The Ordway new era., 1912-03-08
THE SEED BED
By Dr.. W. E. Taylor, Director of the
Soil Culture Department, Deere
& Company. Moline, Illinois

Primarily want to impress upon
the mind OF the farmer the fact that
good farming involves at least four
essential features. all Of equal i'm.
portance and all inter-dependent, and
Il neglect OF any one Of them will be
sooner or later reflected In the pro.
ducts Of the farm. The four steps or
operations are as follows:
u) The seed bed.
(2) The fertility, which involves
necessity of stock raising.
(3) Seed selection and breeding.
(4) Cultivation and crop manage.
ment.
We will first consider the seed bed;
how it should be made and what it
should contain.
The seed bed Is the home Of the
plant. From the seed bed the plants
receive their essential requirements,
namely, food, air. water and warmth.
PLANT REQUIREMENTS
Plant requirements, like those Of
animals. are exactinR. The laws Of
life and development Of the plant per-
NIT OF no repeal. nor will they tolerate
radical Interference. Plants.like AMI.
mails, may subsist on starvation diet
and In an unsanitary environment,
but under such conditions the growth
and production Is Improbable. The
best results are obtained only when
natures laws are observed and quaint
ity and quality Of every thing that en-
ters into the growth Of either the
plant or the animal are provided.
AIR
Plants require air, and 1t tshould not
only be accessible to the stalk. branch
es and leaves, but it is absolutely nec-
essary that sufficient amount be 10
the seed bed within reach Of the
plants aud roots.
Nature lavishly supplies the plant
with an abundance of atmospheric
oxygen and carbon above the ground,
but it devolves upon man to so make
aud maintain the seed bed that the
parts OF the plant below the surface
will also have an abundance OF free
oxygen.
Soil Is composed OF crystals and par.
ticles Of disintegrated rock contain
log chemical elements. The Irregular
surfaces OF the particles do not per-
nit them to come in close contact
with each other. The Intervening
spaces are equal In volume to the par.
ticles Of soil-that Is, approximately
flfty per cent OF the volume Ut the
average soil Is airspaces. These spaces
are intended for the circulation Of air
and the passage Of minute roots. OK.
yRen enters the soil in various ways,
and is utilized by the plant roots. and
through the same air spaces carbonic
acid gas and other noxious gases pass
out. II from any cause the ground is
sealed up; II the air spaces are clogged
either by water or silt, the plant suf-
fers from two things, namely auto.in-
toxication, caused by the presence Of
poisonous gases, and smothering en-
sues on account Of the absence of at
mospheric oxygen. Plants iu this re-
spect are not unlike animals, for ifa
man or an animal Is placed in closed
room where noxious exhalations are
breathed and fresh air is not admitted,
the man or animal perishes. Common
reasoning. should teach US how to rec
tify the condition, but TOO often we
do not reason; we are content to blame
natures elements or attribute the de-
6cient harvest to lack of fertility OF
| the soil.
Too much water in the seed bed
may be the cause. The water line or
sheet water may be so near the sur.
face that the surface soil is constant
ly surcharged with water, or a hard
pan may exist preventing the per-
collation. Of water to the deeper sub
soils, thereby holding it In the seed
bed. In either case the surface water
should be removed.
| DRAINAGE
Drain tile isa most cffectual remedy.
II, however, the texture Of the soil is
OF such a nature that free subsurface
flow is permitted, ditching will serve
the purpose as we'll as tile. The
benefits Of tile drainage are:
| W The removal OF surface water
between the plane Of the tile and the
surface Of the ground.
(2) Physical improvements OF the
soil, rendering it porous and mellow.
(3 The admission of atmospheric
oxygen and carrying of heavy, noxious
gases.
| Money to Loan