Soil Culture: Containing a Comprehensive View of Agriculture, Horticulture, Pomology, Domestic Animals, Rural Economy, and Agricultural LiteratureWalden, J. H.
Science
Soil Culture: Containing a Comprehensive View of Agriculture, Horticulture, Pomology, Domestic Animals, Rural Economy, and Agricultural Literature
Walden, J. H.
Agriculture -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
This is a variety of cress, of quick growth, used as lettuce. On a rich,
finely-pulverized soil, sow the seeds in drills, fifteen inches apart,
and cover very lightly. Sow thick and water in dry weather. For use, cut
the tops while they are very tender. A second crop will grow, but
inferior to the first. The water-cress, growing spontaneously by rills
and springs, is a kind of wild peppergrass, and is by some persons more
esteemed than the garden variety. We prefer early lettuce to cresses or
peppergrass, and see no reason for their cultivation, but their rapid
growth.
PLOWING.
This is one of the most important matters in soil-culture. When, how,
and how much, shall we plow? are the three questions involving the
whole. When should plowing be done? As it respects wet or dry, plow
sandy or gravelly land whenever you are ready. It will neither be hard
when dry, nor injured by being plowed when very wet. Good loams may be
plowed at all times except when excessively wet. Clays can only be
worked profitably when neither excessively wet or dry. Plowing land in a
warm rain is almost equal to a coat of manure. Plowing in a light snow
in the spring will injure it the whole season. We have noticed a marked
difference in corn growing but a rod apart, on land where snow was
plowed in, and the other plowed two or three days later, after the snow
was gone; this difference was noticeable in the rows throughout the
entire field. Spring or fall plowing is a question that has been much
discussed. Sod-land is better plowed in the fall. The action of winter
rains and frosts on the turf is beneficial. The same is true of land
trenched deep, where much of the hard, poor subsoil is brought to the
surface: it is benefited by winter exposure. Other cultivated fields are
injured by fall-plowing, unless it be very early. All stubble-land is
much benefited by being plowed as soon as the grain is taken off. The
weeds and stubble, plowed under, will be decomposed by the warm weather
and rains, and benefit the soil almost as much as an ordinary coat of
manure. Plowed late, such action does not take place, and the surface is
injured by winter-exposure: hence, do all the _early_ fall-plowing
possible, but plow nothing _late_ in the fall but sod-land.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account