224 Traksactiojks of the American Institute. 



plants as the rose lie wants a deep soil. Others coming into a flour- 

 ishing garden, and seeing marvels of thrift and beanty, say the 

 gardener has some secret which he won't impart. Mr. Chairman, I 

 believe every gardener and small fruit cultnrist will sustain me in 

 saying, we have no secrets in our craft. All we do is what you can 

 do, and all can do — plough or spade deep, and enrich the earth till it 

 is as fine and dark two feet down as most fields are for six inches. 



Mr. ]S^. C. Meeker. — This is a subject of much importance, for 

 people would like to know exactly how deep they should plow. I 

 think we cannot decide because soils differ. In the grape regions of 

 Missouri, and on the Islands and elsewhere, they used to trench the 

 soil two feet deep, but it was found disastrous to the crop, and now 

 by plowing from eight to twelve inches, they are successful. The 

 reason assigned is that the roots on which fruit depend, should get 

 heat and air on the surface, and that the deep roots are for the life of 

 the plant. The same is to be said in a great degree, of all the small 

 fruits, though shallow plowing produces poor results. 



Mr. Wm. Lawton. — This is a question of time and place. On my 

 farm, where there is a hard sub-soil, I find it profitable to go two feet 

 deep. But to practice that I find best, may not answer in all localities. 



Dr. I. P. Trimble. — I agree with the last speaker. For instance, 

 last fall Dr. Smith was my companion as we visited the southwestern 

 part of IS^ew Jersey, in Salem county. I think he M'ill agree witli 

 me, that he never saw in this country any better farms, any md^e 

 careful, thorough, profitable tillage tlian among the Quakers of the 

 lower ■ Delaware. We asked them particularly about the depth of 

 plowing. They said that years ago they had sunk the share deep, 

 but of late liad found no advantage from the practice. Xow they are 

 content with ten inches. I hope Mr. Greeley will, in his travels, go 

 down among those warm-hearted, sound headed old Quakers. They 

 would be glad to see him ; they would treat him most kindly, and he 

 would see one region in which his ideas are not practicable. They 

 have a porous sub-soil, easily penetrated by the roots of plants, and 

 we have no reason to suppose that very deep plowing would do any 

 good; so at least they have found by many years experience. Those 

 fields have been under the plow ever since the days of William Penn. 



The Chairman. — As a sort of summary of this discussion on deep 

 tillajre, which has been before the club for several weeks, I think we 

 may recommend to the farmers of all parts of the country to plow 

 deeper and deeper every year, using manure in proportion to the 



