158 
THE SAFARU PEACH-HOW TO WORK CLAY LAND. 
THE SAFARU-PEACH. 
While passing a few months on Teneriffe, some 
years ago, I was particularly attracted by the excel¬ 
lence of the peaches of that island. Among those 
of the finest quality was the Safaru-peach, which, 
in point of flavor, smallness of stone, abundance of 
juice, and beauty of form, in the opinion of the 
Spaniards, is not equalled by any other variety. The 
size, color, and general external appearance, as far 
as my recollection serves me, greatly resembled Rod¬ 
man’s cling-stone, denoted by the following cut: 
Fig. 46. 
This peach is said to have originated in Spain 
about the middle of the IXth century, by the Arabian 
monarch, Abdurrahman. The envoy whom he sent 
to Syria for his two sisters, brought back many rari¬ 
ties, among which were some peaches from the gar¬ 
dens of Arrusafat. Being proud of this fruit, the 
monarch showed it to his friends, and presented one 
to Safaru-bn Ulbaid, who was so delighted with its 
flavor, that he preserved the stone, from which he 
raised a tree that ever after bore his name. This va¬ 
riety is still cultivated in some parts of Spain, and 
fully merits all the praise bestowed upon it. B. 
New York, 15f/i April, 1845. 
HOW TO WORK CLAY LAND. 
You know, by several years’ experience, the trou¬ 
bles and difficulties to be encountered in cultivating a 
farm with a stiff clay subsoil, and that too without 
the aid of a subsoil plow. The object of this is to 
get an expression of your opinion, founded partly on 
your own experience, and partly on the theory which 
has grown out of that experience, and the experience 
of those who have used these plows, whether they 
may not be advantageously used in the following 
manner: After the ground which is designed for a 
crop of corn or potatoes is prepared for planting, let 
it be furrowed out the distance you wish your rows 
apart, then plow a deep furrow the other way with 
a common sized plow, say four feet apart (I have 
land enough to spare); then level these last furrows 
by running a harrow over them lengthwise (I have 
horses and boys enough); then follow these furrows 
with a subsoil plow, running it as deep as possible. 
The object of this is to carry off the surface water 
where the descent is sufficient, and where it is not, to 
answer the purpose of a reservoir for the water to 
settle, and to be evaporated by the sun, instead of 
standing promiscuously upon the roots of the crops. 
There will be no need of 
marking out the ground 
the way the subsoil furrows 
run; the eye will guide the 
fingers in dropping the seed 
equi-distant between the 
subsoil furrows. I propose 
using the harrow in culti¬ 
vating the crop, letting the 
horse walk in the subsoil 
furrows, and using the hoe 
only to cut up the weeds 
left by the harrow near the 
hills, and to earth the pota¬ 
toes (not the corn) a little, 
as 1 approve of keeping the 
seed, and subsequently the 
roots, near the surface; and 
if the ground be well ma¬ 
nured, as I intend it shall 
be, and often stirred with 
the harrow, there will be 
no danger of drouth. I 
know you will say, subsoil 
plow all your grounds, and 
then plant in the usual 
way ; but this I cannot af¬ 
ford to do. If you don’t 
like my plan, say so, and 
give your reasons. If you 
do like it, or can suggest some improvement short of 
plowing up the whole ground, say that, and send me 
a subsoil plow of suitable size, and call on my agent 
in your city for the cash. A Novice 
Thorough draining after the Scotch method, as de¬ 
tailed by Mr. Norton, page 330 of our last volume, 
is the only complete and certain method of getting 
rid of the surface water which stands on stiff clay 
soils. But we suppose he thinks he cannot afford 
this, and for a partial remedy he may do well to fol¬ 
low his own plan. We formerly pursued a tolerably 
successful method of cultivating a clay soil, by lay¬ 
ing it up into lands of four to six furrows, clean¬ 
ing out the wide open furrows well between them. 
From these lands, balks, or ridges—as they are vari¬ 
ously termed—the water would readily filter through 
to the wide open furrows on each side, and then run 
off, if there were declivity enough to do so; otherwise 
it would stand there till evaporated. Of course, if 
these are deepened with the subsoil plow it will add 
to their power as drains. We have sent our corres¬ 
pondent a subsoil plow as requested, but advise him 
to keep his land in permanent grass as much as pos¬ 
sible ; this is decidedly the best crop on a stiff clay 
soil, not only in this country, but even in England, 
where produce is worth double our price®. 
