Arable Lands in Dry Climates. 
339 
Presuming that a farm is in such a state of cleanliness that 
there is no real mass of couch anywhere, autumn ploughing 
should be as deep as the nature of the soil will admit of. If 
the subsoil is very poor or stubborn, subsoil ploughing, or 
stirring, is preferable to a very deep furrow, which would bring 
too much inferior soil to the surface. Subsoiling always does 
good if the land is quite dry, or at least dry enough to crumble 
to pieces as the plough works through it. Like every other 
operation, however, subsoiling may be attempted at a wrong 
time, and mischief naturally follows. I have erred in this way 
more than once, and have seen frequent instances of failure 
resulting from subsoiling when the land was too wet, and after 
being cut up by the share fall closely down again and made a 
mess of by the horses' feet. Land can seldom be suited for 
subsoiling after the middle of November, and not often so 
late in the season as this. Yet how many have continued this 
work during the whole winter? 
With a good strength upon a farm, one field might be subsoil- 
ploughed every ordinary autumn, until the whole of the arable 
land has been stirred to a depth of at least a foot. After this 
the depth of the surface furrow should be increased gradually at 
every rotation for green cropping. It is quite an exception for 
land to be ploughed deeper than from four to five inches. Now, 
instead of this, if the soil be deepened to eight inches by degrees, 
the increased power it will have for retaining moisture will 
be very great, and the chance of obtaining heavy crops of all 
kinds increased in like proportion. It must, however, be 
assumed that the due manuring of the land must also be 
attended to. 
Autumn dunging for green crops on all clay soils or stiff 
loams is also much to be recommended. All soils dunged in 
autumn or winter retain moisture better for use in dry weather 
than such as are undunged. Indeed, there are some soils so 
very retentive of moisture, after winter manuring, that it would 
be better avoided, especially if the land contains any couch 
which requires getting out in spring. Any good system may 
be abused at times, and there is nothing much worse than 
dunging foul land at any time. There are many good plans 
carried out systematically, such as subsoil ploughing, deep 
ordinary ploughing, dunging in autumn, &c., when every circum- 
stance is suitable ; but on the other hand, any of these operations 
may be carried on improperly, — loss, coupled with disappoint- 
ment, being the natural result. 
Light sandy soils, and all such as are usually known by the 
name of light soils, should not, I think, be dunged in winter. I 
have seen better crops of roots grown after dunging in June than 
