556 Deepeninr/ the Staple Soil. 



prices, which we were told by these labourers they would, be 

 willins: to undertake to do : the land dug' would afterwards be 

 prepared for a crop for at least five shillings per acre less than 

 that after the plough, at an equal depth, as the forks leave the 

 soil perfectly free from any of that pernicious glazing effect, so 

 much admired by ploughmen, but detested by all gardeners and 

 philosophical farmers. 



Fourthly, Is pulverisation sufficient without inversion of the 

 soil ? As a short answer to this question, we (from some few 

 years' experience) say No ; but to a considerable extent in the 

 operations of cultivation we say Yes ! 



We will detail our experience in this matter. Having in 

 1840 invented a grubber (made by Messrs. Smith of Paisley) 

 with which we thought of superseding the plough, we began 

 our experiment upon a field that had been treated as follows : — 

 Ploughed after clover ; the soil a first-rate loam, part upon North- 

 ampton ironstone and part upon a yellow clay subsoil, the staple 

 being generally from 6 to 10 inches deep : 8 quarters of lime 

 applied before and 12 after ploughing it 5 inches deep ; one acre 

 we only ploughed 3^ inches deep. The whole was sown with 

 wheat drilled ; during the spring all (except the shallow-ploughed 

 part) lost plant very much, but we put the whole of our sheep 

 upon it, giving them, some turnips thrown about, to induce 

 them to run about and trample it as much as possible, and ap- 

 plied 3 cwt. of salt per acre. This had the effect of establish- 

 ing and invigorating the plants, causing them to stool or tiller 

 rapidly. There were 34 bushels (of 62 lbs.) per acre on the 

 5-inch ploughing ; but 37 bushels on the shallow or Si- 

 inch ploughing. After autumn scarifying and cleansing the 

 stubbles, we ploughed two-thirds of the field 12 inches deep ; 

 the other third Ave cultivated with the grubber to the same 

 depth, by going three times over the ground in different direc- 

 tions, thus expending as much for grubbing as was expended 

 on the other part for ploughing. In March, when the first 

 spring grubbing took place, the ploughed part was decidedly 

 the easiest draught for the six horses which were required to work 

 it up to the full depth ; one acre of that previously ploughed 

 was again cultivated with the plough instead of the grubber; the 

 whole was prepared and sown with swedes, manured Avith 24 

 cubic yards of farmyard dung, long and unfermented, and 16 

 bushels of bone-dust, mixed with ashes and wetted Avith dung- 

 water some weeks before use. The whole field Avas sown upon 

 the ridge ; all came up and Avent on Avell, except the acre that Avas 

 three times spring-ploughed instead of being grubbed. The 



