Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1856-11-06
Aaritnltard.
Deep Flowing.

Msssrs. Ediiors:--A spsech-msksr al one
of our tate agricultural exhibitions proposed
1 To make-obe farm as productive a. three, BY
ploughing the land three times as deep a it
had ever before ibesn plougbsd; and what
was wonderful, he escaped without the sx-
pressed contempt Of his practical hearers.
This reminds one of the. story told Of two
sailors, who, happening to 60 into church,
heard the minister descanting on the cons.
dence of'salvation that filed the brsat OF
every true believer, who may be hkened to
the sailor that has cast bis anchor on the
rock, Christ-Yhen one Of the sailors ex-
claimed to the other, my eyes, Jack, let's
CO." -'-s 80 -
Here is a gentleman, who advocates
ploughing all soils to the depth os ga. foot
or more," without knowing what is the r.
ture of the subsoil at one-third Of the depth;
it may be coarse, hungry gravel. or wet.
poisonous till, no matter; eight inches Of it
brought up and spread over the four inches
of surface-soil, will, of course, and accord
ing to tine rule of three, render one farm as
productive as three. an idea quite as pre-
posterous, unnatural and reprehensbls as
casting an anchor upon rock, and quite
sufficient to warran every practical Isan ~
leave in disgust. But | forget; this wild
practice was fashi enable but q short time
since, and depth less than foot in any
soil was highly reprebensible and ought to
be put down by statute. In practising this
indiserimnate deep ploughing, what 10 term
ed by some, the hard-psn, but by others, ths
virginity of the land " as broken up and for.
ever destroyed, to the utter ruin of the soil,
perhaps, nine times out Of ten, and engend-
ering all sorts of diseases amongst the cFopI
drawn up by The spongislss from the poison.
Gus depths belJw, into which only the an
chor roots OF the crop ought to penetrate for
water, where it would always be found by
reason OF evaporation being prevented BY
The natural Covering of lard -pds, which
frightful term seems TO have scared even
and practical men out Of shsir
wits. ". 3 -7 ---Ts
What has become of those land-kiIlsrs,
The subsoil plosghs; in all my travels asv-
ar find enc left to tell. all gone By the
board, as would the mas:s of the ship that
mad anchored upon rock! Sometims since,
, practical man from New Jersey informed
Is of the success, or rather, the want OF it,
hat followed the subsoiling part o. 6el!,
hat had totally aud forever ruined its pro.
no doubt, from its having &C.
troyed that wise ordination Of PrVvidsnes,
he intervention Of the hard-psn between
he surface-ssil and the subsoil, that in or
linary cases ought to be preserved. Some
vears since, superintended the snbsoiling
If two fields sown with wheat and oats in
he spring, and in both instances the result
vas the same, namely, when the crop had
,rown TO the height of, say Eve inches, the
'lants took a bend at the FIRST joint, reach
ng the ground, and then striking upwards,
o the great injury of the crop, both in aP-
earance and in reality; since which, the
ard, like the borse-leech, is never satisfied
With its share Of the tarn-yard, but 10 still
rying, Give, gIve!" the breaking up Of
he hard-pan permitting the passage OF the
ressing to the "shades below" out Of the
each of all but the anchor-reo:s Of the
rops, for which it is as unsuitable az the
asturage at that depth for the spongoiles.
The subject of deep plsughing is not yet
would our friends cultivate it.
nd give US the account of their success or
Ramsey, IN Boston caIii-
ator. -----..------