Graham guardian., 1912-01-19
SAVE SOIL MOISTURE
Reservoir Must Be Prepared to
Receive the Rain.
Water Carried Into Subsoll Must Be
Brought Back to Surface Whore
Seed 10 terminating and
Young Roots Growing.

Il
Seed 10 Terminating and
Young Roots Growing.
So far as cultivation is concerned
there are three principal steps In the
conservation Of soil moisture:
/. The soil must be loosened to q
considerable depth In order to prepare
a reservoir to receive the rain and
carry the water downward into the
soil. This may be accomplished by
deep plowing. by listing. or by disking
unplowed lands.
2. The water which 10 carried down
into the subsoil must be brought back
again into the surface soil where the
seed is terminating and the young
roots are growing. and to accomplish
this q good connection must be made
between the furrow-slice and the sub
soil, and this is the purpose In the use
Of the subsurface packer immediately
after plowing.
3. Finally. In order that the water
which is drawn up again towards the
surface may not reach the air and be
wasted by evaporation. the upper two
or three inches of the soil must be
kept mellow In the form of q soil
mulch, and this is accomplished In the
growing of crops. by frequent culti
walton, which Is not so practicable
with wheat and other small grains as
with corn and other intertilled crops.
The most important step In soil
moisture conservation lie to get the
water into the soil. When this has
been accomplished. the keeping It
there and returning It gradually to the
growing crop Is relatively simple
matter. Many farmers have yet failed
toy learn this most important fact Of
dry farming. that the storing Of the
moisture In the soil Is the first and
great principle Of soil moisture conser.
walton. The firming and pulverizing
Of the soil to prepare the seed bed.
and the surface cultivation OF the soil
to maintain the mulch, are each with.
out avail unless there has been stored
In the deeper soil sufficient amount
OF moisture to support the growing
crop in time OF drought
Now the moisture should be stored
at all times during the season. but
especially during the interval between
harvest and planting. This requires
early plowing so that the soil may be
In condition to catch the rain and alb
sorb 1t.
In order that there may be room to
receive and store heavy rain. deep
plowing Is desirable. II plowing can
not be done early, the cultivation Of
the unplowed land with a disk harrow
VIM keep the soil in good plowing con.
dition longer and favors the absorp-
tion Of rain.
A good rule, but 1t cannot always be
followed. is to plow when the soil Is in
such condition that It will drop from
the moldboard in mellow. friable
condition.
Deep plowing should be done with
purpose and intelligence.
Loosening the soil by deep blowing
favors the absorption of moisture, but
II rains do not come In time such land
viii suffer from drought more quickly
than though 1t had been plowed shal-
low.
The loose soil dries out and capil.
larity is broken, preventing the fur
from receiving moisture from
the subsoii rapidly enough to sustain
the growing crop. The depth and fire.
Quency Of plowing should vary accord
ing to the nature OF the soil. A light
or sandy soil requires less depth Of
plowing and less frequent plowing
than heavy. or compact. clayey or
"gumbo" soil.
As general proposition. plowing
should be shallow when It precedes
planting only short time.
Plow deep in the fall. and plow deep
for summer fall0w.
A long interval between plowing and
seeding allows the soil to settle sufii-
ciently. while freezing and thawing
the raw, hard subsoil which
has been brought to the surface,
The relative depths Of plowing may
be stated as follows:
Shallow plowing ................S to inches
Medium plowing...............b to inches
Deep plowing ..............---,- 70 10 inches
Flowing deepey than eight inches
with the common plow is not usually
bpt the soil may be stirred
twelve to eighteen inches deep With
deep tillage plow or subsoil plow, and
in heavy soil with hard compact sub
soil such deep stirring may occasional,
ly be desirable.
When land is allowed to lie for a
considerable period after plowing be-
fore the crop Is planted, the settling Of
the soil. together with the surface cul-
tivation to preserve the mulch and the
due to rain. usually causes
the soil to repack and firm up to a
sufficient extent to make good seed
bed.