132 



Subsoil Plough. — Hay 'Seed upon Inverted Sod. 



Vol. VI. 



For tlie Fanners' Cabinet. 

 Subsoil Plough and Statement of Crops. 



The following is a transcript of a letter received this 

 day from Joseph Paxton, of Cattawissa, one of the 

 most intelliffent, active and industrious farmers in 

 Pennsylvania. He saw the operation of the subsoil 

 plougli at the Society's e.\hibition, went home, had one 

 made and put in operation. C. R. 



Umo. 4, 1841. 



Friend * * *, — I have got through with 

 my farming operations for the season, and 

 have commenced for the next. In our last 

 conversation, I expressed my intention of get- 

 ting up a subsoil-plough, which I have done, 

 and at an expense of about five dollars, all 

 told ; it is made of wrought iron, except the 

 beam and handles, and its effect is beyond all 

 conception. I am ploughing a clover sod ; 

 the bar-shear plough first passes along and 

 cuts a furrow from five to eight inches deep; 

 the subsoil plous^h immediately follows in the 

 bottom of the fiirrow, and completely pulver- 

 izes the ground from five to seven inches 

 more, letting the subsoil drop again in the 

 furrow, thus making a loose bed of from 10 

 to 14 inches. You cannot imagine with what 



perfection it does the work ; S has seen 



it in operation and is highly pleased with it. 

 A subsoil that has been 70 or 80 years tram- 

 pled with horses' feet and glared with plough- 

 irons is thus rendered as mellow as the sur- 

 face soil. I anticipate a rich reward for my 

 labour. I use two horses to each team. I 

 stand amazed when I look on and witness the 

 effect of my new subsoil plough in pulveriz- 

 ing the earth so easily to so great a depth. 



I had one of my lots of corn measured — 

 the quantity of land was three and three- 

 quarter acres, from which we gathered 580 

 bushels of corn in the ear — upwards of two 

 thousand pumpkins, and one hundred and 

 forty shocks (of ten sheaves to the shock) of 

 corn-fodder. I had another piece of about 

 five acres nearly as good, but did not measure 

 it as accurately. The result of my season's 

 farming from 110 acres of land is as follows, 

 viz. From 22 acres I took nothing, but 

 ploughed down the grass, except what the 

 cattle and pigs consumed which was the 

 smallest part ; leaving 68 acres to take crop 

 from, which produced as follows: 80 tons of 

 hay — 1100 dozen of wheat (cradle sheaves, 

 and not small) — 3200 bushels of Indian-corn 

 in the ear — from 3 to 4000 pumpkins, raised 

 among the corn — between 9 and 10,000 

 sheaves of corn-tops and blades — over 300 

 bushels of potatoes, and 310 bushels of win- 

 ter apples, gathered in two days — what was 

 taken through the summer and autumn not 

 estimated. 



I have pastured and kept in good order, on 

 this farm of 110 acres, through the summer 

 and fall (and have not as yet fed scarcely any 

 hay) the following stock, viz : 16 head of cat- 



tle, 3 colts, an average of 60 sheep, and about 

 30 head of hogs and shoats — besides divers 

 turkeys, fowls and ducks. I have also about 

 one-third of an acre of ruta-baga which were 

 planted late in August, and are therefore not 

 taken into account. 



The summing up may be about as follows 

 in value, viz: 



80 tons of ha V at SIO $800 00 



Wheat, say 000 or 700 bushels GOO 00 



IfiOO bushels of corn at 50 cts 800 00 



Corn-fodder 100 00 



300 bushels of potatoes at .ITIcts 112 50 



310 bushels of w inter apples at 40 cts. 124 00 



3000 pumpkins, say 30 00 



$2566 50 



I don't take into account the increased 

 value of colts, young cattle and lambs. The 

 wool of the sheep, milk, butter, pigs, poultry, 

 &c., and the clover cut for seed from eleven 

 acres, are not estimated, but are worth a con- 

 siderable sum. My farm horses are gene- 

 rally kept up and pastured but little. 



This autumn I put in sixteen acres of 

 wheat with my new drill ; it looks well, and 

 I am pleased with it, but I will make no re- 

 port on it till after harvest. Jos. Paxton. 



Hay-seed upon Inverted Sod. 



Many of our moist lands, between the dry 

 uplands and the bog-meadows, though natu- 

 ral to grass, occasionally need renovating, 

 As long as a common top-dressing will cause 

 a good crop, nothing more should be done 

 than to apply the manure on the surface. 

 But when the better grasses have run out, 

 and when moss begins to collect upon the 

 surface, it is necessary to plough such land, 

 But where the plough will do its work tole- 

 rably well, it is not necessary to plant. These 

 lands which are wet and heavy in the early 

 part of the season, and which bake in the 

 scorching months of July and August, are nol 

 profitable for tillage. They may yield a crop 

 of potatoes, and possibly of corn, but the 

 chances for this are small, and it is usually 

 bad working these s.pots in the early part of 

 the season. Tiie best way to treat them is, 

 to turn the land over as soon as it can conve- 

 niently be done after the crop of hay has been 

 removed ; to plough in such direction that the 

 dead furrows shall come in suitable places for 

 surface drains, to roll well ; and then put on 

 a dressing of compost. When this has been 

 done, sow hay-seed attd harrow thoroughly. 

 Then use the roller again, and the next sea- 

 son you may obtain a fair crop of hay, and 

 the following year you probably will get a 

 heavy burthen. Ilerd's-grass is better for 

 these moist grounds than clover or red-top. 

 No one who has been accustomed to this pro- 

 cess will ever think of tilling any wet lands 

 that can be laid over smooth by the plough. — 

 ^. E. Far. 



