The Columbus journal., 1884-04-02
Treating q Lumpy Soil.

Treating . Lumpy Soil
There is a difference in this kind Of
soil. depending upon the character and
condition of the land when plowed- II
broken up when dry and hard, tho
Jumps are readily reduced after q rain
has soaked them, If allowed to dry
somewhat Still, the reduction is not
fully what is desired; Tia. ground is
not mellow; only an approach to it
With the aid of frost, q satisfactory
condition can be reached in most eases.
by fall blowing. Where the clay is
quite obstinate. q good coat Of manure
applied after blowing will be an addi-
tional aid. Thorough working of the
surface as early in the spring as the
ground will allow, and nc later the
point il important-will secure q good
seed bed, with the promise Of q good
crop, the seed being sOwn at the time
of working the soil. The land there
after can lie kept good, and even i'm
prove in condition. until it becomes .
mellow cGy loan, which is among the
best of soils. 1t only needs TO continue
to work in Il and vegetable
material, which sod, green crops and
vegetable stable absOrbents best fur
nish. Such land. with the necessary
drainage, makes the best genera! soil,
allowing all kinds of crops to be grown.
and most of them To the greatest per-
lection; for wheat. not surpassed: for
oats. barley and peas, equally good;
for corn, in a warm. showery season.
reaching maximum yields. the rich,
warm river bottoms exceeding it only
in cold seasons. As to grass and
clover, no soil can equal it either in
quality or quantity.
Here is where farmers have a great
acknowledgements than they are gen
orally aware of. Instead of availing
themselves of it, what do we see Com
psratively little clay soil al be found
that is not more or less hard in a dry
time, and less productive than it ought
to be. Even where manur has been
used, the manure, owing to the unfa-
vOrable mechanical condition, does not
afford the same benefit that a mellow
soil admits of, though it will aid some
what in improving the texture. Then
there is the delay of putting the crop
out in the spring, owing to the wet
condition of the land, the water with
drawing slowly, and the further danger
Of rain extending the delay. sometimes
till too late. the soil becoming more and
more packed as the time is extended.
To pillow it will not do.
Right here is where the great danger
comes in, and where clay soil receives
its greatest hurt. 1t is usually wet, es-
pecially early in the spring. Even if
comparatively dry on the surface, when
turned up it will show mud, or an ap-
proach to it, which in drying becomes
baked and hard. and no amount Of
rain during the season can reduce it to
melluwneSs. 1t may be broken by inn
plements into smaller Jumps. but the
harshness, the brick-like quality. re-
mains. The frost of n winter
only partially corrects it. 1t will
take years before it can be brought
to q fine mellow condition, requiring the
action of the elements in connection
with the use of implements and barn.
yard N Instead of this the
spring blowing is sometimes repeated,
making bad worse. When thus reduced
it is seeded down, with the chances
against . good catch. Not un~frequently
it turns out that the seed has been lost,
and the land has to undergo another
blowing, with sometimes a second fall
ure at seeding; but oftener a poor catch
is made to do, giving a chance for weeds
If the ground is strong enough to grow
them; if not, manur will bring them.
l have seen many fields of this char
acter. In one case the weeds were
n1nu,od ,,n1or nrinn fhonn q shollnW
covering and, when rotten, working the
surface with cultivator and harrow,
securing thus a tOlerable seed bed fol-
lowed by q fair crop of grain and sue
cessful seeding down.
Clay soil is the most difficult of all
soils to manage. 1t requires the most
careful treatment, and always, whether
in preventing hurt or in curing it. But
It is worth the attention. This atten-
ton is, to a greater or less extent,
thrown away if the land lacks drainage,
which, it is well known. it does to q
large extent. Is it a wonder then that
our clay soil. exposed to the hot sun.
and subjected to bad treatment in an
undrained state, should yield so lightly,
often not paying expense. when it has
the elements of the best of soils, wait
ing for a chance to develop them?
1t is doubtful whether our efforts to
reduce cloddy lands with implements
pay. A certain reduction, to get rid of
the roughness. is necessary. but the
finest condition to which it is reduced is
only to lessen. by division, the size of
the Jumps. preventing that close con
tact with the roots which is necessary
to a successful growth, leaving the soil
open to the effect of drought. Time is
required to correct such soil, and the
means are heat, rain and frost, aided by
manure. Plow when the soil is dry
never when wet, not even in the fall,
though it is less harmful especially
when done late enough to get an effect
of the frost soon after, or before the
ground is dried out. But sometimes a
heavy snow will fall before the ground
is frozen, and remain till spring-as
was the case last winter-and pack the
ground, leaving it in a condition for the
spring winds and sun to dry hard. The
safe way is to make it an inflexible rule
to pillow when dry enough to prevent
packing and a greasy appearance. With
the land drained there is no difficulty in
effecting this. Then there will be little
trouble from lumpy soil. Prevention,
and not cure, is the true doctrine here,
as with sickness.-F. g., in Country
Gentleman.