The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-04-15
What l Know Of Farming.
~ {hf WI r
z Egl 80 2 D.. ~
ny HORACE GNERLEY.
plowiug..Cood and Bad.

cVinCCd with those who contrtVe 10 SWAl.
low the truth wrong end foremost, and
thereupOn insist that 1t won't do. For In
stance: A farmer hears something said OF
decp blowing, and, without any clear I'M
derStanling Of or firm faith In II, resolves
10 give It O trial. SO he buys great plow,
makes up strong team, and proceeds 10
turn up a field hitherto plowcd but six
inches to u depth ola foot: In other words,
10 bury its soil under six iaclles OF cold,
sterile clay, sand, or gravel. On this. be
plants or sows grain, and is lucky indeed
If he realizes half Il crop. lIercupon. he
reports to his neighbOrs that Deep Plow.
lng is n h1mblg, aS he suspected all
Along; but now. he knows, Tor he has tried
L There are several other wrong ways,
which will hurry over, In order TO set
forth that which I regard US the right one
Here Is midlling farmer OF the old
school, who walks carefully in the foot
steps Of his respected grandfather, but
with inferior SUCCESS, because sixty 4nnu'
al harVests, though not particularly iuxu-
rant, have partially exhausted the produc'
live capacity of the acres he inherited.
lie now gurners from fifteen to twenty
bushels Of Corn, from ten to twenty Of
Wheat, from fifteen to twenty Of tyc,
from twenty to thirty Of Oats, and from a
tim 10 a tun and Il half Of Hay, Us the
season proves more or less propltiOus, AMI
Inst manages TO draw from his sixty to one
hundred acres decent subsistence for his
family ;splowing, rs his father and grand,
latller did, to d depth Of. five p seyen
th6hess yWhatSca Deep Flowing 90 Tor
him? =
I answer-By itself, nothing whatever.
[rin every other respect lie Is TO persist IN
doing lust as his father and his grand
Glther did, doubt the evpGdiCncy Of
doubling tho depth Of his burrows. True,
the worst effects Of the change would lG
realized ut the outset, and l feel confident
that his six inches OF subsOil, having been
made to clIangc places with that which
formerly rested upon 1t, must gradually
be wrought upon by air, and rain, and
frost, until converted into tOlerably pro.
duCtive soil, through which the roofs Of
most plants would easily md speedily
make their way down to the richer stratum
which, originally surface, has been trans.
noscd into sllbsoil. But this exchange Of
positions between the original surface and
subsOil Is not what mean by Deep PlOw-
ing, nor anything likeit. What 10 mean
il this:
Having thoroughly underdraincd q
field, so that wafer viii not stand upon
any patt of its surface, no matter how
much may there be deposited, the next
step In order Is 10 increase the depth OF the
soil. To this end, procure regular sub
soil pillow Of tile most approved pattern,
attach to II a strong team, and let II follow
tie breaking tplOw In It's furrow, lining
and pulverizing the sub'sOil TO depth OF
not less than six inches, but leaving II In
position exactly where it was. The sur
iace.plow turns tile next ftlrrOw upon this
loosoncd sub,sOilS and SO on ill the whole
field liB thus pilveFized to depth Of not
less than twelve inches, Or, better still, tt-
teen. Now, please remember tllatyou have
twice rs much soil per acre to fertilizc as
there was before; hence, tliat 1t conSe-
oucntly requires twice aS much manure,
and you will have good foundation for
increased crops. do not say that all the
additional outlay will be returned 70 You
in tho Increase, of.your next crop, for l dol
not believe anything Of the sort; but TO
believe that this crop will be considerable
larger for this generous treatment. cspc'
ciallv If the season prove remarkably dry
or rincommOnly wet; and that you will
have insured better crops IN the years TO
come, including heavier. grass, after that
field shall once more be laid down; md
that, IN case Of tho planting Of that field
to- fruit or other trees, they will grow
faster, resist disease better, and thrive
longer, than If the soil were still p!owed
IS Of old. q shall insist hereafter on the
advantage and importance Of sub'soiling
orchNrllS.)
Take another aspcCt-that orsnbsoiling
hill.sitles TO prevent their abrasion by
| water. =s.=7,--s1. s.s-~-- = a-'-7'''f So
Ihave two bits. Of warm, grayelly hill
side, which bounti(ully yield Corn, Wheat
and Oats, but which are addicted to WISH
ing. presume one Of these bits, al the
southeast corner of my farm, Inns been
plowed and planted not less than one hun
dred times, and that at least half tie fer
lilizcrs applied TO II have been washed In.
to the brook, md hence into tho Hudson.
To say that q 900 have thus been squan.
lered on that patch Of ground, would be
to keep far within the truth. Aud, along
with the fertilizers, a largo portion Of the
finer and better elements Of tile original
soil have thus been swept into the brook,
and 80 laVished upon the waters OF our
bay. But, since / had those lots thor.
Oughtly SUBSIDIZED, all the water that falls
up0u them when In tillage sinks into the
soil, and remains there until drained away
by filtration or evaporation; and | never
saw particle Of soil washed from either
save oncc, when q thNw Of Que or two
inches on the surface, leaving the ground
solidly frozen beneath, being quickly fol.
lowed by pouring rain, washed away
few bushels Of the lO0scned and sOddcn
surface, proving that the law by virtue Of
Which these folds were formerly denuded
while IN cultivation Is still active, and that
Deep Flowing Is an elective aud all but
UnlGiling antidOtG for the evils 1t tends IN
inCitC. ..' 4
We plOw too many acres annually, and
do not pillow them so thoroughly rs We
ought. In the good time coming, when
steam shall have been 30 harncsSed 10
gang Of six 10 twelve plows that, With ono
man guiding NndHfring, It will move rs
fast us Il man ought to walk, stcaming on
aud thoroughly pUlvcri2ing from twelve
to twenty-five acres per day, believe We
shall pillow At least two feet deep, ind plow
not less than twice before putting ln my
crop whatever. Then we may lay down
field In the confident lnlst that Il viii yield
from two and u hGlf u three tuns Of good
hay per annum for the next ten or twelve
years. while, by the help Of irrigation and
occasional top.drcssmg, It may be made 10
average Mt least three tunS for lifetime,
irnOt forever.
SOME carpet.bag office holders in New