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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



was to trench the land two feet deep, turning the 

 top sod under, and the clay upon the top ; the 

 other had the top sod removed to a convenient dis- 

 tance, and the subsoil loosened up and well chopped, 

 and the top sod of the next layer, or trench, placed^ 

 upon that. Both pieces were planted at the same 

 time, and with the same sort of trees. What was 

 the result ? It was obvious those planted in that 

 part with the clay upon the surface stood still, for 

 the best of all possible reasons — when the spring 

 winds came and the summer drought followed, this 

 ungrateful soil refused to drink of the refreshing 

 showers from above, or inhale the dews of heaven ; 

 it became hardened to Nature's call. But those 

 planted in the top soil uppermost grew most 

 vigorously and luxuriantly ; thus showing the 

 fatal consequence of turning up that soil which is 

 impervious to the laws of Nature. Mr. Chairman 

 and gentlemen, I will call your attention for a few 

 moments to the system I adopt. Mine is a four- 

 course one, and when I plough my wheat stubbles, 

 say in Octobei", if I can turn up six inches of good 

 soil, available for most purposes, I am like many 

 more of the world — dissatisfied ; I want more ; I 

 want a slice of that soil which has been hidden from 

 the light of day for four long years, to mix and in- 

 corporate with the other ; and whether it consists 

 of loam or partakes of a gravelly nature, my im- 

 pression is that it infuses new life into that soil, what- 

 ever its composition may be. Perhaps you will ask 

 me, am I an advocate for deepening all soils ? 

 Certainly not. And why ? Because all soils are 

 not of the same nature. Perhaps you will ask me, 

 am I an advocate for turning up light lands ? Cer- 

 tainly not ; unless I had thirty loads of marl to 

 top-dress it, or the same amount of clay. And in 

 due course you will naturally ask me, am I for 

 turning up a sour, cold clay, partaking of some- 

 thing of iron ore ? I am not ; because that which 

 is impervious to the sun's rays or the winter frost 

 had better remain where it is. But ask me, am I 

 for deepening and turning up a loamy subsoil ? I 

 am ; and by exposing that alluvial soil to the action 

 of the air, it becomes useful and imparts new life 

 into the other. With these remarks, gentlemen, 

 I trust and hope you will discuss this subject fairly 

 and freely, and though you may differ from me in 

 some new points, I will say. 



Be not the first by whom the new is tried, 

 Nor yet the last to lay the old aside. 



Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, it now only remains 

 for me to thank you very sincerely for the patience 

 and attention you have given me. 



Mr. LiLLiNGTON said he would give them the 

 result of his experience, a few years ago, with re- 

 spect to deep ploughing. He agreed with Mr. 

 Clarke upon this point, that it was one of the most 



essential things they could do. He had forty acres 

 that were overgrown with thistles, and could not 

 keep them down ; but he went to work with it, 

 ploughed it two furrows deep, and had never had 

 a thistle to hurt him afterwards. In answer to 

 questions, he explained that he had grown good 

 crops since, last year the produce of barley being 

 ten sacks per acre. The depth he went to was 

 eight or nine inches. It was not on chalk, but 

 different soils ; some of it patches of clay. 



Mr. Saunders observed that he thought they 

 should all put their shoulders to the wheel, and 

 state what they knew with respect to such an im- 

 portant subject as the deepening of soils. He cer- 

 tainly must congratulate Mr. Clarke upon the able 

 manner in which he had, at so short a notice, 

 introduced this subject. He quite agreed with him 

 in many points, and was of opinion that all soils 

 did not require deepening. As far as his experience 

 went, he had found more benefit in deepening some 

 soils than others. He could not find any benefit 

 on good lands, but on bad he had seen a great deal 

 of difference. On the farm he now occupied he 

 had a very thin piece of chalk land, and his land- 

 lord told him, with reference to it, that if he could get 

 tfvo new oats for one old one he must be satisfied. 

 At first he could not plough it above two and a-half 

 inches deep ; but he had since gradually worked it 

 deeper year by year, until he had now six or seven 

 inches to work upon. The chalk had been pul- 

 verized as it was brought up, so that it was now 

 quite a white earth. When he first had it he did 

 not get half a crop ; it was all in patches ; but now 

 he could grow a fair crop, with a liberal allowance 

 of manure, and he considered it was three times as 

 good as it was before. He had tried it where he 

 had a good subsoil, and there he could not find 

 much difference, although he had subsoiled one 

 part and not the other. In breaking up some 

 heath land, however, he had found it did a won- 

 derful deal of good where the land was hard under- 

 neath, which the water never could penetrate. He 

 did not turn up the poor soil, but moved it. After 

 noticing some other experiments on this point, Mr. 

 Saunders said they showed him that in some cases 

 the deepening of the soil was a benefit, and that in 

 others it was not, so that every man must judge for 

 himself. He thought that all stubble land should 

 be ploughed deep. He often found where land 

 was hard it wanted subsoiling. As an instance of 

 this, he had seen a ditch made across a piece of 

 land, and the earth thrown in again, but the wheat 

 was twice as good there as it was where the land 

 had not been moved. This showed the land wanted 

 deepening. If a person would only try a little, he 

 would soon find whether his land did require it or 

 not, He considered the deepening the soil a very 



