The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-06-02
Preparation Of the Soil for Annual
Plants.


That it is necessary to pulverize the
soil for annual plants is no new theory,
but was understood and practiUed by
the tillers Of the soil several thousands
of wears ago; the dwellers on the banks
of the Nile loosened and prepared the
soil with an implement of the rudest
structure, and but little more than a
crooked or pronged stick of wood.
This implement is still in use, with but
little Improvement, since a period as
far back as history reaches. To plow
the earth with such an implement,
seems to US both a slow and tedious
process, but it accomplishes the work,
and we sometimes think perhaps it may
be done quite as well as it is done by
some of the modern plows, which cut a
furrow so even and turn it over so care
fully, and lay it so fiat and smooth that
the particles of earth remain together
as compact as before; the only object
accomplished being to reverse the or
der of nature, by bringing the poorer
soil TO the surface, and the richer sur
face mold six or eight inches below; il
has always been a question with US
whether or not this is the best, the most
desirable way; the question naturally
occurs, should we not in our efforts to
assist nature, endeavor to do so on
NATURES plan? Nature when left to
herself always deposits the richest ma
terial near the surface, and it is here
that she sends the larger portion of the
feeding roots of plants.
Every farmer understands that to
plant a crop on the hard unpulverized
burrows, as it is turned over by the
plow, would be to invite a failure, and
so after the land is plowed he goes over
the field with pulverizing harrow,
and thus not only pulverizes the soil
but mixes the poorer, that lies at the
surface, with the richer soil that lies
after being plowed a few inches below,
and at the same time usually harrows
in some fertilizing material; thus by
two operations and two implements the
modern farmer accomplishes what the
ancients accomplished with one opera
ton and one implement, except the
ancients did not turn the soil bottom
up. The question here arises, is our
way the best? For sod land every one
must admit it is, but for land that is
free from sod there is difference of
opinion; while one party strongly con-
tends that it is wrong in principle to
turn the rich soil six or eight inches
below the surface, where the principal
portion of the feeding roots of plants
cannot reach it, the other party con-
tends that by thus reversing Nature it
sets her at work to restore the rich fer
tilizing materials to their natural posi-
tion, and that by this activity the whole
soil is set in motion, and plant food is
thus created to much larger extent
than it would be by keeping the richest
portion of the soil at the surface. Un-
doubtedly a considerable portion of the
nitrogenous portion of the rich soil will
rise, but it is not so clear that the phos-
pilates and potash will rise from the
bottom to the top of the furrow without
the aid of plant roots; undoubtedly a
portion of the roots of most of plants
penetrate as deep as the furrow, but
the roots that strike deep are not those
that are filed with spongioles, like
those that run near the surface, and
therefore are not so well able to gather
up fertility as the surface roots; it is
| true that plants differ as TO their power
| to draw nourishment from some dis
tance below the surface; but it is al
ways safe to apply the principal portion
of the manure near the surface. To
plow the soil deep and turn the manure
under in the bottom of the fur
| EOW, 10 u pIdCIlCO Indb 10 NCIl SChClohl
abandoned, and in fact deep blowing
and turning the furrow over flat has
rarely if ever given satisfaction. 1t is
found by experience that when land
needs to be stirred up deep it is better
to turn over but a few inches of the
top, and simply stir the bottom without
turning it over. To prepare land for
annual plants, the soil needs to be
| stirred for several reasons. First, il
gives the roots chance to more read
ily penetrate the soil in all directions.
Second, it lightens the soil up and thus
lets in the warm air. Third, the fertil-
izing materials applied are, by the &C.
ton of the air more readily changed tc
| plant food. Fourth, while the top oi
the soil is kept loose, it retains a much
| larger proportion of the water thai
falls, and also prevents much more of il
from evaporating than if the soil was
hard. Fifth, well-pulverized soil il
much easier to cultivate, and thus the
weeds are destroyed with much less
labor.
The successful farmer never plants
his seed until he thoroughly pulverize:
the soil; by making it as fine and a:
loose as possible, for he well knows that
this is as important as the application
of fertilizers. The farmer who apple:
large quantities of manure and neglects
to pulverize the soil before he plants hi:
crop, will get less yield than he who
applies but small quantity of manure
but prepares his land by thoroughly
pulverizing it, before his crop is plant
ed, and keeps it well cultivated aftel
the crop is up. No time which tht
farmer spends at work on his farm Sc
cures better results than the time spen
in stirring and pulverizing the soil.
Some of the new harrows are especial
ly adapted to the pulverizing of the soil
A new home implement does ex
cellent work in smoothing the land an,
crushing the Jumps; it can be made b,
any farmer of ordinary mechanical abil
tiles. 1t is made of four planks TIVE
inches in thickness, four or five fee
long and one foot wide; the edge o
one plank is bolted to the edg,
of the other; they are made stron.
by fitting two hardwood joist
across near each end of the planks
and bolted to them; when done tn,
under side has the appearance of
flight of steps each two inches higl
and one foot wide; the team is hitchet
to the plank that appears to be th'
top one; and thus when dragged o7e
the field the edge of each successiv
plank strikes the Jumps of earth an,
breaks them in fine particles, and a
the same time it smoothes the Ian,
quite as we'll as roller, thus doing tn
work of two implements.
The time NAV come when some i'm