72 ON PLOUGHING — ON SHEEP AND COLTS. 



and air, without bringing the lower stratum to the sur- 

 face and thereby causing sterility. To the successful 

 cultivation of a flat wet soil resting on a hard clay pan, 

 the use of the sub-soil plough is almost indispensable. 

 It is only by breaking up and opening this pan, that the 

 superfluous water can be drained off so as to prevent the 

 crop from being injured by heavy rains. And by deep- 

 ening and loosening this sub-soil, the roots of plants are 

 enabled to strike deeper, and the plant is protected from 

 the drought which causes such soils in mid-summer to 

 bake and crack. One of your Committee has made a 

 partial trial of a sub-soil plough the past season on land 

 of this description, with manifest advantage. And it 

 has been found to be equally beneficial to deepen dry 

 and gravelly soils with the sub-soil plough, as thereby 

 the plants will take deeper root and bear drought much 

 better. Instances aie given where the crops on such 

 soils have been doubled simply by sub-soil ploughing. 

 Several interestins: notices of the advanta2;es and sue- 

 cessful results of the use of the sub-soil plough may be 

 found in the reports of the late able Agricultural Com- 

 missioner of the Commonwealth, who very early brought 

 it to the notice of our farmers. And your Committee 

 hazard the opinion that before many years shall have 

 elapsed, the use of the sub-soil plough will be consider- 

 ed by the good farmers of this County an essential part 

 of good husbandry. 



Ill heltaJf of the Committee^ 



JAMES H. DUNCAN. 



ON SHEEP AND COLTS. 



The Committee on sheep and colts have in some mea- 

 sure attended to the duties assigned them, and report : 

 That there were ten sheep entered for premium, but 

 none were found in the pens. Your Committee under- 

 stood that the owner, who resides in Ipswich, made 

 several attempts to drive them to the place of exhibition, 

 but without success. 



