Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1851-06-05
Mechanical Improvement OF
SAinS.

There are two modes ofimproving soils.
l have spoken ofthc composition Of soils.
You see how they vary, and what differ
onces there are in the qualities Of soils, and
what it is that constitutes equality Of soil,
and what the relation between these and
tho chemical composition Of soils. But
how are soils to be improved I There are
two methods, the mechanical andt the chem
ical. Ofthc mechanical method ! shall
now speak, and ofthe chemical in my last
lecture. Among the various mechanical
methods of improvement there are thrcc
principal kinds. The first is deep plough
ing that, in almost all cases, is found to
be important and profitable In al coun-
tries where / have been, in all parts of
Europe which l have visited, experience
has shown that the soil generally is not
ploughed to great depth; three, four. or
five inches is almost tho maximum depth
ofcxhaus,ion. Its very often the case
that persons exhaust land until they can
raise no more crops, and are then compell-
ed to leave. The person who succeeds,
seeing the system Of tillage that has been
practised, instead of adopting the former
system of shallow ploughing, goes down
deeper and turns up a new soil altogether.
Very likely in this new soil are found ac-
cumula,cd the materials which the other
soil once contained. The manure that has
been put on and accumulated below is
turned up, and the new conner gets, per-
haps, not only a virgin soil, but much Of
the money that the old farmer has buried
there. This is no Hypothetical case. If
it were, would not state it. for specula-
ton and hypothesis are good for nothing.
In the ncighborhood of Edingburgh there
arc farmers Of the greatest skill and who
make great deal of money and, as a
general rule, you may judge ofthe skill of
farmer by the number of sovcreigns that
be has pocketcd at the end of the year; it
is very good test. One ofthese farmers,
after hearing one of my lectures, in expla-
nation ofthis simple principle,told me that,
though he lived SO near Edinburgh, the
thing had never occurred to him before,
nor had he heard oft; and he immediate
ly went to work to carry out the princi-
pie. and, by ploughing down, he had
brought to the surface fresh soil, and was
then growing luxuriant crops where he
had the land entirely exhausted. There
fore il IS quite true that.in the under or SUBJ
soil, there accumulate many substances
which have drained through from the up
per soil, which make it fully us rich as
the upper soil once was, and that the farm
or takes the cheapest steps to reclaim poor
land, exhausted by severe cropping, who
ploughs deep.
This must besutiicicnt to show the value
Of the subsoil, when turned up and mixed
with the upper. l need not dwell ON this.
but have this rcmark~to make. 1t hap-
pens sometimes that various substances ac-
cumulatc beneath, which are injurious to
the plant, and in order that they may not
iajurc the upper soil, it is not always adj
visablc to bring up. There are districts,
in my country, whercthe subsoil is white
clay, which is so barren that if brought up
il might destroy the upper soil, and there
fore i is carefully avoided. This is the
case in many parts ofthe world. 1t is quite
proper not to do SO but not an unfrequent
resor, with us, as means Of deepening the
soil, where the subsoil is impcrvious or nox
ious, is to cut il through. SO that the water
sinks, aud, ms it sinks below the level of
the soil. the rain falls, filing up all the
pores in the soil to certain point, which,
with the fresh air, effects chemical action
on these substances. changes them chemi-
cally, and gives them either nourishing
quality or mobiles the subsoil 20 thai, when
brought up, it will not be injurious or nox-
;uus 10 plants.
This IS the object Of subsoil ploughing ;