The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1850-05-15
From the American Fsmsr.
ADVANTAGES OF sUBsofL PL oUGH'

From the American Famsr.
ADVANTAGES OF sUBsofL PL oUGH.
ING.
We find the following. upon 4his SUBJ
iecl, already prepared 10 our hands. by our
esteemed friend. DR.. Holmes. Of the Maine
Farmer. and commend il 10 our readers
With The more pleasure. as il has his en-
dorsement s
Oar object is 10 present our readers
with al The light we can collect from The
various publications that come 10 hand,
respecting The process. II is a new sub.
jecl to The farmers Of Maine; and as |, is
asien led with considerable expense. we
would be cautious in urging il upon our
friends. without good evidence OF its utli.
~. In The last number Of the Working
Farmer. we find some statements in regard
10 subscribing. from which we extract the
following. James Carnahan, President
OF the Princeton College. states the result
ofaa" uninlen,ional" experimenihe made
in 1913, in sub-soiing.
wished. says he, TO sub.soil lot in
soil with hard pan. and as had only
one team, hired another 10 turn over the
seed preceding The subsoll plough. He
came and worked one day, but did not re-
turn the next. Asthe time for planting
was approaching. i..directed,my farmer 10
60 on and plough in the common way as
deep as he could. He did so. The fol-
lowing day, the other ploughman relun-
cd. worked a day (sub-soiD and then was
absei I.
The resultwas, the lot was ploughed
alternately with the common plough and
the sub-soil. The whole lot manured and
worked in the same way. except the sub
soiling of some parts and some not. The
month Of August was dry; the corn in the
subsoiled suffered very liille i thar on
The part not sub soiIed suffered very
much.
When the corn was gathered. we could
distinguish, the very row where the SUBJ
soiling was commenced and ended-ihe
ears were more numerous and OF larger
size.
did not measure the corn nor the
ground. but the difference was SD obvious
10 the sight, that no one could doubt the
superiority Of the corn on the ground sub
soiled.
This year the whole Of my corn ground
was sub-solled, and The yield was very sa-
tsfactory. The month Of July was dry
and hot. and the leaves OF my corn did
not shrivel, while those in tie adjacent
fields rolled up.
The next instance Of improvement by
sub-soiling is one also connected with
draining. Perhaps some Of our readers
may recollect that we gave in the Farmer
an instance Of improvement for field by
draining, made BY Mr.. Goodwin. OF Rome,
in this State. MIR. Goodwin estimated
the prof, TO him as equal TO 25 per cent.
on the cost.
The present instance we also find in
the Working Farmer. communica, by
Mr.. B. Webb, Of Wilmington, in Della.
ware.
According TO his statement, he drained,
Est spring, about four acres Of hard clay
bottom. He then well manured il, and
s'lb-soiled a part Of it. and planted il in
corn.
An acre that was drained. surface
pioughed and sub-soiled, produced S6k
bushels oil ears of sound corn. An acre
that was drained. but worked in the usual
way. produced 80 bushels. An acre ad.
joining the drained part, Of abou, The same
quantity of land. but no, so fiat, and ol
course better calculated to raise a crop,
produced. with the same manure, and Ill.
lage, Al bushels.
The drains were made 33 feet apart, az
he intended TO double their numbers. Il
now appears iha, when The draining ID
finished, it will cost $40 per acre.
MIR. Webb further states that his land
was considered by one of his neighbors as
cold, dshy kind of land, SO flal tha. the
water would not run off; and even if i,
/. would, the soil was so poor that nothing
could grow upon il, but swamp grass
wien This negt,bor saw the hands EN-.
ployed nj the work Of draining. &C., he
inquired whether The owner thought the
produce would ever pay The expenses.
'rhe outlay was commenced in April,
and in December Mr.. Webb says the ca.
pital is all returned with per cent. inte.
rest, and the land highly improved.
These facts are important and encou-
raging. and worthy the candid considera-
llen of the farmers throughout the Union.
u Is The business Of tie farmer TO prepare
The soil SO as to make the best possible
situation for the roots Of plants 10 spread