DEEP AND SHALLOW PLOUGHING. 135 



ploughed too deep, and I do not plough so deep as I did ten 

 years ago. 



I will throw out another idea, because I presume it will pro- 

 mote discussion. My land was alluvial and rather dry, and I 

 know I have injured it by subsoiling. What is the proper depth 

 of ploughing, then, is the question that would arise, and what 

 are the benefits of subsoiling ? I have heard my father tell how 

 shallow a piece of land he owned was ploughed at one time, on 

 which he planted Indian corn. It was turf land, and it was so 

 shallow ploughed that but little loose dirt could be made, and 

 the harrow went waupety-waupety, as we say. The result was 

 a very heavy piece of Indian corn. I am inclined to believe 

 from that, and from my own experience, that we ought not to 

 plough very deeply for Indian corn as for some other crops. 



I simply nlake these remarks to present some leading points 

 of discussion. There is opportunity now for any gentleman to 

 present his views. 



Mr. BiRNiE. You say a piece of land was injured by sub- 

 soiling. What was the character of that land ? 



Mr. Smith. I stated it was alluvial. It was clover land, and 

 had been mown one season. I intended it for wheat. It was 

 our common meadow land on Connecticut River. I ploughed 

 it, and followed it with the subsoil plough, and the result was, 

 it took several years and many loads of manure to bring that 

 part of the land — one-half the piece — back into as good a state 

 of cultivation as the other half, and into good crops. 



Mr. BiRNiE. I do not understand still. Did you turn up the 

 subsoil ? 



Mr. Smith. No, sir, only to flie bottom of the furrow. 



Mr. BiRNiE. With a mould plough ? 



Mr. Smith. Yes, sir. I have subsoiled on other pieces of 

 land which were fallow, without any apparent result whatever. 



Mr. BiRNiE. It was damaged by loosening the soil some inches 

 below the furrow ? 



Mr. Smith. That was all. 



Mr. Hubbard. That brings to my mind a remark that I 

 made to a man that I hired. The first job I set him to do was 

 to plough a certain field. I told him where to go, and he went 

 out and ploughed the field, and I found he had ploughed it 

 very deep — deeper than I had been in the habit of ploughing. 



