THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 53 
Fr<)m the Chirlestoii Mercury. 
To tlie Planters anti Farmers of South 
Carolina. 
. At the late meeting of the State Agricultural 
Society, the following Resolution was adopted, 
viz: fnat the Pre>ident be requested to com- 
municate to the public before the planting sea- 
son, such information as he may possess, or 
which it may be in Iris power to collect, in re- 
lation to toe means of modifying the effects of 
druugat on injian Corn and other provisions.” 
It is necessary tor me to premise, that what 1 
shall say concerning the use ot the plow is main- 
ly derivative. From several causes, the plant 
ers of the Sea Islands are but slightly acquaint- 
ed, in practice, with the value of that great 
implement. To give the experience of the 
highest authorities is, iherc-fore, on my pait, an 
imperaMve obligation. It is proper also I 
should in this place observe that, in consequence 
of assiduous endeavo''s to ■ btaiii lads Irom sup- 
posed reliable sources, in which 1 have signal- 
ly lailed, this communication, which would 
have oeen made at a much earlier period, has 
been delaved, but not so late, it is hoped, as to be 
wholly unprofitable. 
Satisfactorily to elucidate the matter of the 
Resolution would involve a minute examina- 
tion of many ol me topics connected with the 
science of hasbandry. As I am certain, how- 
ever, it was not designed or intended that my 
remarks should take so wide a scope, I shall 
only brielly advert to tiiose princioles and ihei- 
operation upon which some of the most valua- 
ble results in husbandry rest. 
Ail the earths have a considerable attraction 
for the fluid which- the atmosphere contains. 
The very best soils possess this power in the 
highest degree; hence, it may wiih certainty 
be assumed, that the measure of their I'erliliiy 
depends chiefly on their capacity to absorb mois- 
ture. In determining their value, however, on 
that head, two other properiies have to be noticed 
— ihequm.tity of water which is essential to 
their.saiuration, and their power of retaining it. 
In all these respects, clay and sand occupy an- 
tagonistic relations. '1 he lormer imbibes ihe 
aqueo is vapors like a sponge, and pans with 
them reluctantly; when dry, it constitutes a com- 
pact mass; Irom the closenessof its texture the 
disselveni astion of the air is excluded, and pu- 
trelaclion is retarded. The latter is friable and a 
sceptic; from Ihe solidity of its particles and 
their want oj coherence, water filters easily. 
In the adoption ol expedienis by which to se- 
cure these earths a supply ol moisture, different 
processes, in part only, il is advisable to pur- 
sue. From their predominance in the State, 1 
shall direct my attention prominently to clayey 
or aluminous soils. What then, are the means 
which reason and experience assure us are Ihe 
best calculated to attain the end in view? I 
answer, deep plowing; thorough pulverization 
ol the soil; abundance of manure; and ihe use 
of salt and retentive atmospherical absorbents. 
1. Deep plowing. The roots of plants should 
be allowed to extend themselves in every direc- 
tion. The deeper I he.y } enetrate, and the wider 
their ramifications, the greater vviil be the ab- 
sorption of nourishment. The average depth 
of good soils is about 6 inches. Every inch 
added increases its value 8 per cent. : so that a 
soil where the vegetable layer is 12 inchesthick, 
is worth half as much again as that in which it 
is only six inches.* It is consequently obvious 
that whatever, Irom this cause, may be its en- 
hanced value, if not reached at some time in the 
progress of cultivation, the remainder is in ef- 
fect a caput morluuni. By deep plowing the ca- 
pacity of the whole soil is called lorih. While 
it enables the earth, through the agency ot air 
and water, to inhale atmospherical manure, by 
diminishing the lo'rce of the sun’s rays, it lessens 
materially its exhalations. Should the substra- 
tum, which perhaps in every instance contains 
the principles ol fertility, be broken, still, as a 
general proposition, the most signal benefits, 
prospectively, if not immediately, may confi- 
dently be expected to enure from the operation. 
Deep plowing insures the greatest product from 
the smallest given quantity ol land. 11 by the 
use ot one half of me soil ten bushels ot corn 
per acre be obtained, if is reasonable to infer, 
all other circumstances being equal, that were 
the wh de in tilth, twenty bushels would be har- 
vested: indeed, a much larger quantity ought 
to be me result, lor the deeper the. soil the great- 
er will be ihe number ot stalks, and the larger 
and more numerous the ears. The Maize, 
says Taylor, “ is a little tree,” and possessing 
roots correspondent to its size, penetrates a 
depth almost inciedible — 9 eet, it is known, 
have been reached. It follows that where, 
from Ihe vigor of the plant or the friability of 
ihe land, me roots meet with no obstruction, the 
con>equences of drought will be sensibly di- 
minished, it not entirely prevented. It is be- 
lieved that the rolling ol the leaves ot corn is 
aitribntable solely ro the absence of moisture, 
Tliis is an eiror. Scanty manuring or shallow 
tillage is as often the true cause. 
To render deep plowing* efiecmal, it should 
take place in autumn. The expansive pow'er 
ot frost, and the mollifying influence of air and 
rain, and the action ol these in breaking the 
continuity of fibrous matter, are strong reasons 
in favor of the practice. Whether it should be 
done once in two or three years onlyq which, I 
believe, is the opinion of the most successiul 
farmers ol Great Britain, or annually, as is 
common in parts ot our country, is certainly as 
yet an undetermined point. 
2. Pulverization. I he soil must not only be 
made easily accessible to the descentand spread 
. ot the roots, but there should be such a disinte- 
gration of its parts, as to allow the free trans- 
mi.¥sion of air. However rich in ingredients, 
these afford no nutriment to vegetation, until 
subjected to the. combined action of heat, air 
and moisUrte — the great agents ot decomposi- 
tion. Unless freely supplied with oxygen, the 
remains of animals and vegetables do not de- 
cay, but they undergo putrefaction t “The 
.frequent renewal of air by plowing and the pre- 
paration of the soil, change the putrefaction ol 
the organic constituents into a pure process ol 
oxidation; and from i he moment at which ail 
the organic matter existing in a soil enters into 
a state ol oxidation or decay, its fertility is en- 
hanced.” In a well compounded soil, wa'er is 
presented to the roots by capillary attraction. 
As this increases in proportion to the smallness 
ot the particles ol earth, the advantage of their 
complete pulverization is plain It is equally 
true, that as food lor plants must exist in solu- 
tion, it is requisite to admit water to the roots 
by artificially reducing the compactness of ihe 
soil bv tillage. From Irequent working, there- 
fore, the most favorable results may be antici- 
pated; indeed, it has been well observed, that 
good stirring of the ground in dry weather is 
equal to ashow'er ol rain; for however strange 
it may seem, while it promotes moisture, desic- 
cation is prevented, j^'o aid in the increas.’ 
and preservation of atmospherical vapor, the 
ridge system is especially recommended. The 
breaking up of the old furrows deeply, and mak- 
ing the new ridges on them, by which the two 
interchange places, provide a quantity of finely 
divided earth much greater than what is obtain- 
ed in the ordinary mode. While the coming up 
of the corn is thereby facilitated, and the thrifty 
condition of the young plants secured, the depth 
at which the seeds of grass and weeds are de- 
posited, prevents their germination, except in 
small numbers; hence labor and lime in the 
cultivation ot the crop are saved. In relation to 
maize, the author of “Arator” sums up the ad- 
vantages of high ridges and deep furrows in 
substance as follows: — The roots are never cut 
in one direction, and this great depth ol tilth 
thus early obtained, by superseding the occa- 
sion for deep plowing in the latter period ol its 
gr^'wih saves them in the other. The preserva- 
tion of the roots, and their deeper pasture, ena- 
ble the corn much longer to resist dry weather. 
Litter thrown into the deep furrow upon which 
the list is made, is a reservoir ot moisture, far 
removed Irom evaporation ; within reach of the 
roots which will follow it along the furrows,and 
calculated to feed the plants when in need of 
rain. The dead earth brought up by the plow 
from the deep furrow is deposited on each side 
of It, without hurting the crop on the ridge; 
further by one deep plowing, received by the 
corn, alter it is planted, being bestowed upon it 
whilst it is young, and its roots short, and being 
run nearly a loot from it, the roots of the corn 
in this way escape injury, and the effects of 
drought on the plant being thus lessened, its 
product is increased. 
It would appear from this condensed exposi- 
tion of his views that, in the opinion ot Taylor, 
one plowing only, and that a deep and early 
one, the growing crop requires. To clean and 
pulverize the soil, the harrow, skimmer or culti- 
vator, alone should be used. Each might ad- 
vantageously be resorted to in any stage of its 
growth, but in a parched condition ot the earth 
their reviviscent tendency would then clearly 
demand it. 
With regard to sweet potatoes, the plow may 
most profitably be employed at any lime. 
When the shoots begin to wither break up the 
space between the hills or ridges by running 
four fur.rows. The newly turned earth will be 
found wet in the morning, while before no mois- 
ture had been apparent. In a few days the 
leaves from being brown or yellow will assume 
a greenish hue, and new shoots ordinarily may 
be expected to follow. 
3. Manure. The fertility of the soil is the 
first object to be attained by the farmer. For 
their dividing properties, all fossil manures are 
hishly esteemed. Deep plowing and lime, un- 
aided by organic matter, it is well attested, have 
renovated lands, that in the judgment of the 
former proprietors, w'ere not worth the labor of 
cultivation. In reference to the special matter 
under consideration, a judicious mixture of soils 
is of primary importance. Clay applied to 
sand assists it in retaining manure, and receiv- 
ing the vaporized water oi the atmosphere. To 
allow the fibres of plants to shoot freely, clay, 
sand and liii.e, acting mechanically by their 
mixture, are mutual manures to each other. 
Burnt clay may beneficially be substituted for 
sand. 
It has already been observed, that pulverized 
earth has a strong attraction lor atmospheric 
vapor, and this increases in proportion to the 
minuteness into which the particles are divided ; 
but as the power of the most fertile soils, in this 
respect, is inferior to that of even the worst or- 
dinary manure, it is evident, that “for the mere 
purpose of withstanding long continued dry 
weather, those plants whose roots have imme- 
diate access to organic manures, will be much 
better enabled to absorb the necessary supplies 
ol atmospheric moistui’e, than those merely ve- 
getating in the unmanured soil;” hence, when- 
ever fertilizers are employed in anticipation of 
drought, or to miiigate its evils, in either case, 
the good to flow from their application to corn, 
will depend in a high degree upon their abun- 
dance, and the materials that compose them. 
The richer the ingredients and larger the quan- 
tity the more decided will be the benefit. Sup- 
pose in a propitious season one acre, judicious- 
ly manured, to yieid 50 busfiels, and five acres 
ol the same natural, strength, unassisted by art, 
10 bushels per acre; experiments and practice 
prove that in a drought, the lormer will produce 
generally not five fold, but seven or eight times 
as much as the latter. 1 may indeed assert, 
that the difference in product will be commen- 
surate with the heat and dryness of the weather. 
Whether manures should be buried deep or 
shallow, or lie on the surface, and whether they 
should be spread in a rotted or unrotted state, 
are questions which the occasion does not re- 
quire me to investigate. The tendency of de- 
composing animal and vegetable matter is to 
rise in the atmosphere ; of fossil manures to 
sink. As it is known that coarse litter is better 
'Thaer. 
‘ fchov.t 12 inches. 
t Liebig. 
