SUBSOIL-PLOUGHING. 



SUBSOIL-PLOUGHING. 



by the garrison were readily carried from the 

 furnaces to the batteries in wooden barrows, 

 whose bottoms were merely covered with earth. 

 Davy proved the superior rapidity with which 

 a loose, black soil was heated compared with a 

 chalky soil, by placing equal portions of each 

 in the' sunshine ; the first was heated in an 

 hour from 65 to 88, while the chalk was only 

 heated to 69. (Elements ofdgr. Ghent, p. 178.) 

 This trial, however, must not be regarded as 

 absolutely conclusive, since the surface of the 

 black soils naturally increases more rapidly 

 in temperature when exposed to the direct rays 

 of the sun than those of a lighter colour. A 

 free access of air to all soils also adds to their 

 fertility, by promoting the decomposition of the 

 excretory matters of plants, which otherwise 

 would remain for a longer period, to the annoy- 

 ance of plants of the same species. 



In a recent communication to the secretary 

 of the English Agricultural Society, Sir E. Stracey 

 has given some of the results of his experience 

 with -the Rackheath subsoil-plough, and they 

 are of a description which cannot be too gene- 

 rally known : "On my coming," he remarks, 

 "to reside on my estate at Rackheath, about 6 

 years since, I found 500 acres of heath land, 

 composing 2 farms (which had been enclosed 

 under an^act of parliament about 40 years), 

 without tenants ; the gorse, heather, and fern, 

 shooting up in all parts. In short, the land was 

 in such a condition, that the crops returned not 

 the seed sown. The land was a loose, loamy 

 soil, and had been broken up by the plough to 

 a depth not exceeding 4 inches, beneath which 

 was a substratum (provincially called an iron 

 pan) so hard, that with difficulty could a pick- 

 axe be made to enter in many places ; and my 

 bailiff, who had looked after the land for 35 

 years, told me that the lands were not worth 

 cultivation that all the neighbouring farmers 

 said the same thing and that there was but 

 one thing to be done, viz., to plant with fir and 

 forest trees ; but to this I paid but little atten- 

 tion, as I had the year preceding allotted some 

 parcels of ground, taken out of the adjoining 

 lands, to some cottagers ; to each cottage, about 

 one-third of an acre. The crops on all these 

 allotments looked fine, healthy, and good, pro- 

 ducing excellent wheat, carrots, peas, cabbages, 

 potatoes, and other vegetables in abundance. 

 The question then was, how was this done ? 

 On the outside of the cottage allotments all 

 was barren. It could not be by the manure that 

 had been laid on, for the cottagers had none 

 but that which they had scraped from the 

 roads. The magic of all this I could ascribe to 

 nothing else but the spade; they had broken up 

 the land 18 inches deep. As to digging up 500 

 acres with the spade, to the depth of 18 inches, 

 at an expense of 6/. an acre, I would not 

 attempt it. I accordingly considered, that a 

 plough might be constructed so as to loosen the 

 soil to the depth of 18 inches, keeping the best 

 soil to the depth of 4 inches, and near the sur- 

 face, thus admitting air and moisture to the 

 roots of the plants, and enabling them to ex- 

 tend their spongioles in search of food ; for air, 

 moisture, and extent of pasture, are as neces- 

 sary to the thriving and increase of vegetables 

 as of animals. In this attempt I succeeded, as 

 1016 



the result will show. I have now broken up- 

 all these 500 acres, 18 inches deep. The pro- 

 cess was by sending a common plough, drawn 

 by two horses, to precede, which turned over 

 the ground to the depth of 4 inches ; my sub- 

 soil-plough immediately followed in ihe furrow 

 made, drawn by four horses, stirring and 

 breaking the soil 12 or 14 inches deeper, but 

 not turning it over. Sometimes the iron pan 

 was so hard, that the horses were set fast, 

 and it became necessary to use the pickaxe to 

 release them before they could proceed. After 

 the first year, the land produced double the 

 former crops, many of the carrots being 16 

 inches in length, and of a proportionate thick- 

 ness. This amendment could have arisen 

 solely from the deep ploughing. Manure I had 

 scarcely any, the land not producing then stover 

 sufficient to keep any slock worth mentioning, 

 and it was not possible to procure sufficient 

 quantity from the town. The plough tore up 

 by the roots all the old gorse, heather, and fern, 

 so that the land lost all the distinctive charac- 

 ter of heath land the first year after the deep 

 ploughing ; which it had retained, notwithstand- 

 ing the ploughing with the common ploughs, for 

 35 years. Immediately after this subsoil-plough- 

 ing, the crop of wheat was strong and long in. 

 the straw, and the gram close-bosomed and 

 heavy, weighing full 64 pounds to the bushel. 

 The quantity, as might be expected, not large 

 (about 26 bushels to the acre), but great in 

 comparison to what it produced before. The 

 millers were desirous of purchasing it, and 

 could scarcely believe it was grown upon the 

 heath land, as in former years my bailiff could 

 with difficulty get a miller to look at his sam- 

 ple. Let this be borne in mind, that this land 

 then had had no manure for years, was run out, 

 and could only have been ameliorated by the 

 admission of air and moisture by the deep 

 ploughing. This year the wheat on this land 

 has looked most promising ; the ears large and 

 heavy, the straw long; and I expect the pro- 

 duce will be from 34 to 36 bushels an acre : the 

 wheat, the " golden drop." My Swedish turnips 

 on this land this year are very good; my pud- 

 ding and sugar-loaf turnips failing in many 

 parts, sharing the fate of those of my neigh- 

 bours, having been greatly injured by the tor- 

 rents of rain which fell after they had shown, 

 themselves above the ground. Turnips must 

 have a deep and well-pulverized soil, in order 

 to enable them to swell, and the tap-roots to 

 penetrate in search of food. The tap-root of a 

 Swedish turnip has been known to penetrate 

 39 inches into the ground." 



Sub-turf Plough. "Being on the subject of 

 the sub-soil plough," says Sir Edmund Stracey, 

 "I may as well tell you I have contrived an- 

 other plough, from the use of which the great- 

 est benefit has been derived by my park land. 

 I call this my 'sub-turf plough.' It is used to 

 loosen the turf about 10 inches deep below 

 the surface, without turning over the flag; 

 loosening the soil underneath, consequently, 

 admitting the air and the rain, and permitting 

 the roots of the herbage to spread in search of 

 food. There are no marks left by which it can 

 be known that the land has been so ploughed, 

 except from the straight lines of the coulter, at 



