The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1876-05-04
PIOWING IN THE SPRING.

Gentleman says, there i little risk IN
blowing or re-plowing sandy Or gray
ely soil in the spring. It il some
times best, especially if tho SNOW has
been heavy, to re.plow OK apply the
cultivator. Its different with: clay
soil; and it should be laid down q :
rule that clay must be plowed in the
fall or winter, OF as little Of i - pos
sible in the spring. The farmer a:
ways runs ! riak if he Aeelscts e OBJ
serve this, espeeiallysvith spndrained
or wet soil. It Indifferent Nith clay
loan, made a;;!loam BY. : drainage
and careful culture: Thn may By
treated in the fall o. sp1;ng, or both.
But even then, cara should :bs sxer-
cised.: Clay ID very sensitive; and
Immediately after 4 heavy nlnh
will not do to plow even the most
mellow and best conditioned clay soil.
The clay will be hurt and assume a
crusty appearance; it is not the
thing it was before, and your crop
will not be what it would have been
with better treatment. Wait . few
davs LONGER latter the rain) and then
pillow.
Then there is the sandy OF gravel
ly loan. This, it will be thought, is
less risky to pillow than the clay loan.
Perhaps it is. But it should be re-
,membered that al tillable soil has
more or less clay, and it worked
when wet, this clay will be hurt,
which, on account of its small guam
tlty, is . serious loss. Hence, We Of:
ten render useless the clay in our al
luvial and other sandy soils, without
knowing it. But there is neverthe.
less . losS, and the grain will show it.
We often feel surprise in seeing light
crops on such land, seeming to suffer
from some cause unknown, though
sought for. Yet such land; like loan
mixed largely with clay, may be
plowed, narrowed, &C., sooner after 4
rain than the more compact, feten-
tive clay; it is only a difference Of
time. Some springs are rainy, and
then it is difficult to work any soil.
The farmer will be very glad if he
can get his seed in in time, to say
nothing Of blowing In such a case
blowing in the spring is out Of the
question in any soil. Let this be re.
membered.
1t sometimes happens that it is diff.
ficult to harrow the land or coyer the
seed in sufficiently dry condition. !
have ruined entire crops by harrow
ing the land too wet in black loamy
soil. Land that breaks up hard and
lumpy should be broken up in the
fall by all means. The elements are
sure to help it, and there is = chance
to mellow down in the spring with
implements. The harrow weighted,
is best for this, and the roller may
be Of use. Such land, if dry, may
be revoked to advantage in the
spring, not only on the surface. but
the plow may be used. OF course it
must not be plowed deeper than the
last blowing.
Where SOD is turned up on low
land containing much vegetable mat
ter, like the black mould Of swamps,
l prefer to have it done in the fall
and have it plowed deep, and then it
should be sown in the spring a. early
as it will bear. However, when we'll
drained, such sod may be broken up
and pulverized in the spring, and af:
ford rich, deep bed for almost any
crop. In either case, such land will
do well. But do not think, because
black and rich and loany, it may be
worked with impunity in all wealth.
ers. Work only when dry and
ashy. It will generally admit Of
this.
Thus it will be seen that much care
must be exercised in blowing or re-
blowing our land in the spring. Much
of the success Of the seasons crop il
depending upon it, and something in
the years that Immediately follow.
This is not generally considered. To
Plow land, whether in the fall or
spring, 90 that it bakes hard, is to
hurt it for several years, requiring
the use of manure or sod mixed with
the soil, and good, careful cultivation
to reclaim it. Rather than run the
risk Of putting IN the crop in a bad
condition Of the land, pass it over for
a buckwheat crop, or, il not too late,
it may be sown to spring crop, bar.
ley being preferable to oats, ~ it is
earlier, and my opinion is that it is
less subject to rust. Sometimes,
though not often, good results are OBJ
tanned in this way. The sun will
then have warmed the ground, which
will pulverize if not too badly run.
Hence the fine condition of fallows
that are plowed in the heat of the
summer, when not dried out too
much, but in such q state between wet
and dry that it "falls apart" as we
say, when it is turned up. Much Of
our land suffers more from bad and
untime]y working than from exhaus.
ton o: fertility; the two together do
the work effectually.