Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1823-1847, 1843-06-15
THE FARM.
HINTS FOR RENoyATtNG OLD solI

HINTS FOR RENovATING OLD SOILS \
Heretofore, the farmers Of this country have eul.
,ivaied a soil enriched for age. by the yearly nd
dItion Of a fresh stratum Of mould. From the frs,
existence Of vegetation upon the dry land dcoaycd
plants leaves, &c have continually furnished
supply Of manure which the winds have literally /
spread abroad As the supply was annually great
er than the consumption, the earth, uncxbaused
by It's productions increased IN fertility The
thick layer Of vegetable mould which covered the |
face Of the earth, was storchousc Of food for /
plants, and thus quantity increased by the CONVEX
sion Of wood into ashes bv clearing. II is not /
wonderful then, that for some years newly cleared
settlements should abound in produce and require
liulc more labor than that Of blowing and reapng
for during this period the provision is wasting
which for centuries has been nccumulating Blu,
the time will come and indeed has come In many
sections where the soil has been exhausted by i'm.
proper cultivation, and is now too weak Of itself TO
make plants grow with their former luxuriance
The grand question now presents itself-'how
shall the soil be renovated and brought back to It's
former richness and fertility p Ny answer
would be, IN addition TO monuring, TO break the
crust opening and stirring the subsol, and partial
" mixing II with the upper soil by which means
i, so alters and dlsposes the earth IN which plants
arc rooted tina, the radicals shoot more easily and
moro extensively through 1t, or in other words, II
becomes better flterer for straining aud appling
nourshmcn, TO their inhaling or absorbing
sells
|, is a well established fact, or axiom in agri
culurc that the deeper the soils is the more favor
bic will ii be for the purpose OF cultivation. To
produce this desideratum, several plans have been
adopted, either by thorough trenching with the
spade, or by the use Of the subsoil pillow Air
tbn chi Of .b,,b
makes use Of TO enrich the earth
: 1t is by close attention 10 passing events, that
| any desired object can ever be obtained As far
as experiments have been made, we find the earth
literally ahording its produce, in tenfold quantity,
and the land that now supports one hundred IN
habitons, may be made TO give equal enjoyment TO
thousand But in this stage well managed
farm mus, be carried on with more labor, expense
and more exact skill The most pro6ta, lie system
of culture is that which pays the creates, per cent
on the money laid out in cultivation, while the
land is greatly increasing in its productive powers
is truth which no one will attempt TO deny.
For the last four or five years, have had my
G attention directed to the great benefits derived
from subsoil blowing in Europe and have felt very
anxious TO obtain an implement for that purpose
e adapted to my soil. For three years have been
s making some experiments with merely an apology
4 for subso plow rs it only penetrated about five
. or six inches below the bottom of the furrow mad
1 by The common pillow: the share was thin and fiat
and only three inches wide at its broadest part
Still with this simple and might almost say met
fectual machine, could see very perceptible dill
t ference in the appearance Of the crop, moro cs
e pecialIy in a drought Corn in that part of tn
field where the soil has been stirred deep with tn,
e apology (for that is the name gave it. maintain
ed dark hcal,hful color, while tina, adjoining, tina
il had not hecn stirred with the skeleton or apology
r turned yellow, had sckly appearance, and tn
n leaves curlcd In fact the difference was so ar
l. parent, that noticed by those passing by
a the road, although at some distance. tried it j
Y nv carrot and beet field with equal success
&c have also used it on stiff loan and soil incinin
c. to sand with decided advantage Thus was NJ
d prepared for, as had always lsupposed such SO
L. would not be benefited by it but on examination
N | found the subsoil below the reach of the con
ID mon plow very compact and nearly as hard as
d, beaten track on the surface.
AS for myself, and from my own experience,
is entertain not doubt Of the utility of deep pillow
at ing not by turning up the under soil, but by 70
n lowing in the the furrow made by the first po
he with real subsoil plow which if properly col
T. structed pulverizes and stirs the earth from II
~ IA inches Indian corn, and all tap-roo,ed plant
n in such mass OF loosencd earth, would not | a
re confident, suffer much from the ordinary drougt
at Like sponge, il would absorb q vas, quantity
k, rain water, and becomes reservoir to supply Il
- wants ofthe plants. Nothing is more common
a dry season than the rolling or curling of Il
leaves Of corn, and that circumstance is off
- mentioned as evidence Of the severity Of drougf
n There is another advantage Of subsoing
a' the season is wet, it has the effect Of partial
lie daining the land aud causes the water to set
and carry with !, any vIiolic or other noxol
y" matter.
NC l am not aware that subsol blowing has ms y
IN this country, received much attention, or bc'
tried to any extent, but from the experiments ba
made, and with avery Indifferent implement, t
M results have been such as TO warrant the boil
~ tina, it will prove of very great advantage on O
20; soils that have been long under cultivation.
i'I Central ~ y Farmer.
red
ers C,o>+ctcrr>,cu or r,prr rD M