Horse-hoeing husbandry : $b or, an essay on the principles of vegetation and tillage. Designed to introduce a new method of culture; whereby the produce of land will be increased, and the usual expence lessened. Together with accurate descriptions and cuts of the instruments employed in it.Tull, Jethro
Science
Horse-hoeing husbandry : $b or, an essay on the principles of vegetation and tillage. Designed to introduce a new method of culture; whereby the produce of land will be increased, and the usual expence lessened. Together with accurate descriptions and cuts of the instruments employed in it.
Tull, Jethro
Agriculture -- Early works to 1800; Plows; Tillage
When a Roller is used, which is less than a Hoeing, because one
Person to lead is enough, and that may be a Boy; and once in an
interval may suffice; then ’tis less Labour than half a Hoeing; and
for this we may well abate One Hoeing of the Eight.
They who follow the old Husbandry cannot keep Oxen so cheap, because
they can do nothing without the Fold, and Store-sheep will spoil the
St. Foin. They may almost as well keep Foxes and Geese together, as
Store-sheep and good St. Foin. Besides, the sowed St. Foin cost Ten
times as much the Planting as drill’d St. Foin does, and must be
frequently manured, or else it will soon decay; especially upon all
sorts of chalky Land, whereon ’tis most commonly sown.
The Expence of drilling cannot be much; for as we can hoe Six Acres a
Day, at Two Furrows on each Six-feet Ridge, so we may drill Twenty-four
Acres a Day, with a Drill that plants Two of those Ridges at once; and
this we may reckon a _Peny Half-peny_ an Acre. But because we find it
less Trouble to drill single Ridges, we will set the Drilling, at most,
_Six-pence_ _per_ Acre.
As every successive Crop (if well managed) is more free from Weeds than
the preceding Crop; I will set it all together at _Six-pence_[231] an
Acre for Weeding[232].
[231] This is when the Land has been well cleansed of Weeds in the
preceding Crop, or Fallow, or both.
[232] This may be enough, if the Land be well cleansed the Year
before, and considering that several Years in such there is no
Occasion for Weeding at all: And as this Calculation is comparative
with the old Way, we should examine the Price of weeding the sown
Corn, which by the best Information I can get, was in the Year 1735.
about 4_s._ _per_ Acre for Weeding of Barley; and of Wheat, round
about where I live, about 6_s._ and in _Wiltshire_, 15_s._ _per_ Acre
for their Wheat, amongst which much Damage is done by the Weeder’s
Feet, and yet some Weeds are left.
For a Boy or a Woman to follow the Hoe-plough, to uncover the young
Wheat, when any Clods of Earth happen to fall on it, for which Trouble
there is seldom necessary above once[233] to a Crop, _Two-pence_ an
Acre. _One Peny_ is too much for Brine and Lime for an Acre.
[233] But this Expence being so small, ’tis better that a Person
should follow at every Hoeing, where we suspect, that any Damage may
happen from any Earth’s falling on, or pressing too hard against some
of the Plants.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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