Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1838-06-01

| WCl ue VuuIlty VI tlItU. UCIC are many
plants, the roots Of which arc found Of
fifteen 10 twenty, and even thirty feet
under grOund-sainfoin and lucern, for
instance; even red clover will strike down
TO nearly three feet If the soil DO fertile
loan; and some Of our commoncst vege-
tables, If it be friable or sandy, push their
tap roots to about the same depth. The
roots OF wheat will penetrate as far as
eight inches into the earth; and when
sown on tho crown Of ridges, they have
been found at the depth Of twelve. We
may therefore assume the depth Of twelve
inches as the utmost vcgetative limit Of
corn land. Provided the soil be open and
fertile, the nearer it's depth approaches 20
IL inches, the greater number of plants
may it therefore be supposed capable Of
furnishing with support" Brit Hush,
VOL ii. p. 49,, so. Soils should be plouged
as deep as the substratum will admit, at
least once in a course of crops, if this can
be reached with the force Of an ordinary
team; and when the surface soil is super
fcial, it should be deepened, as fast rs
fertility can be impaired, by turning up, at
suitable intervals, some portion Of the sub
soil. The atmosphere imparts to this ap
parent inert earth, moro or less of the
elements Of fertility. Baron Won Voght,
increased vastly the value and products Of
his farm, by increasing the depth Of his
mould, (krumc,) or vegetable pasture, in
this way, in the period Of sixteen years,
from three 10 fourteen inches. Land tina,
in the outset would only yield him fourteen
bushels Of rye TO the acre, was by this
mode OF improvement brought TO yield
twenty. four bushels Of wheat and the
improvement was not confined to part,
but extended to the whole farm, comprising
some hundred acres. The reader is refer.
red, for detail Of these improvements,
and an account Of the Barons excellent
system Of husbondry, to No 1, Vol. 9, Of
the Cultvator. And it has just been al
nounced to US in foreign journal, as one
Of the greatest improvements Of tho age
in rural affairs, that q plough has been
invented, which breaks and pulvcrizes the
subsoil, without turning it to the surface.
lts advantages to agriculture are thus
, described by Le Fever, in Loudons Mag.
: azine:-
> "Smh's subsoi plough seems calculated to
render the most sterile and unproductve soil fertile
and profitable. Mr.. Smiths most ingenious ip.en.
ton, by breaking the subsoi without bringing it 10
{ the surface, renders it pervious TO both air and
place in falow, owing to its exposure TO the
action Of the winds and rain, are thus brought
into operation in the subsoi whilst the surf face soil
is in the ordinary course Of cropping and when'
after a few years, by greater depth Of ploughins
the subsoi is mixed with The upper soil, II is found
to be so completely changed in its nature, rs to be
capable of producing every kind Of corn"
$ Jethro Tull and bis disciples maintained,
that the great secret of inducing fertility,
consisted in infinitely dividing and pulver-
' zing the soil by culture ard John Taylor.
practical. us well as scientific farmer, con.
4 house Of vegetable food, where this food
3 exists in gaseous form. The good tillage
we advocate embraces all the advantages
g OF Tull's and Tayor's theories, without
3 lessening the Importance which we attach
to barn.yard manure.
d The deep ploughing o: dry land, or The
c breaking up and stirring Of the subsol
IS promotes fertility, by increasing the power
of the land to absorb water by cohesive
d attraction. "The power Of soils to ABSORB
It water from air." says Davy, "is much con
b nected with fertility. This power depends
y in a great measure upon the state O
4 division Of its parts, the more divided the!
;, are, the greater their absorbent power
c When this power is great, the plant il
Il supplied with moisture in dry seasons ans
!, the effect Of evaporation in the day il
is counteracted by the absorption Of aqueous
!. vapor from the atmosphere, by the intcrio
Of parts Of the soil during The day, and b!
10 both the exterior and interior during tht
re night" The soil imbibes caloric earle
J. in the spring, and retains it later in autumn
ID in proportion as it is dry and deep, mat
lc ter of high consideration in cold climates
I'd where the length Of the summer scarcel
,e suffices to mature the crops. The qnallt
IN and dryness being the same, soil is fer,il
I'd and durable in proportion to the depth G
If the tillage which it receives: six inche
ne giving nearly double the pasture for plant
of that three inch stratum does-and
Sc twelve inch filth greatly exceeding in pro
e. ductiveness, one Of only six inches Vo
of Thaer calculates this difference in proper
of tionate degrees in lands which contain
er vegetatlve stratum Of soil Of four, 81,
he eight and twelve inches in depth; prov
mt ded, Of course, that it be all Of equal qua
" ity. If, therefore, each seed were 10 pro
duce plant, it would follow that groun
&c. which contains eight inches OF depth
nd fertile mould, might be sown with doub
'pt the quantity Of that which consists OF on
is four inches. He however admits, that III
oil principle cannot be carried 10 tina; exten
ng because the action of the atmosphere mu
81 ever afford that superiority to the surfac
he that a cubic foot Of mould, it divided in
he Two square feet, will always produce
ire greater number Of plants than if the SCI
he were sown upon one foot superficial; b
of he assumes the value Of the land to
an, increased in the proportion of eight p
,ys cent for every inch OF mould beyond 4
ITS, depth Of six 10 ten inches, and to DO dmi
10 | ishnd in the sama nrnnnIlinn. from Six