I formerly was at much Pains, and at some Charge, in improving my Drills, for planting the Rows at very near Distances; and had brought them to such Perfection, that One Horse would draw a Drill with Eleven Shares, making the Rows at three Inches and half Distance from one another; and at the same Time sow in them Three very different Sorts of Seeds, which did not mix; and these too, at different Depths; as the Barley-Rows were seven Inches asunder, the Barley lay four Inches deep; a little more than three Inches above that, in the same Chanels, was Clover; betwixt every Two of these Rows was a Row of St. Foin, cover’d half an Inch deep. I had a good Crop of Barley the first Year; the next Year, Two Crops of Broad-Clover, where that was sown; and where Hop-Clover was sown, a mix’d Crop of That and St. Foin, and every Year afterwards a Crop of St. Foin; but I am since, by Experience, so fully convinced of the Folly of these, or any other such mix’d Crops, and more especially of narrow Spaces, that I have demolish’d these Instruments (in their full Perfection) as a vain Curiosity, the Drift and Use of them being contrary to the true Principles and Practice of Horse-Hoeing. Altho’ I am satisfied, that every one, who shall have seen as much of it as I have, will be of my Mind in this Matter; yet I am aware, that what I am going to advance, will seem shocking to them, before they have made Trials. I lay it down as a Rule (to myself) that every Row of Vegetables, to be Horse-ho’d, ought to have an empty Space or Interval of thirty Inches on one Side of it[49] at least, and of near five Feet in all Sorts of Corn. [49] _Note_, We call it one Row, tho’ it be a Double, Treble, or Quadruple Row; because when they unite in the Spring, they seem to be all single; even the Quadruple then is but as one single Row. Observe, that as wide Intervals are necessary for perfect Horse-hoeing, so the largest Vegetables have generally the greatest Benefit by them; tho’ small Plants may have considerable Benefit from much narrower Intervals than Five Feet. The Intervals may be somewhat narrower for constant annual Crops of Barley, than of Wheat; because Barley does not shut out the Hoe-Plough so soon, nor require so much Room for Hoeing, nor so much Earth in the Intervals, it being a lesser Plant, and growing but about a Third-part of the Time on the Ground; but he that drills Barley, must resolve to reap it, and bind it up in Sheaves; for if he mows it, or does not bind it, a great Part will be lost among the Earth in the Intervals: But ’tis now found, that in a wet Harvest the best Way is not to bind up drill’d Barley or Oats; but instead thereof, to make up the Grips into little Heaps by Hands, laying the Ears upon one another inwards, and the Stubble-ones outwards; so that with a Fork that hath Two Fingers, and a Thumb, ’tis very easy to pitch such Heaps up the Waggons without scattering, or wasting any of the Corn.