390 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



plantations, to the exclusion of the retentive clay 

 which held the water. The crop of potatoes was 

 so equal throughout the fleld that 1 an) unable to 

 pronounce positively which part was the best ; but 

 1 am inclined to give the preference to that portion 

 where Mr. Smith's sub-soil plough was used. Since 

 the potatoes were taken up the land has not been 

 ploughed or ridged up, but remains perlectly flit ; 

 and I observe, where Mr. Smith's sub-soil plough 

 was used, that no water whatever, notwithstanding 

 the wetness of the season, has stood upon the land"; 

 where trench-ploughing was adopted, and a por- 

 tion of the clay brought to the snrlace, after heavy 

 I'dWs of rain the water has stood for a time in hol- 

 low places ; and here the land, in consequence, 

 would seem to be rather soured. The field will 

 be sown out this spring with oats and grass seeds, 

 and 1 shall watch with anxieiy the future eflects 

 of the past diflerent treatment. 



In the meantime I have relet the farm : the out- 

 lay in draining and extra ploughing cost me £6 

 18s. 4d. an acre ;* but the field in question, which 

 was valued at 4s. 6d. an acre to the out-going te- 

 nant, is rented by the incoming tenant at 20s. an 

 acre on a lease of 14 years. 



On a small field oi' very retentive clay, of a 

 hungry and bastard kind, intermixed with rusty 

 gravel, I tried six years ago, the experiment ol 

 trenching with the spade after close and careful 

 draining; 1 buried the surface soil, which was poor ! 

 and exhausted ; and I brought the sub-soil to the 1 

 top from the depth of 18 inches. I limed this' 

 land and sowed it out with grape and grass seeds. I 

 It has been very unproductive ever since, and all 

 my expenditure upon it, hitherto, has been thrown 

 away ; lor, though dry, it bears no more grass than 

 belbre the draining. I think, however, that the 

 surface soil is now mellowed by exposure lo the 

 atmosphere ; and I am about to break up this field 

 and lo put it through a rotation, in the confident 

 hope of increased production. , I have also ordered 

 a field of 20 acres, of dry and good land, cropped 

 out by a bad tenant, to be treated with a view to 

 this experiment on sub-soil. The field lies in two 

 ridges on the bank of the river Esk : the soil is al- 

 luvial deposite : on the lower ridge next to the ri- 

 ver the surface is a fine loaai 12 inches deep, in- 

 cumbent on a sub-soil of sandy loam 16 inches 

 deep. On the upper ridge the loam does not ex- 

 ceed 8 inches, but the subsoil is a good clay 13 

 inches deep ; in the hands of tenants up to the pre- 

 sent time, the depth of the furrow ploughed has 

 never exceeded 6 inches. I have ordered the lower 

 fiat to be trench ploughed to the depth of 14 

 inches, bringing the virgin loam to the top ; I have 

 ordered the upper flat to be siirred with Mr. 

 Smith's subsoil plough, thus breaking the lower 

 crust, without changing the surface. The whole 



iato be manured equally with bone dust, and a 

 crop of turnips is (0 be taken. 



I shall be happy, at a future'fime, (o communi- 

 cate the comparaiive result of this difftjrent treat- 

 ment, and I trust i may be pardoned lor my present 

 intrusion, which arises from my anxiety to fix the 

 attention ofihe farmer on (his question of the treat- 

 ment of sub-soil, which, by judicious mangement, 

 I think may add to the power of production with- 

 out cost ; especially when ihesurliice, by long and 

 repeated cropping, has been exhausted and has be- 

 come comparaiively sterile. At the commence- 

 ment of our publication I could not omit an oppor- 

 tunity of endeavoring to use it for the legitimate 

 purpose of inviting accurate experiment, with the 

 view of circulating the extending agricultural 

 knowledge. 



I have the honor to be, 



Sir, your liiiihful servant, 



J. R. G. Graham. 



£. s. p. 

 * 70 rods of draining, cutting, laying the tiles, 



and uplifting, at id. per rood, 1 3. 4 



1.500 tiles per acre, at 3()s. per thousand, 2 ,5 



Carnage of do. 6s. do. 9 



Do. of turf, &.C. for covering the tiles, 70 

 roods, and cutting do. at 6d. per rood, gives 

 per acre, 1 15 



5 12 4 



Ploughing with the Deanpfon plough, with four 



horses, 16 



Cost per acre, 



(i IS 4 



SCALDIXG SEEDS BEFORE PLANTING. 



From tlie New Genesee Farmer, 



Great losses are often sustained by neglecting to 

 scald seeds, before planting, for some eniiiely fail to 

 grow, and others remain a long time in the ground, 

 dormant, when they ought lo be up and growing. 

 About a forinight ago, we planted some seeds of 

 the cypress vine, and being in haste, we could 

 not take time to scald them — they ought to have 

 remained untouched. A week after we got time 

 to scald some ; and these are now up, but the 

 former have not yet appeared. 



But we write ['or farmers as well as gardeners. — 

 Four days ago, we scalded some seeds of the su- 

 gar beet, and let them remain in the water. This 

 morning we planted ihem, and many of them 

 were sprouted. Last year we planted mangel 

 wurtzel without scalding; but we shall not do so 

 again : in the wettest ground, they germinated 

 freely; but in the driest and richest part, they 

 stood far asunder — not half a crop. 



We are not aware that any seeds are injured by 

 scalding, though there may be many ; and we 

 should be gratified to have extensive experiments 

 instituted on this subject. Some seeds would 

 probably bear more heat than others — we know 

 that some are more benefited than others. The 

 duration of the heat applied will be regulated in 

 some measure by the quantity of water, and the 

 kind of vessel into which it is poured, some cooling 

 muchsooner than others. Several quarts of In- 

 dian corn may be safely scalded at once. — Other 

 seeds may not need more than a tea-cupful of 

 water; but let it be fuming hot. Remember, 

 however, there is a wide difference between scald- 

 ing and boiling ; and after the water is applied the 

 vessel should be set away from the fire. On 

 seeds untried^ it would be prudent to use but little 

 water. 



Some years ago, we planted seeds of cercis 

 canadensis. Part were scalded and part planted 

 without that preparation. A difference in the 

 germination of perhaps twenty to one, was the 

 consequence — very few of the unscalded seeds 

 growing. 



One week in the advancement of a crop of corn 

 or pumpkins is frequently of great account ; and 



