The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1869-03-23


they are dried up in Summer to the
depth of several feet. The roos strike
down through the rich loan below till
they find moisture that they can appro-
pirate and thrive upon. I judge that
the valley of the Sacramento and it's
main tributaries is often parched to the
depth of four or five feet.
I have thus fully conceded that Deep
Flowing is not every where requisite.
Now let me show where and why it is
needed
! I. 1t has been abundantly demon
stated here that the roots Of plants are
often found at distance Of several feet
from the stem. Any of us may have
seen that this is as true of Indian Corn as
of Canada Thistles. With microscope
and due patience, the roots of wheat
may be traced from four to six feet.
OF course these roots seek nourishment
and find it. Nature, in the broad view,
makes no abortive, at least, no wanto n,
effort. Roots wander in search of food
II. Our subsoils are generally COM
pact and repellant. Wherever ditcher
would naturally use pick, there few
roots can find their way. except very
slowly and BY wasting effort. Few Or
no cereals or edible roots can feed and
flourish on the penetration Of such sub
soils. And, while our sands and looser
gravels are more easily traversed they
seldom contain the plant food whereo f
tue roots are in search. They either re
main unprecedented, or the effort IS unre-
warded by any gain or nutrition to the
plant.
III. Our Summers and Autumns are
often persistently hot and dry. The
continuously torrid suns which this year
destroyed half the later crops Of Europe,
are here encountered as often as every
third year, Drouth is one Of the fore
most causes of the failure of our crops.
Our ancestors mainly emigrated hither
from the British Isles, from Holland,
and the coasts of Northern and Western
Europe, where humidity is the rule,
protracted drouth the exception. Six
teen inches of soil in our climate is hard
ly equal, as an antidote to drouth, to six
inches in Ireland or Holland. And yet,
the best farmers Of those countries agree
in commencing deeper blowing.
Nv. What VIC advocate is not the
burying of the vegetable mold Or natu-
raj surface soil under several inches Of
cold, lifelcss clay, sand or gravel. If the
sub soil is not to be enriched, it may
better remain the sub soil; but that does
not prove that it ought not to be lifted,
stirred, aerated, pulverized. The right
thing to do is to enrich as well as mellow
and aerate the entire soil to a depth of
fully eighteen inches; though twelve IL ay
answer as beginning. Use Mich
igan or a subsoil pillow, if you will, and
keep the various strata where nature
placed them; but give your plants like
your cattle, C. chance to reach food and
that would keep them from the life Civ
ing springs.
V. Plants look to tie soil for l, an
chorage; 2, moisture; 3, most of their
certainly and more abundantly in twelve
or eighteen inches of soil than in six,
then reason is a fool, mathematics a
conjectural science. and farmer should
prefer balance in bank to his credit OF
$500 to one Of 81 800.
vi. We are told that roots prefer to
run near the surface, loving the warmth
of the sun.-Let them run there, then;
we do not hinder them. Make the soil
rich as we'll as deep, and let them run
near the surface for warmth, or descend
for moisture, or both, as they shall see
fit. We proffer them freedom of choice.
If a wet season attracts them to the sur
face, dry one must constrain them to
dive for moisture. It is our duty to
provide that they may flourish, however
hayward the season.
VII. have steep hillside, which
choose to cultivate, the soil being warm
and kind.-Plow this six inches dee p
and the first hard shower sweeps its sol
by carloads into the brook below
where it is useless. Pillow it twice as
deep, and not peck of soil will be
flooded off in lifetime.
VIII. In a wet season Deep Flowing
does, at the worst, no HARM. In q dry
season, it doubles the crop.
TX. Unless small army is more eff
fective than large one, an empty peck
ct book better thar full one, a lear
crop preferable to large one, then a
deep soil must be more productive than
| shallow one.
Some years since q wild goose wa.