Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-07-16
OUR FARMERS.
CULTIVATE DRY SOILS.

Where tillage is practiced after the
crops are up, cultivation has for its
object the development of plant food
as we'll as the killing Of weeds, the
saving of soil moisture, and main
tanning the right soil texture. To Sc
cure these ends, says F. FL. King in
can to advantage be deeper and more
frequent than later cultivation. When
it ceases to be desirable to cultivate
for the purpose of aerating the soil,
and the main object is to kill weeds
and conserve soil moisture, it is then
desirable to cultivate as often as is
necessary to maintain good mulch.
While the soil is wet, the cultivation
should be more frequent, usually as
often as once in seven or ten days.
After the soil becomes quite dry, as
happens in periods of drought, then
the civilizations may not be necessary
oftener than once in two weeks, but
judgment must be exercised in this
as in all other matters. If the deeper
soil just below the mulch is still quite
damp the tendency is for the mois-
ture to creep up into the mulch and
reconvert it into comparatively firm
soil, and leave the mulch too shallow;
when the mulch comes to be much
less than two inches deep, that is,
when the soil becomes damp at dis
lance of two inches below the surface,
there will usually be enough loss of
moisture through the upper mulch to
make it worth while to cultivate
again, but if the dry soil has depth
of two or three inches, there is little
to be gained in stirring the soil if the
mulch is already light and loose.
Of course whenever a rain comes
during the season of cultivation which
vets thoroughly the whole mulch, it is
very important to cultivate as soon
after such rains as possible, because
if this is not done the wet mulch will
hasten the capillary rise of water
from deep in the ground, and bring
about a loss of not only the rain
which has fallen, but considerable
portion of the deeper soil moisture.
Late in the season, especially with
corn and potat oes, it is questionable
whether cultivation will not do more
harm than good, even though the
mulch has become fairly firm. 1t is
the habit of most crops on which in
tertillage is practiced to throw out
July roots very close to the surface,
evidently for the purpose Of taking
advantage of the plant food which
capillary action and rapid evapora-
ton tend to concentrate at the sur
face, and also take advantage of the
lighter rains, which after the soil
becomes dry, seldom penetrate deep
er than two Or three inches. 1t will
be readily understood that after the
soil has become occupied close to the
surface with these fine feeders, Guilt
walton at such a time would not only
hasten the loss of water that is only
located in the surface two or three
inches, but it would destroy the roots
which are there to utilize that water
as soon as it falls, and with it to take
up the nitrates and other soluble plant
foods which have been concentrated
near the surface. and which the rains
have dissolved, 1t will be seen from
this statement that the cores
pondent's judgement as to the slight
gain to be secured from frequent Gull
tivation after the mulch is thoroughly
dry is essentially in accord with sound
principles.