The Lambertville press. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1858-1???, 1860-10-03
Oet. 3
AoriGwltMal
Subsoil Plowing.

Subsoil Flowing.
The following striking Testimony Of
the value Of subsoil rlowing is given
by Sir Edmund Stracey, in the journal
ofan English Agricultural Society -
On coming, he remarks, to residg on
my estate at Blackheath, about six
years since, found Eve hundred acres
of heath land, composing two farms,
without tenants the gorSe, heather,
and fern shooting up in all parts
In short, the lands werein such con-
dition that the crops returned not the
seed town. The sell was loose,
loamy soil, and had been broken up by
the pillow to q depth not exceeding
four inches, beneath which was q sub
stratum so hard that with difficulty
could pickax be made to enter 10
many places. / had the years precee-
ding allotted some parcels of land, la
ken out Of the adjoining lands, to some
cottagers, to each cottage about one
third Of an acre. The crops on all
these allotments looked fine, healthy,
and good, producing excellent wheat,
carrots, peas, cabbages and other
vegetables in abundance The CUES
tion then was, how was this done p
On the outside of the cottage allot-
ments, all was barren. Tt could not
be by the manure that was laid on, for
the cottagers had none but that which
they had scraped from the road. The
magic | ascribe to nothing else than
The spade; they had broken up the
soil eighteen inches deep As to dig
glng up five hundred acres with the
spade, eighteen inches deep, at an ex-
pense OF six pounds an acre, would
not attempt it. I accordingly con-
sldered that a plow might be so con-
structed as 80 loosen the soil to the
depth of eighteen inches, keeping the
best soil to depth of four inches, and
near the surface, thus admitting air
and moisture TO the roots of tbs plants
and enabling them to extend their
spongioles in search of food for air,
moisture and extent of pasture are as
necessary to the thriving and increase
Of vegetables as of animals. Tn this
attempt | succeeded as the result will
show. l have now broken up ali these
FIVE hundred acres eighteen inches
deep. The process was by sending
q common pillow, drawn by two horses,
to precede, which turned over the
ground to the depth Of four inches /;
my subsoil pillow Immediately followed
in the furrow made, drawn by four
horses, stirring or breaking the soil
twelve or fourteen inches deeper, but
not turning it over. Sometimes the
iron pan was so hard that the horses
were set fast, and it became necessary
to use the pickax to release them be-
fore they could proceed. After the
first year the land produces double the
former crops, many of the carrots be-
ing sixteen inches in length, and of
proportionate thickness. The amend
ment could have arisen solely from the
deep blowing. Manure, I had scarce
ly any, the land not producing clover
sufficient to keep any stock worth
mentioning, and it was not possible to
procure sufficient quantity from the
town. The plow tore up by the roots
all the old gorse and fern, so that the
land lost all the distinctive character
Of heath land the first year after the
deep blowing, which it had retained,
Notwithstanding the blowing with the
common plows thirty five years. AT
ter this subsoil blowing the crop of
wheat was strong and long in the
straw, and the grain close bosomcd and
heavy, weighing fully sixty-four lbs.
to the bushel. The quantity as was
expected was not large-about 90
bushels to the acre-but great in com
parison to what it produced before
The millers were DESTROYS of purchas-
ing it, and could scarcely believe it
was grown on the heath land as in
former years my bailiff could with
difficulty get miller to look at his
sample. Let this be born in mind
that this land then had no manure for
years, was run out and could only be
ameliorated by the admission of air
and moisture by the deem nlovino