The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1909-01-30
Il BREAKING OF

THE VIRGIN SOIL.
There yet remains in New Mexico
a large area of virgin soil to be brok-
en-, and of this the greater part is
what is generally called sod land al
though much of it bears at most a We
ry light sod. For many years to come
there will be a large amount of this
virgin and to be broken each year,
and for this reason the handling of
sod land is a matter of much impor-
tance. For centuries the sod land in
New Mexico mas been beaten and con
pacted by dashing rains, n for ma
ny years has been tramped by cattle,
sheep, and horses with the result that
the surface has ben packed SO firmly
that it is now almost water proof, as
is shown by the large mount of wa
ter running off after the rains. This
compact surface is also very favor
able to evaporation, so that the land
rapidly loses the little moisture that
it absorbs. Because the water pene-
trates slowly, and e~vaporates quickly,
sod land usually contains much lass
moisture than land which has been
cultivated. Crops planted on sod land
do not have a supply of moisture stor-
ed in the soil to draw on, so must de-
pend on the moisture that falls dur
ing their growing season. For this
ease crops on sod land are uncer-
tain, and one should not be discour-
aged when the yields are pool.
Methods of Breaking Sod.
There are so many methods OF
treating sod land that it is difficult to
say which is the best, especially as
so much depends on the teams and
machinery at the disposal of the far
mer. The subject nay be roughly di-
: Il 49, I~~- TN@-1-- D~~oS-
ing n late Breaking.
Early Breaking.
Under this head will be classed
all breaking that is done several
months before the ground is to be
planted. The best time for early
breaking is during the summer as the
grass Inc otler vegetation will be full
of moisture and this, with the combin-
ed influence of the hea and moisture
in the soil, will cause the sod to rot
most rapidly. The loosenfng of the
sol at his time, will also allow the
rain to soak into the soil instead of
running off. The loosened surface,
provided that it is properly fined, will
act as n mulch and retain the mois-
ture. This early loosening of the soil
and the rapid decay of the vegetable
matter favor changes in the soil
Wnlcn us 1erIl1Ly.
Depth of Flowing.
When the and is broken early, It
is safe to pillow deeper than when it
is broker late, because the soil will
have time to settle firmly back
against the bottom of the furrow n
to establish capillary connection with
the lower part of the soil, before the
time of planting. The farmer need
not fear that he will turn up unpro-
ductive soil by deep blowing for as a
rule there is no marked difference in
the productiveness of the p INT
lower layers in the soils of New
Mexico. There are practically no sub
soils in New Mexico, using the term
subsoil in the sense that is general
ly applied to it in the humid regions.
Pillow as deeply as possible. Twelve
inches would not be toe deep on tight
land if it could be done Six to eight
inches is as shallow as it should be
done to call it deep breaking.
Deep breaking is one of the sec
rets of success in dry farming. 1t OPP
ems up a volume of soil sufficiently
thick to catch and hold the heavy
showers, and also provides room for
the development of plant roots.