The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1854-09-23
agricultural.
Deep an 4 Shallow I,iouxhsnx.

Deep and Shallow Fiouxhinx.
Extract from the address of b. D. Hamlin,
at the Mexican County Agricultural Exhibi-
ton, held August q, 1858
Another error which il often remark ed
here and in other sections of the county, ia
the management Of The cultivated parts 0ftho
farm, is the saa!ioa ual small amovnt of piou-
ing it receives. Your experience has taakht
you that the efficiency oil soils in proiucing
good crops depends much on tho subsoil. aIf
this,' says Allen in his Farm Book, .:coo-
sists ofimpervious cl.y or hard pan, which.
prevents the drainage OF the water, it is evil
dent the accumulation OF heavy rains within
Jure the vegetation above, for it is certain
that while nothing teads more to odlsStiys-
ness than an adequate supply of moisture for
the roots, nothing is more injurious than their
Immersion in standing water" Much Of our
soil Is OF this character. AS You penetrate
the earth, after having gone few inches be-
low the surface, the soil becomes harder. or.
rs is commonly said, the clay becomes sitter,
and generally runs into what is called hard.
pan. This, in its natural compact stsse, sd
mts neither heat, air nor moisture, to much
extent; all OF which are Indispensable agents
to the production of vegetable life. Whom
the earth is rendered friable to a point at, or
near this harder substance the water from
the surface pcnetrates thus far and there re-
mains; the roots, too, in seeking moisture and
nourlshmcnt, reach the same point and then
stop. 1t must be evident that if this point is
near the surface, plants will be liable not
only to the injury Of standing in bed of stag
naht water, but be subject to the still greater
liability OF being destroyed by being parchsl
in time ofa drought. A sudden change from
wet to excessive dry weather, upon lands
thus cultivated, Frequently causes the almoA
total destruction OF the crops. Fields with
In my own observation have been thus visit
ed, and have no doubt from the same cause
For these evils there is Il certain remedy. IL
consists in simply breaking up this hard earth
by means of the sub-soil plough. Once re-
moved from its bed, it will continue to drain
of the water not absorbed in tho upper soil,
and afford supply Of mosture in dry weatll-
or without being disturbed again for years
This affords the cheapest and most vtliciont
drains, besides answering the purposes of
irrigation.
But these, though SO highly important, are
not the only beneficial results Of deep plow-
ing. Continued cultivation absorbs, or rat-
or exhausts, certain properties Of soils which
cannot be supplied by the use of the orii-
nary 'getable manurcs. The effect of this
process of exhaustion depends, of course,
upon the depth Of the material acted upon.
thin soil will wear out sooner than deeper
one. The design Of the sub-soil pillow is not
to throw out the earth, but simply to break it
up in its bed
There is. however, gradual increase i'll
the depth OF the soil. produced by this pnic-
tce The fine and more sol.sblo PARTICLES Of
the richer material above are constantly
working down and enriching the IooscneI
earth below; 80 that in a short timo, the who'll.
becomes mass reproductive natter.
The depth OF all loanly soils, (Which cont
prise all those in this county except on til,
bottom lands near the streams,) may be much
increased with the plough in ordinary uss
among our farmers. 1t must, however, be
done by judicious management ana the appE-
cation OF knowledge Of some ofthe obvious
laws of production. To throw up a mass Of
cold clay for the first time, in the spring, with
the expectation Of raising crop that season,
would he as preposterous as to think Of ma
turing hot-bed plant by exposing it to III,
chilling winds of March. Yet | have often
seen this done, and have caused II to be done
myself and wondered why nothing grew. The
true course to pursue is, at every successive
fall ploughing, to deepen your burrows Hitis;
OF for some crops, if you have plenty OF wanT
manures, sink them to the full depth desired.
This process will, in a short time, give you
soil that will wear, and that will not dry up or
drown out your crops. SO say men who have
tried It and who have the aid Of science to
give additional weight to the testimony of
their own observation. The frost in the win
ter will pulverize the soil more perfectly thsu
it can be done in the sans time by any arti-
licial process. .4Fsv
Did You ever think that by shallow plowins
you were shipuning the land; and in little
while you have all the cream taken of. and
what was left would look dlue3 How long do
you suppose land will produce with three
inches depth Of cultivation land how much
more than that will be the average in this
county, Some, hope; too little, / fear.
When farmers can he made to understand
that the earth which they cultivate is a thing
Of lite;-that it has respiratlon;-that it
6reathes; and that to produce healthy and
invigorating action, its pores must be kept
open-thcn we may expect large increase
OF crops. 1t is not the size Of the mass
of earth which surrounds plsRt Upon
which it depends for its degree Of nour-
ishment; but it is the state Of preparation that
the earth is in; otherwise a solitary tree.
placed in the ccntre Of a field of compact
clay. might be expected 70 flourish more lux
urantly than if planted in the fine mould of
the door-yard. 1t is the fiuely pulverized
soils, so prepared as to admit heat, moisture
and air more freely, that we may expect the
largest growth Of vegetable products. Pre-
pare your fields as the homeopathic does his
cnrativcs, by pulverization (trituration;) but
be careful to administer no homeopath doses
Of fertilizers or of labor. .