302 



To Improve the Soil. — Cranberries. 



Vol. IX. 



To Improve the Soil. 



To improve a soil is as much as to say 

 that we seek to modify its constitution, its 

 physical properties, in order to bring- them 

 into harmony with the climate and the na- 

 ture of the crops that are grown. In a dis- 

 trict where the soil is too clayey our endea- 

 vour ought to be, to make it acquire to a 

 certain extent the qualities of light soils. 

 Theory indicates the means to be followed 

 to effect such a change ; it suffices to intro- 

 duce sand into soils that are too stift', and to 

 mix clay with those that are too sandy. But 

 these recommendations of science which, in- 

 deed, the common sense of mankind had al- 

 ready pointed out, are seldom realized in 

 practice, and only appear feasible to those 

 who are entirely unacquainted with rural 

 economy. The digging up and transport of 

 the various kinds of soil according to the ne- 

 cessities of the case, are very costly opera- 

 tions, and I can quote a particular instance 

 in illustration of the fact : my land at Bechel- 

 bronn is generally strong ; experiments made 

 in the garden on a small scale showed that 

 an addition of sand improved it considerably. 

 In the middle of the farm there is a manu- 

 factory which accumulates such a quantity 

 of sand that it becomes troublesome ; never- 

 theless, I am satisfied that the improvement 

 by means of sand would be too costly, and 

 that all things taken into account, it would 

 be better policy to buy new lands with the 

 capital which would be required to improve 

 those I already possess in the manner which 

 has been indicated. I should have no diffi- 

 culty in citing numerous instances where 

 improvements by mingling different kinds of 

 soil were ruinous in the end to those who 

 undertook them. 



A piece of sandy soil, for example, pur- 

 chased at a very low price, after having been 

 suitably improved by means of clay, cost its 

 proprietor much more than the price of the 

 best laud in the country. Great caution is 

 therefore necessary in undertaking any im- 

 provement of the soil in this direction, — in 

 changing suddenly the nature of the soil. 

 Improvement ought to take place gradually 

 and by good husbandry, the necessary ten- 

 dency of which is to improve the soil. Upon 

 stifi' clayey lands we put dressings and ma- 

 nures which tend to divide it, to lessen its 

 cohesion, such as ashes, turf, long manure, 

 &c. But the husbandman has not always 

 suitable materials at his command, and in 

 this case, which is perhaps the usual one, he 

 must endeavour by selecting his crops judi 

 ciously, crops which shall agree best with 

 stiff soils, and at the same time meet the de- 

 mands of his market, to make the most of his 



land. In a word, the true husbandman ought 

 to know the qualities and defects of the land 

 which he cultivates, and to be guided in his 

 operations by these ; and in fact it is only 

 with such knowledge that he can know the 

 rent he can afford to pay, and estimate the 

 amount of capital which he can reasonably 

 employ in carrying on the operations of hia 

 farm. 



In an argillaceous or clayey soil, it would 

 be absurd to persist in attempting to grow 

 crops that require an open soil. Clayey 

 lands generally answer we^ for meadows, 

 and autumn ploughing is always highly ad- 

 vantageous to them by reason of the disin- 

 tegrating effects of the ensuing winter frosts. 

 — Boussingault. 



Cranberries. 



In answer to the inquiries of a subscriber 

 on this subject, we will remark as we have 

 often before, that the cultivation of this plant 

 is not yet reduced to any regular system. 

 They come into some lands and disappear in 

 others unexpectedly and unaccountably, un- 

 less it be owing to a rotation of crops by na- 

 ture, as oaks succeed pines, and the reverse. 



If the land be not naturally wet, it is best 

 to prepare for flowing, and there is some- 

 times an advantage in flowing very wet 

 lands. The water is a protection against 

 severe cold in winter, and by flowing late in 

 spring the blossoming may be retarded until 

 the frosty season has passed, and if flowing 

 can be effected rapidly, it may be done any 

 time in summer when there are indications 

 of a frost. 



As to the preparation of the soil, if it be 

 naturally too dry, mud will improve its tex- 

 ture by rendering it more retentive of mois- 

 ture, and if the land be naturally wet and 

 the soil composed mostly of mud or peat, 

 sand will be a good manure. When land 

 has been long in grass, and cranberries have 

 not grown, the cranberry plants would be 

 likely to displace the grasses, aided by the 

 tendency of nature to rotation, but if the 

 ground has been in cranberry vines, and 

 they have disappeared, the land should be 

 ploughed, or in some way inverted, burying 

 the grass completely, and tolerably deep. 



In transplanting, as we lately observed, 

 take up shovelfuls of the soil at places about 

 four feet apart, and place in the holes sho- 

 velfuls of earth taken from a cranberry bog 

 with the vines therein, and they will soon 

 run and occupy the whole ground. For fur- 

 ther information we refer our readers to a 

 discussion on this subject at the State House, 

 which appears in the Cultivator of March 

 8th. — Boston Cultivator. 



