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cal changes in the soil, produced by ploughing, are quite in- 

 dependent of the presence of plants. Tillage dissolves more 

 silica, potash, soda, lime, magnesia, chlorine, iron, mould, sul- 

 phuric and phosphoric acids, than would be dissolved without 

 this operation. After tillage has dissolved the elements of 

 crops, they do not remain long in well-drained land, if no 

 plants are present to imbioe the water that holds them in so- 

 lution. Wherever the water runs, most of the organic and 

 inorganic constituents of vegetables go with it, after they are 

 fairly dissolved, like common salt in water." 



The^e observations apply, in all their force, to a county 

 which, like Monroe, has a roling surface, by which the water 

 is rapidly carried away. To lay hold, immediately, of these 

 elements of fertility, is the only method by which they can 

 be retained, and this can best be done by sowing, at the time 

 of the last ploughing, some crop that will take them up. 

 Wheat, rye, clover, would all answer ; but no one better, 

 if as well, as rye. It would afford a good winter pasture, 

 and by feeding the grain to hogs, on the ground, and immedi- 

 ately turning under, the elements of fertility would be again 

 returned to the soil, in a form the most ready for production. 



To avoid this dissolving of the elements of fertility, as 

 much as possible, various experiments have been made, and 

 these go to show, that on sod land, deeply broken up, one or 

 two ploughings, after the corn is up, are all that is necessary. 

 Sixty bushels of corn to the acre have been raised in our 

 county, without any culture, after being planted. I have 

 raised what was supposed to be about one hundred bushels to 

 the acre, with but one ploughing after the corn was up. The 

 land had been a pasture field, was manured before ploughed, 

 and was sub-soiled when broken up. The season was favora- 

 ble. The general opinion of the members of the society is, 

 that in land such as ours, corn should be put in on a sod, 

 double ploughed, manured either before being ploughed, or, 

 if after, to be harrowed in as a top dressing, and the number 



