Judith Gap journal. [volume] (Judith Gap, Mont.) 1908-19??, 1912-04-19

tons from the seed-bed to the har-
vest are interdependent, and the har-
vest will correspond to the weakest
step in the several operations.
An improperly made seed-bed is
like shifting sand foundation for 4
house. The seed-bed is the founda-
tlcn for the crop. 1t must be so made
that it will readily receive and alb
sorb rainfalls, be they light or heavy.
PRIMARILY it must be deep and mel.
low. A deep, mellow seed-bed acts
as u temporary reservoir to receive
and hold water until it percolates into
the deeper subsoils. If it is shallow.
rainfall of two or three inches dur
ing one shower Will not he absorbed.
but as soon as the hardpan is reached
the surplus will run away.
A deep seed-bed insures a rapid
and strong development of young
roots with strength to penetrate deep.
\ shallow seed-bed means delicate
roots which seek the course of least
resistance in the loose surface soils.
That statement can he verified by
any farmer who will take the trouble
to make y careful investigation. A
deep seed-bed means good ventilation
ana an abundance Of room for plant
food. 1t must be remembered that
plant roots first seek water and they
will go to it if they have strength,
hence the farmer should exert every
effort to encourage their early devel-
opment.
In order to make this subject plain,
let us start with field Of ripe grain.
The grain shades the ground, and in
measure prevents the broiling sun
from drawing away moisture. Mois.
ture is the elixir of plant life, and
every particle possible must he saved.
How can this be accomplished? You
know that the surface is full Of
cracks, you know that as soon as the
grain is cut every stalk is an escape
chimney. You know that moisture
will escape by both cracks and stems.
What should be done?
The answer is easy. Stop up the
leaks. Follow the binder with il disc
harrow. That implement forms Il
mulch that etrectually closes up the
little openings, and at the same time
works into the soil the stubble. You
have accomplished three very import
ant things. First, you have checked
the escape of moisture; second, the
surface is made mellow, an essential
condition in the event of rains; third,
You have worked the stubble into the
seed-bed so that when the pillow turns
the flrrOW slice the trash will not act
as an insulation to prevent capillary
attraction.
The next step is blowing. The
sooner the ground is plowed after
harvest the better, provided that the
pillow is followed with implements cal
culated to place the soil in Il condi-
ton to store and conserve moisture.
Ii the ground is plowed and left loose
and lumpy, 1t would be better not to
pillow 1t at all until seeding time, un-
less the blowing is done late in the
fall.
The harrow. disc or packer should
follow the pillow ii the blowing is done
ut any time other than Just before
winter sets in. II the ground is lumpy
and much trash exists, the disc gives
;
pulverized, narrowing is sufficient. Ii
the ground is loose and lumpy, Il
sub-surtace packer should be used.
TN light soil, corrugated roller
firms the surface, and ut the same time
leaves the soil in little ridges, de-
, sirable condition to absorb rains. In
this connection, | desire to empha-
size the necessity OF using the right
Kind OF implements. 1t must he re-
melnbered that thorough work can be
accomplished only by having good,
suitable tools, and without them the
dry land farmer will fail. The pillow
should be Il keen cutting steel imple-
ment, capable of turning Il furrOw
l.. or . inches. The disc harrow is
Indispensable both before and after
plowlng. \ double disc is preferable
to the single. \ disc is. on account
OF the sharp blades, very searching.
1t pulverizes and packs the soil uni
formly from the surface to the bot
tom Of the furruw.
he sub-surtace packer is of great
value as Il pulveriZer OF both surface
and deep clo.ls, packing the soil To u
depth of several inches. Often there
are Jumps or air spaces ut or near the
bottom of the furrow. and unless they
are crushed and the air spaces closed
up, capillary water will not come
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