The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-12-18

Of humus will store sever and one
half times as much moisture as a
pound Of sand, and the sand will
lose its water by evaporation three
and one-half times more rapidly
than the humus. A clay soil will
store only about one-fourth as much
moisture as humus, and will lose 1t
by evaporation twice as rapidly.
Plants use an enormous quantity Of
water. An acre of good corn will
absorb and evaporate during it's
growth nearly 10 inches Of water.
About three-fourths Of this amount
will be required during the last
seventy-five days Of It's growth, or
at the rate of 8 inches OF water q
month. This is in addition to evap-
grafton from the soil. which, even
with the retarding influence Of the
dust mulch. will amount to several
inches each month in midsummer.
In case the land Is ploughed only 8
or 4 inches deep. though thoroughly
pulverized, 1t will store an amount of
moisture entirely insufficient to supply
crop requirements In any protracted
drought. These shallow and general
ly poorly prepared seed beds are the
principal cause Of the low corn
yields in the South. and they affect
the cotton yields similarly, but not so
much. because cotton is more
drough-resistant plant than corn: If
planting Is done at all, 1t is folly to
prepare a seed bed 80 shallow as to
bring about the almost total loss of
the crop some years and a reduced
crop every year.
Many farmers plough or cultivate
their corn nearly as deeply as they
break their land In preparing a seed
bed. this leaves no space for roots in
the pulverized and aired soil. Roots
occupy large space. If all the roots
Of q single vigorous corn stalk were
placed end to end they would reach
more than q mile, and II allowed by
the ploughing they will fill the soil to
q considerable depth and feed in all
portions Of II. In the principal corn
producing areas Of the South the an
nual rainfall is IS inches or more,
and here In soil properly ,prepared
for corn the great body OF the roots
will lie from 3 to - inches from the
surface and will feed within 2 inches
Of the surface II allowed by shallow
cultivation.
Ploughing 8. 4. 8 or inches deep
10 only common ploughing. In our
instructions nothing less than 8 inches
Is cosidered S6eep' ploulhiug. We
are not advocating q single breakln.
OF 8 inches I'm depth once In two or
three years. but tho preparation Of
an TO l2 inch seed bed thorough
ly pulverized and filled with humus
1t is not intended here to insist that
this should be done at once in all
cases These are the depths that must
be reached finally to secure the best
crop results. The farmer must de-
termine how soon he can secure these
depths under his conditions.
Always plough in the fall before
the winter rains set in-the earlier
after the 1st Of October the better.
Always use q cover crop of oats,
barley. wheat. rye. vetch. or crimson
clover. II possible. Every observant
farmer has noted that seeds germi-
nate more quickly and that plants
grow more rapidly on fall-breaking
than on spring breaking. Fall
ploughing renders more plant food
ready for use. while the preparation
Of the land In the fall saves work in
the spring. when everything on the
farm Is crowding. A cover crop Is q
net gain. 1t keeps the soil from
washing. II utilizes the plant food
that otherwise might escape into the
air, and 1t adds humus. The soil IL
improved by the crop, and winter
grazing Is provided. In ploughed
land properly handled. the loss of
plant food ID less than in unplough-
ed land; more plant food may be
produced and more can be stored.
In case a cover crop is used the loss
Of plant food Is slight.
An objection is sometimes urged
that fall-ploughed soil becomes sat
urated with water during the winter
and remains wetter and colder later
In the spring than land left ubroken
In the fall. This is true only upon
land not sufficiently drained and
where the breaking is shallow. Wat