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household and help to feed the world ; for these bring joy- 

 to the farmer's eyes, to his mind and soul, and — ^in these 

 days I am glad to say it — to his pocket. And to secure 

 this first grand desideratum, this prime joy and glory of 

 the farmer's life and foundation of all its other glories — 

 great crops — two essentials are especially to be men- 

 tioned, viz : deep ploughing and sufficient and appropriate 

 manures. And, I confess here, that I am, and ever have 

 been, in all situations and soils, and under all possible 

 conditions, a strenuous, unfaltering, uncompromising ad- 

 vocate for deep ploughing. Especially in this land where 

 droughts, if nothing else, are unfailing, in this climate of 

 dry seasons and wet seasons — for I consider this distinc- 

 tion of season to be as definitely marked here as in any 

 tropical portion of the continent, — I regard deep tillage 

 as an indispensable necessity — a sine qua non ; and, as 

 my limits do not permit me here to repeat at length, 

 what I have so often had to say in various papers and 

 Agricultural Reports upon the subject, I will endeavor to 

 condense the whole matter into a nutshell. First : deep 

 ploughing turns up and exposes to the action of the at- 

 mosphere a new substratum of virgin soil for the use of 

 vegetation, that has never before seen the light — a great 

 advantage in fields long tilled, and where, years ago, the 

 top soil has been carried to mill. Secondly : it makes a 

 deeper bed, pulverized and enriched, in which the roots 

 of plants may descend for nutriment ; where the subsoil 

 is gravelly, it displaces barren stones by fertile earth and 

 manures ; and, in clayey lands, it breaks up the cold, 

 hard pan, mixes it with the warm nutritious soil of the 

 surface, and allows the stagnant dampness to drain away. 

 Thirdly : deep ploughing covers up the manure, prevents 

 the escape of its volatile and nourishing gases, and, in 

 uneven localities, forbids the rains from washing it away. 

 And here let me say, that there is no fear of the manure 



