FALL PLOWING. 



21 



much more vigoroxisly. I have seen fields of 



similar soil sowti widi oats after wheal — a bad 

 custom certainly, and as badly executed — -the 

 wheat-stubble being plowed in October, and the 

 oats sowTi and harrowed in February', ^vhereas, 

 had the wheat-stubble been onlj- scutHed otf and 

 harrowed to bring: np a crop of seed weeds, 

 and so rested rlU Februarj- or March, and then 

 plowed and so^\"n, the crop of oats \s'ould have 

 been much more abundant both in straw and 

 corn than by the former method. 



Here it is necessary- to observe that, as I set 

 out -with showina: how absolutely necessarj' an 

 open porous soil is to all vegetation, and no 

 measures being recommended in the above 

 statements for that purpose, but rather the con- 

 trary, it is to be remembered that I have been 

 treating of sandy land, %vhich is at all times, ex- 

 cept when too wet, sufficiently porous for the ' 

 reception of air. But in other descriptions of 

 soil, such as that -w^hose particles are minute and 

 have a tendency to adhere closelj' together, 

 either by gravitating subsidence or by a flo^v of 

 rain water — in such a case, every practicable 

 means must be taken to alter and break this 

 solidifying nature of the staple, in order to admit 

 a free range of air and the gases it contains. 



There are many intermediate descriptions of 

 soil between sand and clay, and all of these, 

 according as they approach to the one extreme 

 or the other, require a peculiar management. 

 But the grand object is to ^vork the soil in such 

 a manner tliat it shall always be pervious to air, 

 rain, and all atmospheric influences. And this 

 result is obtained by the timely application of 

 the implements rather than by the efficiency of 

 the implements themselves. The soil is some- 

 times in a fit state to be worked, and very often 

 is not Under such circumstances the judgment 

 of the cultivator must be exercised. The con- 

 dition of tlie land depends very much on the 

 season and character of the weather : and on 

 this account seed-time cannot always be com- 

 menced at the times which would be most con- 

 venient to the farmer. In such a case, he must 

 ^vait until the land is in risht order to be stirred ; 

 and tliat state is. ■t\-hen it is neither too wet nor 

 too dry. I am alluding to land which has either 

 been thoroughly drained or which needs no 

 draining, and is only affected by the season. 

 \\hetlier very wet or very dn.-." But as the 

 exact time cannot always be hit upon, it is bet- 

 ter that the arable sm-face be rather too drj- than 

 too wet when moved. Because, if too dry. it 

 may be reduced to the necessary fineness bv < 

 labor, and wUI then be in the best" possible state ' 

 fi.r the reception of seeds ; the interstices be- | 

 tweeu tlie particles of the soil beias filled with I 

 air. amid ^vhicll the imbedded seeds germinate 

 in the greatest vigor. But if the soil be too wet 

 when moved, and especially by the pressing or 

 pushing action of tlie plovi-, it acquires, from die 

 excess of water, a state of fluidity like mortar, 

 and settles do%vn again so compactly, that no 

 seed laid tlierein can be developed in a healthy 

 condition, in consequence of the want of air. 



That the contact of air to the roots of plant"? 

 was always considered necessary, is e\-ideut 

 from old \\Titinss : but the fact has never been 

 so generally noticed and acted upon as it is now. 

 The first and most strikin? instance confinnatorv 

 of die opinion was the fact of large full-irro^\•n 

 ornamental forest trees having been killed by 

 their roots being too deeply covered up with 

 earth when levelling lawns: and planters 

 and gardeners have been Ions aware of 



the injurious efiects of planting as well as 

 sowing too deep. The same individuals for- 

 merly fancied that their prepared compo.sts, for 

 exotic or favorite flowering plants, could not be 

 too finely sifted for their recepuon, whether in 

 pots, or in the open ground. But slovenly or 

 careless management in these particulars show- 

 ed that too much nicety of execution was not at 

 all necessarj-. Sifting the composts %vas given 

 np, and composts made up chiefly of nodules of 

 turf, broken stone, brick rubbish, &c. are sub- 

 stituted with evident success ; and the cause is 

 obvious — \shen the compost is sifted, it becomes 

 a solid mass, especially after it is \vatered, and 

 repulsive of all atmospheric influences, whereas 

 among the loose materials, a considerable body 

 of air reposes, and in this the more active fibres 

 extend themselves much more luxuriandy than 

 they do in compact soil. 



The gardeners improved practice is only an- 

 other proof ho^v much a porous soil and pres- 

 ence of air are necessarj- to d:e roots of plants ; 

 and yet we often see the most luxuriant vegeta 

 tion produced by .soils which are apparenily 

 very close in texture ; viz. alluvial soils and 

 fertile clays. Both these descriptions of soil 

 being composed of the finest atoms, become 

 exceedinglj- close and compact if nndisrurbed ; 

 but ^'lien plowed, or other\^*ise moved period- 

 ically, the stirred portion attracts as much of the 

 qualities of ihe air as sufiices for the following 

 crop. It is rainer remarkable that, while oak 

 thrives best on a clayey subsoil, it does not seem 

 to afiect rich alm\-iai land ; and diis I imagine to 

 be entirely owing to its closeness of texture pre- 

 ventiug all access of air to the place of the roots. 



Aquatic plants which five entirely submerged, 

 although defended from external air. receive as 

 much as tliey need from the surrounding water, 

 which always contains a notable measure, be- 

 sides nutritive bodies in solution, which form the 

 pabulum of plants, whether aquatic or lerrestriaL 



Another tribe of plants are attached to earth, 

 but so shghdy, that their s^-stem of roots is 

 nothing compared %%-ith the bulky heads sus- 

 tained : and as these plants are mosUy found on 

 rocks, or on the driest tracts of countrj-, it is 

 evident that the greatest portion of their nutri- 

 ment is drawn from the atmosphere. Anothe: 

 tribe of curious and beautiful flowering plants 

 is called Epiphjtes; [or paiasitical plants, 

 the Misletoe :] because they attach themselves 

 to the stems and branches of trees, not to sustain 

 themselves by extracting flieir juices, but to be 

 supported in die deep shade and most air of 

 thick tropical woods. Some of these are called 

 air plants, and gro\v as ^vell in a basket with- 

 out eardi. suspended in a \vami. damp, shady 

 place, as if they -were in their native habitat. 



Thus we see that air is particularly neces.sary 

 to plants, and as much so to the roots as to the 

 head and foliage ; and it is this fact as already 

 observed, that justifies all the means of cultiva- 

 tion Nvhich ^ve have recourse to with a view of 

 rendering the staple more loose, and conse- 

 quently more permeable to all atmospheric 

 influences. 



There is one circumstance, however, which 

 deser\-es to be noticed along %vitli diese general 

 remarks : it is this — that all seeds require to be 

 closely embedded in the soil, that is. they should 

 be in close contact with the mould ah round : 

 and, that diis should be completely secured, 

 some seeds require to be laid in heary. as wheat 

 for instance. Now \ve have only to consider 

 that as the sou has been previously prepared. 



