The Cape weekly tribune. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1914, 1914-03-27
PREPARING A SEED BED
FOR CORN
Farm Adviser.

y brief summary OF all that has
been said and written about corn
reveals two important factors in it's
development They are seed, and
culture. Both are important, and
neither is sufficient unless supple
mented by the other. There is an
old saying that "a corn crop properly
put in is half tended" There is much
truth in it for crop planted in poor
ly prepared soil cannot return a
maximum yield
What Conditions are Necessary:
We say we want the corn land in
good condition so the corn will come
up Why does it need to be in good
condition? There are indefinite demands
cron makes on the soil before it will
even terminate; the are warmth,
moisture, and oxygen or air. Every
one is necessary and must be present.
Without air the first process of germi-
nation cannot start and it sometimes
happens that a clay soil after plant
ing, receives a heavy rain which packs
it so that the air canot enter, the re-
suit is invariably a poor stand even
though every other condition is good.
To supply these factors to the best
advantage we must have a well pre-
pared seed bed. A stunted calf
never makes q good steer, as a well
nourished one and for the same rea-
sons, unfavorable conditions in the
corn field result in slow growth and
stunted plants,
Disking Before Flowing This is !,
simple but important operation. Not
only does it cut up stalks and trash
on the surface, but it mixes them with
the soil, pulverises the surface and
makes it possible to establish union
between the subsol and the furrow
slice. The water used by the growing
crop is stored in the soil and must
be available A coat of clods and
trash in the furrow effectively blocks
it's passage and the crop suffers ac-
cordingly.
Flowing Weather conditions can
not be controlled; rains come or
do not come without consulting any
one We can, however, refrain from
blowing when it is too wet. Rarely
does it rain all the time and wet
plowcd land has habit of baking
and forming clods that defy ordinary
farm machinery. This condition is
known as pudding. Such a field is
seriously injured for only small
amount of the plant food can te ut-
lied and not enough mositrurc will
be retained for the crop. Further
more, the bad effects of wet blowing
generally show more than one season
and often require lcgumnous crop
like clover or cowpcas to offset them.
The soil will get in condition for the
pillow sometime, and it is far better
to wait for that time. The best
depth for spring blowing is from )
to inches, altho this depends on
the character of the soil and the
previous treatment. For instance, it
is not necessary to pillow a coarse
sandy soil as deep as a heavy clay.
In fields where shallow blowing has
always been the rule it would not
be to increase the depthSto too great
an extent the first year. Before the
culture Of sugar bcets was well under
stood in Illinois it was considered
necessary to pillow very deep and make
a loose seed bed. Several inches Of
soil that had never before been
turned, were turned up. As result
the young plants did not do well
because the surface soil was not in
condition to furnish plant food. The
next year, however,. the same fields,
plowed the same depth, produced good
crops. Fall blowing can safely be
deeper than spring blowing.
Fitting Spring Flowing For Seed
Bed;-At the end of every days work
it is a good practice to run a float
or a light drag over the fresh turned
soil. The clods are easily crushed and
the top of the seed bed fined, thereby
making a perfect mulch, preventing
excessive evaporation, and still al
lowing for free circulation of air.
The field may be prepared for plant
.'. .I.' moothing harrow, or by
a ,n. .. hen narrowing. Such
.r. STATION t. pay in every case.