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V. — An Account of the Application of the Subsoil- Plough to a 

 Dry Soil at Heckfield, Hants. By Charles Shaw Lefevre^ 

 Esq., M.P. Read Feb. 13th, 1839. 



Sir, 



Although the effects of the subsoil-plough in the improve- 

 ment of wet and tenacious soils are well known, I am not aware 

 that any one has as yet applied this valuable implement to soils 

 of a totally opposite character : I will therefore state to you, as 

 briefly as possible, the result of an experiment which I have tried 

 upon land in my own occupation, which has been attended with 

 decided success. 



I have a field of 6 acres, which for many years has been scarcely 

 worth cultivating. It consists of a light sandy soil, from 5 to 7 

 inches in depth, covering a stratum of hard gravel. This stratum 

 varies in depth from 8 to 12 inches; and below it there is a yel- 

 low sand, with a very slight admixture of loam. 



There are no springs in the field ; but, in wet seasons, on those 

 spots where the surface of the field is uneven, the water is retained 

 in pools until it has evaporated. In other parts of the field the same 

 passes off immediately without being retained or absorbed by the 

 subsoil ; and, consequently, in dry seasons the crop is invariably 

 parched and burnt up. 



In the course of the session of 1836 I had an opportunity of 

 hearing the interesting evidence of Mr. Smith, of Deanston, be- 

 fore the Agricultural Committee in the House of Commons, and 

 it then occurred to me to apply the subsoil-plough, which had 

 worked such wonders in a clay-soil, to a dry burning gravel. 



The effect of my experiment will be best explained by a short 

 statement of the produce of the field, for a series of years, up to 

 the present period : — 



Year. Crop. Produce per Acre. 



In 1832 . . . Oats .... 4 sacks. 



1833. . .Turnips . . . Not quite 2 tons. 



1834 . . . Barley . . . Not quite 4 sacks. 



1835 . . . Clover ... 2 tons on the whole field. 



1836 • . . Wheat ... 3 sacks. 



In the autumn of 1836 it was ploughed with the subsoil-plough, 

 at a cost of 30^. per acre. 



1837 . . . Turnips ... 8 tons per acre. 



1838 . . . Barley . . .10 sacks per acre. 



In other respects the land received the same treatment during the 

 whole of this time. There is at present a fine plant of Dutch 

 clover in the ground, which promises to prove an excellent crop. 



I am. Sir, your obedient servant, 



Charles Shaw Lefevre. 



