The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1847-01-13
AGRICULTURAL.
USES or DEEpENiNG TilE soil.

II seems 10 he SUPPRESSED, by many who
talk about derpcniag the soil, that the
first purpose of it's, 70 allow The RIOTS oi,
%r'dn,ss&to run deep; and by some, TINT If
,hissis mt ile$tLirc.t there can be hurdly'
any OTTER. This mo,inn,is neither coniin-
cd tofthe ayly"catcs nor .oppouents Of thr
dnc,rinc of deep tillnge. 'lteis bu, ltle
time since9 several different men have
mnintainc,l.$ insonrS herring. that i, was nt
no nsc to plnugh orstlig deep, because ,hr
roots Of plants run near the sur face of The
earth. While we, do not subscribe TO the
conclusion here drawn, we suspect The
fact 10 be rs slatc'l,ho a Gar greater extent
than many suppose.
Till -oi Ialr, in giving directions Eur
planting out asparagus rnols, the cultiva-
t"rs have required the. earth 10 he lrcnch>
I'd 10 .hc-dcp,h or ,w" feet,ssand The plnn,s
10 bc set viii, their rnntss snerneutlicnIar,
the lower exiremilics orthrn being buried
al least Is inches belaw thcSsmrfnrc: and
les, they8 should incline to. go tho deep,
the bottom of The trenches must be illrd
with brick or stone. Turning aspayctnenl
deep in the soi!: The Whale nf This prnc-
tise was founded on the idea t!a, the roots
nf this plant were ever,irlving dnwnwar'ls
to the centre oC the Garth, ard the soil
that they maynot. be out Of fodder OH their
Journey. @
So Of grape ,incs-a great bed of bnnes.
stones brick bats, AMI what not, must be
formed I; beruuse The roots Of vines were
always straying downward as much as its
top was reaching upward. OF late the
discovery has been made that the roots Of
grape vines 10 not run deep, but are creep
ing toward The SURFACE, like those amphib-
ioms animals which lie SD near the surface
Of the wafer that III" air can find ready ac-
cess to their lungs.
Nor could we ever satisfy ourselves Thai
tho roots of asparagus. have any such pre-
dilectiun for the interior Of the globe as
some maintain. We.always find them ncnr
the surface, especially when their bed has
been deeply .,lled.
II these facts are so, is there nny use in
tilling SO deep, and may wo no, cnnfne
our culture 10 the surface? BY no means.
The necessity Of deep tillnge does not rest
on these facts, be they enc or the other.
Some Of the more general requisites
Of a soil are. lsi, a fund Of food for the
plants il sustnins, consisting oi those mine-
raj constituents and those nrganic mutters
adapted to feed them. 2d,'an. cyenncss Of
Temperatures. 3d. such a cnnstruclure US
can he easily pcrmealcd hy moisture aud
air. Aud 1th, such mechaniculd density as
will allow the easy pnssuge Of the roots
through it. and At the sumo time hold the
roots in their pInces and afford them their
nulrimrnl in sufficient Quantities.
The rea-"n for the first orthese is readi
ly seen. The second is not so easily
c",uprchcndcil; hut The fact is, that "A soil
which has moi been stirred for long time
hrrnr,cs n .ruhy conductor nf heat
Hence lis temperature is affected will, ev.
cry change ni atmosphere, wiih.lhis differ
encr-lhul the cold below controls il,
much easier lIian the heat from nlmve.-4
Frequent alterations Of heat aud cold, such
as are common 10 The early part nf the
season, act rrsy injnrinn,' 'vupon growing
vcgGlatirv. Ii The snil is s" constructed
rs 20 mainlainnn even lemncra,u,c, il may.
TO u great extent c0unirrncl the effect nt
,he changes 1T The atmosphere. but if it is
affected hy a!i these changes Il is Obvious
that vrg.inilnn inlst suffer in proportion.
Il is within The observation of any one that
a soil which is thoroughly and deeply titled
is far better lilled 10 nain.nin an even TEN.
nature, ihnn one which is only moved To .
shaIow depth. The third qualify is "byi.
aus /; q deeplySiillctl soil is mnis. in II drs
time, nnd comparatively dry in wei "nr.
The fourth only requires il to be observed
that too light soil is not favnruhle 10 'hr
best growth Of vegetation. Hence the use
Of rollers, and pressure applied in various
WAYS to bring the carl, into n reasonable
compact state after pulvcrizatinn.
Nnw II is rpJsupa lilo IN suDDDsp-nnl