Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1850-10-19
CuItivntinr stin.Soi1.

The Importance of pulyerizng for stiff soils, can
hardly be overaied yet it is matter which receives
too little attention from farmers in most sections OF
our country where this description of soil prevails.
Considerable improvement has been made In the nm
elements used in cultivation of stiff soils regards
their puverizaton though the best implements for this
purpose are by no means common Much depends
on the pillow, as TO the effect produced on the soil
some producing much pulverzation than others.
The first effort towards producing this eff
feet, should be TO pow the land fine, or in narrow
burrows But in addition TO this, some implement is
needed which will, under any circumstances, reduce
the hard soil to the requisite degree of rlability. In
England, an implement called the ''cod crusher' is
used for this purpose 1t consists of series of iron
plates, placed round cylinder with noches like deep
cut saw-teeth at the outer edges. The machine
operates like roller, and being drawn over the
ground, breaks down and pulveriees the humps at
once We can see no good reason why such an i'm
plemen should not have been brought into use in this
country.
} writer in the Farmers Magazine makes some
interesting observations IN regard TO the improvements
which have been made in the cultivation Of stiff soils
He says
"We need only reflect moment on the princi-
pies which have to guile the strongland cultiyaor
in preparing bis soil for the Seed and compare the
means he had ofovercoming his difficulties, say TWEEN
ty years ago, with what he has now, and we shall
how very different is his position rendered by the
application OF mechanical science. We speak not
ofhis profit, abstract comparative but we cannot
help being struck with the vast difference in his re-
sources ofmeetng the difficulties of his position
Once he had to pow with three four horses and to
plow with great labor and difficulty and then
to harrow with an implement which produced scarce
/ ly any impression on the stubborn clods-to pow
and harrow, and pillow and harrow, whenever he
could until perhaps he found necessary to set his
people, IN seasons, to complete his opera
tons with the malet aud the stone-hammer to break
the unruy clods. He had to pulueri.e and to clean
the one could not be done with the other, and the
former had to be effected somewhat in this manner
First the unctuous clay was cut in long longitudinal
parallel pieces by the plow and left on edge to dry
being divided by double wedge called plow.
This being sufficiently dry to admit the tread
ing of horses feet with impunity, is cross-cut into
large cubes, and these subjected to the action Of
of natural processes. The sun and air dry out all
the moisture, owing to the large surface exposed Il
their action The moisture distracted the clods be-
gin to crack, and show here and there symptoms O.
assures by the evaporation of the moisture forming
recepacles for the next rains which one by one again
swell out the PARTICLES and slowly the whole is brok
en- down into a ffiable soi''
He observes that the practice now is, to follow
the pillow the soil is suitably dried, witt
the clod crusher; or some similar powerful separato
of clods, and by once or twice going over the field
the soil Is reduced 10 fac tth as II il had under
gone whole summers exposure
.4lbang Cultiuator