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HANDY-BOOK OF HUSBANDRY. 



"almost or quite interdicted trenching in this country, and the 

 " expense of trenching an acre of ground by the spade, not as 

 " well as this plow does the work, would be not less than $250 

 " to $300. To do it with the plow, using two pairs of cattle half 

 " a day at a time, which is a day's work, would not amount to 

 "more than $30 to $50." 



Of course this implement is better adapted to the needs of 

 gardeners and nurserymen than to those of farmers, — as farming 

 goes in America. Still, I am not prepared to say that, even for the 

 cultivation of corn and grass, on land that will bear the im- 

 mediate turning up of the subsoil, it would not pay to use it. 

 It is very certain that any well-drained land that would not be 

 temporarily injured by such treatment would be immensely 

 benefited by it, and benefited for all time. 



Fig- 75-— " Michigan " Sod and Subsoil Plow. 



A modified sort of trench plowing is largely practiced by the 

 farmers of this country, (and very profitably practiced,) in the 

 use of the "Michigan" or "sod and subsoil" plow shown in 

 Fig. 75, which, except in heavy land, can be worked to a depth 

 of twelve to fifteen inches, and gives an excellent cultivation. 



For the deep cultivation of gardens and small tracts, it is cus- 

 tomary to do the work of trenching by hand ; the process being 

 to dig a trench about two feet wide, and of the desired depth, 



