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.

    274/318 (page 242)
    T E S low Wheels, or even when I drilled into open Channels, without Funnels or Trunks to my Drill-p'ow ; and yet my Rows of St. Foin and ol Corn were always free from Gaps, being equally fupply’d with Seed Irom one End to the other. If ever there is occafion for more than a fingle Set, it muft be for Beans, for which alfo I think a large Spindle is better than a double Set of Notches in a fmall One ; the largeft Spindle I have known made, is of two Inches and a half Diameter, and that only for Horfe Beans. The beft Sort of Notches for a double Set, are thofe which have convex Bottoms; becaufe fuch are lefs li¬ able to drop their Seeds without the turning of the Wheels than any pother Sort: And a double Set muft be an greater Danger of this, as the Tongue is always hindred from preffing fo clofely againft any Notch, be¬ ing held open by the Seeds on the oppofite Interlace, which is contrary to a fingle Set, where no Seed can lodge at either End of a Notch, to hold open the Tongue, or hinder its preffing againft it. Note, when I made my Boxes of Wood, I had double Boxes, with a Partition between fuch a double Set of Notches, but never made fuch in Brafs, not knowing whether that Partition, by its Thinneis, of hard Metal, might not cut the Spindle, yet I never found any occafion for a double Row of Notches. I made tlio e double Boxes only for drilling two Sorts of Seeds at once into the fame Channel. P. 167. L. 11. Thicknefs of the Sheat is an Inch.] This Thicknefs muft be only at the upper Part near the Tenon, for ftrengthening it where the Sheat is narroweft, and where the moft Strength is required* All the reft of the Sheat fhould be no thicker than the Breadth ot the Share. P. 180. L. 42. Unlejs the Wheels were of an extraordinary Height, &c.) Not with (landing the Reafons given, and that I have never ufed Wheels of fuch an Height as might be neceffary for going in the Furrows } yet it may not be amifs to try fuch * becaufe with them the Spindle needeth not to be more than half the Length of one that is carried by low Wheels: And high Wheels will allow the Funnel to be much larger, fo that although the Spindle go higher from it, no Seeds will drop befides a large Funnel* but there is not room for a large One under low Wheels. I did not think it neceffary to defcribe the Manner of making Drill-Wheels any other Way than by (hew¬ ing them in the Plates ; but I will obferve here that they are to be made very light: One of mine that is 30 Inches high weighs five Pound and a Half, it has a Circle or Ring of Iron whofe Depth is Half an Inch, and its Thcknefs a Quarter of an Inch, alfo very thin Iron Stock-bands to hold the Nave or Stock from Split¬ ting. The Circle is held on the Spokes by fmall flat Iron Pins on each Side : and each Spoke has a Ring of Iron to fecure its End from being fplit by driving in of the Pins. We alio make the Drill-Wheels lefs Concavfc, than other Wheels are. P. 188. L.44. F eaches almoji as far forwards as the End of the Axis of the Tongue, & f.] Commonly it reaches within Half a Quarter of an Inch, but if it fhould only reach within a Quarter of an Inch of them, it would not have that ill Confequence of that Diftance, as the fame Pofltion would have in the large Seed- Boxes ; for in them the Seed would in fuch Cafe, be apt to bear againft the Bottom of the Hopper, and Ob- ftruct the Motion of the Brafs longue, which fmall Seeds cannot do in the Turnep Seed-Box, ■242 N O