THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. No. 2.-VOL. III.] AUGUST, 1839. [NEW SERIES. THE PLATE. Our first plate, from a painting by W. H. Davis, Animal Painter to the Queen Dowager, and engraved by Beckwith,-represents cattle crossing a brook, the most conspicuous amongst which is a short-horned bull, the property of J. King, Esq., of Ormsby Abbey, Lincolnshire, and purchased by him when a calf from W. Cropper, Esq., of Laceby, and was named Ormsby." Ormsby was got by Young Midas, dam by Barmpton; grandam, Constellation; g. g. d. by Young Favourite. Young Midas was bred by Mr. Wiley, of Bransby, near York, and got by Old Midas, which can be seen in the Herd Book, No. 435; Barmpton, No. 54; Constellation, No. 163; Young Favourite, No. 254. Ormsby has got as much good stock as any bull in the county. ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE SOIL. SIR,-We shall now, as originally contemplated, follow up the observations contained in our last letter, by taking into our consideration that part of the subject which embraces the cultivation of the soil. This subject is so comprehensive in its nature, and admits of so many nice distinctions, that our limits will not permit us to enter so fully into the different details connected with it, as its importance would demand; neither do we consider ourselves altogether adequate for minutely resolving the complicated questions relating to the most efficient mode of improving our cultivation. To be satisfied, however, that the proper cultivation of the soil should form the basis of every agricultural improvement, we have only to reflect upon the great increase of produce which is now raised in certain districts compared to what was formerly grown, and we shall find that this increase has almost altogether proceeded from the introduction of a more judicious system of cultivation. Indeed on many lands the produce has been more than doubled within these very few years, and on those soils which were formerly considered comparatively useless, may now be witnessed most splendid crops: and this improvement has been produced not by any intricate operation, but by means at once simple and rational, viz., by increasing the depth of active soil. The attention of agriculturists has been until lately principally OLD SERIES.] directed to the cultivation of a few inches of the surface soil only, and although we are aware that frequent attempts had been made in various districts, by means of the trench plough, to remedy this defect, yet such exertions very rarely proved successful, especially on retentive soils, until Mr. Smith of Deanston preceded deep working by his system of thorough drainage. It was the want of thorough drainage which formerly rendered deep working or trench ploughing a hazardous and dangerous operation, especially on those heavy clay lands with a close subsoil; and although we are aware that the frequent drain system was pursued by several agriculturists in the Carses, Lothians, and Ayrshire, before Mr. Smith put it in practice, yet we deny that the principles upon which thorough drainage and deep working are founded, were either understood or practised until Mr. Smith practically exemplified and proved the utility of the system upon his farm of Deanston, about fifteen years since. Mr. Smith since that period has not only made his improvements patent to the public, but he has also used his utmost endeavours to disseminate the knowledge of their utility amongst agriculturists; and the advantages of the system, for the purpose of ameliorating those heavy clay soils, are so apparent, that the discovery of Mr. Smith has, as it were, created a new era in the cultivation of these lands. To enable us however the better to comprehend the merits of what may in truth be styled Mr. Smith's system of thorough drainage and deep G [No. 2.-VOL. XI, working, we shall briefly notice a few of those substances of which the soil is principally composed. The three principal primitive earths are sand, clay, and lime. These are frequently in a state of minute division forming impalpable matter; and they occur also in the form of sand, gravel, and rubble. When sand constitutes the whole of any soil, it is incapable of retaining moisture, and of course incapable of supporting the growth of plants. Clay on the contrary has a strong attraction for moisture, but when unmixed with sand is barren and unfruitful. Soil that is formed of pure carbonate of lime is like pure clay and sand, barren and incapable of supporting vegetable life. It would therefore appear before a soil can be fertile that it must have the power of imbibing, retaining, and giving out to plants, a proper degree of moisture. "Water," says Stewart, "is necessary to the growth of plants. It is essential to the juices or extract of vegetable matter which they contain, and unless the soil by means of commutation be fitted to retain the quantity of water requisite to produce those juices, the addition of manure will be useless. Manure is ineffectual towards vegetation, until it becomes soluble in water; and it would even remain use. less in a state of solution if it so absorbed the water as entirely to exclude the air; for in that case the fibres or mouths of the plants would be unable to perform their functions, and they would soon drop off by decay." Kirwan observes, "where rain to the depth of twenty-six inches falls per annum, the proportion of the three primitive earths to form a fertile soil, should be 56 per cent. of sand, 14 of clay, and 30 of calcareous matter." The merit of these proportions consist in the soil being so composed as to have it in its power to supply a sufficiency of moisture to the plants, and at the same time maintain that mechanical arrangement throughout all its parts, so that no interruption be given to a ready escape of all superfluous moisture, and a free circulatian of the atmospheric air. It will however be found that a very great part of the soil of Great Britain is composed of very different proportions to that which would seem to constitute a fertile soil. Indeed the soil of many districts consists almost wholly of clay, and consequently their cultivation has hitherto been rendered a matter of extreme uncertainty, from the mechanical arrangement being so liable to be disorganized by an excess of either wet or drought, the pulverization in either case being completely destroyed. The property which all soils inherently possess of alternate expansion and contraction, according to their comparative state of wetness or dryness, is also of service to explain the theory of pulverization. Indeed were it not for this property it would be altogether impossible to prepare our heavy clay soils for the reception of the seed. Fallows no doubt are of use, but they are only of use in virtue of it. In a favourable season, for example, with plenty of sunshine and moderate showers, clay fallows can be reduced to a very fine state of pulverization, because the contractibility and expansibility of the soil are then in powerful operation, and the processes of nature and of art mutually act and re-act upon one another. In extreme seasons again, whether wet or dry, pulverization naturally does not take place, and therefore summer fallows always must be, in this country at least, uncertain and temporary. It was however, until very lately the only alternative known to the most experienced agriculturist, and the only means employed by him for renovating and reducing strong soils to a state of friability. It will therefore require little argument on our part to show that when a soil is so constituted as to require a blank summer fallow every fourth year or so, to restore it to a proper mechanical arrangement, that it must prove not only expensive, but comparatively speaking, very unprofitable; and such being the fact we must again recur to the system of thorough drainage and deep working, as tending materially to remedy this defect. From what has already been presented to the public by Mr. Smith and several other individuals, in commendation of the system, and its utility in reducing even the most obdurate clay soils to a permanent state of pulverization, so as almost to preclude the necessity of vacaut fallowing altogether, it would be superfluous for us to go into all the details belonging to the subject. We shall therefore content ourselves with merely noticing a few of those errors which have crept into the practice of individuals while endeavouring to carry out the system as recommended by Mr. Smith, and we cannot help remarking that there are many who have certainly bestowed very little consideration upon that gentleman's instructions, or have formed an erroneous opinion regarding the principles upon which the system is founded. Much misconcep tion certainly prevails respecting the term tho rough drainage, if we may be allowed to judge from the practice of many individuals while endeavouring to obtain thorough dryness. It would appear from the comparative shallowness and uniformity of depth at which many of their drains on the frequent system is formed, that they believed the composition of the soil was uniform to an indefinite depth, and that relieving the soil from the water which falls on its surface in the shape of rain, was all that was required to obtain the end in view, whereas nothing could be more erroneous, for unless the stratas of gravel, &c., which lie at various depths from the surface be cut and allowed to empty themselves, the work can never be complete, and thorough dryness cannot be expected. We admit there are many fields the composition of whose subsoil are of a retentive and uniform nature, where to go beyond a certain depth would be only to incur unnecessary expense, but there are others whose composition is very different, where the stratas of clay and gravel are sometimes found alternately, and at other times mixed in various ways; hence the necessity of ascertaining beforehand not only the composition of the subsoil, but the positions in which the stratas lie from the surface, as a little reflection will then enable the agriculturist to adopt the most judicious method of laying off his drains. To enable the farmer to do this correctly, it will however be necessary to dig pits from five to seven feet deep in different parts of the field, the expense of which will be amply rewarded from the perfect knowledge which he will thus obtain respecting the nature of the subsoil, as the size of the drains, whether as respects their depth or wideness, will depend much upon this particular. If the subsoil is strong and retentive clay and extends to a depth of three or four feet, and stones are to be the material used, then the entire depth of the drain would require to be from thirty-six to thirty-seven inches, that is, seventeen to cighteen inches to be filled with stones, leaving eighteen to twenty inches for cultivation. If, however, tiles are to be the material used, four to five inches less depth will be sufficient, but under no circumstances would we recommend the use of tiles unless resting upon soles, and six inches at least of small stones or some other porous material be placed on the top of them. Care should also be taken that due attention be bestowed upon the preparation and character of the material of which drain tiles are to be composed so as to ensure their permanency. This depth of drain we consider as applicable to the above description of soil, but in those sorts where stratas of gravel, &c. prevail, which is of very frequent occurrence, it will in many instances be necessary to extend the depth of every third or fourth drain to three and four feet, and sometimes more, according to circumstances, for unless this is attended to, thorough dryness will not be obtained, as those fissures which are produced in the subsoil by thorough drainage will not take place to the extent required, until those strata are completely emptied of all superfluous moisture. It may indeed be supposed that the short space between the drains would secure perfect and uniform dryness, and the force of this remark we would at once admit, provided those stratas invariably shelved to the surface; but so long as they remain embedded a few inches below the reach of the drains, we need not expect a beneficial result. Under these circumstances the advantage of making a few of the drains deeper than the rest will be apparent, as a bed of clay resting upon a bed of gravel full of water must always keep the land in a damp state, and retard the formation of those fissures which are essential to the gradual amelioration of the soil, and forms the essence of thorough drainage. It will also be obvious that when these gravelly strata are cut, the deep drains will have the power of drying a greater extent of surface, from the circumstance of the gravelly substratum being now rendered dry, instead of being as formerly a receptacle for the superfluous moist. ure, and as a consequence the subsoil will now rest upon a dry and porous bottom. It must be observed, however, that the system of thorough drainage however perfect, is not rendered complete until the operation of subsoil ploughing is accomplished. Many farmers, we are aware, consider their task finished when they have completed the drainage to their satisfaction, whereas it is merely a part of the system and only a means toward an end, and subsoil ploughing will in most instances be found indispensable to its perfect completion. When rain water falls on the surface all that is superfluous naturally sinks to the bottom of the furrow, or in other words, to the subsoil, and if the latter is retentive the water will there remain stagnant, hence the necessity of stirring the subsoil to prevent the water meeting with any interruption until it arrive at what may be denominated the second surface, from whence it will percolate, seeking the lowest level, until it reach the drains. It has been thought, and said indeed, that those fissures consequent upon thorough drainage will prove sufficient for this purpose, but it must be only under very peculiar circumstances that this necessary operation of subsoil ploughing can be dispensed with, besides it is trusting to an uncertainty which may cause much disappointment and loss; for in these damp clay soils the lower strata or subsoil is so far removed from and impervious to the direct influence of the sun and air, that unless these fissures are superinduced by the aid of the subsoil plough, a considerable time may elapse before they naturally take place, at all events, and under all circumstances, this operation expedites amelioration to a very great degree when it is judiciously performed. It may however be remarked that there are many thousand miles of drains executed on the close system which will not admit of this operation on account of being filled up to within ten and twelve inches of the surface; but those individuals have unquestionably formed a most erroneous estimate of the importance of deep working and have thus deprived themselves of the advantages to be derived from its adoption, for in our opinion thorough draining of itself however beneficial, is not more important than deep working, and it is only by adopting the former that we are enabled to execute the latter operation with safety; and when we have thus increased the depth of the cultivated portion of the earth's surface, no definite limits can be assigned to the productive powers of the soil. It is necessary however to use the subsoil plough with caution and to perform the operation judiciously. Many individuals subsoil their ground when it is in a soft pliant condition, so that in place of breaking the soil in pieces, the plough is merely dragged through it, thereby doing harm instead of good, and in fact preventing the water more effectually from reaching the drains than previously, by creating, as it were, circles or cups for holding it. This injudicious use of the subsoil plough has tended very materially to prejudice the minds of many agriculturists against it, whereas their own ignorance was the cause of all the evil. We would therefore recommend all those who intend using the subsoil plough to examine minutely into the state of their subsoil before commencing operations, and upon no account to persevere unless there is a prospect of the plough leaving in its course openings for the escape of the water, for they may rest assured that the desired amelioration can be only obtained by a judicious application of the instrument. We may also remark that much misconception prevails with respect to subsoil and trench ploughing; these two operations being often confounded together without making any distinction between them, whereas no two operations are more distinct or more different in their immediate results. In confirmation of this opinion we have only to refer to the practice and experience of Mr. Smith. That gentleman being well aware of the compact nature of the subsoil on Deanston farm, was led to devise some means whereby he might be enabled to break it up or stir it, so that the water might readily descend and make its way toward the drains. The principal obstacle which presented itself against the accomplishment of this object was the barren nature and general poverty of the subsoil. Mr. Smith was aware that he could not bring this to the surface with the trench plough without endangering the fertility of the whole mass for perhaps many years to come, and hence the idea of subploughing first occurred to him, by which means the subsoil would be stirred without bringing as much to the surface as could in any shape endanger the fertility of the active soil. He thus attained the end he had in view. The atmospheric air was enabled to act freely on the subsoil, and the rain water passing through the surface soil carried along with it a certain portion of enriching matter which was imparted to the barren under soil. He was thus enabled gradually to extend the depth of his active soil from a few inches to a depth of fourteen or fifteen, and what was formerly barren subsoil now constitutes three-fifths of the active soil on |