Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1857-01-23
AqrituItural.
A Few words About Deep Culture
and Drought.

i've, we hau drought OF inc Sfealest
severity, in the summer of 1884, by
means Of which our crops of corn, hemp,
small grain and grass were reduced to a
very small fraction of their common ay-
erage, and immense losses incurred. -
MY farm suffered about as much as any
around me; and in casting about for
some method of avoiding, as far as |
could by tillage, the evils of similar
visitation, | concluded to make no change
in the crops themselves, but to make a
fair trial Of deeper culture of the soil
ought to say, that my land is Of the
finest quality of limestone, and had been
in cultivation for more than sixty years,
during the latter half of which it had
been very carefully ameliorated, as far as
that could be done by generous rotation
of crops, in four-fold shift, by fair cul-
ture--by keeping it clean, untrodden
where bare, and so on.
In the autumn of 1855, I procured
two subsoil ploughs F; and with the helps
Of good common ploughs and these sub
soil ploughs following them, / broke up,
by the middle of the following March,
about eighty acres of clover and planted
corn in it early in May The common
ploughs turned over the top soil about
five inches deep the sub-soil ploughs
went in the furrow about eight inches
deeper, merely breaking and stirring the
ground, but not bringing it to the surface
making about thirteen inches in all.
The result was crop Of about seventy
bushels to the acre-the year 1850
being a very fine season for corn, and
the common yield Of ground being about
sixty bushels. In 1856 the ground was
put in oats about the first of April, and
sown two and half bushels to the acre.
This year (1856) has been also year
Of severe drought in this region. Ny
oat crop was about half an ordinary crop
but was Considerably better than any
other oat crop in my neighborhood. /
am almost efraid to say, | have hereto
fore raised over a hundred measured
bushels OF oats TO the acre; but as nine
or ten OF my ueighbors measured the
land and oats, and | got premium from
one OF our largest societies for them, |
hope your readers will try to believe it. |
Let me say that cast iron points to sub
coil ploughs are extremely troublesome.
and that unless | can Get them with steel
points, | viii not use them any moro. II
However, | ought,to add, that in deep
soils they hot the best instruments,
Ssinyhow, but | should suppose they were
invaluable in rich. thin and light soils,
where the Aub-soil is near the surface,
and not so good as the top soil.
So, not being altogether satisfied with
the sub-soil ploughs, and thinking |
would ike to have some of the rich un-
der soil on top as well as to have a
deeper tilth, l procured, through friend,
in the fall Of 1855, from Chicago, large
plough known with us as the "IIlinois
Prairie Plough" It is, essentially, two
ploughs on one beam, the hinder plough
set deeper and being much larger than
The forward ono. 1t takes three very
stout horses--four would be better-to
use the plough, In our land, it win cut
and turn upside down furrow about
twelve inches e; sss, aud ia ii, QUE OF
them turned over fifty acres Of clover
sod during last fall, winter and spring,
and planted the Ground in corn about the
10th Of May last. The corn stood bad
ly, and much Of it had to be replanted
The summer was one Of protracted
drought. The result was that my fifty
acre field did not look well in the fore
part of the season; my other corn looked
better the corn of some Of my neigh
bors looked better. But as tho season
passed on, and the drought fell on us
more and more intensely, this corn held
its own, and even seemed to gain little,
while other corn, that promised far better
NEARLY appearance, gradually succumbed
to the hot, dry season. AT last the rain
comes, and then, when other corn was
past redemption, my Illinois plough corn
lifted up its head brightly and vigorous
". Its products viii be about forty-fyc
bushels to the acra--the average product
Of my noighborhood probably not reach
ing twenty-five bushels.
1t seems to me, therefore, that as far
as these experiments go, they prove clear
ly that deeper culture than we have
been satisfied with is partial remedy
against drought, and is great advan-
tago even in good scasons--and that, in
deep soils, the cheapest and most eifec-
tual method of this, is not sub-soiling,
but honest, deep ploughing. And per-
haps whenI add, that except the implc-
ments have myself, and except the cx-
periments | have herein spoken of, there
are neither such proceedings anywhere
about me, you will at least hold me ex-
cuscd for making so many words over
what little have done in the matter
during three seasons.
The recurrence Of these droughts are
new and important feature in our agri-
cultural affairs, in the central States Of
the West. We must try and provide
against the ruin which will follow in their
train, either by totally changing the sta
Piles Of our industry, or by adopting
methods Of culture which will enable our
present staples TO endure them better. -
Anything has, therefore, some value,
that affords to practical farmers relia-
BILE hint even. in either direction = Ohio
Farmer, Nor 10Th.
MANaEIN SWINE. Il have noticed in
one Of your late papers an inquiry fol
the cure Of what we " backwoods" call
mango in pigs. Permit me to assure
you thatI have a never falling remedy,