|
By Mr Robert Oliphant
Pringle, Land Steward, Castle Ward, Strangford, Ireland.
[Premium, Medium Gold Medal.]
Deepening land by means of
the spade and subsoil fork, combined with thorough draining, having been
carried on to a considerable extent under my superintendence, I beg leave
to submit the following account of the manner in which the work was
performed, and the expenses incurred by this mode of cultivation.
The first thing done was to
mark out the position of the drains, by means of a furrow made by the
plough; and thus the land was laid off in ridges, the breadth of which, or
the distance between the proposed drains, varying from 16½ to 18 feet. On
each of these ridges were two workmen placed, who were provided with a
common digging spade, shovel, and subsoiling fork. A few picks and
crowbars were also placed at the disposal of the men, to assist in
breaking up any very hard ground, or in the removal of large stones. All
these implements, with the exception of the subsoil fork, are well known;
the latter I shall describe.
The iron used in the
construction of this tool must be of the best description. The prongs are
12 or 13 inches long, and steeled half their length. They are rather more
than an inch thick at the upper part, by half an inch in width, and are
made with a slight curve. The shoulders are flattened so as to serve as a
tread, and the prongs are about 7 inches apart. Some forks have 3 prongs,
but I have found that 2-pronged forks are the best; and, in this case, the
tread is extended an inch or so over the prongs, to give sufficient room
for the foot. The handle, made of well-seasoned ash, is 3 feet long, and
set in a strong socket. The fork costs about 6s.
After the drains were laid
off, the different main and sub-main drains were opened, the depth of
which varied from 3½ to 4½ feet. The conduits or pipes of these drains
were then built of substantial dry masonry; the size of the pipe being in
general 8 inches high by 6 inches wide, and, in some cases, fully 14
inches square within; the quantity of water expected to flow in the drain
regulating the size of the conduit. The bottom both of main and sub-main
drains was paved, except in a few very hard places: 2 or 3 inches deep of
small stones were thrown on the top of the pipe, and the whole was then
covered with thin turf. When the men employed in subsoiling began
operations, each party filled the earth into that portion of the main and
sub-main drains on the ridge they were employed upon.
As I have said, the men
were arranged in parties of 2 on each ridge, one of whom opened a trench
about 2 feet wide, and as deep as the spade penetrated easily. This was
turned over to one side, or upon the top of the earth previously filled
into the main drain. The other man shovelled up the loose earth from the
bottom of the trench, throwing it over that which had been previously dug
out; and this being done, he broke up the subsoil by means of the fork, so
that, between the portion dug out and what was broken up by the subsoiling
fork, the soil was stirred from 16 to 20 inches from the surface in its
solid state. In using the fork, care must be taken that it be put straight
down, so that the subsoil may be stirred to as great a depth as possible,
for when inserted and pushed down in an oblique manner, the depth to which
the soil is stirred is some inches less than when the fork is put straight
down.
The first trench having
been opened and the subsoil stirred, the person whose duty it was to open
the trench, commenced a new one by cutting a few neatly cut square sods,
which were laid on the previously subsoiled part, along, and 6 or 7 inches
in, from the centre of the open furrow of each ridge. This was done that a
space of about 14 inches in width might be left open between each ridge,
so as to form part of the parallel drains; and the loose earth in those
spaces was carefully shovelled out as deep as the fork had penetrated. The
small drains were sunk, in this manner, from 16 to 20 inches in the solid
land, or from 22 to 26 inches deep in the loose soil. The facing of sods
prevented the loose earth from slipping into the drains and filling them
up before the full depth was cut out, or the stones filled in. After the
first sods were laid another trench was dug, similar to that formerly
made, and in like manner the other labourer shovelled out the loose earth,
and sub-soiled the bottom of the trench. It will be observed that very
little of the subsoil was thrown to the top of the trench; it was merely
broken up and allowed to remain in its original position. Each party
raised between them any stones which were too large to be easily brought
up by the fork, and they likewise cleared out half of the drain on each
side of their ridge, to the depth we have already stated. The only
subsoil, therefore, which was thrown out was that taken out in clearing
these drains, and this small portion was spread regularly over the ridge.
As the men proceeded with the work, they cut a sufficient quantity of turf
to be afterwards used in covering the stones in the drains, and laid them
in small heaps on the trenched ground along the side of the drains. It was
found advisable to have one ridge somewhat in advance of the next, and by
so doing the men were not incommoded with stones; all large ones being
thrown out on the untrenched ground of the succeeding ridge, and were then
carried away without hindrance to any of the parties. This was done in
consequence of its having been found, on a former occasion, to be
desirable to avoid carting for some time on the trenched' ground, and also
from its being often otherwise impracticable to get the stones carted to
such parts of the main drains as remained to be filled. Latterly, however,
as the stones increased, and not being immediately required, they were
thrown out on the trenched land, and allowed to remain for some time
before being carted off. A boy was stationed either on each ridge, or
every other ridge, to gather the small stones turned up in the course of
trenching and subsoiling. These were piled up in small heaps on the centre
of each ridge, and afterwards chiefly used in filling the parallel drains.
When a sufficient number of
ridges were trenched and subsoiled in this manner, the drainers were set
to work, cutting out the remaining part of each drain, to a depth of at
least 3 feet in the loose ground, or 30 inches in the solid; and as soon
as each drain was opened, the small stones, gathered in the manner
described, were filled in 10 to 12 inches deep, turfed over, and the
subsoil, taken out in finishing the opening of the drains, being returned,
was firmly tramped down above the turfs. The sides of the drains, formed
of the sods laid down by the trenchers, were then thrown into the drain
and cut with the spade, and the ground left perfectly level.
It should be observed that
the land, to which this report refers, was in grass before being broken
up, and I consider when draining forms a part of the improvement of the
soil, accompanied by deep working with the spade and fork, breaking it out
of lea is decidedly the best plan. A field adjoining that to which I have
especially referred, was trenched, subsoiled, and drained after a grain
crop, but it was found impossible to fill the drains with small stones
thrown in promiscuously, owing to the loose state of the sides of the
drains; and, therefore, the stones were of necessity put in by the hand,
and formed into a small conduit in the bottom of the drain. In such a
case, tiles would have answered well, but the stones were in great
abundance on the spot, and, therefore, much cheaper than tiles. There is
no doubt but that digging the land is much easier when in a comparatively
loose state after a grain crop, than in tough lea; but I think that this
advantage is fully counterbalanced by the security of the work, and the
ease with which the after operations of cutting out and filling the drains
are conducted, when the land is broken out of grass. There may be found
occasionally some fields where very few stones are turned up in the course
of trenching, and where tiles can be had in the neighbourhood at a
reasonable rate; but in general, and especially when there is plenty of
small stones, I prefer breaking out of lea to the trenching, subsoiling,
and draining of stubble land.
When land has been
previously thorough-drained, the operations of trenching and subsoiling
are conducted in precisely the same manner as already described, except
that there is not any open space left between the ridges; or it may be
done in the following manner: A trench of about 2 feet broad, and 8 or 9
inches deep, is opened up and down the entire length of one side of the
field. The earth taken out of this trench must be carried to the opposite
side and laid down in a line along the length of the field, in order to
fill up the last trench. As this trench is being opened, another person
follows and breaks up the bottom, by means of a subsoiling fork. The first
pair of labourers will be followed by a second pair, one of whom opens
another trench, throwing the earth on the top of the previously subsoiled
part, and he in his turn is followed by another, who stirs up the subsoil;
and in this manner other sets of men may follow, until the field is
completed.
Delving and subsoiling, by
the joint operations of spade and fork, are particularly applicable to the
case of small farms, or to land which is very full of large stones. When
the subsoil plough is used, we must have, at least, three pairs of strong
horses. Those who hold farms of from 50 to 100 acres are prevented from
using the subsoil plough, unless they can be assisted by a neighbour; and,
indeed, the teams on these small farms are not strong enough for such
heavy work. But there is another class of small farmers to which this
system is even still more applicable—I mean the cottar-farmers of the
Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and of Ireland. Recent events have
induced those who are interested in the welfare of this class of people,
to direct their attention to the adoption of better modes of farming among
the cottar tenants than they have been in the habit of following. One main
feature, of course, in such improved cultivation, must be the deep working
of the soil, preceded or accompanied by thorough-draining; and as among
this class exists a superabundance of capital in the shape of unemployed
labour, the introduction of spade and fork husbandry would be a great
means of ameliorating their condition by increasing the fertility of their
holdings, through the profitable exercise of what was previously
unproductive—to wit, their unemployed labour.
Any able-bodied man and his
son could go over an acre during the winter months, a period which is
usually spent in entire idleness ; and if those in charge of estates would
take care that the after-management of the land so operated upon was
judicious, then the increased produce would leave a greater profit than
the people would have made had they even been employed labouring for
others during the time they were engaged in working for themselves,
besides being a permanent improvement of their holdings. By thus
persevering every winter, and going on bit by bit, the whole extent of
their farms would soon be gone over, and in a fit state for enabling them
to manage their land in other respects differently from what they had been
accustomed to do, and raise a greater amount of produce.
In land where there is a
considerable quantity of large land-fast stones the tear and wear of
horses, ploughs, and gearing, during the operations of subsoil ploughing
or trenching, is very great; and although men follow after the plough in
order to remove such stones, still they never are, in such cases, so
efficiently removed as when the ground is broken up by the spade and
subsoil fork. If the work is properly attended to, both by the labourers
and those superintending it, it will be almost impossible to miss any
large stones, or to leave any part of the indurated subsoil unbroken. The
only method by which the uniform sufficiency of the work can be insured is
by careful and urn-emitting attention on the part of the overseer. The
work must be inspected, not only as it proceeds, but also occasionally
after it is executed, by probing the depth with a stick shod with iron. In
doing this, six inches at least more than the prescribed depth must be
taken in order to allow for the subsidence of the land. For example, if
the depth to which the land is subsoiled out of the solid be eighteen
inches, that of the newly trenched and subsoiled land ought to be two
feet.
The expense incurred by
this system of improving land is dependent on many circumstances, and I
might very easily give a series of calculations on this point, which,
however, would not be of any real practical utility. I prefer rather to
state what was the actual outlay on the land so operated upon under my
superintendence. In order that this statement may be of any use as a
criterion to judge by, it is necessary that I explain fully the nature of
the soil we had to work upon.
The subsoil of nearly
one-half of the land consisted of an extremely tenacious red clay, full of
stones, and very difficult to work, both by the subsoilers and drainers.
In the rest of the land we found a thick ferruginous stratum lying from
six to twelve inches below the surface, all of which was dug up and
thoroughly broken, it being necessary to use both pick and crowbar in
effecting this, as well as the subsoiling forks. Altogether, this tract of
land, from the tenacity of the subsoil, the presence of so large a body of
almost impenetrable pan, and the abundance of the stones, was a very
unfavourable one for getting the subsoiling done at a cheap rate.
Trenching and subsoiling,
including removal of the stones, cost from £6, 17s. 6d. to £8, 9s. per
statute acre; draining from £3, 5s. to £4 per acre. The wages paid to the
labourers were 7s. a week, but the work was not done any cheaper in
consequence of this comparatively low rate, because I know that, with well
fed and experienced Scotch or English workmen on a higher rate of wages,
the work would not have cost any more than it did. Large as the outlay has
been, I am happy to say that the results fully justify me in recommending
this mode of improving land to the attention of agriculturists. |
