Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1909-01-27
nc. - CSC Pillow Ar vonk.

~ attachments. BE- using them All the
trash can be turned under con:rlet,lv.
This not only hastens the Cay q
such matter. hut also adds gre. L. 20
the lSoks OF the Geld. Too many farm
ers DO not pay enough attention 10
looks. \ ragged looking cc.l may
raise just - large n crop as a smooth
one. II IS trrc. but the farmer who t.
careless In lie blowing is likely to BE-
careless I'm everything else.
II the plo-ving IS done I'm the faM z,
does not matter So much whethe. il
turns up clcddy or not The hard
freezes OF winter are the best puivcr.
izers that ever tore clod 10 nieccs
This is one OF the advantages OF fall
blowing. One Of the Disadvantage Is
that in an open winter the soil il la.
BILE 10 wash badly. This cra Ir pre.
vented 10 some extent. however. by
planting catch crop. such as oats or
millet. on the field after plowin-.
The depth OF blowing will vary with
the conditions. y light. sandy soil
does not need 10 be plowcd as deeplv
as heavier one. If tie ground Is
plowed the same depth every year the
bottom Of the furrow will become hard
and the roots will have difficulty In
getting through IL readily. \ coed plan
Is 10 begin At. say four inches. and
plow one-half inch dccrcr each year
until depth OF seven or eight Inches
is reached Then go back II four
inches and begin over again. In this
way little new soil Is turned up
every season and the layer Of surface
soil gradually deepened
Spring blowing should bc shallower
than that done in the fall. The soil Is
full Of tiry pores. its structure being
much the same rs that OF light bread
II you will put one corner Of a slice
or bread in dish of water You will
notice that il becomes wet for a con-
siderable distance above the surface
of the water. This Is caused by the
moisture flowing upward through the
little holes in the bread. The force
that causes water 10 rise I'm Il small
tube is called capillarity II is this
capillarity that makes the water rise
from the subsoil up 10 the surface
where the roots can use IL. The
smaller the capillary tubes the faster
and higher the water will rise.
When the ground is plowed these
capillary tubes are broken up. and the
rise of water Is checked To start If
again the soil must be allowed to settle
for long time or else be worked down
with the disk, harrow or roller. In the
fall the depth Of blowing does not mat
ter, since the furrow slice will have all
winter in which 10 settle. But In the
spring this capillarity must Ice restored
almost at once or the surface LAYER
Will become so dry that termination
and later growth will be checked
Hence the Importance OF shallow plow-
ing, so as to reduce the labor Of disk
ing and narrowing. If the surface of
the ground is crusted or IL there Is
much trash to be turned under the
Held should be disked before ii is
plowed. This will provide for q LAYER
of fine dirt in the bottom Of the fur
row, which viii pack down closely
and help to restore capillarity.
If the furrow turns up "shiny" or
shows any tendency to bake into clods
1t should be narrowed every half dav.
or every day at least This seems like
a great deal of extra work. but if n
harrow is kept in the field It does not
take long to hitch on to 1t and go over
the newly plowcd strip just before
quitting for noon or night A few
minutes spent ~ narrowing mt such