Again, no rules drawn from garden practice can ap ply to operations carried on in the field ; the soils are generally very different, and any comparison that can be made, must be with those rich sandy beams, upon which we have allowed fallow ing to be unnecessary. The crops in the garden are reaped at so many different times, and often so early in the season, that opportunity is always gained for working the ground in the comple test manner ; chile the immense difference betwixt working with the plough and the spade renders every comparison ridiculous.
A fallow field, which exhibits a conflict the farmer and his weeds, does not deserve that appellation ; for the intention of the fallow is to extirpate these weeds. We are inclined to think, that the miserable situation of many English fallows may be attributed to the feeding, and folding them with sheep. The farmer, from being obliged, by the conditions of his lease, or the rules of common field management, to fallow every third or fourth year, is tempted to draw something- from them when in this unproductive state ; and, to gratify his avarice in the first instance, sacrifices the good hus bandry which it is his ultimate interest to practise. A well managed fallow should be wrought as early in the season as possible, and continually turned over so long as the least particle of quickens appears. it is no ar gument against the utility of fallows, that they are often managed in a different way ; this militates only against the impropriety of the management, but not against the practice itself.
Upon the whole, the necessity of summer fallow turns upon this single point :—Can wet lands be ad•antage ously employed in raising turnips or cabbages ; a ques tion which the practical former, who is sufficiently ac quainted with the nature of such soils, and the immense labour required to brims them into proper tilth, will have no difficulty to answer in the negative. It is not dispu ted that turnips and cabbages will grow upon these soils ; but the question is. whether the extraordinary labour they require, and the damage sustained by the ground, during the consumption or can ring off the crops, will not exceed the value of the produce Surely few per sons will recommend the turnip husbandry under such circumstances ? If they do, the recommendation fur nishes a presumption, that they are unacquainted with the cultivation of wet lands. If they do nut, how is the ground to be kept clean, and enabled unintenupted produce ? Nothing that is said in defence of fallow, is meant in vindication of the absurd system of taking only two crops to one fallow, as practised upon many English common fields. It is only meant to show, that clay soils, and every soil incumbent upon a wet bottom, cannot be kept clean without the assistance of this radical and ancient practice. How often it should be used, must in a great
measure be left to the discretion of the; farmer, who w ill repeat it when necessary, if he knows his own in terest.
As many different opinions prevail relative to the man ner in which a fallow should be conducted, our senti ments upon that head mar he acceptable.
Upon all clay soils (and upon such only, we under stand a complete summer fallow to he necessary,) the first ploughing ought to be given during the winter months, or as early in the hp, ;lig as possible ; which promotes the rotting of the sward and stubble. This should be done by gathering lip the ridge, which both lays the ground dry, and rips up the furrows. As soon as sced-time is over, the ridge should be cloven down, preparatory to cross ploughing ; and alter lying a proper time, should be harrowed and rolled repeatedly, and every pardcle of quickens that the harrows have brought above should be carefully picked off with the hand. It is then proper to ridge or gather it up immediately, which both lays the land in proper condition for meet ing bad weather, and opt ns up any last land that may have been missed in the furrows when the cross plough ing was given. Alter this, harrow, roll, and gather the root weeds again ; and continue so doing till the licld is perfectly clean.
Mr 'Marshall, in his Treatise upon the Yorkshire Husbandry, recommends a practice quite different. In his opinion, ploughing is only necessary ; and taking out live roots by the harrow, and carrying them off, is an evident impropriety.
Ilere it may be remarked, that frequent turning over the ground, although absolutely necessary while the process of fallowing is going on, can never eradicate quickens, couch-grass, or other root weeds. In all clay soils, the ground turns up in lumps, w hich the severest drought will not penetrate, or at least not so far as to kill the plant contained in the heart of them. When the land is ploughed again, these lumps or clods are simply turned over, and no more ; and the action of the plough serves in no shape to reduce them, or at least in a very imperceptible manner. If ever there was a season for making good fallow by ploughing, it was that of 1793 ; there was hardly a drop of rain during the whole sum mer ; the drought was excessive, and attended with an almost continued sunshine. Notwithstanding all these advantages, the fallows which were not properly reduced in the beginning of the season, took on a growth as soon as moisture came, about the beginning of harvest. Even when they were completely harrowed and rolled, it was found difficult to c xtirpate couch, as the dryness of the ground did not allow it to part so well from the clod as in seasons more moist.