130 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



ing, that which is effected by means of tiles is un- 

 questionably the most efficient and economical. 

 The work is much more speedily performed, and 

 there is little or no danger of a failure. The dura- 

 bility of good draining tile and the perfect maimer 

 in which they are introduced, obviates many of the 

 unpleasant and expensive contingencies attending 

 the introduction and use of other materials, espe- 

 cially, stone, brick and wood. With a proper de- 

 scent, they rarely choke, and being remarkably hard 

 and impervious to water, and proof against the 

 chemical action of the soil, do not admit of the 

 escape of the water, but conduct it off without al- 

 lowing a particle to escape. 



The importance of drainage is sufficient to re- 

 commend its adoption, upon practical principles, 

 by every person who has stiff, wet lands to improve. 

 For an excess of moisture prevents the process of 

 decay, or the decomposition of the organic matters 

 in the soil, and thus cuts off a regular supply of 

 food from the growing crops. Not only the swamps 

 and low lands require it, but there is much other 

 land which is too wet in the early part of the season, 

 or on which there are springs that saturate the sur- 

 face. Such lands may be hard, and may even bear 

 ploughing, yet they are both cold and sour, and 

 require to be thoroughly drained. 



Very low, peaty, or mucky lands, which are af- 

 fluent in. soluble matters, are very valuable under 

 a judicious system of improvement, of which drain- 

 ing must be regarded as the primary or initial step. 

 By the removal of stagnant water from these lands, 

 and thereby the prevention of noxious exhalations, 

 the climate is rendered more healthy and genial, 

 both to animal and vegetable life. Indeed, since 

 the introduction of draining in the tide water re- 

 gion of this State, agues and fevers, occasioned by 

 the humidity of the soil and the consequent impu- 

 rity of the atmosphere, have been in a great mea- 

 sure prevented, and the health of the inhabitants 

 improved. 



The next important "means to be used" in im- 

 proving and enriching poor land, is deep plough- 

 ing and thorough pulverization of the "soil. Most 

 lands that have become impoverished, by culti- 

 vation, have been reduced to sterility by shal- 

 low ploughing, and the consequent washing away 

 of the soil, rather than by the exhaustion of the 

 powers of production by the growth of crops. 

 For it is a well attested fact that, a larger por- 

 tion of the vegetable matter of an improperly 

 ploughed soil is carried off by the dashing rains of 

 summer than has ever been used in the production 

 of crops ; or should it not be carried off the ground, 

 remains to settle into a compact impervious mass, ] 

 of little use in supplying moisture or nourishment 

 to the roots of plants. The great benefit derived 

 from the retention of moisture in the ground, in 

 order to its improvement as well as in regard to the 

 production of crops, has, no doubt, been exempli- 

 fied in the experience of all practical farmers in 

 tracing the covered drains through their fields, by 

 the greater luxuriance of the vegetation over or 

 near them. Most of the rain that falls during the 

 summer months is in hasty showers ; therefore, when 

 land is well pulverized, say to the depth of eight 

 or ten inches, it will not only receive, but retain a 

 much larger amount of water than such as has re- 

 ceived but -a superficial ploughing. The more tho- 

 roughly land is ploughed, the better chance there 

 is for a good crop, no matter what it is — for when 

 land is completely pulverized, the weeds can be 

 more easily destroyed; the earth itself retains more 



moisture than when badly wrought and cloddy, and 

 it is in a better condition to receive any and all ma- 

 nures, and of rendering them available to the crop. 

 The subject of ploughing does not receive that at- 

 tention from farmers to which it is entitled. The 

 practical part no tiller of the soil will hesitate to 

 perform, but the theory also should be properly 

 understood in order to avoid the evils resulting 

 from the skinning process so generally pursued. 

 Deep ploughing is absolutely necessary in the cul- 

 tivation of all crops, especially corn — the extension 

 of its roots, the amount of moisture to be supplied, 

 the constant supply of oxygen to act upon the hu- 

 mus of the soil, converting it into carbonic acid, 

 together with the inorganic elements required for 

 its formation, are all promoted by deep ploughing. 

 By deep ploughing a new surface is brought up to 

 be acted upon, and more of the inorganic and or- 

 ganic elements of the soil, which have been dor- 

 mant and entirely useless to crops, are brought into 

 requisition, and the land itself thereby improved. 

 In a recent communication from a distinguished 

 farmer in answer to some queries in regard to 

 ploughing, he says : " For about fifteen years I have 

 been ploughing as deep as I could on the farm 

 where I now reside, without having, in a single in- 

 stance, injured the crop or land; and more than 

 this, I have in the mean time restored the land 

 from the most extreme state of poverty to that of 

 at least good farming land." Stiff clay fields that 

 are intended for spring crops should be ploughed 

 every opportunity through the winter, when the 

 ground is not wet, taking care to lap the furrow 

 slices so that the water which falls may find drains 

 beneath them to carry it off. The action of frost will 

 have a tendency to break down the tenacity of such 

 soils, and greatly improve their texture. Nothing 

 is better calculated than exposure to freezings and 

 thawings, (after winter ploughing, when effectually 

 done at a time when the land is not saturated with 

 water,) to effect this desirable object. If ploughed 

 when wet the object will not only be defeated, but 

 the soil will remain in a bad condition throughout 

 the season. Where a tenacious stiff substratum 

 lies near the surface, so that the roots of the crops 

 will come in contact with it, and the growth of the 

 plants be thereby impeded, subsoiling, or trench- 

 ploughing, should be resorted to, and will be found 

 entirely successful in the amelioration of the land 

 as well as of great benefit to the crops. Harrow- 

 ing, which is intimately connected with ploughing, 

 is one of the most important operations, and one 

 not sufficiently attended to. I contend that all 

 lands should be thoroughly harrowed before being 

 cultivated in any crop. It is from deep spading 

 and harrowing that gardeners depend mainly for the 

 successful cultivation of vegetables. Although 

 they may use many different and useful manures 

 to the greatest extent, yet they know that if the 

 tilth is shallow and the harrowing imperfect, the 

 product of their crops will be short, and especially 

 so in a time of drought. 



The third and last "means to be used" by the 

 farmer in improving and enriching poor land which 

 I shall mention, is the extermination of briers and 

 sassafras sprouts. This is one" of the most difficult 

 and disagreeable operations the farmer has to per- 

 form in the improvement of his land. The diffi- 

 culty of their extirpation has long been a barrier 

 to the successful cultivation of crops. Indeed, I 

 consider them more formidable as foes to improve- 

 ment than broomsedge and poverty grass. Many 

 unavailing remedies have been prescribed for these 



