PLOUGHING IN MANURE. 165 



for a few years, you will see that the grass roots extend very 

 deep in all dry soil, where they go for moisture, and for nourish- 

 ment aside from moisture. Then, again, on hard, stiff soil, 

 where the suhsoil is gravelly and coarse, and not worth bringing 

 up for the sake of improving it, I should plough shallow. 



Then, in regard to the burying of manure, I do not know 

 that it is very material to cover the manure deep in sandy soil, 

 or otherwise ; but it should be covered. I am in the habit 

 sometimes of planting what we call pine plains. The soil is 

 very light and porous ; we can hoe the corn immediately after 

 a shower and there is no sticking of the soil to the hoe. It is 

 mere boy's play to take care of the crop on such soil. It is true 

 the fertilizing properties of manures are soon exhausted on such 

 soil. 



Mr BiRNiE. Do you plough deep or shallow ? 



Mr. Clement. We plough deep, because if we did not, the 

 leaves would roll in a fortnight. I have never perceived that 

 corn was very much injured by rolling a little, if it did not get 

 so dry that it did not unroll in the night ; but if you find the 

 leaves rolled in the morning, after having had the dew upon 

 them, you may depend upon it, it has suffered. Now, if you 

 plough the soil deep, and plough in the manure deep, the 

 moisture is retained longer, and the crop seldom suffers. 



A Member. How deep do you plough ? 



Mr. Clement. Seven or eight inches. We generally plough 

 in the manure, and we get the benefit of it the first year. If we 

 plough in fresh manure, even, from the stable, the next spring, 

 if we plough again and sow grain broadcast, we scarcely see 

 anything of the manure ; it has rotted and gone into a soluble 

 state, and the bulk of it has been taken up. At any rate, it 

 seems to have been diffused into the soil and taken up by the 

 ■crop, even if buried deeply. If you should plough that depth 

 in heavy, clammy, tenacious soil, you would scarcely receive 

 any benefit from the manure — it would be lost. Then there are 

 medium soils — soils which are moderately wet — which I think it 

 will do to manure pretty deeply — what we would regard as an 

 ordinary good corn soil. We know that a heavy soil is not 

 appropriate for corn. As I remarked yesterday, corn will nOt 

 penetrate to cold earth ; it is against the nature of the plant 

 altogether. 



