The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1892-04-15
THE FARM AND HOME.
WHY AND WHEN SUBSOuaNG
Us ADVANTAGEOUS
Storing Moisture for Times Of Drouth
Russian Mulberrles - Picking APP
pies - Sheep EShe arings and
Home Hints
Advantage of subsoilias.

Advantage of Subsoiling.
What is the natural condition of the
subsoil below the usual depth of the
furrow? In virgin soil, nearly cleared
of Its original forest growth, it is full
of hollows made by the decay of tree
roots and forming natural under
drainage for surface water. But the
effect of frequent shallow cultivation
is to gradually close these orifices and
reduce the subsoil to solid impen-
etrable mass Such soil does not
hold SO much water. Hence, as the
country grows older droughts are
more frequent AS the subsoil cannot
absorb a great deal. the surface is
washed by foods in winter and spring.
1t is this sudden alienation from wet
to dry that makes undertaking
necessary as the country grows older.
1t is not merely to carry off surplus
water in the rainy reason. but to
deepen the soil, so that it may retain
more moisture against times of
drought.
For this purpose the subsoil plow
most ordinarily supplements the un-
derdrain- Under the ordinary furrow
is hard crust where the mold board
has pressed and compacted the soil
while it was moist. Frost does not 90
below this crust at the depth of ordin-
airy burrows. except when severe cold
weather finds the surface bare of snow.
Even when it is broken by frost, I'M
less there Is good drainage beneath.
this subsoil is filed with water, and
If plowed in spring the mold board
forms the crust where it was before.
What is needed is sufficient outlet be-
meath to prevent the subsoil from be-
coming more than moist Then it is
readily penetrated by frost which ex-
pands the particles of soil and enables
it to hold more moisture without being
eodden.
Subsoiling is found in practice to be
especially helpful to crops like pota-
toes that always suffer late in summer
from lack of moisture. Potatoes like
cool, moist soil. and send their roots
deep wherever subsoiling has given
them chance The good effects of
the subsoiling are visible for several
years thereafter and espec-
tally in the increased clover growth
when the field is seeded. Clover roots
deeply, but 1t cannot except slowly,
penetrate an unbroken subsoil. Break
up this with subsoil pillow and the
clover roots will continue in successive
years to 60 deeper. each one as it de-
Gays forming a path of vegetable
mold for its successor 1t is often diff
icult on heavy soil long cultivated to
get a good clover catch. If the clo-
YER starts it does not make the growth
it ought. Prepare the land by pre-
vious subsoiling and this difficulty
will disappear. The deeper clover
roots the better it is for the land, as
the roots in the subsoil extract miner
al fertility which is thus brought
nearer the surface.
There has been immense improve
ment in the tools used for surface Gull
tivation of hoed crops since the days
when a plow was merely run between
the rows. The modern cultivators
fail of their effect says the American
Cultivation. however. if there is not
beneath the surface q moist subsOil
from which water can be drawn up by
capillary attraction. The surface cul-
tivation makes mulch. If it is over
dry, hard subsoil little good is done,
as moisture cannot come from where
1t does not exist. In the early days
the natural underdrainage from plenty
of vegetable matter and decaying tree
roots in the subsoil kept it moist
This probably was one reason why
droughts in the early settlement of
any locality were less injurious than
they are now. But this, instead of
being an argument against UNDER
draining. is the strongest argument
for it. But it shows plainly enough
that understanding to be as effective
as it can be made must be supplement-
ed by subsoiling as often. at least as
once in four or five years.