Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-04-22
agricultural.
Mixing Soils.

There often exist on the same farm materi-
ais entirely separate from each other, which
if mixed together, would add greatly to the
fertility of the land 4 neighboring farmer
has seven or eight acres of excellent black
muck or peat, averaging several feet deep.
which mis- ht have been underdrained at a mod
crate expense, and rendered fertile field, but
which the owner suffered to lie idle and use
less year after year. Much of bis adjacent
farm consisted of dry ridges and knobs, out
Of which the vegetable matter had nearly or
entirely disappeared, which might have been
much benefited by this muck. The work
could have been done in winter at little ex-
pense-but there, for half lifetime, lay the
great muck bed under water, and the dry
ridges parching in the summer sun. All
that was needed was mixing the different ma
terials of the farm.
Subsoils are frequently quite different in
characters from the worked soil above. We
once saw striking illustration of this diffe T.
ence. An open ditch, some two feet deep
and manv rods in length, had been dug to
drain small pond. The earth taken from
this ditch taken by the shovel and scat
tered back rod or more on each side over
the surface of the field, which was afterwards
sown with wheat. The succeeding summer
was unfavorable to this crop; and while the
rest did not average product of more than
five bushels per acre, the portion which has
been dressed with the subsoil Welded, bv
estimate, at the rate of twenty bushels. The
effect could not be ascribed to draining, as
there were many other portions equally dry
The conclusion was obvious subsoil con-
tanned certain ingredients, which, mixed
with the topsoil, made it exactly what was
wanted for wheat. Our own examinations
of different soils in Western New York, COM
monty termed limestone soils, have shown
by ehervescence In acids, the existence fear
Donate of lime, ten inches or more below the
surface, while not the slightest trace could
be de- ected at the top. That an admixture
of these unlike portions would be useful, has
been repeatedly shown by the fact that throw
ing up portion of the deep soil by plough
ing has sometimes added largely to the prod
uct. farmer in Cayuga county told us
that he had increased his wheat crop from
about twenty five to about thirty-fve bushels
per acre by running the plough two inches
deeper than In the previous practice. An
other farmer in the same county was SO we'll
satisfied with the superiority of the subsoi
that he asserted that he would gladly get rid
of six inches at the top, if he could have it
all pared off and carried out of the
way He undoubtedly stated the case
too strongly: 1t would probably have been
better to have intermixed the two parts
but his remark showed his strong
conviction OF the value of the subsoil
Many of our readers Will remember the expert
ment of A. b. Dickson, in spreading the soil
over his grass lands by artificial flooding, and
the heavy crops ofgrass (three ton per acre.
from this treatment. 1 he result was doubt
less. to be partly attributed to the character
of the undersoil which was washed over the
field There are it is true, MANY subsoils
Win do not Pc ssess these good qualities, but
1t Is well worIny trying them on a moderate
scale, as small quantities applied to the sur
face may be positively beneficial, while larger
masses would be injurious.
1t is well worth while for every farmer to
experiment more or less in this direction, in |
a small way or more extensively. as circum-
stances and success indicate. 1t NAV often |
happen that the enrichiny or improving |
earth is too deep down to be thrown up by |
the plough, in which case small pits NAV be /
dug, or still better, trenches or bitches NAV
be cut from which the SUI beoil is to be thrown
with the shovel to some distance around iii
this work can be done by laborers in winter,
who would otherwise be idle, an important
point would be gained. If the nature of the
ground allows it to be done wholly by hand
and shovel, it may be performed at one half
the cost required to wheel it few rods in
barrows, and then spread from them, and at
one quarter of the cost of drawing BY horses
md spreading from wagons. This is about
he relative rate paid for excavating on rail-
Dad contracts-barrow work being rather ,
ess than one half the expense of teaming by ,
wagons.
During the winter season of the wear. as ".
ave already stated, much Of this work NAV