Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1853-11-09

GOOD wheat crops and for successful improve
HE Society will perceive, that | am urging
curse at nractiee, which has IN view the aleu-
mutation Of organic matter IN the sol III inc
ct practicable time. No observing lainiei' W
has Looked to the course OF culture III ms 80
fron its first settlement, can be Ignorant OF inc
,,rnat los Of organic matter that has ensued.
Successive crops of tobacco on the virgin sou,
frequent repettions of the corn crop, foiioNea
Inv wheat or oats, shallow plowings, excessive
,,razino. with no intervening amehoratlng crops,
characterize the outline of our destructive sys-
TEN. We look back 10 the past, not 10 express
vain regrets, but TO gather instruction. our pu'-
pose here is not 10 scatter reproaches' p"' ~
sow the seed of knowledge, to stimulate ny en-
couragement and to promise to the lnteilleeht
application of labor and industry the tuil irui'loh
Of success. ,,.z;.,
The vegetable matter in the soil tends to retain
the soluble saline matter and to keep it from beng
washed away;the presence III CONSIDERABLE quah'!
ty becomes desirable when we wish maintaln IA sou
in high state of fertility The land may be plough
ed much deeper, and the injurious effects oil heavy
rains to a considerable degree obSlated lie most
of the fertzing elements are soluble-hahy oi
them highly so. Now the quantity OF water that
falls on one acre of land is one hundred tons for
every inch in depth, or three thousand tons Tor
thirty the usual annual fall of water, the solvent
power of water and the annual average quahlty
which falls are sufficiently certain for practical
purposes. The injury resulting TO the land VIII de-
pend upon its conditions if the land be protected
by grasses, the flowing of water over lt,prodnceS
only beneficial effects. Such is the whole theory
of igaton--where i'll practice, the water Il
streams Is turned upon the meadows and made to
overflow them for several weeks, then turned ottfor
a few DAYS and again turned upon them for two
or three weeks, and this alternate flooding ana
drying continued for several months. The effect
does not depend upon the sediment deposited by
the water, though sediment decreases the effectwa-
ter without any perceptibe sediment may be sue
cessfully used nor does success depend uponthe
want of water for irrigation is practsed in Eng "
Scotland in the months of December and January,
when the soil is saturated with water. The con
ditons of success are, that the land be thorough
" drained aud the water be kept flowing and not
be permitted to stagnate.-( Lows Practical Ag.
574) The running of water over lands protect
cd by grasses, whether from streams or showers,
must be regarded as beneficial.
1t when land is cultivated, containing but lit
tie vegetable matter, powed shallow or left UNI
protected by cloycrs and grasses, that heavy
rains may be feared. As you deepen the soil
and increase the quantity of vegetable matter,
less and less injury results, until you reach the
extent of modern improvements in the practice of
subsoiling and tile draining. Then, we are in
formed, when the land is thoroughly drained
and SUBSIDIZED, SO that the rain sinks where tfalls
and makes its way through near three feet of
soil before it escapes, it is question whether, i'll
ordinary circumstances, it will carry away much
more than it brings with it from the air. ed.
Quar-. Jour. Ag. lS49, 592 Prof. Johnston.) If
the quantity which it carried into the tile drains
were appreciabe, analy sis would detect the
the quantity and solve the doubt; and such a
question would never have been stated as matter
of doubt, by SO distinguished chemist as Pro-
fessor Johnston. This furnishes a'striking illus
tration of the absorbent powers of the soil, of the
organic matter contained in it. Whatever fertili-
zing ingredients the rain water may dissolve when
it sinks into the tile drains, the soil has absorb
ed them so completely as to leave it doubtful,
whether the water carries away more then fell
from the clouds. What stronger evidence can
be furnished in favor of thorough draining and
deep ploughng The manure applied on such
a soil becomes fixed and permanent, until con
sumed by successive crops.
The land should be gradually broken deeper
with the turning plough its fertility increases.
In stiff clay soils early fall or winter ploughing
is advisable, in order to obtain the pulyerzing in
iuencc of frosts and freezes. To expose the
greatest amount of surface to the action of the
air the furrow slice should incline as near as
practicable at angle of Is deg.-and to pro-
cure this inclination the depth cut should be two
thirds OF the wldth-or IN the proportion of eight
inches deep to twelve wide. lows Practical
Agriculture, p. 2lS.) If the furrow be too wide
for its depth it will lie too fiat and oyerlap and
if too deep fori width it will be too near vert-
cal, and will fall back into the furrow Abso-
lutte accuracy cannot be practically attained; but
an experienced ploughman will soon learn to
gnage his plough when the correct principles are
understood. lnploughing Matches the Eng
lish are exact and positive in prescribing the
depth ot.the Ploughing and the width of the fur
row slice, even 10 haitian inch, and insist upon
uniform width throughout the whole."-(Cole-
mans European Agriculture, vol. |, p, $50
This is one of the great operations of husband
ry, upon which success mainly depends; and that
practical accuracy which has been attained,
should be held up a standard for imitation,