The Planters' banner. [volume] (Franklin, Attakapas Co., Lou.) 1849-1872, 1853-11-17

however, the advance from WOODEN
plows through iron points and iror
mold boards, TO iron plows, steel points
steel plows, and subsoiling, has been 81
signal and decisive that the shittles:
creature who with his two lean ponie:
skins and skins over the fields he ough
either to cultivate or let alone-scratch
ing their surface mildly 10 depth o.
three or four inches,-sins against such
an array of light aud knowledge tha,
he is far less excusable than his ances
tors, who did not pretend to plow at all
but stuck in seed here and there as
they could easiest find hole or make
one, and trusted to Providence TO give
them an undeserved return for their
spiritless and frivolous efforts
Hhe three main features of agricul-
tural advancement among the Anglo
Saxon race nowadays are: l. deep
ploughing, or sub-soiling !; 2. draining ;
3. irrigation. | am quite aware that
draining should take precedence in the
order of time, yet believe, in point OF
fact, deep ploughing has led to drain
ing, by demonstrating its necessity,
and notsdraining to deep ploughing.-
We suffer immensely from drought in
this country. Probably the aggregate
annual loss from drought alone through
out the Union decidedly exceeds, taking
one year with another, the entire cost
of our Federal Government Yet we
know that the roots Of most plants will
descend to moisture, no matter how dry
the surface, if the earth beneath them
is porous, mellow and inviting. Hence
we realize the immense importance of
deep ploughing; and, after doubling
our teams and sinking our deepest
ploughs TO the beam, we summon 10
our aid the sub-soil implement, and go
down depth beyond that of any sin
gle furrow But we soon find that the
pulveriZation of the sub-soil, thus at
| tanned, has no permanent effect; that
the water that teaches down to it set
ties it into compact, solid mass, which
the roots cannot perforate; and all our
sub-soiling needs to be done over again.
The remedy that readily suggests itself
is the freeing of the sub-soiI from wa
ter by drains sunk below it, say three
to six rods apart, and filled half way up
with pebbles, with fiat stones forming
sort Of culyert, or, still better, laid
with draining-tile or hollow brick,
placed end to end, and forming con-
tinuous channel from the highest part
of any slope or grade to the brook
which drains il. And now the sub-soil.
supposlng inc drains wei Hrduo
the drainage-way sufficient, is readily
freed from any water settling into II.
and long retains the porous and Per-
meable character communicated TO 1t
by deep ploughing
Of course, this does not exhaust the
good effects of draining. The subsoil,
thus loosened and freed from excessive
moisture, becomes source of food as
well as drink TO the plants growing
above it for that it is capable of feed
inc plants, no one, who has observed
the rank vegetation growing out Of the
earth thrown up by draining or dig
sing, can doubt Instead of being like
a slough in wet weather and like a
brick in dry, the subsoil retains snffi-
cient moisture TO cheer the plants but
too little TO indurate itself. And the
mean temperature Of the soil, hitherto
lowered by the constant evaporation OF
the wafer contained in the subsoll is
raised several degrees by the SUMS rays,
no longer counteracted by the evapora-
ting process,-at least, not to any such
extent as before-so that the plants
grow more luxuriantly, mature more
rapidly, and so are earlier out OF dan
ger from frost. And beside this, the
constant passage of currents of air
through that portion of the drain not
occupied by water,-and each drain
should have an opening al its head as
we'll as at its mouth IN additional
source of fertility through the chemi-
cal combinations it insares. 1t would
be difficult to overstate the value, the
importance, the profit, of draining.
Many are accustomed TO Say. g Thas
land needs no draining;;" meaning that
il is not habi,ually too wet But drain
ing proves as useful, if it is not as i'm
pera,ively necessary, on dry soils as on
wet. On dry lands it is required that
the sub-soil, once broken up and pull
verized, shall not, by the settling of
moisture therein during the wet sea-
son, be hardened and rendered imper-
vious again; these lands need TO be
rendered porous and penetrable by roots
10 greater depth because of their dry
ness; they need to be shielded from
the pernicious effects of constant eva
poration in cooling the soil, and thus
retarding the growth of its plants
There is very much land not worth
tilling; but there is none that will JUS
tify tillage which would not reward
draining.
Of irrigation, we in this country know
very little by experience; but we are
destined soon TO know more, and to be
pro6ted by our knowledge. True, there
are lands that may be readily drained
and sub-soiled that cannot so readily be
irrigated, owing to their elevation and
a deficient supply of waller. | appre-
hend, however, that these lands are not
10 be found in Indiana, nor in any other
Prairie State, whose first peculiarities
that strike the stranger are a supera-