Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1852-04-23
From the Southern Cultivator
The Science of PIoughins.

The Science of PIoughins.
Messrs. Edi,ors-At your very polite request,
have undertaken to give few hints upon Southern
Husbandry, and for present illustration, have chosen
the following topic:
Ploughing. in its broadest and most comprehensive
sense, embraces the various methods of ameliorating
the soil by of machinery propelled generally by
animal power, and upon the perfectibily Of that
Iteration produced only by the combined efficiency of
the machinery and skill of the operative. depends
the most material and essential principles of farming
Ploughing being the first operation towards preparing
cultivated land for CROP defect in this department
cannot possibly be compensated for in after cuItiva-
ton.
1t is true that in a new country blessed with pure
virgin soil and congenia cline, very fair crops may
be produced with comparatively little labor plough
ing But, ask TO know, this be considered skill
Can this be called farming! 1t is we'll known that in
countries agricultural machinery is necessarily
rude and Inefficient not only account of the re-
moteness of manufactures, the great expense of
portation, by private conveyance and incompetency
of settlers generally; but from The fact that the more
improved and complicated implements ard machines
not well adapted TO the cultivation of new lands,
with all or manv of their natural incffnbrances We
must not therefore expect extensive Improvements on
the present system of cuItIvang new fresh lands
with the plough, until we become possessed of porta
BILE and cheap machinery for the extraction and remo-
val of stumps rocks, sc. But these facts which we
have admitted cannot be taken excuse for bad
farming. or more properly ''no farming all.' We
have now IN almost any portion of Georgia sufficient
quantities of old cleared land on which to commence
an improved system of cultivation, thereby improving
our lands, and at the time deriving increased
product from the expenditure of our substance.
Perhaps some may remark: " We are not able"
or, " We have not time 10 introduce this system
of cultivation. We do not know how 10 manage this
new style of Book Farming" Another may say =
"l don't believe twill do; twill ruin lands :"
and thousand other pleas have heard voluntarily
put up against an improved system of husbandry, of
which ploughing constitutes the base.
have practically demonstrated all these assertions
to be unfounded and untrue, on these very southern
lands and, of course under the influence of this very
scorchng southern sun and have never yet " killed
an inch of land during my agricultural career; but on
the contrary. have reclaimed Indian old fields tha,
were so poor as to be able to yield nothing but
fras, and rendered them valuable than the best
new lands AL this has been done by deep and thor
ough tage-turning under such material of fertility
as are generally allowed TO be washed away by the
branches, accompanied by the liable portions
of the natural soil
All the various reasons and excuses so often urged
against improved farming are based upon ignorance,
Incidence, pre- judice and parsimoniousness. There
never yet was, in my humble opinion, able TO
give reason tor bad system Of farm management
satisfactory to any one but himself.
Theory would say that, at the South where nearly
all the land is kept in constant cultivation an mprov-
ed system of ploughing would be found to predom.
nate over the north, where from half 10 thirds
of each farmers possessions kept in grass for pas
lures or meadow. But such is not the case. The fact
seems incontrovertibe that when the least proportion
of land is cultivated, farming aains lis greatest per-
fecton. What conclusion then are we TO deduce from
these facts? They seem to be these: Our crops are
not sufficiently diversified. We cultivate too much
land and do not make use OF the best implements and
machines for performing that operation The present
system of southern ploughing is so we'll understood
that shall not advert to it, only for the purpose OF
comparison / would spend my time and paper in
striving to point out more efficient method, and
whether or not succeed in doing, leave for the
public 10 determine.
The southern custom would be, with force of
twenty hands and many horses or mules, to start
each hand with a simple animal and plough. scratch
ing the surface Of the earth indscrminately from taco
to four inches deep; transverse section of the fur
| row representing a triangle with its vertex turned
downward. Hence, it will be perceived should far
mer succeed (Which he rarely will do) in getting the
entire surface broken up the furows being four inch
es IN depth. on an average, it will be perfectly obv
to any of reason that the mean depth of bro
ken or puverized soil will amount only two inches
But even this meagre cultivation if attained with per-
feet equality throughout, would, in many respects
surpass in point of utility, the common bull tongue
system. 1t would give the roots Of plants equal
chance OF supplying themselves with nutrition from
the SOIL by afording depth of puyerized earth
for their luxurance, and thereby effect object to-
/ N,
which is point of the greatest importance.
The small furrows formed by the point of the gopher
or bu-tongue plough offer the greatest inducements
TO washing by rain. 1t will be noticed that all lands
of considerable inclination have nearly every year. and
sometimes oflener, the greater portion of their soil
swept Oft by floods of rain water. Wtich Invariably
commence (when the inclination will admt) an cutters
formed an the hard subSo by the point of the plough
I have recently ploughed land after a vio-
lent rain entirely bereft OF all broken pulverzed
earth that the direction Of every furrow night be traced
on the subsoil Nor is this all. On comparatively
level lands. when the inclination is not great enough
to carry off the surplus water (Which when the plough
ing is shallow, must he considerable during the IN
tense rains.) the injury from the removal of this sur
plus moisture by evaporation, when the subso is, s
in many sections of country, nearly mpervious to
ter, can hardly be estimated. During proracted
drouths also, this surplus moisture not having teen
permitted To descend greater depth than that reach
ed by the shallow ploughing; (and, have al
ready seen, II must have been removed almost entire
ly by evaporaton the consequent depression of tenn
pera,ure which invariably accompanies this process,
has thus far materially affected the growth of vegeta
ton. And now that the of moisture has been
nearly all removed and the soil has become TO GER
tain extent, warmed by the influence of the rays.
the sckly plant or they always appear sickIy vet
unploughed and) appears nvigorated and shows faint
promiioTy symptoms of glowth. WE'LL" says the
shallow eultirdtor, +" | shall yet make crop" The
dTought continues; in less than week the soil
dry; the moisture has all been dis.ipated BY the al
most vertical rays of the sun, which now strike d-
rectly through this lean strata OF half puverZed earih
al once threatening the vitality of the tender roots
which had been prevented from descending so deep as
10 avoid this by the eoaiguousness of the
underlayng and impenetrable subso II will at once
appear obvious, from the foregoing remarks that one
great of the failure OF crops is that plants
lniuIel from of moisture and depression of tenn
peraue al certain perols, and at others scorche from