Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-11-11
Fai! pI0uqhing.

A correspondent of the Country Gentle
man gives some excellent reasons why, I'M
Ter existing circumstances, fall ploughing
is not advisable:
On account of the very severe drouth that
prevailed over u wide area Of our county
the ground for fall wheat could not be pre-
pared until some time after the usual date.
Wheat seeding was finished four " eeks later
than usual. This has shortened the ordinary
period for fall blowing (at one end, at
least for, of course, it was impossible to
plough the ground for spring crops when the
ground for wheat was too hard and dry to
be poughed and when the rains came all for
ces had to be employed in preparing the
seed bed for the wheat. There are on most
farms "odd jobs" that will occupy ten days
to two weeks, and that must now be atten-
ied to; so that about the last of October
we must decide definitely whether or not
We will do any fall ploughipg. We must
make this decision about month later than
usual; yet there may be ample time to do
| all the fall breaking that was contemplated
Along the for,ieth parallel one can often
plough until the very last of November. Per
haps one will have to wait some mornings
un il the sun has thawed the thin crust
| Quite oftener than otherwise, when the fall
is delayed in the beginning it is late in its
-nding. We may not have an unusually
fine, mild fall but the chances are in favor
of that Some,imes-in fact, not so very
nftequt ntly-we have a week or ten days
in Dec. mber in which plougbing ma,
be done; and sometimes the January
tnaw" will permit of considerable breaking
believe that if one goes about the matter
diligently and takes fair advantage of oppor-
tunities, he can get ploughed this fall and
winter all that he intended to fall plough
notw outstanding the delay occasioned By
the drouth hence, the question to decide is,
not whether one will have the time for the
work, but is the work advantageous Be
fore leave the matter of time | would re-
mark that in the fall or winter one can
plough ground when it is quite little wet
ter than it should be in the spring. do
not believe in ploughing very wet ground at
any time but what would be a clod in the
spring will be only a muddy mass in the
fall until disintegrated by the frost.
Whether or not it v i'll pay to fall ploul b
depends upon circumstances. One must rot,
in any operation of farming, fit all cases 10
any arbitrary rule. ! would say. first, that
if mans farming is largely devoted to
.pring crops it may be advisable for him TO
fall plough when it would 1ot be advisable
otherwise. The man Who grows much fall
wheat and has a considerable area in grass,
will not find one advantage in fail plough
ing that the man will whose land 10 lsrgel,
put in oats, corn and potatoes. Tn.
former will find his fall work full,
rs pressing as his rpring work, II not
more pressing. He will, a. the least, have
as much time in the spring as in the fall t.
plough the ground for spring crops. Bot
not so vi tb the man who sows but LITTLE
wheat and puts much Of his land in oats,
corn and potatoes. His work will certainly
drive him in the spring. 1t may drive hin
quite hard indeed. He will certainly find
more time in the fall to do a part Of thu
fall ploughing for spring crops than he viii
find in the spring to do it all. 1t will b.
quite an advantage to him IL be can ant.ci.
pate his spring work, and reduce it BY
ploughing part Of the ground in the fall