No. 8. 



General Rules for PlovgJung. 



257 



these practices at all militate against the 

 doctrine ot" the advantages to be obtained 

 i'rom siibsoiling. In cases where subsoiling 

 and thorongii draining are not applied, this 

 shallow ploughing nmy be preferred, as the 

 mingling of the cold and inert snbsoil with 

 fo thin a surface of vegetable mould would 

 doubtless be prejudicial, at least tljr a length 

 of time; but the improvement of such land 

 \- a system of thorough draining and sub- 

 iling is another matter, to wiiich I shall 

 refer in its proper place. There are consi- 

 derable tracts of this moorish land — tiiat is, 

 a thin, black, coarse peat, not half decom- 

 posed, resting upon a cold and hard pan of 

 gravel or clay, or what some persons have 

 mistaken for marl, in Massachusetts, and 

 other parts of the country, the improvement 

 of which, so far as my experience has gone, 

 has been almost hopeless. 



While upon this subject, I may as well 

 give the results of the management of the 

 tirst farmer referred to, and therefore subjoin 

 them. " By this mode of management, an 

 economical system is followed up through 

 the whole course, by being nearly all per- 

 formed by manual labour, by which means a 

 remunerating crop will he produced, and the 

 land always kept firm, which is the only diffi 

 culty to be overcome on this description of 

 soil. The farm, when first taken by me, 

 was wet; as much out of condition, and as 

 light and weak, as it well could be — parts of 

 it being merely held together by the roots 

 of grass and weeds natural to rnoory land, 

 but which must be very prejudicial to the 

 production of those crops that are to benefit 

 the farmer. I commenced by draining, and 

 then pursued the foregoing system of culti- 

 vation, by which my most sanguine expecta- 

 tions have been realized, though I was told 

 that the land would be too light and too poor 

 to plant wheat after turnips. I have never 

 found any ill effects from paring and burn- 

 ing, experience having taught me that it 

 produces a manure particularly beneficial to 

 the growth of turnips; thereby enabling me 

 to firm the land by sheep." This farmer 

 speaks of performing a great portion of his 

 work with manual labour. I think some 

 part of it might rather be called pedestrian 

 than manual ; for, if he ploughs his land by 

 men, he treads it out by women. He says, 

 " Before the horse-roll can be used, I send 

 women to tread it, and if occasion require, 

 tread it again; after which, I have it twice 

 hoed. I have found more benefit from this 

 mode of pressing than any other, being done 

 at a time when wheat, on this description or 

 soil, requires assistance."* 



* This is a use to which women have not as yet 



I have found other farmers, who, with 

 their wheat crops on liirht, chalky soils, 

 ploughed in a very shallow manner, and 

 then were accustomed to tread their land 

 with sheep, in order to give the wheat plant 

 a firmer footing; as, otherwise, in a very 

 light soil, it might be thrown out by the 

 wind. These cases, however, must all be 

 deemed exceptions; and the general rule in 

 England, where the soil admits of it, and 

 manure is abundant, is that of rather deep 

 ploughing. Five or six inches is the aver- 

 age depth; in many cases, much more than 

 this. The loam, or vegetable mould, is, 

 without question, the great source or medi- 

 um of nourishment to the plants. Be it 

 more or less deep, it is always safe to go to 

 the bottom of this, and, by gradually loosen- 

 ing a portion of the subsoil, or lower stra- 

 tum, and incorporating it with the mould, 

 and rendering it accessible to the air and 

 light, it acquires the nature of mould, and 

 the whole arable surface is enriched. The 

 deeper the soil, the more deeply the roots 

 are permitted to descend, and the more 

 widely they are enabled to spread them- 

 selves — unless they penetrate a substratum 

 unhealthy from wet or the too great preva- 

 lence of some unfavourable mineral sub- 

 stance — so much the more luxuriant and 

 productive is the vegetation likely to prove. 

 The depth to which the roots of plants will 

 go down in search of food or moisture, where 

 the soil is in a condition to be penetrated by 

 them, is much greater than a superficial ob- 

 servation would induce us to suppose. It is 

 confidently asserted that the roots of some 

 plants — such, for example, as lucern and 

 sainfoin — go to a depth of fifteen, twenty, 

 and even thirty feet. This seems scarcely 

 credible. Red clover is known to extend 

 its roots to the depth of three feet, and 

 wheat to the depth of two or three feet, 

 where the condition of the soil is favourable 

 to their extension. Von Thaer, the distin- 

 guished agriculturist, says, " he has pulled 



been put in our "half-civilized" country. I dare say, 

 however, many persons think that it is very well to 

 make such clever animals serviceable; their "keep," 

 agriculturally speaking, is somewhat expensive; and, 

 as they have their share in the pleasure of consuming, 

 they may as well take their part in the labour of pro- 

 ducing. Whatever any persons may think, however, 

 I will say no such uncivil thing; but since the cele- 

 brated danscnse, Fanny Ellsler, returned from the 

 United States, after a two years' tour, with a gain of 

 twenty thousand pounds, or one hundred thousand 

 dollars, it cannot be denied that the Americans are 

 quite willing to pay for the use of women's feet — in a 

 way, we admit, more elegant, tasteful, and classical, 

 but certainly not more respectable, and not half as 

 useful, as that of treading the wlieat-ground. 



