Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1869-07-28
WHOLE NUMBER 3Sl.
Benefit Of Deep TIIIage.

| IT is hardly necessary, at the present
| time, to explain the reasons why deem
ening the soil increases the productive
ness. Few persons will dispute the fact
| that the roots of all cultivated crODs Den-
citrate in deeply lOOsened soil to a much
| greater depth than in a shallow soil
which has been only scratched with the
| plOW year after year, and under which
an impenetrable hard pan has been form
ed by the rubbing of the sOleplate of the
plOw and the tramping of horses or oxen
in the annual preparation for winter or
spring crops. It is easier to break ND
this hard-pan than to overcome the pre-
jUdices which some farmers entertain
against deep plOwing.
IL IS now nearly q century and half
since JethrO Tull commenced his en-
deavOrs to establish in England a deep
er and better tillage of the land than ex-
listed before and during his time. His
proposition was met with all the argu-
ments that the indOlent and bipOted
could collect. 1t was said that to blow
deeper would only bring to the surface
the inert subsOil-thatitW it would let i'm the
drOUght-that the land would be chilled
! that the seed OfneW varieties of weeds.
hitherto dormant in the soil, would be
brought to the surface and warmed into
life by the heat of the sUn-that the la
Dor of plwing would be increased, that
the deeper the soil the more manure it
would require. 1t was almost i'm vain
that Tull labOred among the ilI-infOrm-
ed farmers of his day, to show that his
own experience was an answer to all
these objections. The day had not yet
daWned when science was to show the
correctness of TulPs conclusions and the
baseless nature of the objections with
which he was met-ObiectiOns it NAV be
remarked which have been reproduced
in this country, and are still used by the
advocates of shallow tiIlage.
The chemical researches which have
been carried on from Tull's time (he died
l745) to the present, have demonstrated
that with few exceptions of the earthly
portions Of the surfaee-sOil, and the sub
stratum on which it rests, are nearly
identical. That, in fact, as most culti-
waited soils are composed of merely the
more finely divided earths of which the
sub-stratum IS composed, so the chief
distinction between the two Is, that the
surface-sOil contains a much larger DrO-
portion OfOrganiC and decOmpOsing mat
ters than that on which itrests. When,
therefore, the objection is raised as to
the cOldness and inertness of the subsOiI,
it may be safely concluded, that in the
majority of instances, this deficiency
arises from the subsOil not being furnish
ed with decOmpOsing organic matter, a
deficiency supplied when it is so far
broken up as to allow the roots of plants
to penetrate into it. It has been also as
certained that by deepening the soil its
temperature may be raised, even at a
distance from the surface, an advantage
to the roots of plants. Stirring the soil
| raises its temperature by letting into it
| the warm air of the atmosphere.
By means of deep tillage the roots re-
celVe a cOpiOus supply of the gases and
aqueous vapOr Of the atmosphere, which
increase the strength and vigOr of the
| plants. They are better supplied with
the carbon which they extract from the
| atmosphere, and they are, to an increas.
/ ed extent, preserved from the bad eff
fects Of long continued drought. WheT
a soil is lOOsened and pUlverized to &
! considerable depth, the minute space:
| between the atoms of soil attract air, a,
a sponge does water, and hold it, and
this very beneficial to the roots Ofplants
| Admitting then the correctness of the
| principle, that, in the greater number
| Of soils, the increase of their depth ma
terially adds to their productfveness, it
remains only for the farmer to consider
how that deeper tiIIage can be accom-
plished in a practical and profitable
manner.
On many farms the ordinary plow may
be sufficient to deepen the soil tOamuch
greater extent than is usual. Some ppr-
sons complain that when thew blow
deep for corn, the crop is never. as GOOD
as when they plOW shallow. This may
be the case in their soils, which had
never before been plOWed deep, and the
unfaVOrable result is OCcasiOned byturu-
ing down the whole Oftheactive surface
soil, and turning up too much of the
inert subsOI. Common sense ought to
have suggested to those men the abslIrdi-
ty of this practice. They should have
proceeded gradually in the work Ofdeep-
ening the soil, and have enriched the
newly turned up soil with suitable ma
nure. In these soils the best plan is to
loosen the subsOil but to bring only
small portion Of it to the surface, or
within reach of the surface-rOOts of
plants.
The acreable yield of the cereals and
root crops in Great Britain IS much grea-
ter than in the United States. One oil
the reasons for this is that the soil is
plOwed much deeper. The dryer a soil
eNAANA NAAAAAttLC clAC lA4C uCGAJCL SlOulu Tile
tillage be. Unless a soil is naturally or
artiicially drained, deep tillage will be
Of little service for it is useless to deepen
into water. When a soil is freed from |
stagnant water the roots of plants pen |
citrate 1t, draw up wholesome moisture |
from a considerable depth, and when |
they decay, their ingredients enrich the |
subsOil.
Steam cultivation is creating a new !
era in agriculture. There are now 5000 !
steam plOws at work in England, and /
they till the soil several inches deeper |
than the common plOw, and the effect |
of this tillage on crops is remarkably |
beneficial, much hea VieR acreable pro- !
duce being obtained after deep cultiva- |
tiOn by the steam plOw than after tillage |
by the common plOw. As yet only three |
steam plOws are at work in the United /
States, but it is probable that these ma
chimes will soon be EXTENSIVELY used in !
this country. Every Agricultural Col /
lige ought to be furnished with q set of /
steam plOws and cultivating machinery, /
by the farmers Of the State to which it |
belongs.
Students at these establishments would 1
be trained in the use of these important /
the benefits of deep tillage 4
would be seen, and deep cultivation by
steam and by improved common plOws
would heGOme general. In q recent
trial of FOwler's Steam PlOw at Wood
ford, n. J., the most scepitcal acknowl-
edged that steam blowing was "a sue
cess" the speed Of the gangs being at
the rate of five and half miles an hour,
and the work done amQuntingtO 24 acres
perday. General Caprnn, Commissioner
Df Agriculture, was on the ground, took
the steering apparatus i'm hand and rode
several times across the field. Here was
the right man in the right place, in eve l.
" SENSE Western RUrU. /.
origin Of the Pew System.