39 



being broken up, are more easily penetrated by the rootlets of the 

 plants in search of food. The soil at the same time is more 

 thoroughly acted upon by air, warmth, and water, and reduced by 

 their combined agencies during the process of weathering, being 

 thus rendered more healthy, more mellow, and quicker as a feeding 

 ground for the plant. A deeper subsoiling has, besides, the 

 advantage, which should not be overlooked, especially in a hot and 

 dry climate, of promoting the growth of the roots at some distance 

 from the surface, and thus lessening the effects of drought. 



In first ploughing or subsoiling in heavy and retentive soil,, 

 the furrow should always be in the direction of the fall of water, 

 otherwise, it will lodge in the subsoiler's tracks, and rot the roots- 

 of the plants in wet seasons. 



Although the heavy soils are those most benefited by thorough 

 tillage, it is generally advisable, and experience has demonstrated 

 that even in the loose and shifting sands a deep stirring is always 

 accompanied by a corresponding vigour and increase of yield in 

 the case of the vine, as well as of fruit trees. 



In most cases, surface ploughing and deep subsoiling should 

 be recommended in preference to trenching proper. There are 

 some special cases, however, when deep trenching previous to the 

 establishment of a vineyard is beneficial ; as, for instance, when a 

 loose surface sand overlays a more compact subsoil, which is 

 susceptible of improvement by being exposed to the disintegrating 

 action of air, sun, and rain. In that case, a deep furrow is turned 

 by means of a strong trenching or digging plough, or two ploughs 

 are made to run one after the other, each turning a furrow about 

 eight to nine inches deep. In other cases, on the other hand, the 

 surface soil is often much better than the subsoil, which is little 

 susceptible of improvement by the process of weathering, and for 

 that reason should be left where it lies. 



The most economical and the best plan of ploughing this class 

 of land is to turn with an ordinary plough, worked by two or four 

 powerful horses, according to the class of land, a furrow seven to eight 

 inches deep, and follow up with a strong plough with the mould 

 board detached, or a subsoil plough, drawn by a team of three to- 

 four horses. 



In first breaking up the land, bullocks are sometimes prefer- 

 able to horses, as they give a more steady and better equalised pull 

 in overcoming the considerable resistance offered by the meshwork 

 of roots that exist in virgin soil. A team of eight to ten bullocks, 

 according to the character of the soil, for the first ploughing, and 

 another one of ten to fourteen for subsoiling will do the work 

 comfortably, without too much strain on the animals. 



The work can to a great extent be made lighter for the team 

 in setting the plough so as to turn a narrower furrow, but the soil 

 should be broken up as deeply as possible. 



