Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-05-25
Dee, or SHALLOW plonine.

Deep or shallow Flowing. u .esf'
TWENTY-FIVE years ago a large ma,
iority Of farmers believed deem plow-
ing to be the best for all soils and ali
crops, but since that time MANY have
changed their opinion. 10 To-Day NM
Few VIII advocate deep blowing without
solhe qualification. Experience has
proved that what is best for one sol, Tor
crop, may not be best for another soil,
or 10. a different crop; in fact lit, Is
found that blowing. like other ,oceups-7
lons on the farm, can not, with any,
surrey ot success. be brought under any
rlg1d rules, but that each lot of land
! ana each crop must be considered by it
sell; that the depth which it is best To-
pillow must depend mainlyon the char
acter OF the soil and the nature of the
crop 70 De grown, for example, if the
SOL SOL, IS 2 very sandy loan, and the crop
to be grown be Indian corn, it should
not De plowed so deep as il the land be
heavy loam and the crop be carrots
or parsnips. 1t is mistake to 5sup-
pose tnat because, one kind of soil, or
crop, does better by deep blowing that
all soils and crops do. A soil that is
rich and full of partially decayed vege-
tatlon to the depth of ten Or twelve
inches is, no doubt, improved by deep
plowlng, for some crops. but a, poor
soil that is deficient in partially decayed
vegetation, except few inches of the
surface, would be greatly injured the
first year by deep plowing. This has
been thoroughly demonstrated by n
large number of / experiments, but be-
cause this is so, deep blowing ought not
! to be condemned, nor should farmers
who own farms with a deep rich soil
insist that deep blowing is the best for
aiffafins, because they find It best for
theirs. 81 ~ L .gnilssi - q - 10y
Natures Misplaced the richest portion
OF. the sold very, near the surface and
she. has constructed plants with their
! feeding roots very near the surface also,
that they might be where the soiffy III
the best condition to feed them. "WHefi
man attempts tDoVercome these natural
conditions he -spOn finds, it can only be
done at a great cost, if at all. Nature
does not object to having the soil made
| rich to a much greater depth than it is
4 usually found in its natural state. but
i when man retefses the natural con-
dtions by changing the four inches ioi
/ rich surface soil. and placing it at the
| bottom of q furrow eight inches in
| depth, and at the same time covers it
with four inches of the poor soil which
nature has placed beneath the fo,if
inches of the rich soil, she rebels and re.
| fuses TO produce so good crops as when
only four inches of the richest soil is re-
| versed.
While most crops grow best when
the soil is made light and loose eight
inches deep, it is not so important that
the lower half of this eight inches
should be very rich, as it is that the
upper half should; such being the case,
it will readily be seen that when a soil
is rich only few inches on the top, il
this be changed to the bottom of deer
fJIrrow, and replaced with poor soil, il
will be- difficult, if not impossible. to
make the poor soil thus brought to the
surface as rich as the natural soil which
has been covered so deep that but few
plant roots, that are particularly adapted
for feeding roots can reach it. - 7--3i
In deciding what depth to pillow land
it is important to know how deep the
soil hasbeen enriched. so as not to 90
much below it. In deepening soil il i:
best to do il very gradually, not more
than one inch each year; even when this
is done it will require "A larger quahtit,
of manure than if plowed only the usuai
depth. u5ls4 gi-.f .r. ..ls.
Unfortunately our plows are not con
structed on plan to initiate nature, but
exactly contrary to nature. If we haC
a pillow that would stir and pulverize the
soil, and at the same time keep it the
same side UP. there. would be but. very
little, if any, objection to deep. stirring
of the soil; then the rich soil would be-
kept near the surface, and the fertilizer
applied would be mingled with 1t, ant
thus make the most desirable condition
for rapid plant growth. We trust tina
the time will come when we shall haV
an implement that will thoroughly sti
the soil and leave it the same side up
and at the same time mingle the manur
with four inches of the surface soil; i'm
til we have such implements we Shout,
be cautious how we pillow the land muel
below the rich soil. i'.a.s.grs ~ liAs
On land of ordinary richness erol
of Indian corn will grow better with tn
same care and manure, if it be. plowe,
only four or five inches deep, than
plowed eight or ten inches deep VIVA
is true of corn is true of rye and simila
crops; but if it is desired to grow car
rots, or horse-radish, or any .deep-root
ed crops, it is important that the Ian,
should be plowed deeper, and for sucl
crops 1t is also important that the lam
should be prepared by gradually deep
ening the soil until it has been well en-
riched to the depth of eight or! tel
inches. When this is done deep pillow
ing may be reSorted to with advantage
but to attempt to prepare shallow sol
in a single year can not be done withou
the application of very large quantitie
of manure; and even then it would b
difficult, if not impossible. to mingl
the manure with the soil and make it $
well adapted to plant growth, as if tn
deepening had been done gradually
covering a period of several years o
time. buc .ssGs' bla- "a ao.Il-riEa 3f
BY carefully examining the subject
it will be readily seen that as long a
we use plows that turn the soil over, W
shall have to consider the condition d
our land, and make ourselves aequaint
; ed with the depth of the rich portion q
!, the soil, before we know what depth t
pillow. The. question as to the ,prope
| depth of blowing land should be left 10
each farmer to decide. for himself; lie
him first make himself familiar with th
J principles that he ought to be governe
by; then he will be far better able t
, decide this important question tha
: the most skillful cultiyator who know
nothing of the soil that is to be plowed
The sooner the farmer understand
that he has got to think for himself, tn
better it will be for him. -Massaehuseti
Ptotgls1adas.- .r-,l - aaliTHJE "a al
80 '''.'' Called Shoulders. '''h go .