No. 105,] 103 



from excessive moisture or excessive drouth. By stirring the subsoil 

 all, or nearly all, the evils attending shallow plowing would be ob- 

 viated. It is evident, then, that if in such soils, the earth could be 

 moved or broken up to the depth of sixteen or eighteen inches, with- 

 out having the subsoil brought to the surface, that an opportunity 

 would be furnished for superfluous moisture to drain from the surface, 

 and also for the roots to penetrate the earth to a depth that would 

 ensure their not perishing from drouth, and at the same time derive 

 their necessary nutriment from those parts of the under soil from 

 which no nutriment was formerly derived, in addition to which air 

 and moisture having easy access to the roots of the plants, further 

 nourishment is thereby afforded. The distance that roots may pene- 

 trate under favorable circumstances, is not definitely settled, but in- 

 credible as it may appear, there are cases on record where they have 

 been traced from four to eight feet. By subsoil plowing the rains 

 will sink into the ground, and afford moisture to the deep roots of 

 plants during the heats of summer, and stagnant surface water will 

 in most cases be prevented. Subsoil plowing would be highly ad- 

 vantageous on the hard-pan soils of our country, particularly when 

 intended for wheat, to prevent the danger of its freezing out. This 

 evil is the most formidable one the cultivator of our clayey soils has 

 to encounter, and is constantly increasing on lands of which clay 

 forms the principal ingredient. By allowing the surface water to 

 settle, the sub-stratum will not become so saturated, thereby pre- 

 ventingin some measure, the lifting process of the frost. 



It is unnecessary to deal farther in theoretical speculations. Expe- 

 rience, the great test of truth, fully and emphatically establishes the 

 whole matter. Sub-soil ploughing has recently attracted a good 

 share of attention of the English agriculturists, and from numerous 

 experiments, and some on a large scale, detailed in their journals, we 

 can no longer doubt its utility, and the writer of this, can bear testi- 

 mony of the great advantages resulting from its operation. Six years 

 since, I was extensively engaged in the cultivation of the sugar beet 

 for seed, and for making sugar. The field employed for the purpose, 

 had an extraordinary hard and indurated sub-soil, so much so, that it 

 was almost impossible to make the common plough penetrate beyond 

 a certain depth. Although great pains were taken to prepare the 



