114 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



every day, in addition to the grooming that is 

 necessary after work. 



When the weather will permit the horse to 

 be taken out, he should never be groomed in the 

 stable, unless he is an animal of peculiar value, 

 or placed for a time under peculiar circum- 

 stances. Without dwelling on the want of 

 cleanliness, when the scurf and dust that are 

 brushed from the horse, lodge in his manger, 

 and mingle with his food, experience teaches, 

 that if the cold is not too great, the animal is 

 braced and invigorated to a degree that cannot 

 be attained in the stable, from being dressed in 

 the open air. There is no necessity, however, 

 for half the punishment which many a groom 

 inflicts upon the horse in the act of dressing ; 

 and particularly on one whose skin is thin and 

 sensible. The currycomb should at times be 

 lightly applied. With many horses, its use may 

 be almost dispensed with ; and even the brush 

 needs not to be so hard, nor the points of the 

 bristles so irregular, as they often are. A soft 

 brush, with a little more weight of the hand, 

 will be equally effectual, and a great deal more 

 pleasant to the horse. A hair-cloth, while it 

 will seldom irritate and tease, will be almost suf- 

 ficient with horses that have a thin skin, and 

 that have not been neglected. After all, it is 

 no slight task to dress a horse as it ought to be 

 done. It occupies no little time, and demands 

 considerable patience, as well as dexterity. It 

 will be readily ascertained whether a horse has 

 been well dressed by rubbing him with one of 

 the fingers. A greasy stain will detect the 

 idleness of the groom. When, however, the 

 horse is changing his coat, both currycomb and 

 the brush should be used as lightly as possible. 



Whoever would be convinced of the benefit 

 of friction to the horse's skin, and to the horse 

 generally, needs only to observe the effects pro- 

 duced by well hand-rubbing the legs of a tired 

 horse. While every enlargement subsides and 

 the painful stiffness disappears, and the legs at- 

 tain their natural warmth, and become fine, the 

 animal is evidently and rapidly reviving; he 

 attacks his food with appetite, and then quietly 

 lies down to rest. — Sorratt. 



DEEP PLOUGHING. 

 To the Editor of the Southern Planter: 



Sir, — Considering you as guardian of the 

 agricultural interest of our State, I take upon 

 myself the task of inviting your animadversions 

 towards the destructive system of cultivation, 

 practised by the farmers of Brunswick and Lu- 

 nenburg. 



Our land is mercilessly cut down ; then the 

 soil merely skimmed off, without breaking or 

 loosening the bed of clay on which it rests: but 

 this may be necessary for the crop of tobacco, 

 which is first. Next, it is sown with wheat, 



and then fallowed for corn, with ploughs cutting 

 only from three to five inches deep. From this 

 mode of cultivation, the natural inclination of 

 the land to wash, is much increased, and in a 

 few years, we find the hills sterile, and in a 

 worthless condition. 



Is it not reasonable to suppose, that the num- 

 berless galls and gullies on our farms are in a 

 great measure caused by these slight and im- 

 perfect ploughings? For when the thin soil is 

 thus made light, and left on the hard clay, im- 

 penetrable to water, the rain not being absorbed 

 immediately, collects in considerable streams, 

 which pouring down the declivities, carry away 

 the best and only productive portion of the land. 



But it may be objected, that the clay, turned 

 up by deep ploughing, will injure the crop. In 

 reply, I can scarcely grant that it does so to any 

 extent ; if any, only for the first season, which 

 will be amply atoned for in the next ; for the 

 clay is in a short time pulverized, and rendered 

 productive by exposure to the air, and becomes 

 the richest and most lasting soil. This fact is 

 proven by the exuberant growth on the banks 

 of ditches and canals, where clay has been 

 dug from three to twelve feet below the surface, 

 thrown out, and in twelve months is covered 

 with vegetation far surpassing that on our best 

 improved lots. 



From these observations, I am convinced, 

 were we to adopt the system of ploughing our 

 lands deep and thoroughly, that our land would 

 become richer and more fertile; that the soil 

 would be rendered deeper by every fallowing ; 

 that instead of the crops suffering from drought, 

 as they now do, the mellow loam would allow 

 the roots to run and expand ; and by the noc- 

 turnal moisture, which could then arise, they 

 would be refreshed, and enabled to withstand 

 the blaze of the midsummer sun ; and lastly, 

 that our fields would no longer be washed and 

 ruined by the autumnal rains. 



Grateful for the correct ideas received from 

 your journal, 



I am, sir, 



Your obedient servant, 



E. H. E. 



Brunswick, Dec. 16, 1843. 



We will take the guardian's privilege of en- 

 joining upon our self-constituted ward the prac- 

 tice of his own excellent doctrine. The surest, 

 if not the quickest, way to reclaim a neighbor- 

 hood from the error of their ways, is to place 

 before their eyes the practical result of a better 

 system. 



FEEDING ANIMALS. 



Some very useful remarks, and important ta- 

 bles of comparison, are given in a late number 



