St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1911-08-26

the cost Of blowing 10 inches deep
with a disk ploW is on an average
about so cents per acre more than
ordinary breaking. and in double
blowing, as above described, the adj
sditional cost averages $1.25 per acre.
These costs are somewhat less when
1e-inch depth of blowing has become
the rule upon given field. There
is no question that breaking and pull
verifying to depth of to 10 or IL
inches and adding plenty of hnmus
is, economical Whether plant has
plenty of food all the time or only
part Of the time makes the difference
between a good crop and a poor
crop.
IS IT ADVISABLE TO PLoW DEEP
Err THAN 8, 10 OR 10 INCHES.
The depth of blowing must be de-
termined by the farmer himself. He
knows the conditions and is the best
judge of the cost. In many sections,
if done in the fall it undoubtedly
pays to subsoil Is to 20 inches This
has been proved by some Of the best
farmers and experimenters in the
world. Some subsoils in humid cli-
mates have been made SO close and
compact by the abundant rainfall
that air does not penetrate them to
aid in preparing plant food. Such
fields, therefore, may not show any
benefits of subsoiling until after two
or more years.
It rarely pays to subsoil land in
the spring, and it is never advisable
to use the subsoil pillow when the
subsoil is fully saturated with water,
even though the surface be fairly
dry. Under such conditions of plow-
ing the clay subsoil is pressed and
packed, when the object is to pull
verize it and allow the air to act upon
it.
EXPERIENCE AGREES WITH
~. e7 THEORY.
No principle in agriculture has
been more thoroughly demonstrated
than the value of a deep, thoroughly
pulverized seed bed.
The Romans plowed on an average
of inches deep-always three times
for a crop, and in stiff lands nine
times. They did not call inches
blowing" it was only "scarifying."
The Flemish farmers were the first
to follow the better lines of agricul-
ture after the dark ages. They de-
| voted their efforts to three main
points: ID The frequent and deep
pulverization of the soil, (2) the &C
emulation of manure, and (3) the
destruction of weeds.
| A deeper and more thoroughly pull
verified seed bed was the foundation
upon which England built an i'm
proved agriculture, and this priciple
has been generally accepted there
| for more than one hundred and sixty
years, until the average production
has increased nearly fivefold.
A alter letter from Hon. William
Sanders, director of the Central Elk.
detrimental Farm, Canada, states that
farmers usually pillow shallowly i'm
mediately after harvest (August)
"to preserve moisture and destroy
weeds. In October they
commonly pillow inches deep. An,
blowing done in the spring months i!
usually shallow, not more than
inches deep" Eight inches of break
| Ing in October in Canada, where
frosts penetrate 8 or 4 feet deep. |:
better for moisture storage thai
blowing to depth of Is inches IL
the Southern states.
| The writer has visited numbe
Of southern agricultural colleges thi
lyear. In every case the directors o
their experiment stations favored
deep and thoroughly prepared seet
bed.
| The Georgia Experiment Station
bulletins repeatedly urge deep, mel
low and rich seed bed for corn; an,
they insist that il the soil is no
NATURALLY such, it should be made 81
by tillage and the addition of humus
1 Bulletin No. SO of the Georgia Elk
pertinent Station, ON Cotton" state
that fourteen years of experimental
ton have justified certain conclu
sions that may be accepted as prac
tically final" The following is on
Iof them: Thorough breaking ant
commingling of the upper soil, grad
ually increasing the depth to o
Ito inches, using pillow and harrow
is more effective than deeper but les
thorough pulverizing."
The North Carolina Bulletin is
sued in February, 1905, states: II
L unQuCoelOndUAy pays WOAl w thOi
oughly break and broadcast-harroy
land for corn. Using 2-horse ploy
and running it to 10 inches dee
and afterwards narrowing with 1arg
smoothing harrow puts the land il
nice condition"
On the sugar plantations of Lou
; isiana the tillage for cane average
u to Is inches in depth.
i On the Eva plantation, in tn
Hawaiian Islands, the average dept
of blowing is 80 inches. This planta
; ton produces the largest crops 0
, sugar cane to the acre in the word
Natures plan of improving soil i
to use a cover crop of weeds, grass
shrubs, or trees and to subsoil b
sending the roots down 1, q, or
feet, as the case may be, thus air
', ing and enriching the subsoil with
out bringing it to the surface.