Nevada County picayune., 1886-11-17
AGRICULTURAL.
Fall Flowing.

am satisfied that much of the poverty that obtains among many farmers of the Sonth is attributable to too little use of the blow. Thor ough breaking of land is the foun- dation of all good farming, and without it good crops cannot be expected. As soon as the crops are harvested. instead of pursuing the wastcful system SO general in the south of paSturing cattle ill the fields all winter, q large blow should he put to work at once, and all the trash, dried grass, and par tlcularly pea.Vlnes, turned under, so that they may rot thoroughly, and become incorporated with the soil by spying. Right here 1t is well to protest against the system, SO prevalent, of putting up the pea.vines from between the corn. These vines afford the best aud cheapest fertilizer for poor land, aud if they are allowed to remain after the peas have been gathered, and then plowed under, the large ly increased crops of the succeed ing season will more than repay the loss of the vines. These are very inferior fodder al best, while they are invaluable for bringing up poor soils. And as the mineral matter and nitrogen they contain are what benefit the land, the ef- feet is the same whether they are turned under green or after they have died upon the land. Deep blowing in the fall has primarily the effect of depening the fertility of the soil, by turning up and eX- posing to the atmosphere the vel low stratum beneath the dark. This poor earth obtalns ammonia and other fertilizing matters from the atmosphere, and also Tn It's turn receives its layer Ot dead grass. so that in due course It becomes as fertile as that turned under. The land is also thorough ly broken and the roots of crops are able to penetrate beyond the heat of the sun and have also a wider range within which to find food. All vegetable matter turned under in the fall becoms well rot ted by the spring and transformed into humus, that essential element of food for young plants. Such materials are more beneficial when turned under in the fall than later, because they require longer time to rot than is usually supposed. During the winter their decay Is effected by the moisture of the soil and air admitted by its porosl- ty, so that by spring they are ready to be available. The qulckness with which this transformation takes place depends upon the na' ture of the soil; it will occur more in sandy or loose soils than m clayey CT heavy ones. When land is broken well in the fall 1t Is rem dered more mellow and more plia- ble by the influences of the rains and freezes of winter; and this mellow condition remains all sum mel, and distinguishes 1t readily from land that has been plowed only in the spring. A more gener- diffusion of moisture is induced, and great protection afforded against drouth. Instead of tue moisture being evaporated by the summers heat, it is preserved deep below the surface, and drawn gradually upward as it is needed by the crops. Farmers should blow as soon as their crops are gathered in. and also as all other times when practicable. There cannot be high culture without deep till age, and without high culture
 farming will be an unproftable busin esS.-Farm and Fireside.