Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1882-10-20
Fall,Plowing for Early Crops.

a point or vital importance IN the
profitable culture of corn and SPRING
sown grains is. that of early seeding.
This is especially true throughout the
West and South. The dry weather
which almost invariably occurs each
spring at a period when the corn or
other plants have not attained suffi-
cient growth to shade the ground and
prevent the rapid evaporation of mois-
ture from the soil at midday is -chinch-
bugs exceptcd-the most dreaded OBJ
stacle to the production of good crops.
The spring crops can be put in from
one to three weeks earlier on land
deeply fall-plowed than upon that
plowed in the spring.
Should the soil run together, do not
re-plow, but use the double shovel, bull
tongue and harrow. pursuing much the
same plan as for wheat, which. requires
compact soil withsa fine mellow sur
face. If weeds, stubble and coarse
manure are plowed under in the fall,
there need be no fear that the roots of
the crops will not feed upon the vege-
table matter beneath the burrows.
J Admitting that thorough under-drain-
age with tiles is the most economical
Method of management, the next best
method to loosen, deepen and aerate the
soil. is to deeply fall-plow the land be-
fore it Is rendered wet and heavy by
the autumnal rains. Any method that
will better fit the land for early vegeta-
bles or for successful truck farming is
the true method by which the greatest
measure of success can be attained in
growing the grain crops. No one should
now be content with merely growing
an average crop, which merely insures
bare living. The profit in farming
lies in the plane above the average, and
the profits are increased in q rapid ratio
whenever the yield per acre is uniform
ly large. The greater the yield, the
greater the corresponding profit.
The key to success is edrhness, and
the best method of increasing it is an
| important matter. The successful mar
ket gardener underdrains his land with
tile, and then after manuring it heavily
with the coarsest of the manure in the
fall. plows it into beds four to five PAGES
wide, and then cleans out the dead
burrows, so that the water can pass of
at the lowest point quickly and readily.
This Is to certain extent drainage,
and in many cases the nearest possible
approach to it. A wet soil can no more
be pulverized than if it werc--what il
too often so closely resembles-a mass
| of putty. The rough manure applied
at first is not enough, and liberal top
dressing of well-rotted manure should
afterward be applied broadcast during
the winter when the ground is frozen, OF
as early in the spring rs the soil will no
| ha mi i,,rad hu tho faanns and yannn,
passing over it. The mellowing inhu
ence OF manure SO applied is greatly un
derestimated. rlt
Fall plowing contributes materially te
the success of a crop by the destruction
of injurious insects that have taken NJ
their winter quarters; thrown up at thi
season, myriads of worms, insects .ant
eggs are destroyed, and great loss pre-
vented. 1t also aids in keeping the farm
free from weeds. by throwing up root
of the perennials, when the frosts o
winter will destroy their vitality; b,
covering the seeds of the annuals |
causes them to germinate in the fal
and they are also killed.
Viewed from a chemical standpoin
the disintegration which results fron
fall plowing is very marked. The Ian
when broken up by the plow holds
! great amount of water. and when rc
peatedly frozen and thawed while 1
that condition, pulyerization is renderc
much more complete than it otherwis
would be. All the rain that falls whic
is charged with ammonia and other fei
tilizing gases is filtered down throug
fine particles of the loosened soil, and a
result the manurial properties in tn
water are readily assimilated and r.
tanned as plant food. Heavy soils shoul
be so plowed as to he left somewh,
rough, SO that the largest possible su
face will be exposed to the effects {
frost and heat Of the SUMS rays.
Fall plowing has been justly col
demned by those who insisted on n
breaking the land in the spring, b,
ne0er by those who follow the plan
cultivating across the dead burrows
fill them up, and mellowing the. surfa'
inch by inch until the desired depth
attained, ,-Farm and Fireside. 4 Z