The Progress. (Shreveport, La.) 1892-1900, 1894-02-17

sod under the soil, where, by its
decay, it will add its clements of fer
tiIity to the general stock of plant
1000 already in the soil. CIV TO kill
weeds, thereby obtaining clean sur
face, so that crops may enjoy undis-
puted and sole possession Of the soil.
C3) 10 thoroughly pulverizo the soil,
50 as to make perfect seed bed for
the young and growing plant ht)
10 break the crust after each ram, so
that the land may imbibe its full
share Of air, heat and moisturo.o
In preparing the land far the
reception Of 5he seed it is highly i'm
pOrtant that the hUsbandman know
just exactly how to pl1E; but after
the ground is all well prepared, and
the crops all planted, it becomes
doubly necessary to know, not only
how to plou, when to pillow, but also
why it is necessary to pillow at all, and
what we expect to accomplish b9 it.
In whatever manner the ground may
have been prepared for the crop,
whether by blowing deep or shallow,
surface cultivation, oft repeated.
should be the ordGt of the day, for
any and all crops that nave to be
cultivated by plowi9S Gnd hoeing.
THIS "surface cultivation" not only
kills all grass and weeds, but break
ing the crustS after each rain, opens
up the soil to the air, allowing it to
enter to be absorbed by the soil, and
to pass out from tbs soil freely. This
loose surface is, in short the lungs
that enable both the soil and the
roots of plants to breathe. This
"breathing process is not on.9 of
prime necessity to the healthiu.less
of the growing plant, but is also es-
sential to that important process
termed "nitri.ication, by which or
ganic nitrogen in this soil is charged
into nitrates, the form into which
nitrogen is appropriated by the
plants almost exclusively. Nitrif
cation acquires pretty high tenn
perature, but in soils that contain a
liberal supply of humus, and are
stirred frequently with the pillow, cul-
tivator Or harrow, will GO on rapid
ly in such weather as we usually
have after, say. Juhe |.
Large quantities of iand scattered
3 here and there aver the United States
are so close in texture, so tenacious
! and air-eXcluding as to be almost
barren, says the Journal of Agricul-
ture; yet these same eml-barren
soils contain. in their natural state,
exhaustless quantities of plant food,
oftentimes proving to be the strong
est soils we have. This state of
semi is sometimes due to
too much water, but still oftener to
lack of aeration of the soil; or to
make the matter plain as possible, a
lack of lungs to breathe with. This
breathing process can be brought
about by drainage where the lands
are too wet; by deep blowing on all
soils that will stand deep blowing
and, thorough blowing on any and
all soils. Thorough cultivation
| (including subsoil blowing, harrow
ing, rolling, etc. } unlocks the stores
of plant food the soil contains.
Where the ground is lumpy and
cloddy, it is in too coarse form to
be utilized by the roots Of plants (nc
matter how rich in plant food these
coarse particles may beg, and they
must be thoroughly pulverized by
frequent aud thorough cultivation
before they can be made available
as plant food. The more frequent
the cultivation and the more com
plete the pulverization of the soil,
the greater the quantity of plant
food that is made, available, and the
more rapid and luxuriant will be
the growth of the plants. One fact
should always be borne in mind, that
is that plants do not eat, they drink;
consequently no matter how voraci-
Gus feeder a plant may be, it can
not eat a clod, nor appropriate it to
their uses in any manner A clod is
dead property, worthless, unproti-
table, good for nothing. Most men
would complain when forced to pay
tax on horse that was dead and
buried, or house that was con,
sumed by the flames; a clod is equally
dead.
We come now to the fifth, and what
we consider the most important
reason, why we pillow, viz, conserva-
tion OF soil moisture. TO conseve,
the moisture that is deposited in the
earth by rains and melting snow
and even by dews, necessitates deeI
preparation OF the soil previous to
planting so that the rains may be
readily absorbed. When absorbed
it must not be allowed to escape by
evaporation; but, if the full benefit
OF the winter and spring rains are tc
be realized, the moisture must be
carried quickly down beyond the i'm
mediate reach of the evaporatine
influences of the sun. Stored deer
in the earth, perpetual reservoir
it is ready to be brought to the sur
face for the use of growing plants
when needed by the capillary
action" of the earth. In order tc
mako this matter n1ain wa would