The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1912-01-18
SAVE SOIL MOISTURE
Reservoir Must Be Prepared to
Receive the Rain.
Water Carried Into SubsoIl Must Be
Brought Back to Surface Where
Seed ls terminating and
Young Roots Growing.

there are three principal steps in the
conservation Of soil moisture:
1. The soil must be loosened to a
considerable depth In order to prepare
a reservoir to receive the rain and
carry the water downward into the
soil. This may be accomplished by
deep plowing. by listing, or by disking
unplowed lands.
q The water which is carried down
into the subsoil must be brought back
again into the surface soil where the
seed is terminating and the young
roots are growing, and to accomplish
this a good connection must be made
between the furrow-slice and the sub
SOIL and this is the purpose In the use
OF the subsurface packer Immediately
after plowing.
3. Finally, in order that the water
which is drawn up again towards the
surface may not reach the air and be
wasted by evaporation, the upper two
or three inches of the soil must be
kept mellow in the form of soil
mulch. and this is accomplished in the
growing OF crops. by frequent cult
walton, which is not so practicable
with wheat and other small grains as
with corn and other intertilled crops.
The most important step in soil
moisture conservation is to get the
wcter inio the soil. When this has
l,een accomplished, the keeping 1t
there and returning It gradually to the
growing crop is a relatively simple
% hou fol
to learn this most important fact OF
dry farming, that the storing OF the
moisture in the soil is the first and
great principle OF soil moisture conser-
walton. The firming and pulverizing
of the soil to prepare the seed bed.
and the surface cultivation Of the soil
TO maintain the mulch, are each with
out avail unless thsre has been stored
In the deeper soil sufficient amount
of moisture to support the growing
crop In time OF drought.
Now the moisture should be stored
at all times during the season, but
especially during the interval between
harvest and planting. This requires
early blowing so that the soil may be
in condition to catch the rain and alb
sorb 1t.
In order that there may be room tc
receive and store a heavy rain, deer
plowing is desirable. If plowing can
hot be done early. the cultivation ol
rhe unplowed land with a disk harrow
will keep the soil in good plowing con
dition longer and favors the absorp
tion of rain.
good rule, but IL cannot always b'
followed, is to plow when the soil is II
such condition that 1t will drop from
the moldboard in a mellow. friabl'
condition.
Deep plowing should be done will
purpose and intelligence.
Loosening the soil by deep plowinl
favors the absorption of moisture, bu
II rains do not come in time such LIANT
will suffer from drought more quickl.
than though 1t had been plowed shal
low.
The loose soil dries out and capil
larity is broken, preventing the fur
row-slice from receiving moisture fron
the subsoil rapidly enough to sustain
the growing crop. The depth and fre
quency of plowing should vary accord
ing to the nature OF the soil. A ligh
or sandy soil requires less depth O
plowing and less frequent plowin
than a heavy, or compact, clayey o
'gumbo" soil.
As a general proposition, plowin
should be shallow when 1t precede
planting only short time.
Plow deep in the fall. and plow dee
for summer fallow.
long interval between plowing an
seeding allows the soil to settle sufi
ciently. while freezing and thawin
mellows the raw, hard subsoil whic
has been brought to the surface.
The relative depths of plowing ma
be stated as follows; y
Shallow plowing ....,.........,.S to 4 inch'
Medium plowing. ................5 to inch'
Deep plowlng ..................I to inch'
Flowing deeper than eight incht
with the common plow is not usual
practicable, but the soil may be stirre
twelve TO eighteen inches deep with
deep tillage plow or subsoil plow, an
in heavy soil with hard compact SUI
soil such deep stirring may occasiona
ly be desirable.
When land is allowed to lie for
considerable period after plowing b
fore the crop is planted, the settling
the soil, together with the surface Gu
tivation to preserve the mulch and II
cementing due to rain, usually cause
the soil to repack and firm up to
sufficient extent to make a good see
bed.