54 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



in accord with an educated, practical common sense? If the 

 answer is yes, then agree with me that my title is a proper 

 one, that brains with ivater, and, as we all know, nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid and potash are the paramount fertilizers for 

 the farmer ; but the greatest of these is brains. 



Mr. West of Hadley. I understand the lecturer to say 

 that cultivation in a dry season preserves the moisture, but 

 I do not understand whether when the ground is too wet for 

 the crop, to cultivate or not. 



Dr. Sturtevant. Leave the ground uncultivated, and 

 the water will evaporate very rapidly from the surface. 

 Take the vineyards in the western part of New York. You 

 will find a difierence of opinion among managers of vine- 

 yards differently situated. One man will argue very strongly 

 the importance of leaving the weeds to grow in the vineyard ; 

 one will have the seeds of thistles among his vegetables, and 

 at the same time he is combatted by others, who say you 

 must keep the vineyard as clean as possible, and I feel there 

 should be some circumstance which would reconcile their 

 diverse judgments. 



Mr. AVest. I did not understand whether you said late 

 hoeing the corn was beneficial or injurious to the crop. 



Dr. Sturtevant. I did not speak of it at all, sir. I 

 spoke only of the first cultivation, the following ones to be 

 governed by the condition of the land, and not by any definite 

 empirical rule. In many southern states it is the practice, 

 and recognized as a rule in cotton culture, to cultivate after 

 the rain, always after the rain, and not at other times. 



Mr. Augur of Connecticut. What is the idea of sub- 

 soiling? Has it any relation to drainage and cultivation, 

 on tenacious soils? 



Dr. Surtevant. Subsoiling appears to be a simple and 

 local application. I have seen places where subsoiling was 

 injurious when it was expected to be beneficial. I do not 

 think the question permits generalization. Wherever subsoil- 

 ing puts the land in the condition you want, it is beneficial ; 

 and if it docs not put it in that condition, then it may be injuri- 

 ous. Without seeing or studying the soil, I could not speak 

 in general terms in regard to it ; l)ut loose soil is not advan- 

 tageous to any crop, and as all you gentlemen have experi- 



