The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1881-10-22
Fall Flowing.

While there is furrow TO be turned
the plow should not rest in the fall
months. One sometimes hears the
most absurd objections made, TO the
effect that farmers are urged by agri-
cultural writer's to work, work, and
never to be idle, but always to find
something to do But. why not? a
writer on agricultural subjects, if he
understands his business, knows that
the farm is no playground any mo'e
than the workshop or the merchants
store; he knows, too, that, as a rule,
the farmer has more leisure than any
other business man, and is too apt in
his leisurely way to put off his work
until the last moment, not realizing
what damage may happen through this
And what has the farmer to do but to
til. his farmP 1t is only when one is
working that he is producing, and it is
the part of wisdom to work when there
is work TO be done and rest when it is
done. And fall blowing is the most
important work of the season. On the
majority OF farms the blowing is done
by hired men, and the employer certain
ly does not wish to pay his laborer for
doing nothing; and if he is a sensible
man he knows that every fair days la
Dor performed by his workman will
yield him profit on the outlay. There
are many farmers who recognize these
facts. aud who are industrious and
painstaking, and yet who might delay
their fall blowing or even put off the
blowing until spring, and take their
leisure just now, simply because they
may not clearly understand the advan-
tayes of doing this work as soon as pos
sible, and before the cold weather ar
rives. Some explanation of these adj
vantageS may then be of interest. Few
of us realize what a vast storehouse of
fertility the soil is. and yet how Sc
curely this fertility is locked up in the
soil 1t is this very fact that gives point
to the knowledge that by the sweat of
the brow man must earn his bread. We
may SOW, but we cannot reap unless
with much labor we work the soil with
pillow and harrow. and it is this very
labor that unlocks the treasures of the
soil so that we may help ourselves to
our share.
Fall blowing is required to produce
particular effect, and should, therefore,
be performed in particular manner,
and one calculated to elect the desired
purpose the most completely. What is
required chiefly is to expose the largest
surface to the influences of the atmOs-
phere; to the changes from moisture to
dryness; to the trosts and thaws This
is done by throwing the soil into ridges
so that it remains in succession of
miniature hills and vallels, exposing
twice as much surface as if the furrow
slices were laid fiat. In this case the
same quantity of soil as laid previously
upon the surface would be turned up;
in the other case the turrow slice would
be exposed on two sides, and, moreover,
in blowing in this manner the bottoms
of the burrows are left open and loose,
and air can circulate there. 1t is at
this season that the ground may be
plowed a little deeper than before, to
bring up an inch or two of the subsol
to mix with the surface. and so add to
the arabic and fertile layer. This new
soil is exposed to the atmosphere and
mellowed and changed in character,
and this course, continued at every
fall blowing, gradually deepens
the soil and enriches it with
fresh materials for plant food. This
A powerful reason for early blowing
lies in the fact that the decomposition
OF the vegetable matter plowed in-the
trash of stubble and weeds--goes on
very rapidly while the soil remains
warm, and until the very cold weather
becomes constant or the ground is
frozen. The vitrilication of this vege-
table matter is effective and rapid in
proportion to the warmth, moderate
moisture and pOrosity of the soil, and
these depend wholly upon early plow-
ing. One exception is to be noted.
This, in the writer's opinion, is in the
blowing of clover sod upon light soils
tor corn. In regard to the blowing of
sod upon clay soils there can be no
question, because the benefit to the soil
itself far overweighs that gained by the
increased growth of the clover in the
spring, while this fresh growth of clo-
yer is of the greatest advantage to the
light soil and to the corn crop. which
thrives best upon the newly turned soil,
Many years experience has shown that
this kind of SOIL with clover sod upon
it, is best turned at the last moment be-
fore planting, so that the seed can 90 at
once into the mellow, fresh soil and re-
ceive the considerable benefit which ac-
crues from the rapidly rotting, fresh,
succulent clover and its active influence
upon the soil.-N. Y. Times.