32 



On Subsoil- Ploughing. 



hollows appeared to be a black vegetable mouldy extending to a 

 considerable depth ; in some places peaty, in all containing a large 

 proportion of inert vegetable matter. 



Upon considering the character of this tract of land, I thought 

 that the principle of subsoiling would be equally applicable to 

 the light sandy hillocks and the marshy levels. Upon the higher 

 grounds it was obvious that, when under cultivation, the sun had 

 very great power over the 6 or 8 inches of stirred soil, and that 

 thus vegetation was either burnt up, or, if a strong ground-wind 

 came, there was danger of the contents of one field being blown 

 into another. If, therefore, by stirring to the depth of 16 instead 

 of 6 inches, a greater volume of soil could be obtained, the power 

 of retaining moisture would be proportionally increased, although 

 the constituent parts of the surface remained unaltered ; for I never 

 contemplated that which by some is confounded with, and by 

 others preferred to, subsoiling ; I mean trench-ploughing. I 

 am of opinion that, in very few cases, if any, is the soil underneath 

 more fitted for vegetation than that of the surface ; least of all in 

 a case like the present : a hungry ferruginous subsoil could be 

 no amendment upon a surface however sterile. Experience has 

 shown that this theory is correct, and that on sandy soils the ad- 

 vantage to be derived from subsoiling is from obtaining a greater 

 depth, and consequently a greater power to absorb moisture. On 

 the level marshy portions of this tract the benefits, though not so 

 obvious in theory, have proved equally clear in practice. The 

 subsoil-plough has broken through the mass of tough vegetable 

 matter, tearing up the roots of rushes and other fen weeds, which 

 were beyond the reach of the common plough. 



My first operation was to carry a main drain through the whole 

 estate, and this was not only an expensive job, but one also which 

 required considerable precision ; for upon the accuracy of its level 

 depended the success of the whole drainage. Nor, when the 

 drain was made and the surface water conveyed away, was half 

 the requisite treatment effected ; for it proved that the sandy eleva- 

 tions, of which I have so often spoken, were the receptacles of 

 springs, so that in the whole of the estate I purchased, though 

 termed a sandy waste, there was hardly a single acre which did 

 not require draining previous to subsoiling. 



^'^ The main open drain being carried through, the next thing 

 was to make main hollow drains leading into it, bottomed with 

 tiles, of the width and height of 6 inches, and covered with a sod 

 4 inches thick, taken from the nearest hedge -side. I prefer sod 

 to sticks, ling, or straw, for it allows the water to percolate freely 

 and does not shrink. The depth of these leading tiled drains 

 varies much, according to the undulations of the surface. In some 

 cases it was necessary to cut them between 6 and 7 feet deep, — 



