Q43 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
Keep the Best Soil on the Surface. 
There are two classes of soils which ought 
not to be plowed deep. One of these is the 
light sandy class which overlie leachy subsoils. 
Such soils become fertile only when they con¬ 
tain a considerable proportion of mold or hu¬ 
mus, the remains of vegetation which has de- 
c.ayed on the surface, or which has been added 
in manures. Gradual deepening of soils of this 
character may be effected, provided it be done 
no faster than organic matter in some form, is 
added. Plowing the subsoil would be of no use, 
for that is already too open and porous; but the 
tillage should be such as to keep the fertile por¬ 
tion near the surface, the plowing being but 4 or 
5 inches deep, and the additions of manure and 
vegetable mold, in the shape of green manure 
crops, (clover, buckwheat, corn,) etc., frequent 
atid abundant. 
The other class is more difficult to manage, 
but more lasting when brought up to good tilth. 
These soils are those of a heavy clayey, or grav¬ 
elly and clayey character—hard to plow, diffi¬ 
cult to pulverize, prone to bake, cracking and 
drying out on the surface so as to suffer in 
drouths. The soil (if there is anything worthy 
the name,) is thin, and consists of a sheet of 
mold, not more than 2 or 3 inches deep. The 
time was when there was no mold; no more 
vegetable matter on the surface than can now 
be discovered in the unfertile subsoil beneath it. 
But, by the constant operation of alternate rain 
and sunshine, of freezing and thawing, and the 
growth and decay of vegetation, a thin stratum 
of this compact earth has been fitted for the 
purposes of vegetation and the production of 
crops. A seed bed has been formed, in which 
the young plants m.ay commence life. In this 
mold they may spread their tender roots, and 
find available nourishment to build up their 
stems and produce seed. This thin layer of soil 
is essential to healthy and luxuriant growth. 
Remove it and seeds will germinate slowly, and 
the plants be sickly and diminutive. Every crop 
of grain or grass tends to increase the depth of 
this stratum of mold, as it is kept on the surface. 
Let it be buried beneath a portion of the heavy 
barren subsoil, and the young plants will be 
deprived almost entirely of their sustenance, 
until the roots struggling for life, have spread 
through this tough clayey mass, and reached 
the fertile mold. A soil of this kind must 
be tilled in such a manner as to keep the mold 
on the surface. When it is plowed, the com¬ 
mon plow should run only as deep as the mold 
extends. In the furrow produced by the com¬ 
mon plow the Subsoil plow illustrated on page 
181 (March), should follow, breaking up and 
pulverizing the compact stratum so that the 
surface water will settle down readily without 
injuring crops by filling the little interstices of 
the soil, which should be occupied by air only. 
The accompanying illustration represents the 
manner of plowing land so as to keep the mold 
or best soil on the surface. The five rectangu¬ 
lar blocks represent a section of furrow slices 
turned by a common plow, as deep as the soil 
or mold extends. At the left hand a small por¬ 
tion of the surface soil is seen unbroken, resting 
OE the compact stratum of subsoil. Beneath 
the furrow and furrow slices a stratum of the 
subsoil is represented as broken up by the 
subsoil plow drawn in the furrows of the com¬ 
mon plow, as the slices are turned one by one. 
When ground is plowed in this way, the reader 
will perceive that if there is any good soil it 
will always remain at the surface. After the 
roots have spread several inches in each lateral 
direction, and have attained some size and 
strength, they will be well prepared to enter the 
pulverized subsoil, and slowly transform it into 
fine and fertile mold. 
We would not be understood that all soils 
should be managed in this way, for they should 
not. We have designated the particular kinds 
that need similar treatment. There are soils 
where the most fertile portions are several inch¬ 
es below the surface, which require to be plowed 
with a deep tiller or trench plow, that will turn 
up to the surface a more productive soil than 
is there at the present time. 
Farmers should study the character of the 
diftereut kinds of soil they cultivate, and by in¬ 
vestigation and experiment, ascertain how to 
manage each kind most advantageously and 
profit.ably for the production of remunerating 
crops, and the ultimate benefit of the soil. 
Fences and Highway Cattle. 
The heaviest tax laid upon our farmers is 
that self-imposed burden of much fence build¬ 
ing. Not a few of the division fences on our 
farms might be dispensed with, if only a little 
forethought and management were used. This 
has been often discussed, and the fact often 
asserted,never disputed,that there are thousands 
of farms at the East which will not now sell, 
and which never would have sold for what it 
has cost to fence them. It is, however, to road- 
fences, built for protection against roadside 
cattle, that we now direct attention. These, in 
the present state of popular sentiment, can not 
be given up. The cost of such fences is enor¬ 
mous. According to one estimate, there are 
now about 50,000 miles of road-fence in the 
State of New York. If the cost of buidling 
them is put at $1 a rod, and the annual expense 
of keeping them in repair, is as much as that 
dollar at interest, then the entire annual ex¬ 
pense of the road fences in our State is, with 
the interest on the investment, upwards of 
$2,000,000! Other estimates carry the figures 
higher. Surely it is worth while to consider 
whether this heavy burden may not be lightened. 
According to old English common law, which 
is modified more or less, or done away with 
entirely, by the statutes of different States, land- 
owners are not required to build highway 
fences. They own the land to the middle of the 
street, and the traveling public have only the 
right of way through it. The laws against 
cattle in the highways are in most cases capable 
of being essentially modified by town regula¬ 
tions. It is none the less important, that any 
State laws which hinder the removal of fences, 
should be repealed at once. As it is, laws 
agiiinst cattle in the highways are often not 
enforced, through an unmanly fear of retaliation 
from the owners of the offending cattle. All 
that is wanted, in most cases, is a settled un¬ 
derstanding and agreement among the leading 
men of a town that they will sustain each other 
in attempts to abate the nuisance. First, they 
should unitedly discountenance, by word 
and deed, the practice of turning stock into the 
street, or driving those not well herded, or allow¬ 
ing them to be driven. A public sentiment can 
ere long be created by co-operation among 
farmers that will effectually check night pastu¬ 
ring and other trespasses too often now prac¬ 
tised with entire impunity; and when moral 
means will not answer the purpose, then the 
law may be vigorously enforced. Town regu¬ 
lations may be passed which may go far to¬ 
wards simplifying and regulating this matter. 
If individual sufferers dislike prosecuting their 
neighbors, then let it be made the duty of the 
path-master or other officer to do it; a duty for 
the neglect of which he shall be fined, and for 
the discharge of which he shall be well paid. 
We verily believe that one great reason why 
so many offenders join in defiance of the law 
in this and many other particulars, is because 
the leading men of the town have so little cour¬ 
age to face the chances of political unpopularity 
and the loss of a seat in the Legislature when 
it comes each man’s turn to “ run.” 
— «— i M a — — - - 
Management of Hoof Rot in Sheep. 
Whenever this disease has made its appear¬ 
ance among sheep, it should receive prompt 
attention, and effectual remedies should be ap¬ 
plied without delay, in order to prevent the 
virus from being communicated to the hoofs of 
healthy sheep. Every sheep that is in the least 
affected with hoof rot, should be separated at 
once from the flock, and kept at a distance from 
them, until every appearance of the disease is 
removed. The best time to examine whether 
the hoofs are diseased or not, is soon after 
a heavy rain, as all dry dirt will then be wash¬ 
ed from their feet, and the hoofs will be wet 
and soft, and may be shaved off much more 
easily than when they are dry. Let the sheep 
be confined in a clean pen, littered with straw, 
so that but little manure will be held between 
the parts of the hoofs. Now, let one man place 
a sheep on one of its sides on a plank or box, 
about 2 feet high, with all his legs extending 
horizontally over a large tub of water. While 
the sheep is held in this position, let another 
man wash the hoofs clean, using a woolen 
wash-rag. With a sharp edged but dull point¬ 
ed knife, remove all the dirt from the cracks 
and creases of the hoofs; and cut off scaly 
pieces, and long ill-shapen hoofs. If there are 
any signs of hoof rot there will be no difficulty 
in discovering it. Scrape off and wash out thor¬ 
oughly all the diseased matter, using strong 
soap suds. Then wipe the hoofs with a dry 
woolen cloth, and apply the caustic or corro¬ 
sive as will be subsequently explained. 
Sheep should then be turned into a clean dry 
yard or pasture, for a few hours, where no wet 
grass will wash off the application, and where 
the hoofs will not be filled with dirt. The most 
suitable tools for pruning hoofs are a strong 
pair of pruning shears that make a drawing 
cut, a good pocket knife, and an inch or an 
inch-and-a half chisel and mallet. All these 
tools should be properly ground on a stone of 
fine grit, and then whetted on a fine-grained 
oil stone. If the tools be put in good cutting 
order, hoofs may be cut or paired off without 
difficulty. When hoofs are dry and hard, they 
are not only more difficult to cut or pare off, 
but there is danger of tearing off the shell 
where it is thin. When any of the hoofs have 
grown beyond the proper length, place the 
sheep on its feet on a hard plank, and use the 
chisel and mallet. Chip off small portions at 
once, when cutting near the quick; and never 
place the chisel on the hoof so as to cut square 
across, but a little slanting, as it will cut easier 
