THE GENESEE FARMER. 



159 



ON SUBSOIL i PLOWING. 



llfccn might be said on the subject of subsoil 

 plowng; for instance, we might go on and state many 

 expeuuieuts, and make many assorlions, wliich should 

 weigh very light unless backed up with reason. It is 

 a well known fact that soils vary much in character; 

 hence it is necessary that a ditVerent mode of culti- 

 vation ae adopted to suit dilierent soils. Home soils 

 are of t rich loam, on a subsoil of sandy gravel; to 

 stir up this subsoil would be worse than useless, as 

 the loan is already loose enough, and the surplus 

 supply of water will readily sink in such a substratum 

 and draia off. The same may be said of very sandy 

 subsoils. But, on the other hand, if it be a claij soil, 

 then the subsoil plow becomes necessary; and should 

 the subsoil be what is commonly termed hard-pan, 

 then the subsoil plow would b3 absolutely indispen- 

 sable to good farming. For illustration, suppose we 

 take a clay soil, plow it four or five inches deep, pul- 

 verize it well, and sow it with winter wheat; when 

 the heavy fall rains come, the whole field will be 

 covered with a bed of mortar ; the wheat cannot 

 grow; the subsoil is so compact that the water can- 

 not sink; winter sets in, and the wheat is frozen up 

 in a perfect bed of frozen mortar. When a thaw 

 comes, then the soil is again almost in a liquid state ; 

 consequently, by the alternate freezing and thawing, 

 the plants are nearly all destroyed. Then under the 

 dry wind and hot sun of summer, the soil becomes 

 perfectly hard, and the few remaining plants cannot 

 grow. To prevent these evil consequences, very deep 

 or subsoil plowing will have a good eS'ect, by causing 

 the water to sink below the roots, thereby causing 

 the grain to grow vigorously; and when the drouth 

 comes, this water will be brought back by capillary 

 attraction to the support of plants. Such being the 

 case, we may expect a luxuriant growth and a good 

 crop. 



Subsoil plowing also admits the air; the soil be- 

 comes deeply pulverized ; consequently the roots will 

 reach to a greater depth for food. The above rea- 

 sons are applicable to all other grains, but more par- 

 ticularly so with respect to Indian corn. If the sub- 

 soil be deeply plowed, heavy showers will quickly 

 sink, enabling you to attend the corn crop more 

 steadily; and when the drouth comes, the w-ater will 

 agdn be brought back to to the surface for the use 

 of the plants. Hence it will be seen that deeply 

 pulverizing all clay soils will greatly increase the 

 chance of a good crop of any kind of grain. 



JVewcastle, Lawrtnce Co., Pa. Wu. Reno. 



ON THE ADVANTAGES OF STIRRING THE SOIL IN 

 DRY WEATHER. 



That frequent stirring the soil is the cheapest and 

 most effectual way of protecting crops against drouth, 

 is proved by the fact that a soil plowed or cultivated 

 often in dry time is moist almost to the surface, while 

 land that is neglected, is dry to a great depth. Some 

 farmers from false reasoning infer that if a new sur- 

 face is continually exposed to the sun and air, the ef- 

 fect will be to dry the soil still more. But the at- 

 mosphere in the hottest and dryest weather is more 

 or less charged with moisture, to prove which we 

 have only to present a cold surface to the atmosphere, 

 as a pitcher of ice water for instance, when the mois- 

 tufe of the air will be condensed and form in large 



drops on the outside of the pitcher. By frequent 

 stirring the soil it is kept loose and porous, the air 

 can penetrate to a greater depth and coming in con- 

 tact with the cold earth is robbed of its moisture by 

 condensation, in the same manner as in the example 

 of the pitcher given above. The oftener the soil is 

 stirred the more new surface will be presented for 

 action in the same manner; but when land is suffered 

 to remain idle, a crust is formed on the surface which 

 is impenetrable to the atmosphere and no such effect 

 can take place. C. C Wilson. 



J\*ewfane, jViagnra Co., JV*. Y. 



ON THE ADVANTAGES OF SYSTEM IN FARMING 

 OPERATIONS. 



System is very necessary and important to man, in 

 whatever occupation he may be engaged, but es- 

 pecially so to the farmer, whose business is composed 

 of so many parts. It is a thing of every-day occur- 

 rance to see plows lying in a corner of the field 

 where they were last used, a hoe or a rake leaning 

 against the fence, or a fork sticking in a manure pile 

 in the barn-yard. Now this is not as it should be; 

 every farmer should have, and every systematic farmer 

 will have, a tool-house, and his tools carefully housed 

 in it (except when in use)— a place for everything, 

 and everything in its place — a time for everything, 

 and everything in its lime. 



A farmer who thus manages his business, will find 

 that he can get along without being hurried; he is 

 always ready for his work as soon as it is ready for 

 him — while his less systematic neighbor is in a con- 

 tinual hurry and bustle to keep up with his work, 

 which, of course, is left in an unfinished state. Every 

 farmer should adopt some regular system of business, 

 and live up to it at all times, as he will lose more 

 time and money in leaving his tools and utensils lying 

 around exposed to the weather for two or three 

 years, than would enable him to build a tool-house 

 and do everything necessary to carry on his business 

 with system and economy. 



Mahoning, Pa. W. H. McCreeky, Jr. 



ON THE BENEFITS OF AGRICULTURAL FAIRS. 1 



Agricultural Fairs are calculated to have an 

 influence of the most beneficial character upon intelli- 

 gent farmers, affording them an opportunity of know- 

 ing what is going on in the agricultural world around 

 them, and enlightening them by the experiments and 

 improvements which are continually being made, and 

 which are shown to the public at these places. Ag- 

 ricultural implements of every description are here 

 exhibited; stock of all varieties and degrees of value 

 meet his eye; and he has not only the advantage of 

 perceiving the progress which is continually being 

 made, but by comparing the different khids of im- 

 plements, and examining the comparative merits of 

 stock, he may obtain great pecuniary advantages in 

 his subsequent operations. If he wants any kind of 

 stock, from a pair of fancy rabbits or Shanghai 

 chickens to a blooded stallion or Durham bull, here 

 is the place, and the only place, where he can find 

 any and every kind, and take his choice from the 

 very best of the country. If he wants an agricultu- 

 ral implement, from a cutting-box to a mowing ma- 

 chine or steam engine, here is the place to find all o£ 



