GENERAL RULES FOR PLOUGHING. 451 



ing land without that of thorough-draining, which forms a part 

 of the same system, would be unjust to Mr. Smith. This, how 

 ever, I shall do most fully under the subject of draining, which 

 will come as matter of course. 



To subsoil without draining is not to be indiscriminately 

 recommended. In heavy and clay soils, it would be of little use, 

 as they would soon settle down into their former compactness. 

 In some soils it would only serve to increase their wetness, as 

 the water, sinking deeper into the ground, without any provision 

 for its escape, would pass off less quickly by evaporation than 

 if nearer the surface. In lighter soils, where its only effect 

 would be to loosen the soil, it would undoubtedly be beneficial. 



8. EXPERIMENT IN SUBSOILING HEATH LAND. An example 

 of success in the application of the subsoil to heath land, which 

 is within my knowledge, is so remarkable, that I will give it to 

 my readers at large. The gentleman to whom I shall refer, Sir 

 Edward Stracey, is himself the inventor of a subsoil-plough, 

 known as the Rackheath plough, after the name of the property 

 which he occupies, and which is much lighter of draught than 

 the Deanston plough. 



&quot; On my coming to reside on my estate at Rackheath, about 

 six years since, I found 500 acres of heath land, composing two 

 farms, without tenants, the gorse, heather, and fern shooting up 

 in all parts. In short, the land was in such a condition that the 

 crops did not return the seed sown. The soil was a loose, 

 loamy soil, and had been broken up by the plough to a depth not 

 exceeding four inches, beneath which was a substratum (pro- 

 vincially called an iron-pan] so hard, that with difficulty could 

 a pickaxe be made to enter in many places ; and my bailiff, who 

 had looked after the lands for 35 years, told me that the lands 

 were not worth cultivating ; that all the neighboring farmers 

 said the same thing ; and that there was but one thing to be 

 done, viz., to plant with fir and forest-trees. To this I paid 

 little attention, as I had the year preceding allotted some parcels 

 of ground, taken out of the adjoining lands, to some cottagers, to 

 each cottage about one third of an acre. The crops on all these 

 allotments looked fine, healthy, and good, producing excellent 

 wheat, carrots, peas, cabbages, potatoes, and other vegetables, in 

 abundance. The question then was, How was this to be done ? 



