The horse-hoing husbandry: or, an essay on the principles of tillage and vegetation ... Wherein is shewn a method of introducing a sort of vineyard-culture into the corn-fields, in order to increase their product, and diminish the common expence; by the use of instruments described in cuts / By I.T. [J. Tull].

  • Jethro Tull
Date:
1733
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The horse-hoing husbandry: or, an essay on the principles of tillage and vegetation ... Wherein is shewn a method of introducing a sort of vineyard-culture into the corn-fields, in order to increase their product, and diminish the common expence; by the use of instruments described in cuts / By I.T. [J. Tull]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    243/318 (page 211)
    P. 17. L. 48. Shew how ‘vajily the Artificial Pajlure of Plants exceeds the Natural.] A fall Proof of this Difference, (befides very many I have had before) was feen by two Intervals in the Middle of a poor Field of worn out St. Foin, pulveriz’d in the precedent Summer, in the Manner deferib’d in p. 91. Here not only the St. Foin adjoining to thefe Intervals recover’d its Strength, bloffom’d, and feeded Well, but alfo the natural Grafs among!! it was as ftrong and had as flourifhing a Colour as if a Dung-Heap had been laid in the Inter¬ vals ; alfo many other Weeds came out from the Edges of the unploW’d Ground, which mull have lain dor¬ mant a great many Years, grew higher and larger than ever were feen before in that Field ; but above all, there was It Weed amongft the St. Foin, which generally accompanies it, bearing a white Flower ; feme call it Whitt-Weedy others Lady's Bedflraw: Some Plants of this that Hood near the Intervals, were, in the Opinion of all that faw them, increafed to a thoufand Times the Bulk of thofe of the lame Species, that flood in the Field three Foot diftant from l'uch pulveriz’d Earth. Note, Thefe Intervals were each an hundred Perch long, and had each in them a treble Row of Barley very good. The Reafon, I take to be this, That the Land having lain Hill feveral Years after its Artificial Pafture was loft, whereby all the Plants in it having only the natural Pafture to fubfifton, became fo ex treme¬ ly fmall and weak, that they were not able to exhauft the Land of fo great a Quantity of the (vegetable) nou- rifhing Particles as the Atomfphere brought down to it. And when by Pulveration the artificial Pafture came to be added to this natural Pafture, (not much exhaufted) and nothing at all fuffered to grow out of it, for about three Quarters of aYear, it became rich enough without any Manure, to produce this extraordinary Effect upon the Vegetables, whofe Roots reached into it. How long this Effedl may continue, is uncertain; but I may venture to fay, it will continue until the Exhauftion by Vegetables doth over-ballance the Defcent of the Atmofphere and the Pulveration. And what I have faid of any one Species of Plants in this Refpedt may be generally apply’d to the reft. P. 18. L. 43. Makes a much lefs Ferment in it, £sV.] But it Dung be throughly ventilated and purify’d Tieforeit be fpread on the Field (as,I think, all the Authors I have read direct) fomucii of its Saits will befpent in fermenting the Dung itfelf, that little of them will remain to ferment the Soil, and the Farmer who might Dung one Acre in twenty, by laying on his Dung whilit fully replete with vigorous Salts, may (if he follows thele Writers Advice to a Nicety) be forced to content himfelf with dunging one Acre in an Hun¬ dred. This indeed is good Advice for Gardeners, for making their Stuff more palatable and wholefome, but would ruin the Firgilian Farmer who could have no more Dung than what he could make upon his Ara¬ ble .Farm. For every Sort of Dung, the longer Time it ferments without the Ground, the leffer Time it has to fer¬ ment in it, and the weaker its Ferment will be. The Reafon given for this great Diminution of Dung, is, that the Seeds of Weeds may be rotted and lofe their vegetating Faculty; but this would be to little Purpofe, if according to the Opinion ofEqui- vocus, and the lowed: Degree of the Virgiliati Vulgar, Weeds fprung up naturally from the Soil, by Equivocal Generation. This I am certain of by Demonftration, that let a Dung-hill remain three Years unmov’d, though its Bulk be vaftly diminifhed in that Time, and its beft Quality loft, Charlock Seed will remain found in it, and flock the Land whereon it is laid: For that Ferment which is fufficient to confume the Virtue of the llercoreous Salts, is not fufficient to deftroy the vegetative Virtue of Charlock-Seeds, nor (I believe) of many other Sorts of Weeds. P. 19. L. 40. A conjiderable Quantity of it [Dung] is fo neceffary to mofl Corn-Fields, that without it little good can be done by the old Husbandry. ] The Reader lees how falfely Equivocus hath publiihed to the World, that I have afferted in my Effay that Dung is JJfelefs. But though Dung is fo neceffary in the old Virgilian, Raftering, and fat erit Husbandry, yet to moft Sorts of Land ufed in the old and new pulverizing Husbandry ’tis not neceffary; as it appears by mine, and by the Experience of all Farmers, who being emancipated from Virgilian Principles, have made proper Trials: They find as well as I that Dung may be fupply’-d by an Increafe of Tillage. But I never have faid any Thing againft the Ufe of Dung in the Corn Fields, except where it cannot be procured at all* or when the whole Expence of it is likely to exceed the Profit. ’Tis probable, that in fome Places Dung may be had at a leffer Price, than the Increafe of Tillage neceffary to fuppl.y the Quantity of Dung required. That Dung may be ufeful when properly applied, I believe, was never denied by any Author, but I cannot be juftly charged with being the Firft who hath thought it not to be abfolutely neceffary, lince we learn from Heftod (who mentioned nothing of it in his Georgies) that the Antient Greeks carried on their Husbandry without Stercoration. P. 20. L. 11. To difitnguijh the very leaf Degree of Heat from the very leaf Degree of Cold. ] Water in Wells and Springs is not warmer in Winter than in Summer; it only feems to be fo, becaufe our Senfe of Feel¬ ing is differently afte&ed by touching it, as our Hands and the Air are colder in Winter than in Summer, to a greater Degree than fubterraneous Water is. For want of taking Notice of that Vulgar Miftake, Equivocus afferts, that Earth is warmer in Winter than in Summer. P. 20. L. 38. Tillage alone, with more Time, can pulverize as well (as Dung.] This the Experiments of artif dally pulverizing of the pooreft Land, as they are related by Mr. Evelyn, fully prove. And thefe Experiments are the more to be depended on, as they are made both in England and Holland by Perfons of known Integrity. This Truth is alfo further confirmed by thofe Authors who have found, that High-Way Duff alone is 2 Manure preferable to Dung. And all thefe Pulverations being made by Attrition or Contufion, why Ihould not our Inftruments of Pulveration in Time, reduce a fufficient Part of the Staple of a dry friable Soil, to a Dull equal to that of a High-Way ? . The common Proportion of Dung ufed in the Field pulverizes only a fmall Part of the Staple; but how long a Time may be required for our Inftruments to pulverize an equal Part, it depending much upon the Weather and the Degree of Friability of the Soil, is uncertain. I have feen furprizing Effects from Ground, after being kept unexhaufted, by plowing with common Plows for two whole Years running; and, I am confident, that the Expence of this extraordinary Tillage and Fallow, will