402 TH E FARMER AT HOME. 



our country it has not become general, its utility is based on the 

 soundest philosophical principles ; and so far as it has been fairly 

 tested the results have been most satisfactory and conclusive. By the 

 use of the subsoil plough the hard sterile earth, is thoroughly pul- 

 verized, thereby being exposed to the meliorating influences of the 

 atmosphere, and furnishing increased supplies of food and moisture in 

 dry seasons, for the roots of the plants. These are the primary advan- 

 tages of a deeply wrought loam, and they are certainly such as com- 

 mend themselves to the attention of every reflecting farmer. 



SUBSOIL PLOUGH. 



Few persons are aware of the depth to which roots will descend 

 in favorable situations. The fibrils of a wheat kernel have been 

 found more than thirty inches below the surface ; those of red clover, 

 Indian corn, and the Swedish turnip, five feet ; and sanfoin and 

 lucern, from twenty to thirty feet ! And long after they have become 

 invisible to the naked eye, they can be detected by the microscope, 

 pushing themselves away from the light. No one needs be told the 

 object of these subterranean journeys. It is the constant effort of the 

 good gardener to facilitate this wonderful operation of nature ; he digs 

 and trenches the soil to the depth of two or three feet, and he finds 

 himself repaid by a luxuriant vegetation. Surely this is as important 

 for the farmer as for the gardener. Sub-soiling secures a supply of 

 heat and moisture for the plant. It is a well known fact, that in 

 time of drought the vegetation of a garden will be more vigorous than 

 in the adjacent field. This is mainly owing to the greater looseness 

 of the soil. The minute particles of the surface and subsoils are 

 gradually mixed together ; the natural resources of the ground are 

 wakened into life by the influence of the atmosphere ; the threadlike 

 web of roots with which it is filled, decay when the plant dies or is 

 removed ; and in time, the sterile, unprofitable substratum becomes 

 a valuable loam of great depth and fertility. In some cases there has 

 been from subsoiling a gain of from thirty to fifty per cent. 



The subsoil plough much resembles the common plough without 

 the mould board , As it is to operate in a soil of great hardness, per- 



