SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
277 
& FLOW FOE DEEP TILLAGE— TO “J. F. »L” AOT) 
OTHEES. 
BorroRs Southbrn Cultiyator— I obseryed in the July 
samber of your journal a communication from “J. F. 
M.** dated at Port Gibson, Miss., making inquiries for 
“gome good Plow with which we can fallow our ground 
to the depth of some 8 or 10 inches.” For his informa- 
ton as well as any others who might be influenced by my 
judgment, I will state that I believe 1 can recommend one 
which will fully answer their wishes. This plow, I be- 
lieve, I introduced into this section of the country, and 
through my recommendation several hundred have been I 
sold, and all whom I have heard express their opinion 
speak very favorably of them. They are manufactured by 
Messrs. Garrett & Cottman, Cincinnati, Ohio, and 
numbered from 1 to 8. The No. 1 is for one horse and 
No. 2 for two horses to cultivate w'ith after breaking up. 
1 use No. 7 to break up my land and it turns a furrow at 
least 12 inches deep and 10 or 12 inches wide. To do this 
in a proper manner, I use three strong mules abreast. 
They are attached to the plow by means of a treble-tree, 
which is ironed at each end also about a third of the way 
from one end, and consequently two-thirds from the other. } 
This last is attached to the clevis. A double-tree having 
2 single-trees is attached to the short end and a single-tree 
to the long end. These must be constructed in good pro- 
portion, so as to allow the mules to travel with ease, 
and the ablest and most experienced men to do the plow- 
ing. These plows measure, from the bottom of the share 
to the bottom of the beam, 17 inches, so that, with the 
learn and hand which I have described, a furrow' of from 
12 to 13 inches deep can be turned without any difiiculty. 
Care, however, must be taken that the furrow is turned 
full and complete, that a track may be made for the suc- 
ceeding furrow. 
Land, however, that has a compact or clayey subsoil, 
and has never been plowed deep, it probably would be 
difficult to plow 12 inches deep at first. In that case it 
probably would be best to get down gradually to the re- 
quired depth. I do my breaking up usually immediately 
after a hard rain when the subsoil is saturated with water, 
but of course the land not too wet to do good plowing. I 
use no plows but those having “steel moulds,” which I 
consider a very important desideratum. When I w’ish to 
break up solid, it is done in “Lands” of widths which are 
not inconvenient, say 12 or 15 yards. When I wish to 
plow by row's, two or three furrows are turned in the 
water furrow with a No. 2 plow, then the ridge plowed out 
with a No. 7. 
Although the share of this plow can be repaired as easy 
as any, it is important, to keep them in 'good order, that 
none but an experienced blacksmith be allowed to work on 
them, that their original form may be maintained. Then 
Avith proper care, they W'lll do’ good service four or five 
years. 
I formerly used subsoil plows, but have abandoned 
them, preferring the foregoing method for different reasons 
in breaking my soil. 
Any further information on this subject required, I will 
readily give. 
I am your friend and obedient servant, 
W. Wmqox, M.D. 
finest Feliciana, La., July, 1855. 
1 TREATMENT OF PKAIEIE LAND, OE PLOWING IN 
DEY WEATHER. 
[ Editors Southern Cultivator — I have written to 
I you before about theoretical farming. What I shall say here 
I will be exclusively on Prairie land. I have been taught 
' from my earliest recollection to the present time, that 
plowing land in dry weather would make the moisture 
rise ; which, I believe, it will, on land that has much sand 
in it, but my experience has taught me to believe it has 
the contrary effect on Prairie land. The inculcation of 
the former theory has caused many Prairie farmers to in- 
jure their crops by plowing during the protracted drouth, 
continued here from the 5th of April until the 28th of May. 
Early inculcations are hard to eradicate; consequently 
many persons go against their better judgment. 
All experienced Prairie farmers know that Prairie land 
dries as deep as it is stirred in dry weather; yet many of 
them will plow to make the moisture rise. This shows 
the importance of studying the constituents or nature of 
the soil. The precedent necessitates a full and elaborate 
description of the nature of Prairie land ; but let it suffice 
for the present to say that these lands, when wet, can be 
waxed like wheaten dough, and if dried in that condition 
i apparently they will become as hard as a brick ; if wet af- 
ter they become thoroughly dried, they will slack and 
become like ashes. The surface of these lands go through 
those changes as often as they are trod or worked too wet, 
and dried in that condition. When wet they will bog as 
deep as they have been stirred. After these lands become 
dry it takes a good deal of rain to settle the ground. If a 
sufficiency of rain has not fallen to settle the beds they 
will neither stand dry nor wet weather. Corn or cotton 
planted on such beds in dry weather will not come up un- 
til it rains; if it does it will suffer, the ground having but 
little capacity for containing moisture in that condition — 
such beds in wet weather become saturated with water, 
the ground then being in a slacking condition, I have no 
better comparison for it than “mush.” Corn or cotton on 
such beds will turn yellow. As the subsoil absorbs but 
little of the water that falls, it has to evaporate or drain 
through the surface until it reaches the low places or ditch- 
es ; consequently it is very necessary to have the rows in 
a draining position. The capacity these lands have for 
containing moisture consists in the fineness of the surface. 
The ground will Avax very near the top of a fine pulverized 
surface, during the most protracted drouths of these 
regions. In demonstration of this I will delineate my 
management of the present crop. The winter being very 
j favorable, I got all of my land bedded in due season for 
planting — planted in time to get a tolerable good stand 
both corn and cotton ; early in April, I ran one furrow in 
the middle of every row, both of corn and cotton, then put 
up my plows, and continued going over both corn and 
cotton with the hoes. Every person that saw my crop 
said it stood the drouth as well or better than those that 
plowed their crop. It is evident that it stood the rain bet- 
ter. Yours, &c., A. J. Cook. 
I/nmdes County^ Miss., July, 1855. 
SCOURS IN COLTS. 
Editors Southern Cultiv-vtor^I see a recipe in your 
I July number frorn a Jasper friend, for the cure of scours 
I in colts. I thinkirny friend is entirely off the track ; for to 
kill a colt I think nothing, more neces^ry than to give it 
such a dose; and I only appeal to the reasoning of every 
common mind to prove it. And had my friend thought for 
a moment he would have known that all that was neces- 
sary was to take the mare off of' verduj'g and feed her on 
provender; ahd, if the colt would lick nieal, give it a 
handful of parked meal, instead of phy^icing the poor 
creature to death, like two-thirds of mankind do their 
horses, when they shoAV symptoms of cholic, or. gome 
other pain. 
It is a lamentable fact that Avhen a hqrse takes sick, if 
the disease does not kill him, his owner will come as near 
it as possible, by giving him every remedy that he ever 
heard of being given for such .symptoms. 
Yours truly, G. S. Q. 
ReadyviUe, Juiy, 1855. 
