The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1903-03-13

the soil will be a mass OF roots foot
deep. In the spring the rye will start
very early. would not wait until il
was very high--abont eight inches---and
then turn the whole thing right Under
The soil is just one mass of the finest OF
roots. The rye will add humus and the
vetches nitrogen to the soil. Whatever
plants are growing, these rootlets are
taking up the potash and putting it in
condition so that it will be available,
and when these roofs decay there you
will have more plant food for your
trees than ever before. took Is acres
OF land and part of it had sowed to
rye, barley and vetch, very early last
fall, and there is mass of living green
all over 1t and the roots OF the plants are
down foot deep and the soil is OF the
finest texture, while right beside this,
where there is no cover crop, it is solid
and the texture is not in good condition.
In the spring it is not necessary to plow
it IL or Is inches deep, but if he can get
that crop turned under just little so
as to Incorporate it with the soil it is
going to add humus to the soil that will
keep it in good tilth, all summer. am
just as sure as can be that with such
tillage there is lots Of these soils that do
not need irrigation at all. OF course,
the very top soil will be dry and dusty.
but just beneath it win be moist
The more humus you have in the soil
the easier it is to keep it moist. If you
will just cultivate through the summer
you will oxidize that humus and each
year you will have less OF il and as the
texture becomes less the dryer you will
find the soil, and the more humus you
have in The soil the more moisture you
will find there.
There is another thing that will inhu-
ence the texture of the orchard soil that
is the time you work it. 1ksyou have a
rather heavy orchard soil with consid-
erable clay, il you work it too wet you
will make it cloddy, and it will take
you three or four years to work those
Jumps out Of that soil. If you had
waited two or three days the soil would
not have become cloddy. In these
sandy soils you will have not so much
danger Of working them too wet. One
cultivation too wet will so destroy the
texture that it will take years TO over
come, therefore do not work clay soil
too wet think you will do well to
have little discussion ON this subject.
Some of the soils in Michigan, the apple
lands are similar to yours.
DR.. Withycombe Tell us about
the capacity of the soil for holding
water.
Prof. Knisely-There is quite a diff
ference in the capacity Of soils to hold
moisture, we found in our experimental
work. We took sample from Sherman
county, volcanic silt, that would hold up
to so per cent of its weight in water. We
had other soils that would not hold
over 80 to 40 per cent. We had gravel
soil that held but 20 per cent. We added
5 per cent OF humus and then tested its
water holding capacity and found that
it increased its water-holding capacity
per cent. The soils also differ greatly
in their ability to draw up water from
beneath. That sample OF soil from
Sherman county would draw it up far
ther than any other sample we had.
We had some from right at home that
went little over four feet, while the
soil from Sherman county drew the
water up over five feet. If the soil has
good supply OF humus in it in the
spring it is more capable of holding the
water necessary to carry it through the
dry season. The way the test
is made is to take a number of glass
tubes six feet in length and fill them
with dry soil from the different samples
and place the lower end in vessel sup
piled with water and note the height to
which it draws the moisture. In the
case OF the Sherman county soil it drew
it up over five feet. .-~'-
L. p Friday-I would like to have the
professor tell us how to plow SO as to
retain this moisture.
Prof. Knisely-I presume DR.. Witty
combe on subsoiling is better informed
than am. / think it depends great
deal upon the kind of soil you have. At
home in Michigan where the rich black
soil reaches down five or six feet deep,
| don't think it does bit Of good.
DR.. Withycombe-lf you have hard
pan you have to break that hard pan in
order to cause capillary action. We de-
pend upon clover to do this in the valley,
Here, if you have hard pan, think
subsoiling would be all right.
f. c. Sherrieb-Would you ever sub
soil new land?
DR.. Withycombe - 1t depends upon
the kind of soil it is. If it has hard pan
under it l would certainly subsoil it.
+. p, FRIDAY started in to harrow
my orchard and my harrow teeth went
in inches, and | made a slick or drag
to follow.
DR.. Withycombe - Don't confound
subsoilng with deep plowing. Subsoil-
ing means to have a plow that runs
down deep and stirs the ground without
turning it up, with deep blowing you
bring up the cold soil, and it does little
or no good.
Chas. Chandler--Up on my place it is
heavy clay soil and think in plowing
it number of times it forms crust
and so got subsoiling plow and |
think it did good like to run it just
behind the stirring plow. put in my
potatoes in that way and find it does
we'll.
Prof Knisely-I will say that there is
great deal about surface tillage that
we do not know anything about. | do
not think we know which is the best
way. About four years ago the Cornell
university laid out number of plats.
One plat was left fallow, another was
cultivated once a week, another one
twice week, and they had plat culti-
waited with level culture and another
that received ridge culture. OF course,
it was foregone conclusion that the
plat receiving the ridge culture would
have the the least moisture as there was
more surface exposure. The cultures
we're made and the records carefully
kept and at the end OF the season COM
parisons were made. Every one thought
the plat having the ridge culture would
be the dryest, but that ridge culture had
the highest percentage of moisture all
the way through. | do not understand
it. do not know yet what caused it. l
know the records were accurately kept
and that was the result. | do not think
we have yet gotten at the secret OF sur
face tillage.
DR.. Withycombe-Do you remember
the results OF the tests last summer on
the Sherman county sampler
Prof Knisely-We got samples-yes,
.fsa. d