November, 1908.] 



Scientific Agriculture, 



amount of water eva"porated from a soil 

 ploughed by an E-tglish plough and one 

 ploughed by the native implement? 



In the one case the organic matter of 

 the previous crop residue would be more 

 or less deeply buried, and in the other 

 practically left on the surface to act as 

 mulch. 



With years of tilling with the native 

 plough, and the consequent accumu- 

 lation of organic matter on the soil 

 surface, which might be expected up to 

 a certain point, the beneficial mulching 

 effect might also be expected. 



I should like to hear of some farmer 

 using the native and an American or 

 English plough on two separate areas, 

 under similar conditions, over a number 

 of years, and noting the practical effect 

 on his crops, and if he or some one in- 

 terested would like to go further into 

 the matter and had tlie necessary skill 

 and apparatus, a set of borings of these 

 lauds could be taken aud the amounts 

 of moisture in them ascertained and 

 compared at intervals. 



The borings might be taken at different 

 depths ; regular intervals of time ; of 

 cropped and uncropped areas ; and other 

 points may require attention. 



The above, however, are mere sugges- 

 tions. 



Besides conservation of moisture, there 

 appears to me another good effect to be 

 got by not inverting too thoroughly the 

 residue of the previous crop, and that is 

 the prevention to some extent of the 

 formation of that extremely hard layer, 

 otten not more than a quarter inch 

 thick, which forms on the surface of 

 stiff soils, or even on light ones if there 

 is a tendency to efflorescence of white 

 salts. These salts, though present in 

 the soil in such small quantity as not to 

 be directly very harmful to vegetation, 

 may, when collected at the surface by 

 evaporation, cement the particles of the 

 upper quarter-inch of even a light soil 

 till it has almost the consistency of rock 

 and completely strangles vegetation. 



The formation of this hard layer may, 

 by this practice, be modified partly by 

 the lesser concentration of salts at the 

 surface owing to the mulch, and partly 

 to the greater admixture of organic 

 matter of previous crop residues in the 

 upper layer of the soil where the salts 

 concentrate. 



I have never seen the surface of a 

 slightly saltish soil in which there is an 

 excess of organic matter harden as I 

 have seen that of even an extremely 

 light sandy one, 

 59 



In the event of there being anything 

 in this idea that the native plough tends 

 to conserve moisture and pi event caking 

 of the surface soil more than an Ameri- 

 can or English plough does, it, does not 

 mean, I hope, that the native plough 

 will be left in undisturbed possession of 

 the field. 



To me the native plough appears an 

 implement with a good deal to recom- 

 mend it to the native agriculturist. 



Its low initial cost ; the almost impossi- 

 bility of breaking it ; the ease with 

 which it can be repaired if it is broken j 

 its compatatively wonderful effective- 

 ness when properly handled, and other 

 advantages, all stand in its favour, but 

 I think there are other implements 

 already in the market, or which could 

 be made, which could replace it to 

 some extent with advantage to the 

 farmer. 



The native plough, as I have said, 

 differs essentially from the British idea 

 of a " plough," in that it does not turn 

 the furrow, and appears to me to be 

 more comparable to the implement 

 called a "cultivator." 



This suggests to me that a good strong 

 implement of this type, having not too 

 many " tines " or " teeth," so that the 

 draught would not be too heavy for two 

 bullocks, might replace it with advant« 

 age, at least in some tillage operationSi 

 and give practically the same effect as 

 regards the inverting of the soil as the 

 native plough does. 



Some of the advantages of the " culti= 

 vator" are :— H iving a number of tines 

 set iu a frame at regular distances, there 

 is less chance of patches of the land 

 being "missed" by careless workmen. 



A much greater area is covered ; a 

 point which in these days of scarcity of 

 labour is worth considering, and they 

 are simple enough to be worked and 

 understood by anyone. 



The repairing of these implements is, 

 I know, a difficulty, as also their initial 

 cost, but these difficulties will tend to 

 lessen in time. 



As more iron implements are brought 

 into use, the blacksmith will become 

 more common in the community, aud as 

 the calls for his services to repair such 

 implements become more frequent, his 

 knowledge of them will increase as well 

 as his stock of necessaries for their 

 repairs, and with these the present 

 difficulty of the rayat will lessen. 



The difficulty of the initial cost will 

 diminish when it is proved that the 

 implements are worth the money, 



