The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1902-1905, 1904-02-26
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Che farm and Grove.
CofwigAfedby Rural Press Syndicate.
n. E. STOCKBRiDGE, Phi, D., Editor.


The great blowing season of the
wear is now beginning. There is pro-
badly no other kind OF farm work
with which every cultivator of the
soil is so generally familiar as with
that performed between the pillow
handles. So true is this that it has
become symbolical of agriculture it
self, and the pillow is the universally
accepted symbol of the vocation OF
tilling the land. 1t is commonly sup
posed that every farmer. farm la
borer or person engaged in any of the
branches of agriculture knows how to
pillow. Every farmer on the other
hand, knows that very few persons
really know how to pillow well; that
good blowing and good plowmen are
in reality extremely rare. 1t is
equally true, though not so common
" recognized, that even among those
who are good workmen with the
pillow, and who really know how to
blow, comparatively few know why
they pillow. If knowledge is power
and who disputes the fact?-he who
best knows why thing is done, is
most likely to master the details of
how and most effectively perform the
task devolving on him.
Suppose we attempt to apply these
truths to the common operation OF
blowing. Let us attempt to fully un-
derstand why the soil is plowed and
hope that better blowing may be the
natural result.
The object of blowing, as so many
workmen think, is not to soften the
soil so that the seed may be inserted
and covered. The making of seed
bed is only u secondary cOnsidera-
ton. The first and really Important
object of blowing is to so pulverize
the soil that air and water have free
access to the soil particles. With
this fact settled, the merest tyro can
see that the finer the soil particles,
the smaller the individual bits of
soil, the more thorough the pulveri-
cation, the more effective the work
and the greater the result. Pulveri-
cation, therefore, increases the access
and action of air and water. The in
evitable result is to increase the
amount of plant food dissolved by
these two agencies, the more water is
absorbed for the use of the crop aud
the greater the probability of good
crops. 1t must be apparent, there
fore, that the mere scratching OF the
surface can not be so effective as the
well turned furrow. The next natu-
raj sequence to this truth is the fact
that if this action is desirable to Il
depth of four inches, why not proper
tionally increase the benefits by eX-
tending the condition to depth of
luiN ipnbnCp
ANY farmer asked the question as
to which he preferred, a shallow or a
deep soil, will answer in favor of the
latter Yet we hear constant eX-
pressions against the supposed dan
gers of deep blowing. If a deep soil
is preferable to shallow one, why
not make the latter a little deeper by
increasing the depth of blowing? If
pulverization is beneficial to limited
depth, there can be no logical or real
reason why the benefits should moi
be greater if the condition producing
them be extended a little farther in
to the soil. If partial pulverization
is useful, how much more so must be
the perfection of pulverization? If Il
shallow, narrow strip is partly opened
to the influence and benefits of all
and water, by a one horse pillow, why
not double the benefits by using a
two horse pillow, at the saving OF a
II must NOT he unders4oo6 how
ever, that the common prejudice
against deeper plowing is wholly
without reason. The first object OF
! the plow being to admit air to the
soil, it may be easily accepted thai
without this air the soil is inert ant
: lifeless, incapable of producing crops
The soil below the plowed layer is
dead and requires the vivifying i'll
iluence of air before it is capable o
supporting life. The bringing of toe
large "A nrODOrtiOn of this lifeleSS sol