344 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Nov. 
Dog Power. —Fig. 77; 
The above cut represents a machine or power to be 
propelled by a dog, sheep, or other small animal, for 
the purpose of churning, working a washing-machine, 
turning a grind stone, or working small mills of any 
kind. It is a very simple and complete apparatus, and 
would be found profitable on many farms, or in many 
other situations. It was invented by Palmer &. Frost, 
of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and is sold at $15. 
Root Cutler— Fig. 78. 
The above is a representation of Palmer & Frost’s 
Root Cutter. The knives are attached to the ends of 
arms which are fastened to a shaft, and play through 
the hopper containing the vegetables, cutting them in¬ 
to pieces about two inches long, and a third of an inch 
wide. The knives are so arranged that but one strikes 
at once, and are so placed round the shaft that they 
form a circle. The price of this machine is $12. 
SUBSOIL PLOWING. 
We have often expressed the belief that the prac¬ 
tice of subsoil plowing would be attended with great 
Subsoil Plowing. —Fig. 79. 
advantages in many situations in this country. Iri Eng¬ 
land it is becoming more and more adopted, and we 
can see no reason why its use should not 
be attended with equal benefits here. The 
cut at the head of this article, illustrates 
the manner in which this operation is per¬ 
formed. A team drawing the subsoil plow, 
follows in the furrow made by a common 
plow. It is proper to observe, that for sub¬ 
soil plowing to produce the greatest benefits 
on. wet, tenacious soils, they should be first 
under-drained. 
The Journal of the Transactions of the 
Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland, 
for January, 1847, contains an account of 
some very valuable experiments in regard to 
subsoil plowing, furnished by Mr. J. Wil¬ 
son. It is stated that the farm on which 
these experiments were made, had been 
under cultivation for a long period; that 
it consists of various kinds of soil—from 
a gravelly earth to a tenacious clay. The usual 
depth of plowing for many years had been from five to 
six inches, and a hard crust had been formed at that 
depth. 
The field first experimented on, contained thirteen 
acres, most of the soil being heavy, inclining to clay, 
on a clay subsoil, and the rest light soil, on a gravelly 
subsoil. It was under-drained in 1843, with tile, at 
the distance of fifteen feet between the drains. Pre¬ 
vious to draining it had been very wet, and the crops 
it bore were generally poor. It was subsoiled in the 
fall of 1844, the plow going across the drains. A 
common two-horse plow was first used, taking a depth 
of six to seven inches, and a subsoil plow with two 
horses followed, taking an additional depth of seven to 
eight inches. Eleven acres were plowed in this man¬ 
ner, and two acres were left, which were only plowed 
to the ordinary depth of six and a half inches. The 
whole field was manured alike—the manure being from 
yard dung and guano—and it was sowed to yellow 
turneps in the fore part of June. No difference was 
discernible in the crop till about the first of August, 
when the subsoiled portion showed a decided superior¬ 
ity, which became more and more apparent till the 
crop was taken up the last of October. The subsoiled 
portion gave 26 tons 7 .cwt. per acre, and the part not 
subsoiled, 20 tons 7 cwt. per acre—making a difference 
in favor of subsoiling of 6 tons 7 cwt.. or a value of £3 
18s. per acre. 
The next experiment was upon a field which had 
been furrow-drained with tiles in the autumn of 1844; 
the soil rather inclined to sand on a subsoil of sandy 
clay. Two acres were subsoil plowed to the depth of 
fifteen inches in December, 1845, and two acres were 
only plowed to the depth of six or seven inches. Two 
ridges of the field were trench-plowed to the depth of 
thirteen inches. [Trench plowing is performed by 
running a plow of the common construction in the furrow 
of another of the same kind. Its operation and effects 
are different from those of the subsoil plow, as the sur¬ 
face soil is covered by the earth taken up from below by 
the second plow.] The field was manured alike with 
fnanure from the farm-yard, and planted to potatoes. 
The trench plowed part gave 7 tons, 1 cwt., 2 quar¬ 
ters, per acre; the subsoiled, 7 tons, 9 cwt., 2 quarters; 
and the part only plowed, 6 tons, 14 cwt., 1 quarter, 
per acre—making a difference of 15 cwt., 1 quarter 
per acre, in favor of subsoiling, over the part plowed 
only in the ordinary way; and a difference of 8 cwt. over 
trench plowing. 
The next experiment was made on a field which had 
been partially drained several years since. The soil 
u an earthy loam incumbent on clay.” A portion of 
the field was subsoiled, and the remainder plowed to 
the ordinary depth. The field was sown to barley in 
