163 
THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR, 
age; and several of ihe hands died on ihe pas- 
sage ot debility and inanition. The ship was 
obligetl to come to anchor thirty miles below 
Providence; and such was the debility ot the 
men on bo.Hrd, that they were not able to gel the 
ship under weigh again, and the owners were 
un.ler the necessity of sending men down from 
Providence. When she arrived, the owners 
asked Capt. De.xter what was the cause cl the 
“sickness of liis men. He replied, “• The bread 
was too good.” 
From Colman’s Agricultural Tour, No. 5. 
Geaeral Rules for Plowing. 
The depth of plowing, the width of the fur- 
row-slice, the number of plowings which should 
be given to land, and the season at which it 
should be executed, depend on such a variety ot 
circumstances that it would be difficult to pre- 
scribe any universal rules. 
The objects of plowing are, to loosen the soil 
and to render it permeable to the roots of plants 
that they may extend themselves for nourish- 
ment and support; to make it accessible to the 
air and tain, from which, according to modern 
theories, it gathers both oxygen and ammonia 
for the food of plants; and lastly, to give an op- 
portunity ot incorporating manures with the 
soil for their support and growth. It has ano- 
ther object, of course, where greensward is turn ■ 
ed over, which is, to bury the herbage then on 
the ground, and substitute other plants. 
The depth ot plovving var ies in different soils 
and for different purposes. The average depth 
may be considered as five inches, but no direc- 
tion on this subject will be found universally 
applicable. Three of the most eminent practi- 
cal farmers with whom I am acquainted here, 
plow not more than three inches; but the sur- 
face mould in these cases is very thin, and the 
under stratum is a cold, clammy chalk. One 
farmer whose cultivation is successlul, and who 
cultivates “ a light, poor, thin, moory soil, wi.h 
a subsoil of either blue or white clay, peat, or 
white gravel,” carefully avoids breaking up the 
cold subsoil, and cuts up the sward with a breast 
plow, which is a kind of paring spade , and af- 
ter burning the turf and spreading the ashes 
with a due application of artificial manu-re, 
consisting of equal quantities of lime, wood 
and turf ashes, at the rate of sixty bushels to 
the acre, and sowing turnip seed, cultivates be- 
tween the rows with a single horse plow, which 
cannot, of course, take a deep furrow. The 
second year of the course, when he sows wheat, 
he plows it very lightly with a horse, after hav 
ing first breast-plowed it, so as thoroughly to 
cover in the manure which the sheep who have 
been folded upon the land have left upon it. 
The third year it is breast-plowed, sown in tur- 
nips, and cultivated between the rows with a 
horse, as belore described. The fourth year it 
is simply breast-plowed for barley. The filth 
and SIX years it is in grass. Thus, in the whole 
course of a si^ years’ rotation, this land is only 
plowed four times by men, and three times with 
a single horse plow. Another farmer in the 
same neighborhood says that, upon this descrip- 
tion of land, any other than the breast-plow 
would not leave the ground sufficiently firm for 
wheat. Mr. Pusey, M. P., whose excellently 
managed farm 1 have had the pleasure of re- 
peatedly going over, in remarking on the above 
accounts, says, “occupying similar land, I may 
add that I never plow it deeply but I repent of 
so doing, and am falling more and more each 
year, by the advice of neighboring farmers, in- 
to the use of the breast-plow, instead of the 
horse-plow. This manual labor is quite as 
cheap, for a good workman can pare such hol- 
low tender land at 4s., or even 3s. per acre. It 
is possible that the drought of our climate in 
Gloucestershire and Berkshire, may be one 
cause of the success of this practice in those 
counties, and that the same soil if transferred to 
Westmoreland, would require deeper working. 
Therefore, without recommending shallow cul- 
tivation in districis where deep plowing has 
been hitherto practiced, I would merely warn 
beginners against plunging recklessly into the 
subsoil.” i hese examples are certainly well 
worth considering. I do not understand that 
these practices at all miliiate against the doc- 
trine of the ad vantages to be obtained from sub- 
soiling. In cases where subsoiling and tho- 
rough draining are not applied, this shallow 
plowing may be preferred, as the mingling of 
the cold ami inert subsoil with so thin a surface 
ot vegetable mould would doubtless be prejudi- 
cial, at least fir a length of time; but the im- 
provement of such land by a system of thorough 
draining and subsciling is another matter to 
which 1 shall refer in its proper place. There 
are considerable tracts of this moorish land — 
that is, a thin, black, coarse peat, not half de- 
composed, resting upon a cold and hard pan of 
gravel or clay, or what some persons have rais- 
Faken for marl, in Massachusetts and other 
parts ol the country, the improvement of which, 
so far as my experience has gone, has been al- 
most hopeless. 
While upon this subject, 1 may as w'ell give 
the results of the management of the first farm- 
er referred to, and therefore subjoin them. “By 
this mode of management an economical sys- 
tem is follo'ved up through the whole course, 
by being nearly all performed by manual labor, 
by which means a remunerating crop will be 
produced, and the land always kept firm, which 
is the only difficulty to be overcome on this de- 
scription of soil. The farm when first taken 
by me was wet; as much out of condition, and 
as light and weak as it well could be— parts of 
it being merely held together by the roots of 
grass and weeds natural to moory land, but 
which must be very prejudicial to the produc- 
tion of those crops that are to benefit the farm- 
er. I commenced by draining, and then pur- 
sued the foregoing system ot cultivai ion, by 
which my most sanguine expectations have 
been realized, though I was told 'hat the land 
would be too light and too poor to plant wheat 
after turnips. I have never found any ill ef- 
fects from paring and burning, experience hav- 
ing taught me that it produces a manure par- 
ticularly beneficial to the growth of turnips ; 
thereby enabling me to firm the land by sheep.” 
This farmer speaks or performing a great por- 
tion ot his work with manual labor. I think 
some part of it might rather be called pedestri- 
an than manual; lor, if he plow's his land by 
men he treads it out by women. He says, “ be- 
fore the horse-roll can be used, I send women 
to tread it, and if occasion require, tread it again, 
after which, I have it iw'ice hoed. I have found 
more benefit from this mode ol pressing than 
any other, being done at a time when wheat, on 
this description of soil, requires assistance.”* 
I have found other farmers, who, w'ith their 
wheat crops on light, chalky soils, plowed in a 
very shallow manner, and then were accustom- 
ed to tread their land with sheep, in order to 
give the wheat plant a firmer footing ; as, other- 
wise, in a veiy light soil, it might be thrown 
out by the wind. These cases, however, must 
all be deemed exceptiuiis, and the general rule 
in England, where the soil admits ol it, and ma- 
nure is abundant, is that of rather deep plowing. 
Five or six inches is the average depth, in ma- 
nycases much more than this. The loam, or 
vegetable mould, is, wilhoui question, the great 
source or medium of nourishment to the plants. 
Be it niore or less deep, it is always safe to go 
to the bottom ol this, and, by gradually loosen- 
ing a portion of the subsoil or lower stratum. 
* Tin’s is a use lo which women have not as yet been 
put in our “ half-civilized” country. I dare say, how- 
ever, many persons think that it is very well to make 
such clever animals serviceable; their “keep,” agri- 
culturally speaking, is somewhat expensive ; and, as 
they have their share in the pleasure of consuming, 
they may as well lake their part in the labor of pro- 
ducing. Whatever any persons may think, however, 
1 will say no such uncivil thing ; but since the celebra- 
ted danseuse Fanny Ellsler, returned from the United 
States, after a two years’ tour, with a gain of twenty 
thousand pounds, or one hundred thousand dollars, it 
cannot be denied that the Americans are quiie willing 
to pay for the use of women’s feet — in a way, we ad- 
mit, more elegant, tasteful and classical, but certainly 
not more respectable, and not half as useful, as that of 
treading the wheal ground. 
and incorporating it with the mould, and render- 
ing it accessible to the air and light, it acquires 
the r attire of mould, and the whole arable sur- 
face is enriched. The deeper the soil the more 
deeply the roots are permitted to descend, and 
the more widely they are enabled to spread 
themselves— unless they penetrate a substratum 
unhealthy from wet or the too great prevalence 
of some unfavorable m ineral substances — so 
u’luch the more luxuriant and productive is the 
vegetation likely to prove. The depth to which 
the roots of plants will go down in search of 
food or moisture, where the soil is in a condi- 
tion to be penetrated by them is much greater 
than a superficial observation would induce us 
to suppose. It is confidently asserted that the 
roots of some plants— such, for example, as 
lucerne and sainfoin — go to a depth of fifteen, 
twenty, and even thirty feet. This seems scarce- 
ly credible. Red clover is known to extend its 
roots to the depth ol three feet, and wheat to the 
depth of two or three feet, where the condition 
of the soil is favorable to their extension. Von 
Thaer, the distinguished agriculturist, says, 
“he has pulled carrots two and a half feet long, 
the tap-root of which was probably another loot 
in length.” The tap-root of a Swedish turnip 
has been known to extend thirty-nine inches; 
the roots of Indian C-Tn lull six feet. These 
statements may appear extraordinary; but, by 
the free and loose texture of the soil, it is obvi- 
ous a good hnsbandman will give every oppor- 
tunity tor the root® and their extremely fine fi- 
bres, to extend themselves as far as their in- 
stincts may prortipt them. 
Next to the depth of plowing the width of the 
furrow-slice is to be considered. This, of 
course, depends mainly upon the cons'ruction 
of the plow. A plow with a wide sole or base, 
in the hands ot a skillful plowman, may be 
made to cut a narrow furrow-slice; but a nar- 
row soled plow cannot be made to cut a wide 
lurrow-slicej though it may sometimes appearlo 
do so by leaving a part of the ground unturned, 
which the furrow-slice is made to cover. Where, 
as in old plowed land, the object is solely to 
leave the ground loose and light, it is advisable 
to take a very narrow furrow. Where, other- 
wise, the object is lo move greensward or stub- 
ble ground, and to cover in the vegetable mat- 
ter, such a width of furrow must be taken as 
w'ill cause ihe slice, as it is raised by the share, 
to turn over easily. This width may generally 
be reckoned at nearly twice the depth, though 
less will answer; but a furrow-slice of equal 
sides w'ould not turn but stand on end. The 
manner in which the furrow-slice will be turned 
depends somewhat upon the form of the mould- 
board, but more, in general, upon the skill of 
the plowman. Two modes are adopted; the 
one to lay the furrow-slice entirely flat, shut- 
ting its edge exactly in by the edge of its neigh- 
bor; the other, to lay it at an inclination of 45 
degrees, lapping the one upon the other. The 
former mode, where land is to be sown with 
grass seed, and, as the phrase is with us, laid 
down, is undoubtedly to be preferred. Perhaps, 
in any case where a grain crop is lo be cultiva- 
ted it should be preferred, as its beneficial ef- 
fects have been well tested in the United States. 
IntheUni'ed States, however, from a higher 
temperature, the vegetable matter thus pressed 
down may be expected sooner to be decompos- 
ed, and thus sooner furnish a pabulum for the 
growing plants, than in a climate where, in a 
much low'er and more even temperature, the 
decomposition cannot be expected to take place 
so rapidly. lu other cases, and for vegetable 
crops— 1 mean in contra-distinction to grain 
crops— a different mode of plowing, that is, lay- 
ing the furrow-slices one upon the other at an 
angle of 45 degrees, or hall turned over, would 
leave the ground more loose, as well as expose 
a larger surface of the inverted soil to be en rich- 
ed by the air. In this way, by harrowing and 
rolling, the vegetable matter will be completely 
buried.” This mode oi plowing is evidently 
preferred throughout the country, as I have sel- 
dom seen the sward completely inverted and 
laid flat, though! know the practice prevails in 
