295 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. 



cause of the fertility of the soil in California is their long droughts. 

 The earth becomes so dry that the air passes through it, and when 

 it is moistened it acts like bread rising ; it expands and leaves the 

 soil fine and perfectly decomposed. I came into possession of a 

 farm here that had been in the hands of heirs, and was consider- 

 ably nui down. I cut about thirty tons of hay on sixty acres the 

 first year; the next twenty ; and the next not more than fifteen. 

 The second and third years were dry seasons. A large part of that 

 I turned over, sowed grass seed, and got fair crops of hay, I mow 

 about thirty-five acres, and cut from fifty to seventy tons of hay. 

 We do not plough enough ; we crop too much, as brother Gurney 

 says ; but we do not plow enough, neither do we summer fallow 

 as we ought. 



Prof. Fernald. I was glad to hear the lecturer advocate deep 

 tillage ; I believe fully in that. 1 have sometimes thought that if 

 there were a law passed by the Legislature declaring that every 

 farmer owns to the depth of one foot, it might result in great good, 

 for then he would be more likel}'' to try to make use of all ho pos- 

 sesses. He seems too often to forget that he owns the soil to an 

 indefinite depth, and sometimes only skims over the surface. Now 

 if it be true that plowing to the depth of six inches will furnish 

 material for plant food for a given number of years, and going 

 twelve inches will furnish double the amount of plant food, it is 

 also true that it will not answer to depend for an indefinite length 

 of time upon what the soil will afford, but returns must be made 

 commensurate with what is taken away. Then, if the farmer would 

 keep his soil in good condition, he must return in proportion to luhat 

 he takes away, and yet not hesitate to put the plough down deep, 

 and let the soil furnish all it is capable of affording. 



It is undoubtedly true, that there is great advantage in deep and 

 thorough pulverization of the soil, for by pulverizing and opening 

 up the particles of the soil to air and moisture, there are brought 

 in contact with the little pebbles and particles of the soil the very 

 elements that are necessary to break them down, decompose them, 

 and eliminate from those pebbles the phosphate of lime and potash 

 they contain — the very fertilizing ingredients which are locked up 

 in those pebbles, and can only be set free through the agency of 

 air and moisture. So bj'^ thorough pulverization of the soil, chem- 

 ical changes are brought about which are indispensably necessary 

 in order to set free what otherwise would remain locked up, and 

 be of no service whatever as plant food. There is no question in 



