The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-09-06

y IS. 81 shs sEesrs.se nRsrTa!ses:s asa.|
The HacticaI fd,sssr m aha de-
tAflg dfb thetexpeEience r. NJ. aanuelsI
u. Wbe1Fy "a saIbooilingf 80 gxteBfl-lI
Ing OVER : p9f1od n eleht yeflS. The
fhrm Is, located IN Pennsy1vania, q
heavy c1Ay, landl Toliing,e with limo
stone cropping out frequently, and |
every where lying within four or eight
teet II the eurface-soil elk or eight
inches deep, iand sKlcf-sub6on lytls
lowieh red clay, almost imperyious TO
waters impenetrable to plant roots.
Mr.. WherTy says that the benefits Of
subsoiling cannot be determined with
precision, nor are they to be measured
by the gain or loes In immediate sue i
ceeding crops. Subsoiling u pr0spec.
tive. 1t IL neither the philosophers
stone, nor the harbinger Of and agricul.
tuFaI millennium. II 1t does not prove
positively damaging In ite immediate
effects, there needs but the exercise of
. little faith to try Il. MFR. Wherfy
concludes by giving the following
statement OF the results Of euhe0iling
on his land, and the deductions there
from
CoRN.-In ordinary seasons no APP
probable gain in yield, but in seasons
of extreme drought ! gain 80 to SO per
cent. In all seasons there il q notable
disposition on the part Of the corn on
not even the blades turning brown un-
til the frosts comes. Consequently the
ears do not harden 80 we'll ON the
standing corn and care Is required In
cutting up. But, the corn comes out all
right 1t husking time, and the fodder
is superb.
WHEAT.-A slight gain in yield, due
to increased length ofhead. The straw
is very materially sitter and brighter,
and the grain ripens from six TO eight
days earlier. This last is q decided ad-
vantage here.
TIMOTHY AND CLOVER Separate
and rixed. A large increase in yield,
but greatly at the sacrifice of quality.
In dry seasons, such as 1866, 1871, gain
of 100 per cent. The stems Oh subs0il-
I'd ground are much longer, coarser,
and harder to cure, while the leaves
have q peculiar aud very distinct sick
| ly bluish-green color. Clover never
seems to reach q state Of maturity
never comes to full bloOm-fOr the rea-
| son that green stems are all tho while
shooting up and Over-shadowing the
blossoms. In 1870, SUBSIDIZED land, af-
| ter first moving, blOOmed simultane-
Ously, and yielded q fair crop of clover
seed. The other half of the field was
barren The season was dry. 1t is GER
tain the cattle and sheep prefer the
SUBSIDIZED side of the field in pasturing
the aftermath, tie only pasturing
done. a-si $50. a-
| In relation to other points, he says !:
~Spring ploughing can be COM
menced on SUBSIDIZED land from three
to six days earlier than OH laud not
SUBSIDIZED. After-ploughipgs are much
lighter Oh the teams, but the plough
does not run SO steadily, and the fur
row breaks irregularly, leaving the
p.oughed surface rugged and uneven.
In pIoughiDg oat stubble for wheat
deep las il dOne) considerably Of the
previously broken subsoil is thrown to
the top in very hard Jumps. necessita-
ting much additional labor in prepar-
ing proper seed bed. This has been
the most serious difficulty encounter
ed. ;,t,
The most curious fact observed is
that the clover plant on subsOiled land
does not, as in unsubsOiled land, se3d
down vertically q single, long, carrot
shaped tap root, ending in q struggling
bunch of irregular rootlets; but the pri.
mary root begins almost Immediately
to divide of into many (six, eight and
ten) side branches, each of itself q per.
feet main or tap-rOOt with side branches
These main roots do not descend VERT.
cally into the ground, but incline strong
ly outward from the primary, and fill
the whole surface soil with thread-like
roots. The difference is quite observa
bic sometimes after ploughing is done
when the uDsubsOiled parts are cover
ed with the severed roots, standing up
right in the air like armed eentinels Of
the soil while the SUBSIDIZED parts arr
apparently a. devoid Of roots as stubblt
ground. A closer inspection showed
the true state of the case, and it is pro
bable that q cubic foot of subsOilet
ground wi contain in weight more
than twice as much root matter as {
cubic foot of unsubsoiled. 80
One OF the important points in this
connection j., that farmers must no
expect immediate benefits i'm every
case from su tsoil'ng; but there is M
doubt, from our own experience, tina
it is of great value, especially on worr
soils, and in such portions Of tbs. Yves
we advise farmers carefully to try sub
soiling and as carefully to note Its ef
. fects aud the results. We have ye
much to learn of practical agriculture
and this must be based, primarily a
least, upon experience.