The Express.
London, England, 1851-05-10 00:00:00

are multitudes of farmers who do not understand the
time and labour which may be saved by the scari-
fier, the subsoil plough, or the clod crusher, at cer-
tain seasons, and when the land is in certain condi-
tions. With the aid of these implements it is that
the skilful and energetic farmer of clay land, which
has been well drained, has been enabled to.
dispense with naked summer hallows, and to
grow roots and green crops instead, and
thereby to increase the fertility of his land
and his own profit. To particularise any num-
ber of these implements would be treks» to the agri-
culturist, and would scarcely be interesting to the
non-agricultural reader; but there are a few which
have obtained such extensive use, or promote or in-
valve such distinctive methods of culture, that we shall
briefly refer to them. Of these, the clod crusher
holds a prominent place. There are several of dif-
ferent forms, but all are intended to divide the hard ,
upturned soil into minute parts, which but for some
such implement must often await the changes of
weather to effect the Sallie end. Crosskill's crusher'
is one mist generally known, and being patented
others can only- adopt the principle without copying
the plan. It consists of un iron roller formed of
mummy serrated rings, having sharp-pointed teeth to-
waras the land and projecting bits of iron something
like cogs laterally, strung, as it were, on a heavy
iron axle, and the implement being one of consider-
able weight, a rough cloddy piece of ground is pul-
verised by it with extraordinary celerity. It is also
valuable for rolling wheat, oats, or gnus, when tho
_ . _ _

tie pressed and consolidated, as it-usualli does in the
spring ; and on light laud it is useful for giving pres-
sure both before and after sowing. The indentations
made on the ground by this clod crusher are some-
what like those made by sheep, and it is well known
that such an action on the soil forms ono of the
many benefits derived from folding sheep. The ra-
vages of the wire-worm, too, are soon stopped by
rolling the ground with this implement. Indeed, we
may say that a clad-crusher is now essential to good
and economical cultivation of arable land. Then
there are the cultivators and scarifier+, implements
formed with strong bent coulters, which may be used
either with chisel points, when they may be driven
to great depths into the soil, or with broad share
points fur paring off the surface gross and root weeds.
fhese implements have greatly improved of late
years, both in simplicity of construction and is
power and strength. Amongst the tools of this mad
specially mentioned by theltoyalAgricultural Society
at the P.xeter meeting of last year, and which may
be seen at the great Exhibition, are the " Uley
cultivator," by Crosskill, of Beverley ; Smith's, of
Stamford, and Biddell's scarifier. The latter is nn
implement of long-standing reputation in Norfolk
where it has been used for a great many years ; it
is a large implement covering mach ground, and
consequently doing a good deal of work in the day,
but it requires much horse-power. There arc in the
collection several grubbers of moderate size, with
five, seven or nine tines, which are better adapted
for small farmers than the larger ones, which the
large farmer, having inure horse-power at his disposal,
is able to use must advantageously. There is no
greater mistake a farmer can make than to buy im-
plements requiring more horse-power than the size
of his farm enables him to apply to their use, and
not a few good implements have got into discredit
with smaller farmers from inattention to this point.
And it is a sign that the use ot rural machinery is
advancing amongst the men who hold moderate-size
farms, that the manufacturers are constantly adapt-
ing their inventions to moderate means, as re-
gards both price and power. The sort of trial to
which these implements were subjected at
Exeter may be understood by the following pas-
sage front the report of the judges, " Cultivator.
grubber, and scantier- of these, eight were selected
out of the numerous collection in the yard, which
were first tried, as grubbers, on a piece of strong clay
that had been ploughed out of condition e. in a
wet state) and front drought had become baked and
crusty; they were ordered to penetrate as deep as
the hind, but from the hardness and tenacity ot the
soil, and from the tines being ill-shaped and the man-
ner in which they were fixed to the frames, which
were altogether too light for such work, the motion
and work were very irregular, scarcely proceeding
five yards together at the same depth." They then
go on to speak in commendation of the implements
we have mentioned. That the makers generally have
since protitefi by the suggestionsof the judges' report
is clear, for in most instances the frames and sub-
stance of the cultivators exhibited have been made
moth heavier. It is of course proper to sub-
ject competing implements to the most severe
such as that of a piece of clay land, which'
has been ploughed in the wet, and afterwards become
kirdened by hot weather; but the farmer need not,
and ought not, ever to so mismanage his land as to
bring it into such a state. It is an axiom in strong
and husbandry never to plough in wet weather, and
if this be adhered to. and the land he deeply ploughed
up in the autumn, it will be found that by. using the
cultivator in place of ploughing in the spring, heavy
land may be cropped with almost as much certainty
as light. Indeed, spring ploughing is going out on
light soils in many cases where it can be avoided, for
it is worthy of note, that in some bCll9Olld it becomes
almost impossible to keep down the annual weeds
where the land. whether light or heavy, has been
ploughed is spring; while land which has been well
ploughedtin t heiautumn, and only stirred and worked
with a grubber in the spring., is seldom infested with
animal weeds. The importanee of using this class of
implements in substitution for the old fashioned
system of five or six ploughi rigs, must he an
excuse for dwelling so much upon them; but
we shall only refer to one other, being
a broad share and subsoil plough, made
by &Mall at lleybridge, Essex, which strikes us as
being admirably suited to the purpose of completely
moving land which has been once. ploughed without
again turning up the subsoil. It is, in fact, a combi-
nation of the subsoil plough and the broadshare ; the
former enters the ground and moves it deeply, and is
followed by a species of broadsharc, which secures
that all the soil is moved. There are two-side coul-
ters as well as the centre one. so that about three
feet in width are moved at once.

We have recently seen several of these implements
in use. and have been much pleased with the man-
ner in which their work has been performed. Of
ploughs there is a great variety ; and hansom s.
Howard's, Garrett's, Barrett's, and those of many
other makers. appear to approach as nearly to per-
fection as possible. The furrow-slice, when properly
cut, should be taken up by the plough and relad iu
a proper position, and not forced over, for
though the work may then look smooth and even
enough, the land is not so laid as to receive all the
benefit it ought from a good ploughing. The furrow-
slice, when turned over, should lie at an angle
' approaching to 4.1 degrees. in which position it is
best exposed to the sun and atmosphere. On light
land from five to seven inches, and on strong land
from seven to nine inches, arc regarded as the pro-
per depths for general ploughing. To go deeper
requires large heavy ploughs. and our best farmers
conceive that when greater depths arc desired, the
subsoil plough is the appropriate tool for attaining
them,—or by means of trench ploughing to turn out
a double furrow from one place.
There are several firms of harrows, but we see
nothing of this sort which is likely to supersede the
well-known implements of this class.

The seed•drilis are many, and very perfect. Gar-
rett's, ffewsby's. and otliers deserve the extensive
patronage they have obtained from the farming com-
munity. The great modern improvement in drills
consists in depositing manure at the same time as
the seed: and as many of our light manures, if im-
mediately in contact with the seed, would de-
stroy instead of promoting vegetation. these machines
are so managed as to place the manure some inches
lower than, and directly under the wed. There are
also broad cast drills, one of which, Mr. Holmes's,
received the prize at Exeter meeting. There are also
drills which deposit manure and seed, not continu-