FARMERS' REGISTER 



39 



ground, and brinjr in their train a long list of nox- 

 ious weeds, were they not corrected by the process 

 of perhaps more than one summer fallow, together 

 with an applicalion of both lime and dung ; and it 

 is also true, that even if these substances can be 

 readily obtained, yet the expense, even il'repaid by 

 the land, may not suit the farmer's pocket. Under 

 ordinary circumstances, indeed, large operations of 

 that nature, which are intended to etiect a per- 

 manent improvement in the soil, cannot be consi- 

 dered a coming within the scope of common farm- 

 ing and can only be undertaken by the owner of 

 the land, or on terms which will secure the tenant 

 in the return of his outlay ; for it should be clearly 

 understood that in no case can it be elfiected with- 

 out either the assistance of extraneous manure, or 

 by the sacrifice of a portion of that which properly 

 belongs to the usual cultivation of the (iirm, and 

 might, therefore, probably be more advantageously 

 applied to the support of the soil already under 

 tillage. 



Neither should poor soils be ploughed deep ; for 

 the vefjetative mould with which the surface of 

 land of that description is covered, having been 

 formed by the decomposition of the scanty herbage 

 which grew upon it when in a state of nature, is 

 proportionably thin, and the subsoil on which it 

 reposes consisting generally of sterile materials, it 

 will be /bund bad policy to mix them with the up- 

 per stratum, which, though perhaps not very pro- 

 ductive, yet requires the whole power of the small 

 portion of manure which it furnishes to preserve 

 it in tolerable condition.* This, more especially, 

 il"it be intended to return the land to grass ; for the 

 sward seldom penetrates farther than about two 

 inches into the ground, and its value, therefore, 

 depends chiefly upon the fecundity of the surface 

 upon which it rests. Thus the generality of those 

 farmers who are situated upon wolds and downs, 

 carefully avoid ploughing below the top-soil ; for 

 when there is a vein of rubbly chalk, or of small 

 broken flints, immediately under the topsoil, they 

 look upon it as "the dross of the land," and that, 

 if ploughed up, it is quite poison to the field. t 



If the land be of a sandy nature the ploughing 

 of which has been always carried to one depth, 

 and that a pan has thus been formed underneath, 

 in that case, also, it is judicious to break it up ; 

 for, independently of tlie labor of the operation, 

 the surface may have been much ameliorated by 

 good culture, and the hard crust which lies at the 

 bottom both secures the manure from being car- 

 ried doivn below that part which is actually tilled, 

 and also prevents the escape of humidity from the 

 upper stratum. Another layer of sand, indeed, 

 not unfrequently exists under the pan ; for that 



acts without a mould-board, and is followed in the fur- 

 row by another plouo;h of the common power. See vol. 

 i., chap. xxix.,p. 465. 



* "The Norfolk farmers, generally possessing a thin 

 light soil, with a poor and barren subsoil, prefer shallow 

 ploughiiag at all times, and argue that it is easier to 

 keep a small quantity of soil ni good heart than a 

 greater quantity, which would be formed by deep 

 ploughing." — Dumfries Rep., App. p. 578. 



t "Many instances are shown where land of this 

 kind, ploughed too deep upwards of twenty years ago, 

 has not yet recovered its former goodness ; and, to keep 

 the top-soil as deep as possible, the best farmers will 

 not permit the surface flints to be picked off for the 

 roads, lest it should make the land both lighter and 

 tliiuner." — Davis's Swvey of Wiltshire, p. 52. 



species of crust is often found where land has been 

 much marled ; but although it might be desirable 

 to have it at a greater depth, yet its removal is a 

 work of extreme difliculty, and, on such soils, will 

 rarely repay the expense. On sand veins where 

 there is a great depth of soil, and in which no ob- 

 struction of this kind is found, it is however not 

 luiusual to plough very deep, and to have a second 

 plough following in the furrow ot'the first, so as to 

 throw up new soil, and to bury that which is sup- 

 posed to be exhausted : as is the case in many 

 parts of Devonshire. 



In fine, it will, in most cases, be found inexpe- 

 dient to add to the stratum already under tillage by 

 any other means than those which little by little 

 may gradually tend to increase the depth of vege- 

 tative mould by the mixture of small quantities of 

 the virgin earth of the subsoil with the surface ; 

 but if a more extensive operation be comtemplated, 

 then the following questions may be not unaptly 

 put before coming to a conclusion. 



1st, What return may be expected from land, 

 the subsoil of which has not yet been submitted to 

 the plough ? 



2ndly, What change will be occasioned, either 

 by the increase or diminution of the tenacity, or of 

 the friability of the land, by the admixture of the 

 subsoil with the surface? 



Srdly, What quantity of manure will be required 

 beyond that already disposable upon the farm? 



And 4thly, What will be the entire cost? 



To solve which, the earth should either be sub- 

 mitted to a chemical analysis, or its qualities ascer- 

 tained by spreading some of it, to a certain depth, 

 in a garden, and sowing seeds upon it. The pro- 

 bable improvement in the soil may thus be ascer- 

 tained, and the supposed increase in the future 

 crops, when compared with the expenditure, will 

 determine the propriety of the experiment. 



We have not hitherto touched upon the subject 

 of the actual depth to which ploughing is commonly 

 carried, nor is it necessary to say much regarding 

 it ; Ibr it of course depends more upon ihe state of 

 the land and the judgment of the farmer than up- 

 on any general rule. The usual operation is gene- 

 rally confined to from four to five, and rarely ex- 

 ceeds seven inches; though, in the hundreds of 

 Essex, and some other districts where the soil is 

 rich and deep, it is sometimes carried as far as 

 nine. An opinion is indeed entertained that, if 

 carried deeper, more manure is necessary to ensure 

 a crop ; audit will be readily admitted that, were 

 this idea well founded, it would form a strong 

 argument \n favor of moderate depths. It is, 

 however, only justly applicable to land of which 

 the subsoil is inferior to the surface ; lor when this 

 is of the same quality with the cultivated part, not 

 only can no injury arise from gradually incorporat- 

 ing it with the tilth, but benefit will be derived by 

 all plants which penetrate far into the ground, as 

 they naturally absorb their nutriment both from 

 the soil and the manure with which it is mixed. 

 It must, however, be admitted that when ground is 

 suddenly ploughed to an unusual depth, it increases 

 the difficulty of destroying weeds. This is parti- 

 culariy observable in thin stapled clays, on which 

 they spring up as if indigenous to the soil ; it is 

 therefore obvious that no benefit can be derived 

 from ploughing such land deeper than common, 

 unless it he done in the manner we have already 

 pointed out. 



