Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-06-21

from systematic crop rotation may be
explained on this basis. These harm
full substances seem to be disposed of
rapidly by certain soils. usually those
In which organic matter is readily on
verified into humuS. Other soils. usually
marked by Il lack of the brown car
bombed organic matter. do not seem
to possess This property of removing
harmful plant products t o such a de-
gree. This idea is in accord with the
COMMON experience that dark colored
soils. we'll filled with organic matter,
are usually very productive.
Effects Of TiIlase.
In connection with the study of these
poisonous organic products. 1t has been
found that they may be destroyed or
at least rendered harmless in a variety
of ways. Barnyard manure or decay
ing organic matter. such as Il green
crop of rye or COW peas. turned under
has a very marked effect in freeing the
soil from them. Almost all OF the COM
mon commercial fertilizing materials
act more or less in the same way.
Commercial fertilizers for soil improve
ment have. therefore,. another value be-
sides adding plant food. Thorough and
complete airing of the soil will often
destroy or overcome these poisonous
substances. The beneficial effects OF
blowing and OF thorough surface TIL
lage are thus explained. In part at
least, on the basis of the thorough aera-
ton secured. When the same crop is
not grown ftener than every three or
four years on the same land the in
furious substances a crop throws off
seem to have time to disappear before
the same crop is grown again; hence
the benefit from crop rotation. When
the soil is we'll supplied with humus
there is seldom any trouble from this
source, and the same crop may be
grown year after year with good yields,
though continuous cultivation OF the
same crop may invite injury from GER
tain insects and fungous diseases which
live over In the soil or in the remains
of the crop.
Improper methods of tillage add very
greatly to the evil effects that result
from lack OF humus. In many parts
of the country the land is plowed only
three or four inches deep. Below the
plowed stratum the soil becomes sour.
densely packed. and unfit for plant
roots. When such soils are plowed deep
and this sour packed subsoii is mixed
with the upper portion, the growth OF
many crops Is greatly retarded. This
has led many farmers to believe that
deep blowing is ruinous. Some farmers
have tried to remedy the difficulty by
subsoiling. The subsoil pillow breaks up
the packed layer but does not throw
1t out on top. But while subsoiling
does break up the hard layer into
chunks it does not pulverise 1t or put
humus into 1t. In most cases work
lore i'm subsoiling is practically vast
ed, n 1t Is doubtful If it ever pays.
A much better method is to pillow a
little deeper each year until a depth
OF eight or ten inches is reached. This
gives Il deep layer of good soil. partic-
ularly II the supply of humus is kept
up.
When new soil. or that which has
lain undisturbed for several years,
is broken up. it is always best to
pillow deep from the beginning. for
the deeper layers will be about as fer
tile as any. except the top inch or two.
1t is wise. too, never to pillow the same
depth twice in succession. In general.
fall blowing should be from Z TO 8 or
10 inches and spring blowing from 5
to Z inches deep. There are special
cases in which these rules do not APP
ply. but their discussion would take
us too far from the purpose of this
paper.
We pillow the soil in order to loosen
up its texture and get air into it; also
to turn unde stubble. manure ETC., to
make humus. Killing weeds is nother
object accomplished by blowing. After
to great depths. so that there is no
danger of turning up packed clay, the
deeper the blowing the better the
crops. But the cost also increases with
depth. so that ordinarily 1t does not
pay to pillow more than about 10 inches
deep.
Some crops prefer rather a loose seed
bed. Millet is such a crop. Farmers
sometimes pillow a second time in or
der to SOW millet on freshly plowed
alfalfa, prefer a fairly compact seed
bed: hence, frequent narrowing and
rolling after blowing is good practice
before seeding to these crops. Never
theless, 1t pays to pillow the land for
them. even if we have to compac it
| a gg1in hnfnra Gaadinir Tho tlnyringy
aeratcS the soil and helps to set plant
food free.
Effects Of Improper Planting.
Sandy soils are usually not injured
by handling when wet; but the case is
different with clay soils. a fair quail
heavy clay soil by working 1t thor
oughly when wet and then drying it In
the sun The effect produced by work.
ing clay soils wet is known as pud-
ding. Irrigation bitches In the west
are puddled by first flooding them to
make them muddy and then driving
bands of sheep along In this mud. This
makes the bottom impervious to water
and prevents loss from leakage. If a
clay soil is plowed, or even narrowed,
died. In this condition it becomes clod-
dy and impervious to air and water.
Old ~roadways that have been thor
oughly puddled from traffic in all kinds
OF weather may be distinguished in
fields many years after they have been
plowed up and put into cultivation.
The o p time to pillow land is
when it is just moist enough to break
up mellow, neither wet enough to leave
a slick surface where rubbed by the
moldboard nor dry enough to break up
in large clods; or. as the southern
farmer puts 1t, when the soil has a
good season in it. If continued rain
follows wet blowing, little harm fol-
lows: but hot. dry winds would soon
leave only q mass of u~nmanageable
clods. In spring and midsummer plow-