Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1912-08-13
FLOWING ON DRY FARM
Prepares Seeded by Cleaning
Land and Admitting Air.
Depth Depends In Part on Nature OF
soiI--poubtful u Deep Work In
creases Yield In Proportion
to the Expense.


supplementary cultivation ana aug
ments the yield: poor. shallow piow-
ing augments supplementary cuitiva-
ton and minimizes the yield IL the
purposes OF stirring the soil were pet
ter understood. less diversity OF opln-
ION as to how 1t should be done would
exist. Flowing prepares the seeded
by cleaning the land and admitting
air. warmth and moisture into the soil
This accelerates certain physical ana
chemical changes which are conducive
10 plant growth In dry farming the
admission OF water into the soil Is
paramount.
Now thinly plowed slice Will not
hold as much water as deeply
plowed one Hence, much OF the ram
that falls on shallowly plowed land Is
lost to evaporation before 1t can seek
its course downward into the :ubsoil.
Then, too. during the hot summer
months deeply plowed land in good
filth 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 blowing.
The depth to pillow 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 ltfeless.
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 plowed area. Seven or eightinch
plowing, If honestly done. is deep
plowing. 1t furnishes an ample reser'
voir for the temporary storage OF wa
ter; II forms mulch deep enough to
prevent evaporation from below; II
affords a seed bed adequate to the
needs Of the young plant
After deep blowing 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 firm. II the
necessary preparation cannot be given
them relatively shallow blowing is ad
visable. This holds especially true In
the case of spring blowing.
Very deep blowing and subsoiline
as advocated by some may slightly
increase the yield, but 1t is doubtful II
the increase is proportionate to the
added expense. The law of diminish
ing returns applies to farming as well
as to any other activity. Such plow
ing once in series of years would
no doubt be profitable. 1t will be re
called here, too, that the deep and ex
tensive root systems Of most dry
farmed crops render a great service
to that part of the soil beyond which
the plowshare cannot reach.
Pillow when the land is moist When
the fall is favorable, 1t is generally
the best time to plow Leave the
ground rough during the winter and
work II 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, 1t is good practice to leave
the stubble over the winter and to
turn It in the spring. 1t should be re-
membered, however, that 1t is always
more difficult to secure 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 ,smany q failure has been due
to planting seed on loose spring
plowed land Where the ground Is to
be fallowed during the following sum-
mer. there is but little preference be-
tween spring and fail blowing. espe-
cially II the fall Is dry.
In dry and heavy soils the disk pillow
may be more serviceable than the
moldboard; but the latter has a more
general use and does most satisfac-
tory work.