454 EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE. 



the draught, as his whole powers would be exerted in his en 

 deavors to prevent being brought down upon his knees. By so 

 arranging the chains, the power of three horses would be equal 

 to that of four.&quot; 



Such were the favorable results of this bold experiment. In 

 many other cases, however, the result has not been so successful ; 

 and when the state or character of the land is such as to retain 

 the water, as (to use the expression of one highly intelligent 

 farmer, who subsoiled his land without first draining it) &quot;it some 

 times does like a sponge,&quot; the subsoiling is as likely, and per 

 haps more likely, to be injurious than beneficial. The Deanston 

 system, as it is here called, of subsoil-ploughing and furrow- 

 draining will presently be fully stated to my readers. 



9. SUBTURF-PLOUGH. The same gentleman last referred to, 

 Sir Edward Stracey, is the inventor of what is called a subturf- 

 ploughj which is fitted for use in lands where it is desirable to 

 stir the soil beneath without breaking the turf. It does not 

 differ much from the subsoil-plough ; and, being once inserted into 

 the ground, breaks it up to the depth of about ten inches, leaving 

 no other marks of its operation than the lines cut in the turf, 

 which very soon, by the natural growth of the grass, become ob 

 literated. The lines are at the distance of about fourteen inches 

 from one another. It loosens the soil underneath, admits the 

 air and rain, and permits the roots to spread themselves. He 

 says, &quot;after a trial of it, that the quantity of the aftermath, and 

 the thickness of the bottom, have been the subject of general 

 admiration. Another advantage from this subturf-ploughing is 

 that, before that took place, water was lying stagnant on many 

 parts, (after heavy rains,) especially in the lower grounds, to a 

 great depth ; now, no water is to be seen lying on any part, the 

 whole being absorbed by the earth.&quot; This supposes that the 

 lower strata, below where the plough has reached, are porous, and 

 easily transmit the water, or, otherwise, it might be liable to the 

 objections to which I have referred above. 



10. PERFECTION OF ENGLISH PLOUGHING. I have spoken of 

 the various modes of ploughing, and of the extraordinary exact 

 ness with which it is executed. It would be curious to trace 



