The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1841-09-02
From the Farmers Adcocaie.
IMPROVING LAND.

subjects that claim the attention OF the far.
mer; and one, without meaning eny disTes.
peci to the intelligence Of that worthy class
of our citizens, that is very imperiecily un.
| derstood insomuch that very considera.
bic portion, think there is no way Of improv.
Ing land but by applying manure directly
| from the stable or ba.n yard, that will justify
the trouble and expense being entirely una.
ware that IFS productive capacity might be
materially increased, by giving il a deeper
culture. Our farmers, or at least large
part of them, have imbibed such a deep
rooted prejudice agaius, deep plQughing,
4 that fair trial cannot be obtained.
/ The accounts Of the extraordinary crops
produced by improved culture, occasionally
published in agricultural and other papers,
are, or seem 10 be uncrediiod by many, on
the ground Of imposslbiIily; while others,
who have not the hardlhood 10 deny their
authenticity, imagine them to be tue re.
suits only Of small lots Of ground, prepared
at an unreasonable expense, either with the
prospect of obtaining large premium, or
attracting notice by the performance ol eX'
traordlnary exploits. And under The iual
enco OF either oflhese Impressions, the read
I er is incapable Of sharing tho benefit design.
ed by their publication, however inmate
I tho details m0y DO given; because, their
1 preconcelyed notions OF the cause oil tertll.
/ " 10 land, render them Inaccessible to the
admission Of Just views, respecting the true
philosophical principles involved in the
case. ihcy have settled down, aud be
come frtnly established in the belief, that
IN order to produce such large crops, the
land must necessarily be rich IN proportion
to the greater yield, aud tina, this extraor
binary richness is secured solely by the ap
plicatlon Of manure from the stable, barn
yard, or other similar repositories hut
tins lurss out TO be one Of the popular della
sons Of the day. II will not DO denied,
that with the same culture. rich lnud will
produce more than poor but We do contend,
that its capacity depends 10, altogether on
It's richness, but in great measure 90 the
depth and efficiency Of culture. Land may
be made as rich as manure could make II,
to the depth tina, our farmers usually cult,
yate their grornd, and still without deep
aud thorough ,lth, be utterly incapable Of
producing such crops as We read OF being
obtained by some and that might be Sc
cured BY any one.
Totho unpreluJlced mind, the rcasona.
b!cness Of the position IS clearly deduclb.e
from theory, while the fac, is fully establish
ed by practice, that two things are decided
" essential in The improvement Of land, -
these are deep culture, aud The application
of manure in some form the frs, is ALSO
Iu,ely Indispensable in every case where
permanent Improvement IS the object , aud
the latter would be advantageous 10 general.
There are various other expedienis occa.
-ionally necessary to employ, in giving per.
manen, Improvement 10 lnpd. As super.
abundance Of moisture is highly injurious
10 most kinds OF vegetables, II becomes ne.
cessary where this Inconvenience exists,
which probably may, and no doubt does, IN
many cases where il is not suspected to
employ measures foi iis removal. Land
Of this description may generally be disln
guished by us slowness TO absorb water, ard
the small quantity required to sa!urate II;
and IN times Of falling Of much rain, the
water collects and forms springs prCmiscu
ously on the surface, and is ether carried
of By the slope Of the ground, or remains
slagnant until by a slow process Of absorp.
ton ard evaporation 1t is removed. Tbs
effect IS usually occasioned BY tough adhe.
slye subsoh too near the suriace, which ob.
slructs the necessary descent Of any excess
Of water that may have fallen; rendering
the surface easily saturated, by preventing
free and ready circulation, which is al
ways required in eGeclug that regularity
Of moisture, so essential 10 a healthy yege.
taton.
Where this defeotcyists in low fat lands.
the most eiIicicu, remedy IS perhaps obtain
ed IN thorough draining, either by under
ground drains, or open bitches sufficiently
deep and numerous 10 vent al! the Surplus
water, and render the soil dry. The
change may sometimes be meAsufab!y ef
lecled IN upland by subsoil ploushing,
trenchIne, or any measures that will render
the ground open and pcrmcable to The free
ADMISSION Of water 20 the depth Of twelve
to twenty inches. Then, by a liberal ap
pllcallon Of long manure, such land may
be rendered productive.
4 material improvement, it is said, may
often be effected, by mixing two qualities
Of land together especially whero clay too
greatly predominates in one case, aud sand
N tho other. We nave seen statements Of
experiments Of this nature being made, By
which land scarcely capable of producing
my kind Of vegetation, was rendered quite
protective. And we have but little doubt,
that where two kinds Of soil exist on the
same farm, as IS Frequently tue case, the
proprietor would find himself amply remu
nefatcd for the trouble Of miyug them.
1t sometimes happens that by mixing the
upper stratum with portion Of the sub
soil, great improvement is made cspecl.
ally if the surface be Of q light sandy tex
tore, based on a clay foundation, or rice
perSa, If the subsoil be calcarlous or
crumbIy clay, an Improvement might be
effected by mixture with either q light
sand or tenacious clay soil.
On the subject Of maturing, which is |
another necessary operation in promoting
the Improvement of land wo would remark, |