Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-01-01
A FEW WORDS ABOUT DEEP CULTURE AND
DROUTH.

In th5 region Of country ia which | live we had
q drouth Of the greatest severity, in the summer
of 1854, by means of which our crops of corn,
hemp, small grain, and grass vera reduced to e
very small fraction of their common average, and
immense losses incurred. Ny farm suffered about
as much as any around me- and, in casting about
for some method OF avoiding as far as I could by
tilage, the evils OF similar visitation conclu.
ded to make no change in the crops themselves
but to make fBir trial of the deeper culture of
TIE soil ought to say that my lard is of the
finest quality OF limestone land, and has been in
cultivation for more than sixty years, during the
latter half Of which it had been carefully smeliora-
ted as far IS that could be done by generous ro-
tstiOn OF crops, in four-old shift by fair culture
by keeping it clean, untrodden where bare, and
so on.
In the autumn of 1854, I procured from Miller
q WIngate, OF Louisville, Ky, two of their sub
soil plows; and, with the help of good common
plows and these subsoil plows follow ng them, l
broke up, by the middle of the following March,
about eighty acres Of clover, and planted corn in
1t early in May. The common pIows turned over
the top soil, about FIVE inches deep; the subsoil
plOws went in the furrow about eight inches deem
er, merely breaking and stirring the ground but
not bringing it TO the understanding about thir.
teen inches in all. The result was a crop Of shout
seventeen bushels to the acre, the year QS55) be-
ing very hne season for corn and the common
yield of tie ground being about sixty bushels
In 1856 this ground was put n oats, about the
lst Of April, and Gown % bushels to the acre
This year 1885, has also been a year of severe
drouth in this region. My cat crop was about half
an ordinary crop, but was considerably better than
any other nat crop in the neighborhood l am al
most afraid to say, have heretofore raised over q
hundred measured bushels of OATS to the acre; but
as nine or ten Of my neighbors measured my land
and OATS and l got premium from one of our
largest Societies for them, hope your readers will
try to believe it. Let say that csst-ron points
to subsoi p'ows are extremely troublesome, and
that unless l can get them with steel points l will
not use them any more. However, ought 10 add,
that, 10 deep sol3, they are not the best irslru-
meuts, any how; but l should suppose that they
were invaluable ia rich, thin, and light soils, where
the sue soil s near the surface and not so good as
the tOps0Il. So, not being altogether satisfied
with the sU0-sOll plOws, and thinking | would like
to have some of tne rich under soil on the top, as
well as to hsve q deeper tiltb, procured through
a friend ia the fall of 1855, from Chicago, large
plOw. Il Is, essentially two plOWs on one beam,
the hinder pow set deeper, end being much larger
than the forward one Il takes thrre very stout
horses (Our wCud be bettsr) to use the plow. In
our lsud, it viii cut and turn upside down, fur
row about Y inches square; and, with one of them
1 turned over fifty acres of clover sod, during last
fall winter, and sprng, and lsnted the ground in
corn, ABOUT the 10Th o, May LIST. The corn stood
badly, and much Of it had TO be repanted This
summer has been one Of very prOtrsct.d drouh
THe result Is this: ny fifty acre fell did not look
we'll IN the forepart OF the season; my other corn
looking better; the corn of some Of my neighb1rs
looked better.
But as the season passed on, and the drouth fell
on US more aid more intensely, this corn held its
own, and even seemed to gain little while otter
corr, that promised far better, in early appearance,
gradually slccuubed % the hot, dry season. AT
last, the rains CANE, and tben, when other corn
was past redemption, my Iinois-plow corn lifted
up its head brightly and vigorously. Its product
will be about iOrCyhVe bushels TO the scre-the
average product OF my neighbOrhood not reaching
probably twenty i've bushels It seems to he,
therefore, that, as far as these experiments 90,
they prove clearly, that deeper culture than we
have been satisfied with is psrtialremedy against
drouth, and is great advantage even in good sea-
sons and that il deep soils the cheapest and most
efeC ual method of this, Is not cub soling, but
honest deep pJO1giHg. And perhaps, when l add,
that except the implements l have myself, and
except the experiments l have herein spoken of,
there are neither such implements, nor such pro-
ceedings, anywhere about me, you will at least
hold me excused for making SO many words over
what lit lie have done in the matter during three
seasons.
The recurrence Of these terrible drouhts is new
and INST important feature in our agricultural af-
fairs in the central .stes of the West We must
try to provide against the ruin which will follow
in their train, either by totally changing the sta
pies 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 rei-
able hint even, in either direction Ohio Flrmsr