4G Some of the Agricultural Lessons of 1868. 
is iindrained, and usually much injured by the retention of the surface 
water, has not suffered this season. There are many marked instances of this 
Iciud within my liuowledge. It is probable that the croji, on undrained 
heavy land, is so much the greater this year because of the small amount .of 
25lant-food removed by the small crops of ordinary years. — As regards steam 
cultivation deep tillage must be useless in many cases ; for instance on thin 
chalks, and — si)eaking of anything over the usual depth of good cultivation, 
say C) inches or 8 inches — I have found it so on poor clays, sand clays, gravel 
clays, and soils generally with poor subsoils. Such soils are often improved 
under deep cultivation, subsoiling, &c., with high farming ; but would they 
not have been equally improved by the high farming without the deep 
cultivation? Has the latter paid its cost? In many cases I believe not. 
The crops have been increased by a variety of means on my farm, and deep 
cultivation by steam, by plough, and by spade, has been tried without distinct 
benefit. A friend who farms on the chalk, — which is covered, however, by 
several feet of earth of very mixed character, varying from light land to stiff 
clay, — subsoiled a strip across a large field, cutting through his mixed soils ; 
no benefit was observed. On the adjoining farm subsoiling was practised on a 
large scale without advantage — no experiments could be more comprehensive 
and conclusive or adverse to deep cultivation on that land. A field of mixed 
loamy land in this neighbourhood was partly cultivated, and in dry weather, 
by steam, during an agricultural meeting. A subsoiler made very deep and 
efficient work, but the subsequent crops have not been the better for the 
operation. Deep cultivation by the spade, in cottagers' gardens, would tell a 
diiferent tale if it were not for the pig, the road scrapings, the ashes, the night 
sou, and the enormous dressings which follow the spade." 
I do not think tliat eitlier tlie facts or the opinions here 
advanced can outweigh the evidence already given in favour of 
deep drainage and deep tillage, supported as that is by the enor- 
mous probability in favour of the deeper, fuller storehouse of 
food for plants outlasting any other during an exhausting drought. 
Among the facts are the history of Mr. Read's lower marsh 
and his instances of injury from deep spring cultivation — Mr. 
Rowley's case of turnip failure, last year, after steam-cultivation 
during the previous autumn ; and his general observation of the 
failure of 4 - foot drainage — also Mr. Evershed's example of 
superior wheat, last year, from water-sopped clay land ; and his 
instances of the failure of deep cultivation on various soils. 
Amongst the opinions are Mr. Rowley's impression that there is 
a greater amount of evaporation from lands that are deeply stirred 
and cultivated ; and Mr. Evershed's idea that poor wet clays 
benefit in drought, owing to their ordinary yield having been a 
comparatively small draught upon their resources. 
Mr. Read's marsh land most likely benefited by the higher 
" water-table " underneath it, due to standing water in its neigh- 
bourhood ; and his experience of the advantages of deep culti- 
vation, properly conducted, is perfectly consistent with the fact 
that it has been found injurious to the current crop to plough up 
soil and subsoil in the spring of the year. Mr. Rowley's instance 
of a total failure of the turnip-crop, last year, cannot be considered 
