a day or two after the flower is blown, may be observed to burst into a mealy substance. This meal, or farina, is the male part of the flower, and by the action of the wind is blown upon the pointaly or female part of the flower, which is furnislied with a viscous kind of matter, de- signed by nature to retain the male farina when blown upon it. From this moment the impregnation takes place, and the seed is pro- duced perfect and entire. As a further proof of the nccefsary influence ct the n\2i.\c farina, only pinch off the male part of the flower before {\\q farina begins to burst out, and the female part will, at the usual time of expecting the seed, present the exa- miner with nothing but an abortive seed- vcfsel. Hh4 488 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. In most vegetables the male and female or- gans of generation appear in the saiJie flower ; but in some plants there are male and female flowers on sepai^ate parts of the same plant ; and in other plants, the male flower appears on one plant, and the female on another. From these premises, the improvers of agri- culture, and even the common practical farmer, may be able to deduce very useful consequen- ces. If the farmer dreads heavy and sudden rains, immediately after he has sown his seed, he may, with equal reason, be afraid of them at the time his corn is in bloom. For, as the wet will injure him in one case by burstings the seed, so it will in the other by washing oflT ihefaiinay or male dust, whereby an effec- tual impregnation will be prevented. The farmer will not then be surprised if his grain appears small and pined at the time of thresh- ing, when he can so readily account for the cause in philosophic terms. But the principal use that will accrue to the gardener and the farmer from the discovery of the sexes of plants, will be the hints they may gain in regard to saving the different kinds of grain for seed. It is always an object GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 489 with the judicious cultivator to throw fine bold seed upon the earth, if he expects the produce to gain him credit in the market. And cer- tainly if the winds have such an effect upon the farina of flowers, as not only to waft it upon the female flovi^ers of the same species, but even upon different species, care should be taken that the cabbage tribe, if desio-ned for seed, should be cultivated at as great a distance from each other as pofsible, to pre- vent the ill consequences of a Twow^re/ produce. Mr. MiJIer, in his Gardener's Dictionary, prescribes this caution to the cultivators of cabbages, cauliflowers, turnips, brocoli, &c. in very strong terms. For if they expect the several kinds to be perfect, these plants must by no means be set near each other when de- signed for seed, because, in that case, the farinas will undoubtedly incorporate, and pro- duce a bastardy or imperfect kind oi each species. Mr. Ray, in his History of Plants, tells a remarkable story of a gardener, one Richard Baal, of Bramford, who had sold cabbage-seed to the London gardeners as of an excellent kind, but unluckily, when sown and cuJtivated by them, produced an exceed- ing bad kind. The consequence was, that 490 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. the man was prosecuted in the courts of justice at Westminster, and sentenced to return the money he had taken for the seed, and also to satisfy his customers for their waste of ground, time, and labour j though, in fact, he was not at all deserving of such a sentence, not having had the least design to impose upon them. Nothing is so common as for gardeners in the raising of melons and cucumbers, at the time of the flowering of those plants, to pinch off what they call the barren flowers, lest the quantity of fruit should impoverish its size. But for want of knowing that these plants produce male and female flowers separate upon the same plant, and that no fruit can be expected unlefs there be a communication of the two sexes, it is no wonder that their crops frequently fail. It may not be amifs to close this efsay, by pointing out some of the principal plants, in our own country, where the fructification varies from the usual form. 1 . Male and female ' flowers on the same plant. Linnaeus's 21st Clafs, Monoecid. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 491 The Carex tribe of grafses. Birch tree. Alder. Box. Burnet. Chesnut tree. Beech. Hornbeam. Hasel-Nut tree. Firs. 2. Male and female flowers on separate plants. Linnseus's 2 2d Clafs, Dioecia. Willows. Mifseltoe. Buckthorn. Hops. Black Briony. Poplars. Dog's Mercury. Juniper. Yew tree. Knee-Holly, or Butchers Broom. Hemp. 3. Flowers hermaphrodite, and also male or female flowers. Linnaeus*s 23d Clafs, Polygamia. Sycamore tree. Common Maple. Ash tree. 492 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ESSAY VII. On a Cheap and Expeditions Method of Draining Land. F ROM a very extensive experience, I re- commend the following method of draining land, as effectual, durable, and cheap. First make the main drains down the slope or fall of the field. When the land is very wet, or has not much fall, there should, in general, be two of these to a statute acre ; for the shorter the narrow drains are, the lefs liable they will be to accidents. The width of the trench for the main drains should be, at the top, about thirty inches ; but the width at the bottom must be re- gulated by the nature and size of the materials intended to be used. If the drain is to be made of bricks ten inches long, three inches thick, and four inches in breadth, then the bottom of the drain must be twelve inches j but if the common sale bricks are used, then the bottom must be proportionably contracted. INSERT FOLDOUT HERE GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 493 In both cases there must be an interstice of one inch betvv«en the bottom brick and the sides of the trench, and the vacuity must be filled up with straw, rushes, or loose mould. For the purpose of making these drains, I order my bricks to be moulded ten inches long, four broad, and three thick. These di- mensions make the best drain ; and I beg leave to be understood, throughout this efsay, as speaking of bricks formed in the above manner. The method I pursue in constructing my main drains is as follows : When the ground is soft and spungy, the bottom of the drain is laid with bricks, placed acrofs. On these, on each side, two bricks are laid flat, one upon the other, forming a drain six inches high and four broad. This is covered with bricks laid flat. Fig, 2. Plate 2. When I first, engaged in this mode of drain- ing, I conceived that \i\ places where the bottoms of the main drains Avere firm and solid, as of clay or marl, it would be an unnecefsary expense to pave them with brick. 494 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Under this idea, I recommended them to be constructed as in pi. 2. fig. 3. the sides being formed by placing one brick edgeways, in- stead of two laid flat. But after the ex- perience of some years, I found that the accefs of air and the alternation of wet and dry, occasioned the hardest clay, or marl, to tumble down, whereby the side bricks, not having a paved bottom, were made to fall in. From the experience of this circumstance, I now direct the main drains to be invariably paved with brick, as represented in pi. 2. fig. 2. This will render them as lasting as the sod, or pipe drains, which I have found free and open after being constructed twenty years. When stones are used instead of bricks, the bottom of the drain should be about eight inches in width. And here it will be proper to remark that, in all cases, the bottom of the main drains must be sunk four inches belovr the level of the narrow ones, even at the point where the latter fall into them. The main drains should be kept open till the narrow ones are begun from them, after which they may be finished : but before the earth is returned upon the stones, or bricks, it will be adviseable to throw in straw, rushes. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 495 or brush-wood, to increase the freedom of the drain. The small narrow drains should be cut at the distance of sixteen or eighteen feet from each other, and should fall into the main drain at very acute angles, to prevent any stoppage. At the point where they fall into, and eight or ten inches above it, they should be made firm with brick or stone. In making the narrow drains I employ four labourers. The first man, with a common spade, takes out the turf, or sods, eighteen inches wide, (the drains being before marked out) and lays them carefully on one side 3 the secoad man, with a common spade also, digs out two, three, or more spits of earth (laying it on the other side of the trench) till he has cut through the soil, or staple, and come to the under-stratum of clay, marl, or other hard and solid body of earth. The bottom and sides of this trench must be cleanly wrought; and, allowing for the sloping of the sides in working, should, at the bottom, be clear six- teen inches wide. In this trench the frame, Fig. 5. Plate 2. is 496 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. laid ; and, in the middle of it, the third man, who ought to be the strongest and most expert, works the long narrow draining spade in the body of the clay. By taking care to work it at its full depth, he is always sure of his level, if the drains are properly laid out. The wooden frame is of great use ; it gives [a firm support to the feet of the workman, keeps the bottom of the trench smooth and clean, and serves as a purchase to the wings of the narrow tool. Fig. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Plate 3. When thirty or forty yards have been cut out by the draining spade, the fourth man cleans the bottom of the drain with the scoop. Fig. 6. Plate 5. and works it quite smooth; he then covers it with the sods, laying the grafs side downwards. In this part of the work, too much care and attention cannot be used. The sods should be sound and dry, cut even on the sides, and fitted closely to each other. No broken or rotten pieces should be put in ; and if any of the sods taken out, in cutting the trench for the narrow drains, are bad, good ones, firm and full of roots of rushes, strong grafs, &c. should be got in the other parts of the field, and their place supplied with the decayed ones. In marshy bad fields^ where INSERT FOLDOUT HERE GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 497 sound turf cannot be had, little sticks may be ])laced acrofs the trench, and the loose and tender sods safely laid upon them. The nar- row drains being thus covered, the earth must be thrown in again, taking care that the clay, &c. brought out by the narrow tool, be not mixed with it. No greater length of these drains should be cut than can be finished the same day. The price varies with the depth. For the main drains cut thirty inches above, and thirty-eight deep, laid with bricks, covered, &;c. I give about ninepence per rod (eight yards). For the narrow drains, constructed and completely finished accord- ing to the foregoing directions, their whole depth (including that of the trench, and that of the draining spade) being thirty-two or thirty-four inches, I give fivepence halfpenny per rod (eight yards*.) From my much respected friend, the Rev. Mr. Whately, of Nonsuch-Park, in Surry f, I first received an account of the Hertford- * At this price my labourers, after they were a little acquainted with the work, earned, even in winter, twg shillings a day each. f Profel'sor of Rhetoric in Gresham College. Volume /. I i 498 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. shire and Efsex method of draining; at the same time he obligingly sent me a set of the tools made use of there, Vvdth very particular directions. The great price of stone and brick in my neighbourhood, rendered the Hertfordshire method too expensive. Hence I took the idea of the sod drains, and the improvement of the tools. Mr. Yomig, in the second edition of his justly-esteemed Six Months* Northern Tour, calls me the invcRtor of this method of draining. All the merit I claim, is that of havir.g introduced, together with an amendment of their construction, the applica- tion of these celebrated tools to a mode of draining v^qth sods or turf, where stone, brick, or even brushwood, is extremely scarce and dear. Wherever this is the case, I can, from njry own experience, recommend the hollow drains covered in the above manner. I must observe that, in loose crumbly soils,, where the wetnefs does not arise from the retention of water by an under-stratum of clay, but from springs, these drains are im- proper : For such lands they should be made GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 499 of brick or stone. On the contrary, which is most commonly the case, when the wet is prevented from pafsing off by an under- stratum of clay, marl, or a mixture of both, these sod drains are excellent. For if the whole staple, or soil, is cut through, as it ought to be, the narrow tool will be wholly worked in a solid body, and Jeave a firm compact ledge, or shoulder, of six inches wide on each side, for the sod to rest on. Fig. 4. Plate 2. The strength with which the sods are supported, and their depth in the ground, will effectually prevent their re- moval by any weight on the suiface, and secure them from all effects of the weather. Being, at their least depth, twelve inches below the surface, they will also be beyond the reach of the plough. With respect to the shape of the narrow drains, it will be scarce necefsary to observe, that their great depth, and contracted width, enable them to draw in the moisture of the earth, and at the same time to keep them- selves clear and open. The tools should be formed of well-wrouo-ht iron, and made with great care and exactnefs. Ii2 5C0 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. Including the shaft, the narrow tool should weigh 12 lb*. References to the Plates. Plate 2. Fig. 1. A field with the drains pro- perly laid out. AAA the main drains 5 aaaa the narrow sod drains. Fig. 2. A brick drain. — Proper whether the bottom be hard or soft. Fig. 3. A brick drain. — Formerly recom- mended when the bottom was hard, as of clay or marl ; but discontinued for reasons already given. Fig. 4. A narrow drain ; a a the shoulders for the sod to rest upon ; b the cut made by the narrow spade. This, and Fip-. 2 and S, may be meafurcd by the scale of Plate 3. Fig. 5. The wooden frame to be laid in the trench. It is made of two oak-boards, (inch thick) each twelve feet long, and six inches iii * These tools are made by Benjamin Royle, smith, in Doletield, Danesgate, Manchester; and by Williaru Staveley, smith, in Stonegate, York. — Price 12s. GEORGltAL ESSAYS. 501 breadth. They are fastened together at the ends by two ribs on the upper side, leaving a slit of five inches for the entrance of the narrow spade, a The handle. Plate 3. Fig. 1. A front view of the narrow draining spade. a The shaft ; h the wings for the workman's foot ; c the iron part of the spade, which is gently concave. Fig. 2. A side view\ a The shaft ; /; the wings ; c two sharp fins, one on each side, for cutting the next spade-graft j d the iron part. Fig. 3. A back view, a The shaft ; /; the wings ; c the cutting fins ; d the iron part, which is convex. Fig. 4, A back view in perspective, a The shaft ; b the wings ; c the fins ; d the iron part. Fig. 5. A front view in perspective, a The shaft ; h the wings ; c the fins ; d the iron part. It will here be proper to remark, that 1 i 3 502 GEORGTCAL ESSAYS. the perspective views must not be measured by the scale. Fig 6. The scoop. a a The wooden handle ; b the iron scoop. ESSAY VIII. On Top-dref sings. In the middle of March, 1771, I ploughed a rood of land flat ; the soil a poor, wet, hungry gravel, with many blue pebbles. Through the year 1770 it was fallowed, re- ceiving five ploughings. On the first of April 1 marked 17 divisions, each two perches, and manured them with top-drefsings, and sowed them with Switzerland wheat. The manures, expenses, product, &c. will appear in the following table. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 50: OS -aooooocioooooo ~o — oocococcoc '■O c^ - o w »n t^ O C5 ^o 3^ O o — -J" Ci i^ o CO r^ ^ 'O -J — (M — O — — — — '000000-" .* Xi ^ O 'O C^. C^ O X O :o C' O "O 'O o «o _ :3 C2 _:«M(N?NCNM-' — — I— -OOOO U "0!OOOO^0iOCOO:^M0>:^-5r-«i> «5— .COOC o < O o (J c o < X u tJ n o POOt^r^t^Tsio-^^s^O*-" — C^OvC 0*0j -,,-,.-1^-, — -, -<__ __ C.o Q_ -d5Dr^Tj«^OOOO 11 3 "S • - 3 5 ^ O "S "^ i~ rf o b bt y .,r M) >r ^. — a '-> -^ ^ ■:=. ^o— -— ° " '-^o -? '-? ^c 5 o c S 8 ,5 o _£ ,c o ^1 g ^^ O c c ^ _^ iC ;j :^ u -a ^ "O T3 t; o V 5 O 5 - 'i' ^ ^ y 3 ^ — » c a O 0/3 «^ _: 504- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. In 1772 the land was clover, and mown once. The sixth column gives the crop in hay ; the seventh, the value; and the eighth, the increase by the manures. It would be to little purpose to make any observations upon the above experiment, as the conclusions must be obvious to every person. The po\'erty of the soil is seen in the crop of corn without manure. The extreme un- favourablenefs of last year to hay crops, was the reason that the clover produced so poorly. The division of 160 bushels of lime, by mistake, was forgot to be sown with wheat. In March 1773, the rood was ploughed up, and oats were harrowed in. These were reaped the middle of August, and threshed. Products. P. G. Q. P. N- 1 2 2 2 2 110 3 2 12 4 2 2 5 2 2 6 12 7 2 10 8 10 2 9 110 10 2 11 2 12 12 2 12 13 10 14- 12 15 12 16 112 17 2 10 Per Acre. Q. B. P. G 5 5 6 4 o 6 7 5 5 5 5 I 7 o 6 2 3 1 3 6 5 6 7 6 7 2 4 1 7 1 7 4 3 6 2 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 5o: C c9 'Z ^ o ■ 5 s OS t3C0!OOCO w' CN OJ o tOvOCOcoocococoOCOO<©e^OCO»i3 co;CCOC0C04O'OiO»O-^c^e<^010J'-<-H^ »0»0«0CMO>0»rs»0OV50"^CNOirviftii-k a, 'T3'*(«C0^<0OC0Oc^>O Jc^OCOOOc^ 00OOOOOCO«oO'O I'OOOO-iO W »;-o--<^-.CN^OCN |oe^. I raise the point of the angle with 510 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. what we call a dibble, and laying the plant up to the neck, stamp down the raised sod with the foot. In this method, two men may plant a thousand in a day. When the ground is rocky, or very stony, I use a dibble, shod with iron, having a cleft at the extremity to lead down the root, putting the plants into the ground in the manner that Cabbages are planted. One man will plant as many in this way, as two in the other ; yet the first method is preferable;, where the ground admits of it, as I have aKvays observed fewer plants to fail. My reason for planting from the seed-bed is, that it comes nearest, to the operation of na- ture. Plants removed from the seed-bed into the nursery, must have their roots pruned con- siderably before they can be planted into the pits where they are to continue, which adds greatly to the expense. Besides,, nursing causes a luxuriant growth in this hardy m.oun- tainous tree, which spoils its nature and robs it of longevity. It is generally believed that there are two kinds of Fir-trees, the produce of Scotland, viz. the red or resinous large tree, of a fine grain, and hard solid w^ood ; the other, a white wooded Fir, 5vith a much smaller proportion GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 511 of resin in it, of a coarser grain, and of a soft spungy nature ; it never comes to such a size, and is more liable to decay. At first appear- ance this would readly denote two distinct species, but I am convinced that all the trees in Scotland, under the denomination of Scotch Fir, are the same ; and that the difference of the quality of the wood, and size of the trees, is entirely owing to, circumstances, such as climate, situation, and the soil they grow in. The finest Fir-trees appear in the most moun- tainous parts of the Highlands of Scotland, in glens, or on sides of hills generally lying to -^ northerly aspect, and the soil of a hard gravelly consistence, being the natural produce of these places. The winged seeds are scattered in quantities by the wind, from the cones of the adjacent trees, which expand in April and May with the heat of the sun ; these seed- lings, when young, rise extremely close to- gether, which makes them grow straight, and free from side-branches of any size, to the height of fifty or sixty feet before they acquire the diameter of a foot : Even in this progrefs to height they are very slow, occasioned by the poornefs of the soil, and the numbers on a small surface, which I may say makes them in a constant state of war for their scanty 512 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. nourishment, the stronger and tallest by degrees overtopping the weaker, and when the winds blow, they lash against one another ; this afsists in beating off any horizontal branches that might damage the timber with knots, as well as by degrees crushes the overtopped trees. In such state of liostility they continue struggling until the master-trees acquire some space around them ; then they begin to shoot out in a more bushy manner at the top, gra- dually losing their spiral form^ increasing after- wards more in size of body than height; some acquiring four feet diameter, and about sixty feet of height to the branches, fit for the finest deal board. The growth is still extremely slow, as is plainly proved by the sm.allnefs of the grain of the wood, which appears distinctly in circles from the centre to the bark. Upon cutting a tree over, close at the root, I can venture to point out the exact age, which, in these old Firs, comes to an amazing number of years. I lately pitched upon a tree of two feet and a half diameter, which is near the size of a planted Fir of fifty years of age, and I counted exactly two hundred and fourteen circles or coats, which makes this natural Fir above four times the age of the planted one. Now as to planted Firs ; these are raised first GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 513 in drcfsed ground from the seed, where they stand two seasons or more ; they are then planted out in the ground they are to continue in, at regular distances ; so have a clear cir- cumference round them for extending both roots and branches. The one gives too quick nourishment to the tree which shoots out in luxuriant growth, and the other allows many of the branches to spread horizontally, spoil- ing the timber with knots j besides, this quick growth, occasions these thick yearly circular coats of wood, which form a coarse grain of a spungy soft nature. The juices never after ripen into a proportional quantity their resinous preservative balm ; so that the plantations decay before the wood acquires age, or a va- luable size ; and the timber, when used in work, has neither strength, beauty, nor du- ration. I believe the climate has likewise a great share in forming the nature of the best wood, which I account for in the following manner: The most mountainous parts of the Highlands, particularly the northerly hanging situations, where these fine Fir-trees are, have a much shorter time of vegetation than a more southerly exposure, or the lower open countries, being shaded by high hills from the rays of the sun, even at mid-day, for months together; Volume /. K k 514 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. SO that, with regard to other vegetables, na- ture visibly continues longer in a torpid state there than in other places of the same latitude. This dead state of nature for so Ions: a time yearly, appears to me necefsary to form the strength and health of this particular species of timber. No doubt they may at first show a gratefulnefs for better soil and more sun, by shooting out spontaneously ; but if the plant or tree is so altered by this luxury, that it can- not attain any degree of perfection fit for the purposes intended, the attempt certainly proves in vain. From what is said above, it is not at all my intention to difsuade from planting Scotch Fir, but to encourage those that have the pro- per soil and situation to do so ; being of opinion that where these circumstances agree, and there, planting not in lines, but irregularly and thicker than common, the trees will come to be of equal size and value with the natural ones. In confidence of this, I have planted several millions on the sides of hills, out of the reach of seed from the natural Firs. As to the Larch, I have found it to answer extremely well when planted out on barrea CEORGICAL ESSAYS. 515 grounds, from- six inches to six feet high ; and it is seldom known to fail, except where water has reached its roots. I have often re- marked with surprise, that when cattle or deer have broken off the main shoots with their horns, another branch has taken the lead, and stretched away at such a rate as to heal up the wound so completely, that in a few years it was with difficulty I could dis- cover the traces of -the injury. The amazing growth of the Larix far exceeds with me (Scotland) all the native as well as foreign trees, bearing the exposure and inclemency of the season better than any of them ; and of late I have the pleasure to find that they na- turalize themselves by sowing. I wish my experience could afsist me in speaking with as much certainty with regard to the value and usefulnefs of the timber ; but in that I can give but little satisfaction, as my oldest trees are not thirty years from the seed. — At Dunkeld I have seen a small summer-house finished with Larix wood ; the plants came from London in earthern pots, about the year 1740, rather as a curiosity, than from any ex- pectation of their excellency. Though full of circular knots, the wood looked well, and did not seem to gall or warp so much as Fir Kk2 516 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. of the same age and seasoning would have done. It will be necefsary to remark, that the heart or centre of large trees is generally the knottiest part of the trunk, occasioned by the collateral branches, when young, sup- porting the stem to stature, which as the tree advances, die and fall off; and this is par- ticularly evident in trees that grow in thickets. The surface soon heals over, and the body of the tree is annually increased by circular rings of wood. I shall suppose a tree to be a foot in diameter when the lower branches die and drop off. In course of time it acquires four feet in diameter, which gives a surrounding coat, one foot and a half in thicknefs, of clean timber, the centre remaining knotty. The growth of the Larix, and manner of dropping its branches when close together, very much resembles the Firj so I am confident this fault of knottinefs, which seems to be the principal one, will amend by age. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 517 ESSAY X. Oji the Physiology of Plants, xJiFFERENT parts of Tiaturc havc drawn the attention of different philosophers. While some men of the greatest genius have em- ployed themselves in the study of their own species ; others have been diligently engaged in investigating the properties of the inferior elafses of animals. Nor are those to be placed in. the loviTst clafs of philosopherSj whose time and attention are engrofscd by that im- mense portion of nature, the Vegetable King- dom ; though, it is to be regretted that, in general, their observations have been directed more to the external form of plants, than to their internal structure. The knowledge of the internal structure of vegetables unfolds their economy, and, from a discovery of this, not only botany, but agri- culture, might receive great improvement. But this subject is as difficult, as it is impor- tant, and, as yet, it is not precisely understood, even by the most curious observers. I am Jed to engage in it more by the pleasing na- Kk3 518 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ture of the study, than the hope of surpafsing those who have gone before me ; and I pur- pose, in the following Efsay, to confine my- self to a few remarks on the structure, life, and functions, of vegetables. It is proper to premise, that if the anatomy of plants be not demonstrated throughout, with all the clearnefs that could be wished, this arises from their containing parts of such a degree of minutenefs, that they elude the human sight. The nature of these must there- fore frequently be inferred from analogy only, which is often fallacious. But many things have been ascertained on this subject, and with these I shall begin. On making a transverse section of a tree, it appears to consist of three distinct parts — the bark — the wood — and the medulla, or pith. 1. The bark consists of two parts — the cuticle, and the true bark. The cuticle of plants affords an external covering to all their parts. It consists of numerous layers, easily separable from each other, and of which the ^bres are circular. The true bark may be GIORGICAL ESSAYS. 519 considered as a congeries of cellular sub^ stance, in which are placed two kinds of organs, the vasa propria, or the vefscls pecu- liar to the plants, and the longitudinal fibres. Of the use of these, nothing can be said at present. » 2. On removing the bark, the wood appears. Its substance is denser than the bark, and its structure more difficult to be demonstrated. But it has been discovered likewise to con- tain vasa propria, and longitudinal fibres, and, besides these, large vefsels with spiral coats, which run from one end of the tree to the other, and are denominated vasa aeria. Be- tween the wood and the pith lies a green coloured substance, first accurately described by Dr. John Hill, and by him affirmed to con- tain all the parts of the plant in embryo : he gave it the name of Corona. 3. In the centre of the tree resides the pith, which, in young plants, is very abundant. As they approach to maturity it grows drier, and appears in a smaller quantity ; and, in very aged trees, it is entirely obliterated. Its sub- stance is cellular, and, according to the author just mentioned, it is of a similar structure in Kk 4 ft20 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. all plants. These are the solid parts of ve- getables. But there are likewise fluids, or juices in vegetables j and these are of two kinds. The one is of the same nature in all the variety of vegetables : the other varies according to the different plants in w^hich it exists. The for- mer, which is called the succus communis ^whtn collected early in the spring, from an incision, made in the birch or vine, differs little from common water. The latter, which is named the mecus propriuSi pofsefses various properties in various plants, and gives to each its sensible qualities. These two juices never mingle with each other in the tree, and the latter is found in the vasa propria only. It is not yet ascertained, whether the juices of plants are transmitted through vefsels, or cellular substance. Each side of the question has had its advocates, who have supported their respective opinions with probable argu? ments : but it is to be regretted, that, on sq interesting a subject, no conclusion can be formed from the actual difsection of veger tables. To me it seems most probable, that all the fluids of plants are transmitted through GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 521 vefsels, for the following reasons. 1. The ex- istence of vasa propria, and vasa a'cn'a, is disr coverable by the naked eye, and made still more manifest by the microscope. That succus proprius and air are contained in these is evident ; and therefore analogy leads us to believe, that the succus communis is also con- tained in vefsels. 2. Secretion, of which ve- getables have undoubtedly the power, is in no instance, that we know of, performed with- out the action of vefsels, 3, An experiment, made by Dr. Hales, seems clearly to prove, that the sap is contained within its own vefsels, and does not fortuitously pervade every in- terstice of thp plant* IJie fixed an instrument round the stent! of a vine, by which its con- tractions and expansions could be accurately measured j but he found no difference in the circumference of the trunk, when the tree was full of sap, and wjien it was entirely without it, although the instrument employed was so nice, as to detect a variation of the hundredth part of a finger's breadth. If the sap had been transmitted, without vefsels, through the cellular substance, this, on the withdrawing of the sap, would have been comprefsed, and of course the stem of the tree w^ould have con- tracted itself into a smaller compafs. 522 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. We are now to consider in what direction the fluids of plants are transmitted. I. Of the Course of the Succus Communis, or Sap. Botanists have made many experiments Xo ascertain the course of the sap. Early in the spring, when the sap begins to flow, incisions have been made in the trunk and branches of trees, as far as the pith ; and, in such cases, it has been constantly found, that a larger quan- tity of sap flowed from the superior, than from the inferior margin of the incision. This circumstance led to the opinion, that in the beginning of the spring, great quantities of moisture are absorbed by trees from the at- mosphere, and hence the source of the abun- dance of sap*. But this conclusion,! found to disagree with the phenomena of nature from the two following experiments. 1. Haying made incisions of various heights into the stem of several plants, I immersed their roots into a decoction of log-wood. The roots absorbed the coloured liquor, which at length began to * Duhamel and others. See Phys. des Arbres, Tom. I. JB. 67. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 523 flow from the superior, and not from the in- ferior, margins of the incisions ; nor had the liquor extended itself much upwards, beyond the margin of the incision from which it was discharged. 2. In the season when the sap flows most abundantly, called the bleeding season, a deep cut was made into the branch of a growing- vine, and the greatest quantity of sap was dis- charged from the upper margin of the incision: but a branch of the same tree, cut in the same manner, being inverted, the sap flowed most copiously from the other margin of the incision, which of course was now that next the root. On the other hand, many experiments may be brought to prove directly, that, in the bleeding season, the sap ascends from the roots to^ wards the branches ; the following however may suffice. 1. Early in. the spring, when little or po sap had as yet entered the plant. Dr. Hope made a number of incisions, of dif- ferent altitudes, into the root and stem of a birch. As the sap rose, it first flowed from the superior margin of the lowest incision, and then, in regular succefsion, from the upper margins of the other incisions, till at last, it reached the highest. 2. If, in the beginning 524 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. of the bleeding season, before the sap is found in the stem or branches, an incision be made in the root of a vine, a considerable flow of sap will follow the wound. 3. The quantity of sap is very generally proportioned to the humidity of the soil. II. Of the course of the succus proprius. When a portion of the bark and wood of the pine, is cut from the stem, the succus proprius flows in considerable quantity both from the upper and under margin of the in- cision. Hence it occurred to botanists, that this juice might have little or no motion, and that its efflux from such an orifice might de- pend entirely on its being freed from the prefsure of the bark and wood. But I cannot accede to this opionion : for although in the beginning, the succus proprius flows from both margins of the incision, in a little while, as I have observed, it is discharged from the superior margin only. This observation in itself is not however decisive. For it may be supposed, that the liquor flows more copiously from the superior margin, because the pres- sure of the air is lefs upon it, than on the inferior, and because the liquor itself is dis- GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 525 posed to fall downwards by its gravity, in the same manner as the sitccus communis. That I might put this matter out of doubt, I placed the branch of a pine in a horizontal position, and another branch I inverted, so that its branches were turned towards the earth. In these situations, I cut a portion of the bark and wood from each, and, in both instances, the succits propj^ius flowed only from tliose margins of the incisions which were farthest from the roots. Hence it appears clearly, that the course of this juice, in its vcfsels, is never from the roots towards the branches, but always in the contrary direction. Besides the vefsels of the sucais pro- priuSy and those conveying the sap, a third kind are found in vegetables, named air- vefsels, or vasa acria. These are chiefly situated in the wood, leaves, and pe- tals ; but are wanting in the bark of trees, and in the herbaceous plants. They arc formed by a number of small filaments, spirally rolled up, so as to form a cavity in the middle. The name of vasa aeria has been given them, because they are empty of liquor, and because a great quantity of air is certainly found in the wood of plants, where 526 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. these vefsels are chiefly placed, and where there is no peculiar organization. They are supposed to be the instruments of respiration in vegetables ; but in what manner this func- tion is performed, is not clearly understood. I. Some imagine that the air enters the plants by the roots, in a non-elastic state, and gradually recovers its elasticity in its pafsage through them. To this opinion it is objected. 1. That a great number o^vasa atria is found in the roots of trees, where the juice has undergone little or no circulation, and where of course little or no air can be supposed to be evolved. 2. That the roots are ver)' in- commodiously placed for absorbing air, being generally so deeply buried in the earth, as to be entirely out of its reach. II. Others suppose the air Is absorbed by the leaves, and thence carried into the body of the plant. There are, indeed, many air- vefsels in the leaves, and these seem necefsary for receiving the air evolved by circulation, which at length pafses off with the per- spirable matter. But if the air were absorbed by the leaves, and descended towards the roots, its motion would be opposite to that of GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 527 the sap, and, instead of afsisting, would ob- struct its progrefs. It is commonly believed, that after the air has entered vegetables, it is expanded or contracted, according to the variations of the temperature of the at- mosphere, and in this way afsists the ascent or descent of the fluids. To this opinion it may be objected. 1st, That the air-vefsels in the roots, where the sap is first put in motion, are so deep-seated, that the changes in the heat of the atmosphere cannot effect their temperature. 2. That the common juice ascends, and the proper juice descends, whether the air be hot or cold. 3. That the prefsure of the air-vefsels on those which contain juice, will not more promote than obstruct the motion of the fluids in a given direction, unlefs the vefsels which include them contained valves, and in this case these fluids could not have a retrograde motion. Let us look for some more probable opinion. Dr. Hill has demonstrated, that the cuticle of plants is an organized substance, contain- ing vefsels. In trees and shrubs, these vefsels have an external opening ; but in the herbar- ceous plants this is wanting. Trees and shrubs only are pofsefsed of vasa a'eria, and. 528 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. when a plant is placed under the exhausted receiver of an air-pump, the air enters through the cuticle, and only ifsues from the wood, in which the vasa aeria are situated. From these circumstances taken together, and con- sidered attentively, we have reason to con- clude, that the air's proper entrance to the vasa aeria is through these cuticular vefsels. Thus, in the early part of the spring, the gentle heat expands the mouths of these vefsels, before contracted by the winter's cold. Into these orifices, the external air rushes and prefses down to the roots. To these it gives energy, as it does to the moving fibres of animals j and, by its prefsure, it may afsist in propelling the juices upwards. An additional quantity of air is evolved by the internal motions of the plant, and the whole pafses off with the perspirable matter. In this way there seems to be a circulation of air through plants, afsisting and afsisted by the powers which move the juices. The two following facts confirm the above opinion, and, at the same time, show, that in plants, as well as animals, impeded respiration impedes the motion of the fluids, and inter- rupted respiration destroys it. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 529 1. In the winter season, I covered several young trees with varnish, and at the same time wrapt them in wax-clotb, leaving the tops of the branches only exposed to the air. They remained in this situation during the following summer, when some of them lived, though in a languid state, and put out a few leaves ; but those from which the air had been more accurately excluded, died without a single exception. 2. Trees over-grown with mofs have few leaves, weak shoots, and no fruit. The practice of gardeners is therefore to be commended, who, in the spring, strio the mofs from the bark of aged trees, and thus admitting the accefsion of the air, restore them to verdure and fruitfulnefs. Having considered the course of the fluids in vegetables, we next proceed to examine the powers by which these fluids are moved. Capillary attraction has generally been ac- counted the cause of the motion of the juices of plants J and the permanence of the action of this power has been supposed to depend on the evaporation from the leaves. Of late years, indeed, botanists have ascribed to plants a vital power, which they believe afsists the Vohune L LI 550 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. flow oF the juices ; and to this opinion I ac- cede, for the following rea?.ons. 1, The de- scent of the juices, that is, their return from the branches to the roots, cannot be explained without the supposition of a vital power re- gulaiing the motion. A flow of fluids, through capillary tubes, will only take place, when the resistance, at the one end, is diminished. This might account for the rising of the sap, when warmth is applied to the leaves, but cannot account for its descending in the same circumstances, that is, when the atmosphere is warmer than the earth. But this takes place constantly, with respect to the siicciis propriuSy and it is probable, that part of the sap has the same course, both in the day and night. 2. The exertions of many plants, on the application of stimuli, afford another ar- gument in support of their muscular power, and the spontaneous motions of other plants confirm the same opinion. 3. Light, admitted to plants, increases their perspiration, and causes a leaf, before inverted, to resume its natural position *. The influence of darknefs * Miller in the Philosophical Transactions, and Bonnet Sur Tusage des Feuilles. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 531 contrasts these effects, and it produces, what is called, sleep in phnts, although the heat of the atmosphere be not diminished. These facts seem to prove the irritability, or muscular power of vegetables. 4. If the fluids of plants are conveyed through vefsels, as I have already rendered it probable they are, can we suppose these tubes to be of so small a diameter, as, by capillary attraction alone, to raise the juices from the roots to the summits of the loftiest trees? 5. On the supposition of the fluids being moved entirely by capillary at- traction, how happens it, tliat the sap of the vine flows from an incision made in the spring, and not from one made in summer ? In this case, as the vefsels remain the same^ and the heat is at least not diminished, the efflux of sap ought to be equally copious in summer as in spring. 6. Capillary tubes, filled with li- quor, do not discharge their contents when broken acrofs. But from the stem of a vine, cut transversely, a large quantity of fluids is discharged, as has been demonstrated by Dr. Hales. 7. The analogy between vegetables and animals, which was formerly pointed out, gives a reasonable presumption, that the fluids of both are moved by similar powers. In animals, the powers of circulation are respi- L2 532 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ration and muscular action : of those powers in plants we have already treated, and what has been said on the subject, seems to show, that the motion of the juices in plants is rather to be ascribed to them, than to capillary at- traction. I might draw some arguments, in addition to these, from some experiments I have lately made, to ascertain the effects of air impreg- nated with various effluvia, of light, and of sa- line solutions, on the growth and qualities of vegetables J but these, being as yet incomplete, I forbear to detail. In general, however, it appeared, that there are particular substances which increase the growth of plants, by acting as stimuli on their moving fibres. There are some other functions which be- long to vegetables, of which I shall now en- deavour to give some account. Plants, as well as animals, perspire, and in both cases, this function is efsential to health. By the experiments of Dr. Hales *, and \l. Guettard f , it appears, that the perspirable * Statical Efsays, vol. I. p. 49. f ^lem. de 1' Academic des Sciences, 1743. GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 533 matter of vegetables differs in no respect from pure water, excepting tliat it becomes rather sooner putrid. The quantity perspired varies, according to the extent of the surface from which it is emitted, the temperature of the air, the time of the day, and the humidity of the atmosphere. As the Jeaves form the greatest part of the surface, it is natural to suppose, that the quantity of these will very materially affect the quantity of the perspi- ration. Accordingly, the experiments of Dr. Hales have ascertained, that the perspiration of vegetables isincreased or diminished, chiefly, in proportion to the increase or diminution of their foliage *. The degree of heat in which the plant was kept, according to the same author, varied the quantity of matter perspired; this being greater, in proportion to the greater heat of the surrounding atmosphere. The degree of light has likewise considerable in- fluence in this respect: for Mr Philip Miller's experiments prove, that plants uniformly per- spire most in the forenoon, though the tem- perature of the air, in which they are placed, should be unvaried. Mr. Guettard likewise * Statical Efsa^s, vol, I. p. 29. LI 5 534 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. informs us, that a plant, exposed to the rays of the sun, has its perspiration increased to a much greater degree, than if it had been ex- posed to the same heat, under the shade. Finally, the perspiration of vegetables is in- creased in proportion as the atmosphere is dry, or in other words, diminished in pro- portion as tlie atmosphere is humid. The more vigorous and healthy the plant, the more copious the perspiration ; this function, like the rest, depending much on the vital energy. Excefsive perspiration seems to hurt, and even sometimes to destroy ve- getables ; defective perspiration is equally injurious. It is also found, that this function is performed chiefly, if not altogether, by the leaves and young shoots. That it may be properly carried on, all leaves are deciduous ; in those trees, called ever-greens, there is a constant succefsion of leaves, to prevent the organ of perspiration from becoming rigid. Dr. Hales first observed, that a quantity of moisture is absorbed by plants, v/hen exposed to a humid atmosphere. This absorption, as %vell as the prespiration, is performed by the leaves ; but in what manner has not yet GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 585 been ascertained. Experiments made by M. Guettard * show that perspiration is more considerable from the upper, than from the under, surface of leaves, and tliose of the same author, of Duhamel f , and Donnct J, demon- strate, that absorption, on the contrary, is much greater at the inferior surface than at the superior. To prove this, the superior sur- face of one leaf, and the inferior surface of another, were covered with .varnish, and the consequence was, that the former, in a given time, suffered little diminution of weight, but the latter became much lighter. Again, similar leaves w^ere laid upon a surface of water, and it followed, that those which had their superior surface inverted, gained little weight, and for the most part died in a few days ; while such as had their inferior surface applied to the water, became much heavier, and flourished many months. These facts make it evident, that perspiration, and absorption, are not per- formed by the same vefsels, but that each has its peculiar organs. ♦ Memoires de I'Acad. des Sciences, 1719. f Ph)'S. des Arbrcs, torn, I. p. 153. ,1:Trailedes Feuilles, Mem. I. LI 4 536 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. It has been commonly supposed, that per- spiration takes place, chiefly, when the air is warm ; and absorption, on the other hand, when it is cold and moist. But unlefs the vefsels, peculiar to absorption, which are placed in the under surface of the leaves, were kept constantly in action, they would necef- sarily collapse or decay. All absorbing organs have a peculiar structure, and an action de- pending on life : that such an organization is present in the leaves of plants, it is reasonable to conclude, because dried leaves do not absorb. The same reasoning is applicable to the absorption performed by the roots : for when a small portion of the root of a hyacinth, growing in water, is cut off, the whole root dies, and new roots are shot out, having their extremities peculiarly adapted to the ab- sorption of nourishment. The noxious matter, carried off by perspira^ tion, requires large dilution to prevent its hurting the delicate structure of the leaves, and in this state accordingly it is thrown out on their surface. Here the noxious part is excreted, but part of the diluting fluid is rcr absorbed, to serve the purpose of secretion, V'hich could not be performed, unlefs the GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 537 common juice, or sap, were previously pre- pared. In the same manner, in the animal body, the saline and putrid matter, carried off by the urine, must be liberally diluted, to prevent it from injuring the tender structure of the kidneys ; yet, when it is safely lodged in the bladder, a part is reabsorbed, and the grofser excremcntitious matter is alone thrown out. Something of the same kind happens in the perspiration of animals. They certainly take in something useful from the surface of their bodies, and this is probably performed by vefsels opening outwards, different from the common exhalents. The great quantity of water, absorbed during the nse of the pediluvium, and that singular symptom in diabetes, of the patient's voiding a much greater quantity of urine, than there is liquor taken in by the mouth, seem to confirm this afsertion. Neither in plants, nor in animals, can we measure the exact quantity perspired or ab- sorbed : we can only ascertain the excefs of the one over the other. For example, if a heliotropium, or sun-flower, in one day lose twenty ounces of its weight, in another lose nothing, and in a third gain in weight ten 558 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. ounces, it Is only thence to be concluded, that sometimes the quantity perspired ex- ceeds, sometimes it equals, and sometimes it is lefs than the quantity absorbed. Plants are pofsefsed of a power of forming their different parts, and this is done by secre- tion. We may conjecture what the agents are which produce this effect, but in respect to the manner of their operation, we are en- tirely in the dark. In animals, where the vital power is strong, this is the principal agent in producing the new arrangement of parts, which is made in every secretion ; but in plants, where this power is weaker, it would be unequal to perform the function, if it were not afsisted by absorption and fermentation. Wherever any firm matter is to be secreted, the vefsels have a convoluted course, to allow the juice to be fermented, and the thinner parts to be absorbed. In this manner, the stones and kernels of fruits are supplied with nourishment by fibres, which are much convoluted. The proper juice seems to be formed only when the sap has ascended towards the leaves, and is de- scending to the roots. The wood also is formed during the descent of the sap; for ClORGICAL ESSAYS. 539 when a ligature is made round the stem of a tree, the wood above the ligature becomes much thicker, while that below remains of its former size. The pabula, from which vegetables receive the matter of secretion, are contained in the surrounding elements. They are chiefly nou- rished by the water they draw from the soil ; but somewhat they likewise derive from the light of the sun, on which their sensible qualities principally depend. On this subject J have likewise made some experiments, but not with that degree of exactnefs, which should enable me to lay them before the public. Some botanists have conceived, that plants, as well as animals, have a regular circulation of their fluids. Others think this very im- probable. On both sides, recourse has been had to experiments ; and from these, con- clusions perfectly opposite have been de- duced. When a ligature has been fixed round a tree, in such a manner, that no juice could be transmitted through the bark, the tree has been found to thicken above the ligature ; but below it, to continue ot the 540 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. same circumference. Hence some have con- cluded, that the sap ascends through the wood, and descends through the bark. Those who are of a contrary opinion have found, that, in certain cases, the juice ascends through the bark only : for when a portion of the wood has been cut out, and the bark exactly replaced, the growth of the tree has been found to go on unchanged : hence it is said, that the juice is transmitted equally through all parts of vegetables. The experi- ments adduced on each side of the question are just, but the reasonings on these, by each party, seem equally inconclusive. The ana- logy of animal nature appears to favour the opinion, that the juice rises through the wood only, and descends only through the bark ; but this analogy is not complete throughout. The arteries are not placed in the internal parts alone, nor the veins in the external, but they accompany each other through every part of their distribution. In vegetables, the sap rises /rom the roots, but the proper juice descends towards them ; in the descent of the juice, the wood acquires its growth, and absorption is a constant action of the leaves. These observations render it probable, that there is a circulation of the juices; and if GEORGICAL ESSAYS, 541 there be, the vefsels which perform it, wc may reasonably believe, accompany each other through every part of their course. On the whole we may conclude, that the formation and growth of the parts of plants, depend, chiefly, on the vital energy, which is not however exerted, except on the applica- tion of stimuli. We admire the marks of wisdom and design, which appear in the creation and preservation of vegetables, but we have no reason to believe that they are pofsefsed of any intelligent power, which pre- sides over and directs their peculiar functions. Both plants and animals are, from their construction, much under the influence of stimuli, and all organized beings are regu- lated more by general, than particular, laws. The principle of life seems universally dif- fused through nature, but bestowed on different beings in diff"erent degrees. To animals is given the largest share 3 but throughout the whole animal kingdom, one species descends below another in the per- fection of its mental powers, as well as of its organic sensations. And this progrefsion is 542 GEORGICAL ESSAYS. SO very gradual, that the most perfect, of an inferior species, approaches very near to the most imperfect, of that which is above it. The chain is continued between vegetables and animals. Both have the power of pro- pagating their species, and their modes of procreation are similar. In the lower clafses of animals, the powers of sense and motion are very indistinct. The coral and the water polypus adhere to rocks, as plants to the earth ; and, .like these, die on being severed from the place where they grew. There arc likewise plants, which in many things re- semble animals. The Burrhum Chundalli, lately brought from the East Indies, pofsefses a living principle, which discovers itself in the spontaneous, and almost constant motion of its leaves. The Sensitiva Mimosa y and Muscipula D'wiKsa, show wonderful activity on the slightest imprefsions, and take the flies and other insects prisoners, by the contraction of their leaves. That these plants live, will be granted j but I suspect that they likewise feel. I doubt whether we are right, in con- fining the capacity of pleasure and pain to the animal kingdom. This I may affirm, that some circumstances, common to the genera- tion of plants and animals, and manv GEORGICAL ESSAYS. 545 nimllarities in their functions and structure, would lead us to the opinion, that sensation likewise is bestowed on both. It is vain to attempt to establish absolute rules, by which plants may be distinguished from animals, in every case whatsoever. There are animals, which grow to a spot, and, like plants, arc nourished by the pores of the skin. And there are plants, which surpafs some animals in vital power, and/ perhaps, in sensation. Wherever the principle of life exists, there is a peculiar organization; and as much me- chanism is necefsary to the structure of a ve- getable, as of a human being. This view of the life of vegetables, raises botany to the rank of philosophy : it adds fresh beauty to the parterre, and gives new dignity to the forest. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. Printed at the Office of r. VT I L 3 O N and R.. S P E N C E, High-Oulegate, York. " , CONTENTS OF VOLUME FIRST. BOOK I. PAGE The Rise and Frogrefs of Agriculture, . 1 1 ESSAY I. Bv A. Hunter, M. D. On the Nourishment of Vegetables f . . . 17 E S S A Y II. By A. Hunter, ISI. D. On a Rich and Cheap Compost, . . .38 ESSAY III. By A. Hunter, M. D. On Vegetation, and the Analogy between Plants and Animals, zcith a Plate, . . . 49 ESSAY IV. By A. Hunter, M. D. On Steeps, . 59 ESSAY V. By A. Hunter, M. D. On the Roots of Wheat, with a Plate, . . 6j ESS A Y VI. By A. Hunter, INI. D. On Vegetation, and the Motion of the Sap, . 70 ESSAY VII. By A. Hunter, M. D. On a New Method of Cultivating Weak Arable Lands, 103 ESSAY VIII. By John Harrison, Esq. On the Rohinia, or False Acacia; commonlij called tlte Locust Tree , . . . .110 Volume I. M ra -546 CONTENTS. PAGE ESSAY IX. By T. Haliday, Esq. On a ncii) Species of Grain j called Siberian, or Haliday Barlcx), 120 ESSAY X. By A. Hunter, ls\. D. On Potatoes, 1 27 ESSAY XI. By A. Hunter, M. D. On the Cidture of Turnips, . . • .135 ESSAY XII. By J. S. Morrit, Esq. On the Culture of Carrots, and their Use in Fat- tening of Hogs, . . . .141 ESSAY XIII. By A. Hunter, M. D. On the Study of Nature, 149 ESSAY XIV. By A. Hunter, IVI. D. On the Time of Sowing , . . . .152 ESSAY XV. By John Grieve, M. D. On a Wine, called by the Tartars Koumifs, . 193 ESSAY XVI. By the Rev. Robert Peirson. On the Connection between Botany aiul ^gricul- ture, . . . . - .215 ESSAY XVII. By J. Ainslie, M. D. On the Nature and Properties of Marl, . . 224 ESSAY XVIII. By a Gentleman uho wishes to be unknown. The latter Part and Plan, by A. Hunter, M. D. On Agriculture and Manufactures, . . . 269 ESSAY XIX. By R. Townley, Esq. Oyi Goose Dung, . . . .273 CONTENTS, 547 PAGE ESSAY XX. By Sir J. IVIethuen Poore, Bart. On the Advantages of Raising Potatoes on Fal- lows , . . . . . . 2S.5 P:SSAY XXL By A. Hunter, M. D. On Drill-Sowing y . . . . .288 ESSAY XXir. By the Rev. Mr. Dickson. On Manures, and their Operation, . . . 299 ESSAY XXni. By C. Baldwin, Esq. Oil Oil used as a Manure, . . . .317 ESSAY XXIV. By A. Hunter, M. D. On Top-Drejsings, . . . . .324 BOOK ir. ESSAY I. By Tliomas Percival, M. D. On the different Quantities of Rain which fall at different Heights over the same Spot of Ground, . . . . . .329 ESSAY II. By R. Townley, Esq. On the Culture of Potatoes, . . . .344 ESSAY III. By the Rev. Robert Peirson. On the Analog^/ between Plants and Animals, 3C1 ESS AY IV. By A. Hunter, M. D. On Expenments, 3 06 EXPER. I. On the Oil- Compost, . . . .366 ExPER. 11. On Manuring Meadozi) Lands, . . . .371 M m 2 543 CONTENTS. PAGE ExPER. III. On a New kind of Manure, 373 EXPER. IV. On the Oil- Compost, 376 ExPER. V. On Siberian Spring Wheat, . , . . . 378 ExPER. ri. On the Howard, or large Bedfordshire Potatoe, 378 ExPER. VII. On the Increase of Potatoes, 380 ExPER. VIII. On the IncYease of Potatoes, , , , .380 ExPER. IX. On the Oil-Cojnpost, 381 ExPER. X. On the Oil- Compost, 382 ExPER. XI. To make a rich Compost if Pond-yniid, S(c. .385 ExPER. XII. On Protecting Wall Fruit, 387 ExPER. XIII. How to Improve the Turf of poor Pasture Lands, 388 ExPER. XIV. JIow to Renovate an old Mulberry Tree, • .390 ExPER. XV. 4 general Idea of the Oil-Compott, . . .391 CONTENTS, -549 PAGE EXPER. XVI. A profitable Method of So-juing Wheat on Land too strong for Turnips, 394 ExPER. XVII. On Siberian Spring Wheat, . . . .396 ExPER. XVIII. On the Method of raising Seedling Potatoes, . 398 ExPER, XIX. On the Alternate Ilusbundrjj, .... 401 ExPER. XX. Tlie Dimensions of an Earthen Fence, as 7nade in Northumberland, . . . ^ . . 404 ExPER. XXI. A Met/iod of Preparing a rich Compost, . . 405 ExPER. XXII. A Comparative View of the three different Me- thods of Sowing Barlei^, ... 407 ExPER. xxni. On the Oil-Compost, . . , , .411 ExPER. XXIV. On the Juice of Carrots, isc. .... 412 ExPER. X'XV. On a Method of raising Potatoes in Winter, . 423 ExPER. XXVI. On Sowing Turnips for late Feeding, . . 423 EXP£R. XXVII. On Feeding Sheep, and a Substitute for Folding, 424 550 CONTENTS. PAGE EXPER. XXVIII. A Comparatke View of two crops of Barley, the one Drilled, and tlie other sown Broadcast, 426 ExPER. XXIX. On Malt-Dust as a Manure, .... 427 ExPER. XXX. On the number of Grains contained in a Bushel of Wheat, and other Seeds, .... 427 ExPER. XXXI. A Method of making excellent Butter from the MUk of Cows fed upon Turnips, . , 429 ExPER. XXXII. A nexi) and profitable Method of raising a crop of Turnips in Drill, 430 ExPER. xxxiri. On the Quantity of Ashes to be obtained by Bum- baking, ...... 435 ExPER. XXXIV, On Spring Wheat, 433 ExPER, XXXV. On Sowing CaiTot-Seed, .... 436 ExPER. XXXVI. The Method of making Whale-Compost, . .437 ExPER. XXXVII. On the Oil- Compost, 489 CONTENTS. 551 PAGE ExPER. XXXVIII. j4 Comparative Fiexv of Baron Van Haake's Com- post, the Oil-Compost J and Soot mixed ivitk Ashes, 441 ExPER. XXXIX. On Egyptian Wheat , . . , . ,442 ExPER, XL. On the Culture of Cabbages, . . • , 444 ExPER. XLI. The Method of using Sea-Weed in Scotland , ,447 ExPER. XLII. The Method of preparing Land for so-xnng Lucern broad-cast, 449 ExPER. XLIII. On Transplanting Poiatoe Tops, . . .452 ExPER. XLIV. On Nutritive Lime, . . , , , . 45 f. ExPER. XLV. On feeding Hogs with Potatoes, . , ,455 ExPER. XLVI. A Comparison bet-uren Red and White Wheat, . 456 ExPER. XLVII. On the best Method of raising Early Potatoes, 457 Ex PER. XLVIir. On Lime, 460 ExPER. XLIX. On preparing Seed Wheat zcilh Oily . . . 464 552 CONTENTS. PAGE EXP£R. L. On Dibbling Wheat, . . , ♦ .467 ExPER. LI. On Claying Land, . . - . .469 ExPER. LII. On Siberian Barley, . . . . .470 EXFER. LIII. A Ccmparati-ve Review of Manures, . , . 470 ExFER. LIV. On Potatoes, 472 ExPER. LV. On Fattening Hogs, 472 E S S A Y V. B}^ the Rev. John Buxton. On the most Projif able Method of Managing Light Arabic Lands, 475 ESSAY YI. By the Rev. Robert Peirson. On the Sexes oj Plants, » . . . . 4S0 ESSAY VII. By T. B. Bayley, Esq. F. R. S. & S. A. On a Cheap and Expeditious Method of Draining Land, with two Plate;, . . .492 ESS xY VIII. By Arthur Young, Esq. On Top-Drefsings, . . . . . 502 ESSAY IX By James Farquarson, Esq. On the 'cotch Fir, . . .... 50S £ S S A Y X. By George Bell, M. D. O71 the Physiology of Plants, . . . .517 n 1 iiiij. ■y WM