Year: 1868

At the meeting Of the Massachusetts, State
Board OF Agriculture, last winter, the matter of
fall plonghing was fully discussed, and the
weight Vi opinion decidedly seemed in favor Of
deep p!oughing of heavy lands. Mr. Hubbard,
OF Brinifeld, found in his experience in the cul-
tivation of certain crops, that the fall 10 the best
| time to plough the ground; he thought that all
will coneede the fact that the land if il 10 heavy,
claycy soil, can be worked much earlier in the
spr,ug by putting the manure on and ploughiug
it in the fall. lie did not care how soon il s
put on after the crop in taken oil; his advice was
| to spread it on aud plough it in; and 20 far as
my experience goes, have got better crop in
| that way than by allowing the land to remain
until spring, and then putting the manure on and
| ploughlng it in"
Mr. Ward, of Monson, thought that much de.
pcnds upon the ground to be ploughed, whether
It is ploughed in the fall If you have tough,
! hard piece OF ground that you desire to break up
it is better to plough in the fall; the frost has
| considerable effect upon the hard soil, and do
not think there is any very great loss BY the
wind blowing over the surface soil. think
Light soil may as well be plOughed in the spring
| as in the tall"


MIR Thatcher of Lee, in speaking Of deep
plUughing, in describing subsoil attachment for
| a plough said: We are now using in southern





from six to seven inches, with a subsoil attach
| ment running from two to four inches, which
does not lift the virgin soil the first year to the
su.t face This attachment running behind the
mould board to the depth OF four inches, usually
st!rs the whole width OF the furrow to that depth
after We have turned over the sod. Our idea is.
that by loosenng the subsol by this attachment
We enable the rains to soak down through. which
they would not do, our subso being clay, (Which
will not take in water unless the earth was loos-
ened and our corn roots run down there TO get
| their moisture. The effect Of manure 10 felt
there; and the second year. when We come to
plou9h up again after this stirring Of the subsol,
we drop our plows down and throw up a part OF
it. think we certainly in our northern coun.
try derive benefit by stirring the soil the FIRST
year, aud very great benefit without lifting it to
the surface, and then lifting it to the surface and
mixing it in the succeeding blowing. / have
in my mind now six acre piece, which would
not halt-feed COW through the season. We
could not get more than four or FIVE inches of the
soil before we came to hard clay soil. that re-
tanned the water upon it, making the land cold
backward and sour. After ditching that land,
aud putting in some under drains, (Which, Of
course, benefited it without plous Ching We com.
nlenced pough:ng this land in this way to get
deeper soil, not using the subsoil attachment
that time. because We did not have it, but using
a common plough, following the furrow after
ward. and lifting two inches at time.
| am speaking within bounds when | say that
the second year the crop Of corn paid twice over
for the labor of ditchiug and double ploughng.
1t is as good piece Of land now, think as can
be found in the town Of Lee"


Deep ploughing of heavy lands then, with
clayey subsos, is to be recommended in autumn,
and plough which turns the sod and lifts and
breaks the subsoil, permitting it to fall back into
it's place without bringing tito the surface, is tho
Implement which seems most desirable. .-Uassa-
| chusetts POughmun,