The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1912-03-28
THE SEED BED
(By DR.. w. E. Taylor, Director Of
Soil Culture Dept, Deere and Com
pany).

Mr.. Farmer, you know that your
crop is going to correspond very close
ly to the character Of the bed or
home in which you plant the seed.
You know that poorly made seed
bed will result in "a deficient crop,
and you also know that if the seed
bed meets all the requirements. Of
the plant you have a reasonable as
surance of a good crop.
Let us have a heart to heart talk
about these requirements, and see
if it will not pay to give them little
more attention..
First, we say the seed-bed should
be deep. But why? You know that
the roots Of the plant are very num-
erous and grow to great length. They
are at their best when an abundance
of room is provided. If the seed-bed
is shallow they, seeking the course Of
least resistance, which is not down
ward, except until they reach the
hard bottom of the furrow, but out
ward and necessarily near the sur
face. In case of even slight drouth
they suffer for moisture and plant
food, for it must be remembered that
where moisture does not exist plant
food is not available. If the seed-bed
is deep, the roots take their natural
course, which is downward, and when
they have reached the bottom of an
eight or nine inch bed, they have
strength and stability to penetrate
the more compact subsoil, where, as
rule, an abundance of moisture
exists. Again, if the seed-bed is
shallow, the roots are apt to bunch,
condition that results in a stunted
plant. Hence, to insure an abund-
ance of room and deep penetration Of
the roots, the seed-bed should be made
deep.
Again, the plant needs water. A
deep well-made seed-bed is like a
thick sponge in the matter of absorb
ing the water. In the event of very
heavy rainfall, such a seed-bed re-
ceives and holds several inches of
water until it percolates into the
deeper soil. If, however,. the seed
bed is shallow and hard pan exists,
and where shallow plowing is prac-
ticed, the bottom Of the furrOW is
usually very compact and often i'm
pervious to water, only a small
amount is absorbed, the most of it
running away carrying with it soil
and fertility. .s
Plants require food. Available
plant food exists in the seed-bed, or
in that part of the soil rich in
humus; hence, it stands to reason
that if the seed-bed is deep, greater
amount of plant fod is available.
| Plant, roots require atmospheric
oxygen and without it they will
perish; hence, if the seed-bed is sur
charged with water it must be drain
ed out if oxygen enters. Even
! though water does not fill the air
spaces in the seed-bed, the bed should
be deep and we'll titled, for that pro-
cess is a. means of giving the roots
an abundance of fresh air.
The benefits of tillage are very i'm
portant in the matter of forming
plant food compounds or making
chemical combinations Plant food
elements are useful only when COM
bined into compounds, which is ac-
complished by tillage or thoroughly
mixing the soil; hence the advantage
of using the disc harrow and other
pulverizers and mixers
Water is stored in the subsoil to
be used during the growing season,
but if natures requirements are not
provided, the stored water will fail
to rise, hence, in making the seed
bed the surface ground should be
ploWed in order that all Jumps are
pulverized and all trash worked into
the ground. This operation insures
a compact contact between the bot
tom of the furrow and the furrow
slice. If the operation is neglected,
air spaces necessarily exist at the
break where the turned soil meets the
more compact layer, and capillary
water will rise no higher than that
point Many trials have proven con-
clusively that discing before plowine
increases the crop from IS to SO per