the plough as deep as poffible. In order to do this effectually, it will fometimes be needful for a fecond plough to follow the firft in the fame furrow; which will throw the mould over, and bury the ftubble and weeds. In this cafe there will be a new foil uppermoft, which, being fresh to the air, will receive much greater and more lafting benefit from the fun, the rain, and the frofts, than it otherwife could do, as thereby it will attract a greater quantity of the nutrition which thefe afford. The ftubble and weeds, being by this method of ploughing buried deep, will much fooner rot than when juft covered. In this ftate the ridges will lie high, and, if the land be wet or of the brick-earth kind, will be full of clots or large lumps.

No time fhould now be loft by delaying to render this newly turned up foil as fine as harrowing can make it. I know in this particular my judgment will be called in queftion by numbers. Common farmers will fay, "To what purpofe is all this expence and labour, when, if the "land be fuffered to lie in its rough "ftate through the winter, the froft "and the rains will do the work for "you?" But this is the language of the fluggard and the inexperienced hufbandman only.

I am convinced, by repeated experiments, clofe obfervations, and plain reafoning on known facts, that lands which are made fine before the fharp froft and winter rains come on, will receive a much greater fhare of their influence than any other.

If the land be left in a rough ftate, there is feldom time for the rains and frost to affect more than the outfide of the large clods or lumps; the outfide will indeed be pulvezized, but the middle of the lumps,

wherever they are large, will be found nearly in the fame hard fliff ftate as when turned up by the plough. Hence it must appear to every one, that in this cafe the benefit of air, winter rains, and frofts, on lands thus left, is partial; and the confequence is, that harrowing it in the fpring, when these are over, is too late for its receiving the benefit which would have accrued from them; and the power of vege tation is not fo vigorous.

But to make winter fallows as fine as they can be in autumn, and then ridge them up in that pulverized ftate, is acting mot agreeable to nature. The greateft poffible quantity of furface is by this means expofed to the atmosphere; and the fand is left in a ftate wherein the rains and the froft are mott eafily admiffible. They will then penetrate and enrich the whole mafs to a greater depth.

If the froft penetrates a quantity of earth, formed into a large hard clod, partially, on account of its bulk and hardness (which is always found to be the cafe) it is evident that the fame clod, broken into four parts, would be thereby penetrated four times as much; or, in other words, four times the quantity of earth would be affected by it, and on a thaw be pulverized. For we find that, after the breaking up of a fevere froft, all the fmall clods crumble easily into powder; while the large ones are only made fmaller by the crumbling off of their furfaces to a certain depth.

By this deep ploughing which I have recommended, the worn.out foil being turned in, the fecond ftratum of fresh earth is now uppermoft; and having, by being made as fine as it can be in autumn, been expofed

expofed to the air, the rain, and the froft during winter, is thereby fweetened and cleanfed of its impurities; and thus become a new fresh fertilized earth, in the beft poffible state for vigorous vegetation.

Many farmers will probably object to this method, on account of its being attended with a little extra expence. But I wish them to confider, first, that this expence is more

am recommending, being heavier by near half a ton per acre.

The extra expence on this part was only about eight fhillings per acre; the extra produce yielded an extra profit of more than twenty fhillings per acre.

I am, Gentlemen, yours, &c.
A LANDHOLDER.

labour is requifite in the fpring; and fecondly, that it will be amply repaid by the goodness of fucceeding crops.

About feven years fince, I made a comparative experiment of this kind. on a field of ten acres, the foil of which was equal as poffible in goodnefs. The one half of this field I left after ploughing in its rough ftate, the furface being covered with large hard clods. The other half I made as fine as poffible by harrowing with ox harrows, and beating in pieces the hardest and largest clods which the harrow would not break.

In the fpring, the part I had harrowed was much finer, without any additional labour, than I could render the other (which was left in its Tough ftate) by repeated harrowings; for the rain and the froft having not penetrated the middle of the large clods, they had received no benefit therefrom, and were as hard as bricks, being only leffened in

fize.

I fowed the whole field with barley the last week in April, and threw nine pounds of broad clover in with it. On harvesting it, I kept the crops feparate the parts lett rough produced twenty-four bufhels per acre; the other thirty one; the latter by much the fineft fample. The crop of clover next year was equally in favour of the method I

the fame.

[By a Gentleman Farmer.]

Mr. RACK,

Ν

IN anfwer to your enquiry, whe

ther we have adopted any method of preferving Turnips from the froft; or for feeding cattle late in the fpring; and, if fo, what thofe methods were? I beg leave to obferve, that nothing of this kind is yet come into general practice in this county. With refpect to preferving turnips from fuch fevere frofts as we had this laft winter, efpecially when there has not been fnow enough to cover them, I believe it would be utterly impracticable, unless the turnips were drawn previous to fuch frofts.

This would on the whole never anfwer the farmer's purpofe; as the certain trouble and expence of houfing or ftacking them would far exceed the advantage, even in a hard feafon; and, in mild winters, would be entirely loft.

To preferve them for late fpringfeed, is not fo difficult an undertak. ing. Divers methods have been tried, and among the reft that of drawing and burying them in fand; but this has not anfwered, for the following, among other, reafons:

Turnips are a very juicy root; and

although

although fand be perfectly dry when thrown among them, yet, when packed together in large heaps, they naturally fweat, and communicate a moisture, which, with the hot quality of the fand, raises a ftill greater heat; and as warmth and moisture are two qualities which greatly promote vegetation, the vegetation of thefe roots is the first thing that renders them ufelefs. They will grow till the growing quality is exhaufted; and then, by putrifying, become quite unfit for food.

The best method of preferving them that I have heard of, and which has been tried with fuccefs by fome of our best farmers, is, to ftack them up in dry ftraw; a load of which is fufficient to preferve forty tons of turnips. The method is eafy, and as follows:

After drawing your turnips in February, cut off the tops and tap roots (which may be given to sheep) and let them lie a few days in the field, as no weather will then hurt them.

Then, on a layer of ftraw next the ground, place a layer of turnips two feet thick; and then another layer of ftraw, and fo on alternately, till you have brought the heap to a point. Care must be taken to turn up the edges of the layers of ftraw, to prevent the turnips from rolling out; cover the top well with long

fraw, and it will serve as a thatch for the whole.

In this method, as the ftraw im. bibes the moisture exhaled from the roots, all vegetation will be prevented, and the turnips will be nearly as good in May as when first drawn from the field. If ftraw be fcarce, old haulm or ftubble will anfwer the fame purpose.

But, to prevent this trouble and expence, perhaps farmers in all counties would find it moft to their intereft to adopt the method used by our neighbours the Norfolk farmers, which is, to continue fowing turnips to the latter end of Auguft; by which means their late crops remain good in the field till the latter end of April, and often till the middle of May.

The advantages of having turnips good till the fpring-feed is generally ready, are fo obvious and fo great, that many of our farmers (although at first prejudiced against the practice) are now come into it, and find their account in fo doing.

I wish thefe few hints may prove in any degree ufeful; and am, wifhing all poffible fuccefs to the Bath Society,

W. P.

Your very humble fervant, Suffolk, March 1, 1780.

ANTIQUITIES.