Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1868-09-11
firm, 6araea 4 agprsfhold.
WORKING THE SOIL.


von cannot well work the soil too much; il
:. almost always worked too little. We have,
for a few years experimental in this particu'
lar The effect where the soil is a 'fair one is
almost miraculous. People do not expert
meut, and therefore do not know; scarcely
ever is the thing thoroughly tried. Who
works the soil once week, or but once in
two weeks, to say nothing OF daily stirring ?
Very few indeed can answer in the afir-
native.
Now. there is such thing as soil being so
moor as that stirring however much 1t Is done,
win not benefit, it, or but little. Thisis the
case with soil composed nearly all of sand.
But where there is a good proportion of clay,
with other constituents to make es we have
said. a fair or medium soil, great benefit will
be derived by turning it up side down often.
A rich soil win also be fayorably Effected
but especially soil having clay pretty
largely, as clay is a conductor. And the ad
vantage which results from stirring the soil is
based upon this Il is by throwing the ground
to the air. which imparts its fertility to it,
the ground, particularly the clay, attracting
IT, The more it is stirred, the more porous
it will become; and the mere new and unaired
ground will be brought in contact to receive
the benefit. Hence an almost constant stirring
is an almost constant feeding. Besides, the
texture Of the soil is improved Water, heavy
and long continued rains, are Of no con-
sequence. They pass through It at once,
leaving also the ammonia and the carbon and
other gases of the atmosphere, which the soil
abstracts from the water. A rain, therefore,
is not burtful as it generally is when long
continued. The ground does not become
soured and packed, to crack when the sun
strikes it, which is so common, and such a
detriment. The cracking is sure sign that
the sell is not in q proper condition. A
properly worked soil is springy, lively and
mellow-just the soil to hold moisture through
drouth, which is such an inaietion in our
hot summers. But It lies there defying the
rain, and the frost. It is its own protector.
And it will keep; you cannot readily spoil it.
It will bear sooner plowing after rain, and
sooner putting in. And when it comes to
the working, it will almost work itself. Com
pare it with other hard soil in this respect.
But its fertility is after all its greatest point
That is its greatest improvement. Tilling the
soil, therefore, is an expressive word. 1t
means work; it means less land; it means Sc
curity against mishap, such as drouth, rain.
&C., it means improvement without manure
proper-uot that 1t excludes manure; It but
the better prepares the soil to receive it and
appropriate it. 1t means a garden. Were
each mans farm ike his garden, there would
be the greatest improvement the world ever
knew; less so in the richer soils OF the West.
Even our gardens can be greatly improved
in this respect; not so much on the surface as
in the debths, The soil wants to be worked
up from beneath. That is, the soil in most
cases wants to be fed by the air and changed.
Summer fallows are an improvement on
this principle, and this alone Twice plowing
is better than once. and three times better
than twice. and if thoroughly cultivated be-
tween each blowing, all the better.
And it is this working of the soil that kills
weeds; it cleans the ground and prepares it
better for sowing anything else.
Theirs is no heaving of such soil by the
frost. The frost but improves 1t; it cannot
hurt it.
And the deeper a soil is worked, stirred, in
this way, gradually, the better This gives
you the under benefit which is otherwise lost.
Less land. and thoroughly worked, is the
doctrine Of the day. And it has been the
doctrine from time immemorial. But it is
only good when applied to land thus thor
Oughly worked, manured, and taken care of.
Then less land becomes a necessity
World.