Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1912-04-11
sPRINGTIME SOIL TILLAGE

IN a large portion of Minnesota, the
latter part Of March or the early part
OF April witnesses the beginning of
those operations in soil-tillage which
are SO largely to determine the auali-
ty and amount of the crops grown.
Good tillage must provide a home for
good seed, in soil well-pulverized
and enriched and freed from weeds.
II, later on, the greatest reward is to.
come to the tiller.
The study of so-called "dry farm.
ing," as well as of irrigation processes
has during recent years brought about
COZ o'ssiderable notifications of the ideas
formerly dominant in relation to the
purposes of tillage. While no less
Importance is attached to the break
ing up of the soil and reducing it to
such "tilth' as shall facilitate the alb
sorption of plant-food by the growing
crop, and while the destruction Of
weeds remains one of the important
objects of tillage, more emphasis is
today laid upon such treatment of
the land as shall best conserve the
supply OF moisture, hinder exapora-
ton, and keep the 'watery gifts of the
skies" in the soil until they shall have
been fully utilized in crop-production.
1t is established that this latter end
Will be most effectively served by the
use, in the spring, of the disk and har-
row on fall-plowed land, to pulverize
the surface and thus break the contin-
ulty OF contact, among the soil-parti-
cles, which promotes the capillary as
cent and evaporation of moisture.
flnely-divided surface not only affords
good seed-bed, but, as protective
mulch, it conserves the water-supplv.
And as DR.. McGee, the hydrographer
OF the Reclamation Service, declares
IN a recent article-it is really upon
the adequacy of the water-supplv.
rather than upon the quality of the
land, that success in agriculture. de-
pends. He shows that we have in AM
erica enough cultivable land to sun
port two billions of people; but the
water supply is sufficient only for one
billion; so the latter figure is set as
the limit Of population which can be.
supported on our continental domain.
Spring-plowed-since it is not to
have, Sc. largely as fallplowed, the
benefit of winters saturations and
freezings and thawing should be
even more thoroughly worked. AS
the furrow slice is otherwise likely to
dry and harden in the sun and air.
each days plowing should be harrow
ed as soon as done. If, after this, one
disking will give you a fairly good
seed-bed, two or three. diskings, with
alternate harrowings, will assuredly
give you a better one, with fewer
weeds to steal away fertility, and with
a practical certainty of larger crop
II disking can be preceded by sub-sur-
face packing, for the purpose of firmly
the lower part of the furrow-slice and
uniting it with the subsoil, an addi-
tlonal means is provided and an in
surance against the effect of droughts
The depth of plowing should be va
rled from year to year, to avoid the
formation of hard, compact layer of
subsoil, such as will attend continual
ploWing at uniform depth. Heavy
soils should be plowed deeper than
light ones. In most Minnesota soils.
seven inches is considered deep
G. R. Barns, Extension Division, Col
lega of A gricr1tllro