Albuquerque evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1911-1914, 1912-01-10
DYNAMTE ron rIowING.

Leading agricultural authorities
everywhere are advocating deep TN.
age both as means OF increasing
crops and as protection against such
disastrous dry spells as characterized
the summer OF 1911 There seems To
be no difference OF opinion as to the
advantages OF deep tillage. but there
Is In regard To the method OF doing
the work. what might be called the
natural method is the planting Of
crops such as alfalfa. whose large and
powerful tap roots will penetrate a
rather compact subson to a depth OF
six feet or more and In few years
render II more or less open and give
It sufficient content OF humus TO
materially increase It's fertility and
water holding capacity.
A more rapid method OF deep Till
age Is with the subsol plough which
breaks up the soil 20 a depth OF flf-
teen TO twenty inches. This. how
ever. is rather expensive and very
hard on men and horses
Within recent years a third method
of subsolllng has been the subject of
extensive experiments. namely with
dynamite. The results OF these ex-
perlments, when conducted under
proper conditions. have been quite
remarkable. Cotton yields have been
doubled By subsolling with dynamite.
Corn has responded splendidly 20 this
treatment Cereals, hay fruit trees,
tomatoes, beans. watormelons and
various other crops have all shown
substantially increased yields when
the subsoiling has been done In dry
weather, preceding the rainy season.
In the north the best time FOR sub
solling has proven 10 be from May to
November for showing results the
next year, and in the south from Oc-
tober TO February l.
The publicity given 20 these aston
ishing results. which point to a reYo-
ultion In farming methods. has natur-
ally created much Inquiry In the
minds Of the farmers as 10 the cost
az subsoiling and the length Of time
before suhsoiled land will have 10 be
again subsoiled la order 10 keep Il
open. This question Is obviously diff
ficult 10 answer because OF the lack
Of long time results, as, with the OK
dynamite, most of tho remarkable re-
suits noted have occurred within tho
last year or two. Fortunately. how
ever, there were enough OF the pio-
noer users 60 prove that the effect
OF subsolling lasts for many years.
The cost averages about SIC am acre.
including dynamite, caps, fuse and
the labor of making the holes and
doing the blasting. IN most cases the
cost is recovered within the year out
of the increased yield. but in other
cases where the increased yield would
not be- worth more than SO an acre.
Ia Is important 10 know how long
this increased production Is going to|
Keep up so as To- Justify the expense.
The reason why deep tnlagc or SUBJ
soil blowing Is desirable Is that an
the soil below the bottom of the orr
binary pillow cut IN other words,
everything below siX 20 eight inches,
~ SIN iu its primcyal condition lt
has never teen disturbed Chemical
analyses of soils down 20 depth of
twenty feet show that on The average
acres there are tons Of plant foods
which become available only when
roots can penetrate o. them, or when
ascending moisture brings thgm up
90 Tho roots that can not get down,
Alfalfa and other deep rooted plants
are called 'soll makers because they
penetrate this compact soil Introduce
humus and provide "a passageway for
the descent and ascent of water which