The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-02-08

10 consideration the condition or the
soil. This article was very good II
came from the state in which Mr..
Campbell lives and in which most OF
his work is done, and through seeing
so many great results and having con-
Quoted experiments in line with Mr..
Campbelfs work 1t shows that some
scientific men are grasping the all i'm
portant Idea Of working in accordance
with conditions Of the soil
We double disk then plow when the
land Is in condition regardless of sea-
son or time OF the year. We pillow
about seven or eight inches deep If II
is to be packed. If you have no packer
do not pillow over five inches deep and
harrow with a we'll weighted harrow
with slanted teeth so as to pack as
much possible. But do not expect the
yield we get by deeper blowing and
packing. If we pillow deep the harrow
has little effect on the cavities under
meath. But the subsurface packer with
it's wedge shaped wheels and lateral
and downward motion pack the entire
furrow slice against the subsoil and
re establish capillary connection
broken by the pillow.
AS the land Is left ordinarily 1t rolls
over on a layer Of stubble which covers
about two-thirds Of the furrow, thus
holding that proportion of the furrow
slice off the suhsoil so only one-third
Of the land produces a crop. The rest
Is dried out and lifeless so 1t produces
little If anything.
Follow Pillow With Packer
We follow the pillow Immediately with
the subsurfaCe packer. Note we say
Immediately. not next spring. after all
blowing nor even next week after
blowing but the same day before leav-
ing the field. This is very important
as after land Is dried out 1t is impos-
sible to pack. This is the reason that
80 many claim the packer Is useless,
or that It only occasionally gives re-
suits.
We consider the subsurface packer
one Of the most beneficial implements
We have ever used. but il is productive
of very little good If used unwiseIy.
1t must be used when the soil is moist
or 1t will not pack.
BY firming the seed bed we form a
more perfect bed for the roots and
exclude surplus air. While some air
is necessary too much is very detri-
mental, as the land dries out much
faster If the air circuIates through it
too freely. Then by the use of the
packer We press the furrow slice down
against the subsoil, and re-estabIish
capillary connection. Thus the water
can work up and down readily as re-
quired by the growing crop. Quite
often this one thing saves many bush
els in yield while where the soil Is not
packed the crop is suffering and If a
crop lacks moisture at any point Of it's
growth the yield is reduced.
Then packing brings the moisture to
the roots just where 1t is needed. You
say, won't a roller do? Not at all, as
that packs the surface and the moist
ure rises there and is lost by evap-
! grafton. So by packing the subsur-
face we pack the portion where It is
necessary and leave a loose mulch TO
protect the moisture from evaporation.
Then by packing we press the soil
all around the stubble, straw and weed
seed and cause rapid decay or in other
words promote chemical action which
changes vegetation TO humus. This
same practice liberates nitrogen, which
Is one of the most necessary foods that
plants use.
Harrow Follows Packer.
After packing we harrow as soon as
possible Then when the time comes
we drill in the seed with a double disk
drill which leaves the seed in a V
shaped groove, leaving the soil packed
on all sides and below the seed We
| place the seed about one-haf to an
| inch into the soil below the mulch,
or about two and one-half to three
| inches deep.
| The amount of seed is regulated by
the nearness to the ideal seed bed
which we have, that is, 1t depends en-
tirely on the fineness, frmness and
moisture of the soil.
We seed from twenty to fifty pounds
per acre Of grain--the less on the ideal
seed bed and more the farther from
the ideal we get.
Harrow After Rain.
Whenever a rain comes of enough
! volume to pack the mulch We harrow
with an iron harrow, with the teeth
slanted back, thus loosening the crust
and restoring the mulch
There is one part l might say one
of the strong points of the system,
which I have heretofore not mentioned
for the reason that so many have the
idea that the entire Campbell system
lies in that one thing, namely, summer
culture
From prehistoric times some sort of
summer fallow has been practlced, but
until lately the object in 1t has been
TO rest the land, but now the object
is to put the land in condition so it viii
be producing plant food instead OF ly-
ing idle.
The object Is too keep the land loose
by frequent cultivation so as to retain
the moisture and readily absorb what
falls. This same looseness allows the
air and heat to circulate through the
soil and by their chemical action bring
about changes that free plant food
or make it available for plants use and
purify the soil BY this purifying
process noxious gases and excretion
from former crops are eliminated. Re-
member as we have so many times
before mentioned 1t is not mechanical
work but this particular physical con-
dition we desire. A great deal OF care
| "a T.. T.. = z