367 
SOUTHERN C 
PLOWING IN TIME OF DROUTH PHILOSOPHICALLY 
CONSIDERED. 
Editors Southkr.v Ccdtivator — In your number of 
June last, 1 bad an article under the above title. It was 
followed by some editorial remarks, which represented 
my theory as “directly at variance with the p)ractice and 
teachings of our most distinguisiied agriculturists; nearly 
all of whom contend that the oftener the earth i.s stirred, 
and the more finely its parts are pulverized in dry weather, 
the greater the amount of moisture it will attract from the 
atmosphere.” My great respect for the source from which 
file above stricture emanated, deterred me from any 
furdier remarks on this subject, until I should have gone 
t U-ough a series of experiments, for the sole purpose of 
either establishing or overthrowing my theory. Experi- 
enced agriculturists encouraged me. An extensive planter 
remarked that if he had all the corn that had been lost by 
too much plowing* he would not have to plant another 
grain. 
But I proceed to the detail of my experiments. These 
were in progress when a correspondent in your August 
number suggested some experiments, which where open 
, to several objections that would, in nine cases out of ten, 
1 lead to fallacies; e. pouring equal quantities of water 
1 over boxes filled to the depth of six inches with earth. As 
' I took every precaution and used all carefulness in the 
whole of my experiments, I cannot conceive how there 
could have been any error. A friend was interested in 
what was going on, and he was a constant observer. In 
order, however, that your readers may have the means of 
; judging upon the liabities to error, and by way of eliciting 
1 any suggestions to those who may feel disposed to re- 
^ peat my experiments, I give them with rather a tedious 
1 particularity. 
' The balance being of the first importance, I must des- 
I cribe the one which I constructed and used. I procured i 
a piece of well seasoned wood, ‘2G inches long, 2 inches 
wide and 1 inch thick. Through the middle of it, in the 
I direction of its thickness, I bored a hole large enough to 
1 admit the point of a compass-saw. Introducing the saw, 
! I made a slit transversely to the depth of about a half 
1 inch. Then, withdrawing it, I introduced it again with 
I the edges reversed, and sawed as before. By this means 
' I had an opening, into which I next drove the blade ofi 
1 a stout carving knife, deprived of its handle, and having I 
: a fine straight edge of steel. It was a blade of such ! 
thickness that there was no elasticity between the parts 
of it, on which it was to rest. At equal distances from 
! this blade, towcirds the end of my beam, I attached appro- 
priate hooks with perfect freedom of motion on fixed points. 
At right angles to a line passing through these points, I set 
I up an index whose point was vertical to the knife-edge, 
I when the beam was in place and horizontal. My knife-edge 
was next made to rest on two flat smooth steel surfaces 
made stationary in a horizontal position. And in a verti- 
cal direction, behind the beam when in its place, was se- 
cured a piece on which a vertical line was drawn from 
that point of the steel face on which one end of the knife- 
blade rested. This balance far exceeded my expectations. 
I could get no other of equal delicacy on which I could 
suspend so great a weight as I wished to operate with. 
When loaded with seven pounds on each end of the beam, 
it turned with one grain. 
*Note by the Editors. — We never advocated the use 
ofthei^W as the best system of after-culture. Our plan 
is, to plow deep before planting, and afterwards keep the 
surface open and mellow by shallow culture with the culti- 
vator or horse-hoe. 
U LTIVATOR. 
TCxpcriment \st. — I suspended from each end of the 
beam tin buckets 7 inches deep, 5 inches in diameter, 
and counterpoised them. I then took them to the spot 
from which 1 meant to procure the earth. The earth was 
in just such a state of moisture as v.'e consider favorable 
for sowing small seeds. I removed about 3 inches depth 
of earth, and then began to fill the vessels, which I did by 
taking it all from one .hole, and putting it into the buckets 
I about a hall ti’owellul alternately into each, until they 
I were nearly filled. 1 subsequently reduced the cjuantity 
j in each to 7 pounds. My comparisons were to be direct, 
I i. e., between the buckets (along with their contents) with- 
out the intervention of weights, which from this time, 
through all the experiments, were employed only to re- 
store the equilibrium whenever disturbed. The buckets 
were, therefore, kept suspended on the beam. The whole 
was placed in a situation exposed to the sun and air and 
dews. At the time of counterpoising the portions of earth 
I put into each bucket an iron stirrer. These were simply 
two large nails selected with reference to equality of 
weight. The stirrers were always left in the buckets, so 
as to guard against the removal of the smallest portion of 
earth. The buckets were left in one condition (;neither 
being disturbed) for twenty-four hours. At the end of 
that time they were still in equilibrium. Being thus satis- 
fied of the similarity of circumstances, I commenced stir- 
(plowing) the earth in oiie of them. The atmosphere 
was very humid ; and the portions of earth (balance stand, 
<i:c.,) were frequenly taken in, to avoid the rain falling into 
them. this viaist condition of the atmospluere lo.sted, 
the stirred earth gained daily in weight. But a change 
came on almost imperceptibly, as the atmosphere became 
drier ; and, on the fourth day, the gain was lost again, 
and the equilibrium restored. I continued to stir the same 
portion until it was a decided loser, the sun being bright 
in the day and the dews heavy at night. There was one 
morning, after a very heavy dew, when the gain was so 
perceptible that I found by restoring the equlibrium, that 
it was five grains. And this was not equal to half the 
loss of the day before. Several times during all the ex- 
periments, there w’as no perceptible difference between the 
indications in the morning and those in the evening. 
Experiment 2d. — I stirred the other bucket (now the 
heaviei*) leaving the first undisturbed. It lost very rapidly. 
It hccarnc the lighter one in the course of the day. 
Conclusion from these experiments : AVlien the atmos- 
phere is in a certain state of humidity, the pulverized earth 
absorbs moisture. When the atmosphere reaches a cer- 
tain state of dryness, the stirred earth gives off its mois- 
ture. I think my experiments, with their variations, do 
most clearly establish as a fact, that the atmosphere does 
reach such a state of dryness that the plowing of the 
ground may cause it to lose more moisture than it gains. 
And my observation of the weather during my experi- 
ments satisfies me that this state of the atmosphere is by 
no means unusual. 
But there is something else that is not taken into ac- 
count in the above experiments. And it might be sup- 
posed that if its influence had been in play, it would have 
so changed the results that the very contrary conclusions 
might have been established. I mean capillary attraction. 
Your correspondent, “P,” in the August number, refers 
to this. The next experiment was designed to meet this 
contingency. 
Experiment od. — I perforated the bottom of each bucket 
with a hole ^ of an inch in diameter. Through these 
holes I passed equal quantities of lamp wick, taken from 
the same ball, and so arranged, in the doubling and re- 
doubling, that the portions, when formed, were composed 
of no two pieces that were consecutive in the spinning. 
This I conceived gave me every chance for having the 
portions for the two buckets, of equal tightness. They 
