Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1811-08-30


part of the United States q considerable
quantity of moisture falls in the winter and
spring, in the different forms of snow, hail
and rain: In summer, thunder gusts, with in
| tervals of hot dry weather, are also common.
Let US now consider some of the most yisi-
BILE effects of the climate, en- the lands ifHtl-
lagc.
| The winter frosts are no doubt useful. in
! dividing and amehorating the soil repairing
| in some degree, the injury it sustained the
preceding SUMMER During summer, great
proportion of the rains falling hastily, tho
consequence is, that wherever the ground is
not opened to sufficient depth; to imbibe the
whole before the surplus can have time to
penetrate the hard pan beneath, part of the
| soil becomes fluid; and IL tho surface is not
a dead level, portion of it, is carried off:
che remainder has a tendency to settle into q
fcompact mass, which, If suffered to remain.
without stirring, through the hot, dry weather,
| that often succeeds, until the moisture il con-
tains is evaporated, becomes of the consis-
tence of a sun dr. led brick and consequently
impervious to the roots of vegetables.
These things being promised l shall with
out further observations, proceed to the SUBJ
ject matter, and endeavour to enumeratc some
of the evils inseperably attached to that great
error in American agriculture, shallow
ploughimg beginning with new lands, or
those Just cleared of wood
WHAT is the language of our farmers and
planters on these occasonsp Our soil is not
more than two or three inches deep; we must
plough shatloac, otherwise we shall turn up
too great portion of dead earth, and ruin our
crops they also say, we must plant aide, O.
therwise drought will cause our corn to fire =
and for these supposed weghty reasons, those
; two practices are almost universally adopted
on new lands, to wit: shallow ploughing, and
vide planting.
Here OUR men of experience prove they
are acquainted with the effect, without know
ing or even enquiring into the cause. Their
mistaken opinion, respecting dead earth, will
be noticed in due place but it remains hero
to be proved that the necessity of widc plant
= ing, Is one of the consequences attached to
+ 81 alloao pJoughing All plants imbibe mois-
I ture from the earth, by their roots if this
3 portion of their substance is withheld, tho
n every other species of vegetable nutriment
L abounds in tleir soil, the plant becomes sick
g ly, growth ceases, and finally, death ensueA
, = In search of the necessary supply, the roots
/ of plants are extended in all directions, wherc
the soil is opened enough to admit them, and
to distance, proportionate to the demand /:
: two plants of the same kind, require great
er quantity, to preserve health, than one
hence it will appear, that drought of suf-
ficient duration to extract most of the mois-
ture contained in that part of the soil, loosen
ed by the plough, may yet leave sufficient to
preserve one plant in health but il divided,
: both must suffer, for neither can penetrate tho
hard unstirrcd earth below, for supply
But in case of long droughts, no distance
whatever, will insure Indian corn from suffer-
ing when the under stratum is hard and
the ploughng shallow, and under these cir
cumstances few summers are so wet, but
that close planted corn, at some period of its
growth, discovers the want of a full supply Of
moisture, which perhaps might be amply af-
forded by one or two inches greater depth Of
ploughing They have discovered, that after
the first year, several succeeding crops will
admit Of being closer planted; the fact is,
that the surface having now been for some
time cleared of leaves, rubbish &c. and expo
sed to the action of frost sun and dews, that
portion of earth lying originally Immediately
below the black mould, and earth, which
was turned up by the cultivation of the pre-
ceding year for in common soils, it is almost
impossible to plough so shallow as to avoid
turning up some, in new grounds) has now
| acquired dark colour, and therefore not
known to be the same and some of the OBJ
stacles to ploughing being removed, they al
most insensibly, 60 an inch or two deeper.
without showing any greater appearance of
the yellow or dead earth, much dreaded,
| the preceding year this furnishes
more extensive pasture,t for the roots OF tho
plants growing therein, and also becomes
more copious reservoir for the treasuring up
moisture for the needful time and conse-
ouently affords supply for great number
Of plants. The second year is generally
found to be much more productive than the
CT aftar which our common lands pralual-