The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-10-18
sARM MANAGEMENT
continued from Page Ona,

should now be well advanced axcant
III the case where the crop is to fol
10" a corn crop. In his case nothino
ean oe oone until the corn crop is off
ne ground. But when wheat follows
corn the mount of preparation re-
qulred by the and is small. provided
ma the land was we'll prepared for
the corn before it was planted and il
IDS ueen kept we'll cultivated during
roWth. In this cast all that is required
IS that the top three or four inches OF
SOIL snail be finely worked TO make
a good seed bed; the deeper soil will
pe IN an ideal condition, for the best
oolng OF the crop, firm and compact
ana yet permeabie by the moisture,
poth from above and below. The disc
ana a tooth harrow with a roller t.
Ioi!oW, If the land is lumpy, or a plank
urag should put the soil in condition
Tor seeding. Where wheat is to follow
a cowpea 0 clover crop, and these
crops make a fine preparation for
wheat, 1t is necessary to take special
care in preparing the land. or these
crops, n especially the cowpea crop
may prove a detrinent rather than g
help to h crop. Where these crops
are heavy they should be cut for hay
or be grazed down before the land Is
plowed, leaving only a heavy stubble
or the land will be made too puffy
ana hight for the wheat, and the CON
nectlOn etWeen the surface and sub
soil viii be too much cut of to per
NIT OF q proper rising of the moisture
from the subsoil during the growth OF
the crop. Where q CoWDea crop is
still eupon the land the better way &c
prepare it for wheat is not 10 pow il
at all at this period, but to cut the
pea crop into the soil with the disc
This makes an excellent preparation
and leaves the vegetable matter OF the
pea crop in the top layer of the sol
where the wheat will quickly utilize it
There is another advantage in hand.
ling the crop in this a in that i
conseTNeS the nitrogen gathered by tbs
pea crop. Where the roots Of the pea
crop are thrown on to the surface by
blowing the land. much Of his is lost
by exposure TO the atmosphere. When
land was plowed early for wheat il
ought to have been regularly worked
with the disc cultivator, roller and har-
row every week Or ten days, and this
should be continued up to the time OF
seeding. The perfect preparation Of
the land before seeding is of much
greater influence upo nthe yield thar
the fertilizer used. The surface sol
should be ne as a garden bed. and the
s~ub-surface soil be firm and compact
but We tshouId have bee nthoroughly
aerated and broken fine during the
working of the land. Wherever lime
can be had at q reasonable price, we
would apply one tor per acre at the
blowing or when cutting in a pea crop
and would work this thoroughly into
the land. The finest wheat crops IT
the world are grown on limestone
soils or on soils to which lime has
been freely applied. It makes avail
able the potash in the soil and breaks
down and makes into readily avail
able plant food the vegetable matter
q nT at tho 20 ~, 4ip1n IN a ]nbS 4.
better mechanical condition and
sWeetens the soil. In our last issue
we wrote upon the fertilizer to be
used. and to that issue we would refer
our readers. The great thing e%ssentia
is an abundan supply Of avaiabe phos-
phoric acid and sufficient nitrogen tic
start the growth of the pant quickly
but not to continue the forcing Of this
growth too much. SO as to make the
plants tender and unable to stand the
winter. Bone meal and acid phosphate
usually best meet these needs. Basic
Stag (ThOmaS ph~Osphate) and raw
phosphate rock are being also suggest
ed as good sources of phOSphOric acid
for this crop, but We are afraid they
are too slow in action unless they can
be used in connection with a clover or
pea crop worked into the land when
the humic acid evolved in the decay
of these crops would quicken the avail
dDllll1 Ol Tie plloSpIOIlC dclU- i 1t
lime in the basic Stag would be Of
great help in reducing these crops into
available plant food and i'll other ways
help the crop. If the basic Stag or the
raw phosphate rock is used We would
apply at the rate Of 400 pounds to the
acre. We know that the use of these
sources Of phosphoric acid will give as
good results in the aggregate over a
rotation Of three or four years crops
and leave q greater residue of phos-
phoric acid in the soil for the perma-
nent improve1men t o fthe land than
phosphOric acid uSed in any other
form. and they are free from the OBJ
i~ectionable free ~sulphUric acid often
found in acid phosphate, but it is not
as vet certain that they will supply the
p~hosphoric acid as quickly IS acid
phosphate, and in the case of the
wheat crop, which in the South has a
comparatively short period of growth.
this is a matter Of vital Importance