124 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



verhill ; F. E. Newcomb, Keene ; in Vermont, 

 Nathan Taplin, Corinth ; J. D. \Vheat, Put- 

 ney ; Eben Bridge, Pomfret : James Y . Pres- 

 cott, Newbury; Daniel Davis, Jr., Windsor; 

 Richard Bradley, Brattleboro' ; George W. 

 Black, Westminster ; Darius Russ, Hartford ; 

 Jona. Johiison, Bradford ; Edward Douglass, 

 Chelsea ; H. H. Stone, BeUows Falls ; E. R. 

 Jennings, Quechee, and H. W. Kimball, West- 

 minster. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 SUBSOILING. 



"Why is there so little said upon the above 

 subject at this time ? Is it because the subject 

 was overdone a few years since ? My impres- 

 sion was, at that time, that every good farmer 

 would have his subsoil plow and use it con- 

 stantly. But what are the facts ? A few far- 

 mers bought the plows and used them for a 

 short time ; but, as the evidence comes to me, 

 they are mostly put away with other "rubbish." 



The arguments then put forth in favor of 

 subsoiling were good, and generally accepted 

 by the farming community. Those arguments 

 are just as good now. That there is need of 

 breaking the soil below the action of the com- 

 mon plow, is a fact beyond any doubt. No 

 man who is posted pretends to deny the utility 

 of it. No good farmer woidd object to having 

 his soil loosened to any depth. But most of 

 us object to having the subsoil turned up top. 

 We rather it would lie at the bottom, but in 

 condition to be the receptacle of the roots of 

 whatever crop is grown on the soil. We would 

 be most tenaciously particular to have the soil 

 stirred deeply when roots are to be raised. 

 And very necessary is it, when an orchard is to 

 be set. 



But the old subsoU plow, for some reason, 

 is mostly discarded. And why? Because it 

 costs so much to do the work, says one. In 

 subsoiling common old ground, it takes a team 

 at the common plow, and another with the sub- 

 soil plow. With most farmers this is a serious 

 objection. We can easily calculate on one 

 team, but when two are required, we find our- 

 selves minus. The difficulty then of doing the 

 work, is obviously the reason why subsoiling 

 has been mostly abandoned. The reasons for 

 it yet remain, and it is a work that will pay, 



Erovided it can be reasonably accomplished, 

 .et us see if it can, and what the means we 

 have at hand at this time. 



Some eight or ten years ago, an old farmer 

 out somewhere in New York, who had a way 

 of doing his own farming and black-smithing 

 with the same hands, conceived the idea of 

 putting an attachment to a common plow, to be 

 used as a subsoiler, which should be simple, 

 cheap and cdfective. After various experi- 

 ments the thing was done. His attachment 

 could be allbrded for five or six dollars, and 



put upon any plow in one hour. He used it 

 himself, and his neighbors about him used it. 

 It was so well liked, that the old man was ad- 

 vised to patent it. He did so, and now in his 

 old age enjoys a competence from this little in- 

 vention. I refer to what is called "Burnham 

 & Pierce's Subsoil Attachment." Perhaps it 

 has been before alluded to in your columns, in 

 a manner corresponding to its meiits. But I 

 fear that this, like many other subjects, will need 

 "line upon line and precept uj^on precept," to 

 make the farmers believe in it enough to try it. 

 When once tried it is never given up. 



It is a trowel shaped implement attached to 

 a bar two feet long. A clamp on the inside of 

 the plow beam holds the top of the bar in 

 place, and a rod running from the plow back, 

 holds the block in its proper position. It runs 

 in the furrow after the plow, and can be raised 

 or lowered at pleasure. When it runs three or 

 four inches deeper than the plow, a good horse 

 extra is required to move it. In order to fur- 

 nish your readers a little evidence of what 

 practical farmers think of it, — in order to 

 strengthen their faith, — I subjoin a report of a 

 special committee raised by the old Hillsbo- 

 rough County, N. H. , Agricultural and Me- 

 chanical Society, during its fair last fall. 



To the President and Officers of the Hillsborough Agri- 

 cultural Society. 



Gentlemen : — The undersigned, a special com- 

 mittee, raised at your fair, October 4th, 1866, to 

 witness tlie trial of the recently invented Subsoil 

 Attachment to plows, beg leave to report that we 

 witnessed the trial of one attached to a swivel 

 plow by Z. Breed, of Weare, and one attached to a 

 common plow by T. H. Harvell, of Amherst, and 

 hereby express the opinion, that these implements 

 did the work better, and in a more expeditious 

 manner than any we have before seen, and we con- 

 sider it a valuable appendage. 



It can be applied to any sod or breaking-up plow, 

 either swivel or land-side, at moderate expense by 

 any one wishing to adopt the principle of subsoil- 

 ing. Its operation is to loosen the soil but not to 

 turn it up. Henry D. Pierce, T. G. Holbrook, R. 

 Holbrook, Thos. Cloutman, David Butterrtcid, N. 

 F. Richardson, J. G. Morse, George Buss, J. Cleaves, 

 O. B. Clark, E. Ware, T. G. Banks, W. D. Locke. 



Subsequent to this trial "W. D. L.," a cor- 

 respondent of the Mirror and Farvier, wrote 

 as follows : "At the late fair at Millord, I had 

 the pleasure of holding, for a few rods, a re- 

 versible plow with subsoil attachment. Truly, 

 it was an era in ray farming experience, at the 

 age of "three score years." I am sure it Avas 

 the most perfect plow I ever laid hands upon, 

 turning the rod naturally and completely break- 

 ing the subsoil, and pulverizing it in a mas- 

 terly manner, to any desirable depth below the 

 usual furrow bed. I have had great confidence 

 in subsoiling ibr twenty years, but had never 

 before seen an implement so well adapted to 

 the woi'k — simple, cheap and durable. I felt 

 proud of the inventive genius of my country- 

 men of the agricultural class, for it must have 

 been the result of the study of some practical 

 plowman. True, the subsoiler takes more 

 team, but then it does its work so admirably, 



