Pocahontas star herald., 1914-10-09

ever, they have before them th,
successful experience of farmers
the whole world over, Proper seed
bed preparation is important in all
sections, but It Is especially neces,
sary in those sections where the
rainfall is light and uncertain.
The experience Of the past few
years should have Impressed two
things upon the minds Of every
farmer living upon the land where
rainfall has been deficient. First,
that soil moisture is usually the
most important fact IN crop pro-
duction. Second, that proper aud
seasouablc preparation, followed by
good cultivation, will conserve
moisture that otherwise would be
lost so far As crop production Is
concerned.
Very seldom is the summer rain
tall sufficient to mature a crop with.
out the aid Of stored moisture, and
this stored moisture can only he ob.
tanned by making a seed bed in the
fall that will absorb and hold the
ram which falls in excess OF the
amount needed at the time. In the
past, shallow plowing has been the
cause Of loss to many farmers, aud
It is still praotIoed TO a great extent.
Good results are sometimes obtained
n spite of shallow plowing, aud
tins has caused many TO continue
he practice. On the other hand,
mere is often te be found a farmer
who has tried deep blowing late m
Ire season Of dry year, aud failed
TO get good results on account Of
The drying out Of the soil. Usual.
Y this is due to improper treat.
neut Of the soil after blowing, OF
be time Of the year when the plow,
ng was done.
It's not possible to tell the eX'
ct depth TO which plowing should
done. This varies with the 10,
ahty, the crops to be grown, soil
.nndilions, time Of blowing, etc,
rne lighter and more uncertain the
alnfall, the deeper the seed bed
hould be aud the earlier it should
ne made. When the soil is thin,
he deepening process should be
:radual and vegetable matter should
'e added to the soil from time to
ime so that the plant food in the
rewly turned land may become
yallable.
IL the soil Is hard. stiff clay,
md il is turned early in the season,
may be allowed to remain with
rut additional treatment until the
winter frost has had a chance TO
act on it. Ii is never advisable,
however, to permit the land TO re-
main IN that condition until spring,
'or it loses moisture very rapidly
when the weather gets warm.
over crops of some kind should
De sown wherever the rainfall is
ample, but IN no case showld they
be used where the moisture will be
ne, ded for the regular crop.
For grain crops, like wheat or
rye, early plowing to a depth Of
six or seven inches seems to give
about as good results on most soils
as deeper plowing. Tests show
that anything less than six inches
usually causes decrease in the
yield. In most sections of Okla.
hOma, the practice of thoroughly
diseing the land Immediately after
wheat harvest and following with a
plow later, generally conserves en-
ough moisture to permit of plowIng
long after land receiving no treat
ment has become too dry TO work,
such crops as corn, kafr, milo and
peanuts, profit by deep plowIng,
usually the deeper the better, If
done early. 1t should be remem-
bered, however, that through pull
verization and settling of the soil
before planting is necessary for
] Il, TT.