The herald., 1898-01-25
THE RANCH AND
ITS PRODUCTS
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l would like to say few words through
The Herald to the farmers of California.
The plowing season Is on us and the deep
plowing crank is everywhere to be found.
l will forfeit the price of farm If one can
be found who can give a good reason for
deep plowing. Ask them all and they have
only two that are worth naming:
First, loosen the ground so that the roots
can go down. Second. loosen the ground
SO it will catch and hold rain. Then comes
the reasoner who says turn the dirt up TO
the sun. The man who never did or can
raise crop will say bring up the sub-soil.
Now let us see the man who would
loosen the soil for the roots to go down. If
he will only take the trouble to examine
the roots he will find that they go not down
but out, horizontally.
Small grain is almost at the top Of the
ground. Indian corn grows not more than
one or two inches deep, potatoes will also
grow very near the top of the ground If
not chilled up" and they are often badly
injured by "hilling up too deep.
Onions and beets when grown to large
size grow two-thirds out of the ground
and to hill them up well means to stunt
them again.
The average farmer thinks the ground
must be loose and soft for the roots to run
in. In this they are mistaken, loose ground
is dry in few days after rain and full
of small crevices filled with air. Now
roots canno. run in dry dirt nor dirt that
is full of crevices. Let the farmer who
thinks loose dirt will catch and hold water
soak we'll a plug of tobacco in water and
sponge of the same thickness and lay
them up to dry, and if the sponge does not
dry in one hour, and If the tobacco does
in less than one month then Will pay him
for his trouble.
Now, get your land as much like the to-
bacco, well packed, very solid then ploW
one or two inches deep. One is best.
Shallow plowing can easily be done by
bolting a piece on the bottom side of the
plow beam and let 1t extend past the end
Of the beam far enough for the clevice;
then your plow will run much steadier than
before and as shallow as you want,
Immediately after plowing harrow and
cross harrow Don't stop narrowing until
the ground is we'll packed, and IL the
plowing Is done after the rains are over
and the land kept well narrowed until a
fine dust is on top, the dust will keep the
moisture up within one inch or two of the
surface, just as long as the dust is kept
dry. A fog is sufficient to make thin
crust on the land. which cracks open and
let's the air in that soon dries the land as
deep as it was powed.
Cultivate all crops shallow or harrow if
you can, weed cutter run one inch deep
rs BOOu. AL crops bc CuitiNatCe Vi
narrowed once a week If possible. Or
chards should be gone through twice a
week, the oftener the better. Do not
think roots can not grow in hard ground.
Hard packed ground does not mean hard
ground, for ground treated as have ad-
vsed is always moist. AS to the effect of
the sun on ground. 1t is good only to warm
the land as l could see, in fact, after l had
taken a trip to Oregon where the sun
shines so little. and saw how vegetation
grows there, rather think the sun back
number as far as the farmer is concerned.
And now for the sub-soiler. have ruined
two farms by sub-soiling Now, to use an
old, familiar phrase, In the name Of COM
mon sense, what argument is there in
favor of it? Must one think that God In
His wisdom put the soil Of this earth on
the bottom and man on the top?
Is there one laboring man and a farmer
who ever saw dirt brought up from the
bottom of the well or ditch and thought of
planting anything in 1t? Is 1t not well
known fact that dirt brought UP from a
foot or two deep will not grow anything
at all?
l have farmed more or less for twenty.
three years in California. and am free tc
say that l can break my ground with q
harrow and raise more wheat, barley OF
corn than any deep plower In the state.
SHELL-BARK.