194 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



sown either in oats or wheat. For the beginning 

 of the course, I incline to the belief that wheat 

 would be a better growth than oats, for the object 

 in view; as wheat would have earlier and more 

 complete possession of the ground, and will better 

 withstand the injurious growth of the wire-grass. 

 I know too, that a cover of peas, immediately fol- 

 lowing wheat, tends much to restrain the growth 

 of thickly-set wire-grass — and this course has been 

 used for that purpose with good effect, by Edmund 

 Ruffin, Jr., of Prince George county. I have not 

 known (on such land) a second crop of either wheat 

 or oats to be followed immediately by another crop 

 of peas, as in Judge Christian's trial — and therefore 

 no such complete destruction of the growth of wire- 

 grass was obtained by the shorter and less perfect 

 course of wheat, peas, wheat. If, by this course, 

 wire-grass can be even prevented being a serious 

 obstruction to tillage for ten years thereafter, it will 

 be an immense advantage to the agriculture of 

 lower Virginia.] 



Sub-soil Ploughing. 

 [There is no theory more plausible, or of which 

 the deductions would promise to be more certain in 

 practice, than of sub-soil ploughing. The operation 

 is to break (for the first time,) and open the close 

 compact sub-soil, without moving it from its posi- 

 tion below the more fertile soil above, which only 

 is to be subverted by the plough, and yet retained 

 in its natural and proper position above the barren 

 (or much poorer) sub-soil left below. This opera- 

 tion promises (in theory) to avoid all the possible 

 evils of very deep ploughing by one implement 

 and labor, in burying the fertile soil under a nearly 

 barren cover brought up from below. It further 

 promises to afford greater facility to the roots of 

 growing crops in seeking and finding food in the 

 sub-soil — better and beneficial means for retaining 

 a store of rain-water for later use — and for dis- 

 charging by downward filtration, into sub-soil other- 

 wise impervious, such excess of rain-water as might 

 be injurious, if to be removed only by flowing 

 off, and by evaporation. Some or all these pur- 

 poses, doubtless, are subserved by sub-soil plough- 

 ing in many cases, and to the profit of the 

 cultivator. Many such beneficial results have 

 been published, and very few showing losses or 

 failures. And passing over such exceptions, or 

 perhaps in ignorance of their existence, it has been 

 for a long time, and still is, the general course of 

 all merely theoretical or closet agriculturists, to 

 advocate sub-soil ploughing as a very generally 

 beneficial and profitable labor. Without denying 

 that such beneficial results may be found in many 

 particular cases, I infer, from the following facts, 

 and from more extended but less exact statements 

 or information of others, that this process, even for 

 soils and sub-soils which in advance promise the 



best and most sure results, will more often be found 

 a source of loss, (in the costly labor required,) than 

 of early and profitable iucrease of crop, or of later 

 and continued improvement of the land. — E. R.] 



Minute 2. John A. Selden, Esq. of Charles City 

 county, sub-soiled two of his fields, in two different 

 years, when ploughing for corn. [The soil of the 

 well-known Westover farm, rich and deep hazel 

 clay loam — lying high and dry — sub-soil, mode- 

 rately pervious to water. No under-drainage need- 

 ed.] In small parts of each field, the sub-soiling 

 operation was omitted, for the purpose of observing 

 and comparing results. In neither case, could any 

 benefit be perceived in the subsequent crops; nor 

 any difference of effect, except that, when the 

 land was next under clover, and summer-fallowed 

 for wheat, the usual deep ploughing was executed 

 with less labor on the sub-soiled ground. 



3, 4. Edmund Ruffin, Jr. of Prince George, and 

 also the writer, had made like trials, but on a much 

 smaller scale — on level and poor clay soil, with still 

 stilfer and impervious sub-soil — when preparing for 

 corn. No effect observed on the crop, in either 

 case. 



5. Dr. John B. Harvie, of Powhatan county, 

 sub-soiled a good high-land field for tobacco, and 

 which had previously brought good tobacco when- 

 ever under that crop. The deep breaking and 

 opening of the sub-soil now served to retain so 

 much rain-water, as to be hurtful to the growing 

 tobacco, causing, and for the first time on that field, 

 the " firing" of the plants, which is the well-known 

 usual result of excessive temporary wetness of the 

 land. The value of the crop (and especially in 

 quality,) was greatly lessened, certainly more than 

 one-half, and owing as believed entirely to the sub- 

 soiling operation. 



6. Mr. F. G. Ruffin, of Albemarle, has sub-soiled 

 at different times a good deal of land. On one field, 

 or rather part of a field, a ridge of red clay land 

 with but little rock on it, and a very thick stratum, 

 probably an average of ten feet in thickness, over 

 the mass of broken and decomposing rock which 

 underlies the South-west mountain land, and drains 

 it very well when close enough to the surface, he 

 had sub-soiled in three successive years an average 

 of about eight acres each year for turnips. The 

 first year the crop, especially the ruta bagas, suf- 

 fered severely from plant lice, a well-known conse- 

 quence of excessive wetness on that crop. Each 

 succeeding crop on its sub-soiled lot suffered in the 

 same way, though not to the same extent, because 

 as he supposed the sharpness of the ridge on those 

 lots drained them better. The land in each case 

 was heavily manured — the crop of wheat was infe- 

 rior on the whole to what he thought it would have 

 been without the sub-soiling. One part of the 

 land, fallowed in a drought, ploughed deeper, large 

 masses of earth being turned up by the plough, 

 apparently from the bottom of the subsoiled land, 

 which made it plough harder, and more difficult to 

 be got in order for the wheat. The corn crop was a 

 good one ; but the sub-soiled part, especially where 

 the soil was deepest, was too wet to plough when 

 the adjacent land was in good order. As the rows 

 ran through each portion, and the corn had to be 

 worked, the wetness of the sub-soiled part caused 

 it to be injured; and he thinks it has not yet re- 

 covered its prior tone. The whole was ploughed 

 to the depth of fifteen to eighteen inches, and 

 heaved up and lightened with the frosts of next 

 winter, so that a cane but little stiffer than a stout 



