ing drilled the ground was as well
planted. This drill was easily drawn by a man, and sometimes by a
boy.'

His invention was largely prompted by his desire to do without the
insolent farm servant whom he has described above, and the year after
it was invented he certainly had his wish, for they struck in a body
and were dismissed: 'it were more easy to teach the beasts of the
field than to drive the ploughman out of his way.'

His ideas were largely derived from the mechanism of the organ which,
being fond of music, he had mastered in his youth--a rotary mechanism,
which is the foundation of all agricultural sowing implements. His
first invention may be described as a drill plough to sow wheat and
turnip seed in drills three rows at a time, a harrow to cover the seed
being attached. Afterwards he invented a turnip drill, so arranged as
regards dropping the seed and its subsequent covering with soil that
half the seed should come up earlier than the rest, to enable a
portion at least to escape the dreaded fly. He was a great believer in
doing everything himself, and worked so hard at his drill that he had
to go abroad for his health. He was somewhat carried away by his
invention, and asserts that the expense of a drilled crop of wheat was
one-ninth of that sown in the old way, giving the following figures to
prove his assertion:

_The Old Way_
L s. d.

Seed, 2-1/2 bushels, at 3s. 7 6
Three ploughings, harrrowing, and sowing 16 0
Weeding 2 0
Rent of preceding fallow 10 0
Manure 2 10 0
Reaping 4 6
---------
L 4 10 0[412]
=========

_The New Way_

Seed, 3 pecks 2 3
Tillage 4 0
Drilling 6
Weeding 6
Uncovering (removing clods fallen on the wheat) 2
Brine and lime 1
Reaping 2 6
-----