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NEW b:NGLAND FARMER. 



FOURTH AGRICULTURAL MEETING 



At the State House, Feb. 4th, 1851. 



Gen. Dearhorn, of Eozbury, in the Chair— Subject 

 ^'Thorough Braining and Subsoil Ploughing J' 



Mr. AsaG. Sheldon, of Wilmington, begged leave 

 to make a few remarks not directly to the sulyect, 

 for discussion. He said that there had been vari- 

 ous improvements in farming, and amongst the great- 

 est was that of the plough, by which the team was 

 shortened and more performed, and he hoped this 

 rule would be applied to our discussions, and the 

 speeches of half or three-quarters of an hour short- 

 ened down to 10 or 15 minutes. He remarked that 

 a farmer may soon tell what he knows that is im- 

 portant, but it takes him a long time to talk about 

 what he does not know. Mr. S. then proceeded to 



the subject. About ten years ago, 



he drained a 



swamp, and in winter he applied a compost, one 

 load of manure mixed with two loads of gravel. He 

 obtained good crops of grass; and the land had con- 

 tinued productive with very little expense in ma- 

 nuring. He had not filled his ditches, as he thought 

 it was best to proceed to reclaim more land, and 

 fill up by and by, when more at leisure. The last 

 piece of swamp he reclaimed, he let the ditch banks 

 remain over a year, then spread them over the land, 

 using no other manure. He had good crops of 

 grass. 



Mr. Whittaker, chairman of the committee of 

 arrangements, said that it was the design of the 

 committee to limit speakers to 15 minutes, and he 

 made a motion to that effect, which was carried. 



Dr. Hogan, recently from England, remarked | potatoes, &c 



inches, but in very wet lands he made his drains 

 four feet deep, and the land would generally settle 

 about one foot. In this way there is room for the 

 drain, and for surface ploughing seven inches, and 

 subsoiling twelve inches, without interfering with 

 the drains. In Scotland it is customary to subsoil 

 at every rotation of seven years, and after the first 

 operation, it is easily done. Mr. Moore said that 

 there was great advantage in underdraining even 

 gravelly soils, as the rains and snows contain fer- 

 tilizing properties, the great part of which often 

 run off; but when the lands are underdrained, the 

 water runs down, and enriches the soil. In proof 

 of this, he gave the views of a friend who had much 

 experience in draining gravelly soils. He thought 

 that the running down of the water into the soil 

 tended to the disentegration of the stones and great- 

 ly increased the crops. The drains should be three 

 feet deep, and forty feet apart. 



Col. Newell, of West Newbury, said that he 

 had subsoiled about fifteen acres, some loam, and 

 some gravelly soil. He found a very great advan- 

 tage in subsoiling a stiff soil — moist, but not low 

 land. He thought his crops of grass were dou- 

 bled by this process. He ploughed the surface soil 

 about seven inches deep, and subsoiled about ten 

 inches deep This mode was better than to plough 

 twelve inches deep, as he had practised, and in this 

 way the manure would do more good, as he had to 

 manure a less depth. As the land was not very 

 wet, the dead furrows answered for drains. As 

 these lands were too moist for tillage, he could not 

 tell what effect the subsoiling would have on corn, 

 He had not seen much advantage 



that he had been 13 months with Mr. Smith, of 

 Deanston, when he was making experiments in 

 draining and subsoiling. At first his drains were 

 made broad and shallow, but this was not efiectual, 

 as the water would spring up between the drains. 

 He then deepened his drains, which proved a rem- 

 edy for the evil. Mr. Smith did not subsoil until 

 two years after draining, that the land might be- 

 come consolidated. These processes greatly im- 

 prove the quality of crops, as those grown on dry 

 land are superior to those raised on wet land; and 

 after land is drained the dew will aflford much more 

 nutriment to plants, as it has but little effect on 

 wet land. Dr. H. showed a pattern of a plough for 

 under-draining, by which a piece of soil is cut on 

 each side by two cutters, and then risen up and dis- 

 placed by a part of the plough that follows, leav- 

 ing a hollow or drain, some distance below the 

 surface. 



?\Ir John C. Moore, formerly of Scotland, had 

 prepared an article on this subject, which was in 

 the course of publication, and he read it to the 

 meeting. He was acquainted with Mr. Smith, 

 renowned for his great improvements on this sub- 

 ject. He drained lands that were moderately moist 

 three feet deep, and they would settle only a few 



in subsoiling gravelly soils; our climate is very dif- 

 ferent from that of England. Here, we general- 

 ly suffer from drought; there usually from too 

 much rain. 



Dr. Gardner said that he had read and listened 

 to much on tliorough draining as practised abroad; 

 but very few in Massachusetts are able to incur the 

 expense, as many would have to mortgage their 

 farms if they did. A cheaper mode must be pur- 

 sued at present. Besides the pecuniary advan- 

 tage in draining, it is of great utility as to health, 

 rendering the atmosphere more pure. He had only 

 one piece of land of about five or six acres that 

 needed draining. It had produced only worthless 

 aquatic plants. He dug a main drain three or four 

 feet wide, down into the hard pan, taking off the 

 water from the springs. The sides of the drain 

 were at an angle of 45'^. In the succeeding Au- 

 gust, he ploughed eight inches deep, harrowed, 

 rolled, then harrowed and sowed to grass, previous- 

 ly applying twenty loads of compost manure to the 

 acre. He had cut two to three tons to the acre of 

 good hay. A man would better not make expen- 

 sive improvements, and own his farm, than have it 

 under mortgage. 



Mr. Edward Brooks, of Boston, would give his 



