92 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. 



fectually subdued by one thorough plowing, in which the 

 sod is so placed, that decomposition will rapidly ensue ; and 

 the latter is more certainly pulverized, by incorporal ing with 

 it such vegetables, and fibrous or unfermented manures, as 

 will produce the same result as the decaying sod. The pre- 

 sence of these in the soil lessens the labor of cultivation, 

 and greatly increases the product. 



Subsoil Plowing. This is a practice of comparatively 

 recent introduction, and it has been attended with signal 

 benefit, from the increase and certainty of the crop. It is per- 

 formed by subsoil plows, made exclusively for this purpose. 

 The objects to be accomplished, are to loosen the hard earth 

 below the reach of the ordinary plow, and permit the ready 

 escape of the water, which falls upon the surface ; the circu- 

 lation of air ; and a more extended range for the roots of the 

 plants, by which they procure additional nourishment, and 

 secure the crop against drought, b'y penetrating into the re- 

 gions of perpetual moisture. 



An important additional advantage results from their con- 

 tinued use, in the deepening of the soil. This inevitably 

 follows from opening the subsoil to the meliorating influence 

 of the elements, and from the accumulation of vegetable 

 matter in the roots. These penetrate deeply into the earth, 

 and are left to decay in the bed where they originate. An 

 increased value in the soil has been noticed by observing ag- 

 riculturists, to the extent, in many instances, of over five per 

 cent, per annum, from the use of this implement. In the 

 rich, compact, deltal lands of Louisiana and elsewhere, the 

 writer has seen the soil made loose, elastic and friable, 

 throughout the whole field, by running a large subsoil plow 

 to its utmost depth, at a distance of four feet between the 

 furrows. The entire mass of soil, seemed to be thoroughly 

 worked (mellowed), to the depth which the plow reached, al- 

 though run at these comparatively remote distances. 



When all the circumstances are favorable to the use of the 

 subsoil plow, an increase in the crop of 20 or 30, and some- 

 times even 50 per cent, has been attributed to its operations. 

 Its maximum influence on stiff soils is reached, only where 

 underdraining has been thoroughly carried out. Its benefits* 

 have been more than doubtful, when used in an impervious 

 clay subsoil, where it makes further room for storing up 

 stagnant water ; and it is evident they can only aggravate the 

 faults of such subsoils as are naturally too loose and leachy. 



