The Ordway new era., 1912-07-19
FLOWING ON DRY FARM
Prepares Seedbed by Cleaning
Land and Admitting Air.
Depth Depends In Part on Nature OF
SoiI-Doubtful II Deep Work In
creases Yield In Proportion
to the Expense.

Deep, thorough plowing minimiZes
supplementary cultivation and aug
ments the yield: poor. shallow pillow.
ing augments supplementary cultiva
ton and minimizes the yield. II the
purposes Of stirring the soil were bet
ter understood. less diversity Of opin-
ion as to how 1t should be done would
exist. Flowing prepares the seedbed
by cleaning the land and admitting
afr. warmth and moisture into the soil
This accelerates certain physical and
chemical changes which are conducive
to plant growth. In dry farming the
admission of water into the soil Is
paramount.
Now a thinly plowed slice will not
hold as much water as deeply
plowed one. Hence. much Of the rain
that falls on shallowly plowed land Is
lost to evaporation before 1t can seek
Its course downward into the subsoil.
Then. too. during the hot summer
months deeply plowed land In good
tilth admits OF by far less evaporation
from below than does that which Is
shallowly plowed. Add to this the
excellent seed bed afforded the young
plants by deeply stirring the soil and
little remains to be said In favor OF
shallow plowing.
The depth to plow depends In part
upon the nature OF the soil. Most dry
farm soils. however. are uniform TO
great depths and little fear need be
entertained OF throwing up lifeless.
inert masses OF subsoil. In those few
sections where the latter condition
does obtain. care should be exercised
by gradually increasing the depth OF
the p!owed area. Seven or eight.inch
plowing, II honestly done. Is deep
plowing. 1t furnishes an ample reser-
voir for the temporary storage OF wa
ter: II forms a mulch deep enough to
prevent evaporation from below;
affords seed bed adequate to the
needs OF the young plant.
After deep plowing the soil should
be given ample time to compact and
settle. The heavy soils tend to pack
quickly. Special care must be given
to sandy soils. since when deeply
plowed. they require considerable
time and work to become Arm. II the
necessary preparation cannot be given
them relatively shallow plowing Is ad.
visable. This holds especially true In
the case Of spring plowing.
Very deep plowing and subsoiling
as advocated by some may slightly
Increase the yield. but It is doubtful II
the increase Is proportionate to the
added expense. The law OF diminish.
ing returns applies to farming as we'll
as to any other activity. Such plow-
ing once in n series Of years would
no doubt be profitable. It will be re-
called here. too. that the deep and ex-
tensive root systems OF most dry
farmed crops render great service
to that part Of the soil beyond which
the plowshare cannot reach.
Plow when the land is moist. When
the fall is favorable. It Is generally
the best time to plow. Leave the
ground rough during the winter and
work 1t down early In the spring with
the disk and harrow. Fall plowing
puts the farmer ahead with his work.
releases plant food. leaves the land In
shape to take water. and gives the soil
time to settle.
In areas where the wind blows con.
siderably. lifting both the snow and
the soil, It is good practice to leave
the stubble over the winter and to
turn It in the spring. 1t should be re-
membered. however. that It Is always
more difficult to secure a good COM
pact seed bed for spring sowing on
land that Is plowed in the spring than
on that which Is plowed In the fall.
In fact. many a failure has. been due
to planting seed on loose spring
plowed lind. Where the ground is to
be fallowed during the following sum-
mer. there Is but little preference be-
tween spring and fall plowing espe-
cially II the fall Is dry.
In dry and heavy soils the disk plow
may be more serviceable than the
moldboard: but the latter has more
general use and does most satisfac-
tory work.