The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-04-05
Deep plOughilig.

However much the opinion Of Gsr9ers
may dil1er;in regard 10 the cultivation Of
crops, whether the deep and high ridge
culture Of the old school, or the surface
skimming. fiat culture Of the crow do
parture," all agree upon one point, viz.
that deep ploughing IN tie snring is. alb
solute!y necessary to secure the best re-.
suits. So universally, is this admitted
ah,l tho reason SO Obvious that it would
be idle to advise it were it not that one!
half Of the arabic land in the State is
"broken-up' with one-hors4 p!ows, rnhd
at the average depth Il 81 to 4 inches
Lands thus prepared cannot fail to dis
appoint tho, hopGar of the farmer, and
where the heat of+ july sun Wits the
leaves and the crops come TO stand still,
he is ready 10 murmur and say il is bad
i" crop year,, when the faulk to great ex-
tent lies at his own door.
La1d broke at h0ublol lthR aEpth ,say
Z TO 8 inches, may not double the yield,
but It will increase It. BY deep break.
ing tho area is virtually enlarged by
causing it to yield large produce by eh-
ebliug the roots Of the plant to penetrate
downwards in search of food, which. is
taken up only when it is dissolved in VIII
ter, ,9nd the deeper ths plpughing the
more moisture ii isretafded, aid 4 greater
supply of food slowed up for the future
use. -: ~
1.-The 'aubsoa being btoken, is mixed
with the soil, greatly improving some
aahdsj aud the AIR freely admitted to thc
depth broken. Now the subsoil beiIg
cooier than the air, it acts a1 conden-
ser, and ms the,aiI ffolaes in contact with
it, water is Yfotmed. This water acting
upon the organic matter in the soil pro-
duces Water, carbonic matter acid and
ammonia, three; essential constituents of
plants. cThis is not Sthe least of the ad-
ventasrs, for these are held for the bepJ
eft of Tie plant, and will sustain ita Wig
or of growth in shallow ploughed land.
Indeed there is plenty Of water held in
solution by the air in tire dryese weather,
and if the soil could be completely pull
verized to 8 considerable Depth; crops
might be. raised with very little rain.
Deep breaking prevents I'd great e1-
tent the .ashing away of soil by rain n
rainfall that would wash lind, 'plonghed
4inches deep, would be entiraly absorbed
and ruined by that ploughed 8 INCHES
deep. Another advantage Of deep break
ing is, that all or most Of the "6ith'" on
the land may he turnedI under. This
keeps the soil loose and light, prevents
baking, ard is really q dressing of man
ure turned under to give up its fertilizing
properties throughout the season.
- This "filth" on, botiauf land is some
times 80 great as TO REQUIRE burning be-
fore ploughing. This, however, should
not be buried where the ploughing can
be done without it, sooner than buEn (if
the LAND does NOT wash by pveraowl it
ahonld be ploughed under in the fall
while yet green.
BY deeply and thoroughly breaking
and;pEepering,land eyeryl mGch lessen
the aftef cultivation, and wo do it too at
O comparatively leisure time. All have
heard of "making crop before it was
planted y tRot secret lies in The above
suggestions.
Wdn prepdyed and planted the crop is
feif-made bnt~indiGerenti5 prepared
and ianted and it is never made. Wb
suffer by the comparison when wb iplace
the products of some Other Statesl Glaim-
ing no superior climate or soil, by thb
side of our own, IA bushels of corn, 8
bushels of wheat, 8 bushels of rye, 16
bushels of oats, 600 pounds of tobacco,
II tons of hay, 400 pounds Of seed cotton
psasn ias Re stats staten ms GR
adapted to corn and cotton, and the other
-halfto wheat, oats, tobacco, &o.ii If the
halF of our lands now broken with one
horse plows; was deeply and faithfully
prepared, North Carolina nigh. show i
column of figures much more conpBi-
mentary to the skill of her farmers.-
R6HcaL Recorder. n. G. -, ~;