Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1893-01-12
Sub-Soiling and Surface Guilt.
walton.


given better yield than land plowed six
or eight inches. either or black or CLAY
soil. | find on blowing eight inches |
turn sub-soil of CLAY nature. which
turned on top in the fall during The
freezing and thawing. causes the fur.
rows to run together like Stacked lime.
This makes the land hard and will not
let the moisture down like land plowed
five inches aud sub soiled four inches.
/ prefer shallow blowing and sub
selling because, in the first place it
makes better drainage as eleven inches
OF loose dirt will absorb more water
without washing than six inches. II
plowed six inches the bottom of the
furrow is hard and when heavy rain
falls the loose ground is filled with
water. as there is not enough drainage
to let the water down. The result is
1t will wash where eleven inches of
loose dirt would have absorbed a very
large proportion of it, as it requires
more water TO move eleven inches of
loose dirt than it does six inches.
In the second place sub soiling is bet.
ter for roots that are inclined to 90
down. such as rye, wheat, oats. clover,
etc. The clover plant is an excellent
fertilizer. Il the ground is loose and
the season favorable the root will 90
down from two to three feet the first
season, where if the ground is ploWed
six inches 1t will grow seven to twelve
inches, as the ground is hard it cannot
get the moisture it requires in dry sea-
sons. Sub-soilIng lets the roots and
little tibres down TO moisture. As the
clover root will make greater growth on
new land than it will on old. so Il will
make greater growth on old land SUBJ
soiled than it will if not sub-soiled. On
the roots OF the clover plant there are
little knots or tubercles, and in these
there are minute organisms, or living
things. These microscopic creatures
have the power of taking nitrogen from
the air and turning it over to the clover
which grows thereon, and the plan IS
when decsying in the soil leave the
nitrogen in available form for succeed
ing plants, therefore the farther the
root goes down the more nitrogen we
have in the soil. / have tried sub-soil-
ing for different crops with good results.
In 1891 three acre plat was sown
to oats; one acre was plowed i've
inches, sub-soiled five inches. sown
three and one-half bushels per acre,
allowing thirtY-five pounds per bushel
and the yield was 99 bushels per acre.
On an acre Of fall plowed seven inches
deep. sown three and one-half bushels
per acre the yield was eighty bushels
per acre. One acre not plowed, but
put in shallow with disc harrow sown
three and one-half bushels per acre, give |
seventy five bushels per acre. The oats
sown were all of the same quality, so
this was fair test On good black SOIL
Corn was sown on this land the previous
season. The three plats were sown the
same day and covered with a China
disc The oats on the plat sub soiled root
ed more than the others, and the berry
WAS more perfect. After the grain was
sui, on examining the ground it was
found that the sub.soiled plat had more
moisture at six inches than either of the |
others had at ten inches, which was
proof that when the soil is loose the |
moisture will work up in dry seasons.
and in wet seasons loose soil will make
better drainage.
In 1892 plat of FIVE acres were plowed |
four inches, sub-soiled four inches and |
sown to oats (white-Highland), two
bushels per acre. The yield was sixty
five bushels per acre, allowing thirty
two pounds per bushel. Eight acres
was plowed four inches deep, sown to
oats (yellow-butter oats), three bushels
per acre, and the yield was forty bushels
per acre.
Ny experience IN cultivating corn has
been as follows: Twenty acres was
fall plowed in 1890, clover having been
grown on this ground the previous sea-
son. In 1891 it was worked with the
climax disc until the soil was mellow.
1t was then planted to corn. with check
row, foar kernels to the HILL Three
acres were cult waited with the pointed |
shovel five times, four inches deep; SIX
teen and one-half acres were cultivated |
with surface cultivator four times. |
one and one-half inches deep. When |
the corn was husked three acres yielded |
silty-fYe bushels per acre,-the one.
half acre thirty-five bushels and the
sixteen and one-half acres eighty BUSH
els per acre. The last named piece
ripened twelve days earlier thaD the
49, a