THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



407 



liunuie 10 make tliem a ferlili; soil, 

 ol' llie treiicliii)<i-s|)ac!e is eviileiil. No oilier iii- 

 Hiniiueiil could so well tiivitle ihe earllis, vuul mix 

 them ill clue, propoiiions. The more tjie irrcjiind 

 is siirreii, ihe betier it becomes ; and hy a course 

 ol' culiiviilion, which, iuslead of exhausiin!r the 

 humus ijradualiy increasefl its quantity, it becomes 

 at last a ricli mould, like that oC a garden, in 

 which all plants suited to the climate thrivi^ 

 luxuriantly. In the progress to this state of 

 fertility the soil must have passed throuch every 

 intprmediale slate ; and the same process u hicii 

 at any one period e (feci ed the improvement must 

 he judicious, if applied to any sod similar in its 

 nature. In agriculture, as well as in most arts 

 and sciences, to stand still is the prelude to going 

 back. The soil, under the hands of a skilful agri- 

 culturist must not only be made to produce all 

 that it is capable of producinii, but its capacity tor 

 production must be continually increasinir, until ii 

 arrives at that state, when a further increase of 

 humus would loosen its texture too much '.o 

 produce many of the most valuable plants, which 

 are the cliief objects of cultivation ; tor, beyond 

 a certain proportion, the increase of humus does 

 not always increase the produce. 



These preliminary observations appear neces- 

 sary to enable those who may not have paid much 

 attention to the theory of vegetation to trace their 

 accordance with the practice which experience and 

 observation alone have suggested and confirtned. 

 They may also be uselLil in suggesting to those 

 who would imitate any particular system of 

 husbandry the modifications which are necessary, 

 where the soil, climate, and other circumstances 

 are differenf. 



The advantages of stirring the soil to a con- 

 siderable depth by trenching and deep ploughing, 

 whicli only now begin to be generally appreciated 

 in England, and the intimate union of the ma- 

 nure with every portion of the soil, have long been 

 practically acknowledged by the farmers in the 

 Netherlands. The quality and value of flax, of 

 all their crops the most profitable, has been Ibund 

 by experience to depend chiefly on the care with 

 which the soil is loosened, and the manure inti- 

 mately incorporated with it. Great attention is 

 paid to ploughing and cross ploughing. The 

 harrows are used much more frequently than with 

 us, and the surface is laid level and thoroughly 

 pulverized to receive the seed. The stitches, 

 where there are any, are not ijenerally in a convex 

 Ibrm, but have a flat surlai^e ; and the spade 

 deepens the intervals to twice the depth of a com- 

 mon furrow. The earth dug out is spread evenly 

 over the seed which has been previously sown, 

 and is pulverized by the harrows or by a flat in- 

 strument called a traineaii, which is drawn over 

 it, and breaks all the clods, while it compresses 

 and levels the surface. 



The rounded form of the stitches in England 

 throws the water into the interfurrows, but at the 

 same time tends to soak the lower portions on 

 each side in wet, if the subsoil is at all retentive of 

 moisture ; hence the plants which grow there are 

 often sickly and unproductive. In Flanders, even 

 in the most tenacious soils, this rounded form is 

 unnecessary ; for there is an open drain between 

 every two stitches. The soil, having been well 

 pulverized, allows the superfluous waler to sink, 

 and it runs slowly into the deepened furrows 



Here the use without injuring the plants at Ihe edge of the 

 stitch. When the crop is reaped, the edges of the 

 stitch are broken down and drawn into tli»> deep- 

 ened liirrow by means of a large hoe or hack, and 

 ilit> plough compl<!les ihc filling [i\) and lays the 

 land level again. When next the stitches are 

 made, care is taken that the intervals are a loot 

 to one side or other of the lines where (hey were 

 bel(:)re, and again dug out ei^htoi' nine iiiciies be- 

 low the boitom of the furrows. Thus in a i'ew 

 years the whole field will have been dug 16 or 

 IS inches deep, and (he soil and subsoil, to that 

 depth, completely incorporated and enriched with 

 manure ; for, after the seed is sown, Ihe tank 

 liquor is invariably poured over (he surface, or 

 into the intervals before they are deepened, that it 

 may soak in and mix with the earth which ia 

 i'.bout to be spread over the seed. Although this 

 is a longer process than that of trenching the 

 whole ground with the spade at once, it is much 

 more effectual and less expensive. About an 

 inch only of the subsoil, whatever be its nature — 

 il' it be not an indurated clay or gault, as it is in 

 many places in England, but nowhere in the 

 Netherlands — is put on the surlace to cover the 

 seed. It produces no weeds, and being soaked 

 with liquid manure, and exposed to the action of 

 the atmosphere lor many months, it is mellowed 

 and assimilated to the soil before it is ploughed in. 

 An inch of earth thus improved every year, and 

 mixed with the soil, soon renders ihe whole of a 

 uniform quality to the depth of IG or 18 inches; 

 alter which every subsequent spreadinir tends to 

 increase the uniformity in texture and richness. 



Some plants do not require a great depth of 

 soil, their roots spreading near the surlace. In 

 this case the manure is plouirhed in with a shallow 

 furrow, and none of it is buried below the reach 

 of the roots. IJut the most profitable crops, such 

 as clover, wheat, cole, and especially flax, thrive 

 best in a deep soil : the roots of this last will 

 slrilce down several feel into the ground, if it meets 

 with a very mellow soil ; and the crop will not 

 only be more abundant, but of a belter quality, 

 than ii would in a soil, however rich, which had 

 but little depth. Potatoes also, which are cul- 

 tivated to a considerable extent in every farm, 

 thrive belter in a deep soil of moderate qualiiy, 

 than they do in a richer soil of small depth on a 

 barren subsoil. 



Another mode of deepening the soil and mel- 

 lowing it at the same time is worthy of notice. 

 When the harvest is over, the land is immediately 

 ploughed, and, where laborers are to be found in 

 sufficient numbers, several are stationed, with 

 spades in their hands, at regular distances along 

 the line of ploughing. The plough makes a 

 ttirrow about 10 inches wide and six deep. As 

 soon as it has passed the first man, he begins to 

 take solid splits of earlh out of the bottom 'of the 

 furrow and places them on the land to the right 

 side. These spits are not taken in continuation, 

 but with a small interval between them, leaving 

 so many square holes. The number of laborers 

 is proportioned to the length of the furrow, so 

 that each shall have finished his portion by the 

 time the next furrow is made, which fills up the 

 holes in the preceding furrow : and the whole 

 field is laid in an extremely rough slate; thus it 

 remains lor a considerable time, sometimes all ihe 

 winter, and the rain and frost pulverize the clods 



