The Dickson County herald. (Dickson, Tenn.) 1907-1979, 1914-01-30
ePRINc PREPARATION
on SOUTHERN FARMS,

Washington, d. c.. Jan. "a. 1914
lin no section of the country doe
q well prepared seed-hed give bette
returns than In The Southern States
The best spring preparation Of th'
soil 10 practically impossible nnlesI
lit has b>sn properly turned ans
deeply broken during the ptevionI
summer on fall. The necessity 10
deep plowing in the South II prob
lably not realized by those who ar
not familiar with the heavy rain
falls In this section, which frequent
ly packs and runs the particles d
soil tegether 80 as TO exclnde ali
aud sunshine. The absenee o.
freezing prevents any ioosenina uT
% the particles, besides in man,
places there is an almost imper
sious hard.pan Of subsoil. either
natural or brought about from q
continuous custom u shallow plow-
ing. In other sections this deepen
ing and lcossning of the soil il
done partly at least by the forces
OF nature but can only be accom-.
plished by the plow in the south
Such are the findings Of the DE.
parfment of Agriculture.
The beat implement Tor deep
breaking of the coil Is the disc plow
which turns, pulveriles and mixes
at the same time. When properly
adjusted the disc breaks the land
deeply and thoroughly loosens IL,
mixing this soil and the subsoil To
some extent but does not turn 10
the surface enough oi the inert sub.
soil to miure the succeeding crop.
The next best method for deep
breaking is mnldboard piowing,
set 10 turn furows on edge and this
10 followed by q subsoil plow In
the same iurrow ss deeply as de
sired,
1.-THE cover crop il 10 follow the
fall breaking a thorough prepara.
ton oi the seed.bed should be
made before plapting the seed. II
no cover crop 10 sown the disc har.
row o. spsing tooth harrow should
be run over occasionally to crush
clods and keep surface crusts
broken Tor the admission Of ali
and sunlight, The usual method
is to FIAT break and where this ID
done II is best to throw up into
beds before planting. Planting
may be done with small plows cr
just az effectively and much faster
with a disc cultivator set at the
proper angle. Should there be
cleas a roller NAV be used and this
is followed with a section harrow.
Too much care cannot be giver
to the preparation Of the seed bed
It not only saves cultivation bu'
makes plant food available anc
furnishes proper conditions tor seed
termination and rapid growth
The best farmers will tell you thai
thorough preparation 10 more thar
hall the expenses Of making a gooc
crop,
The spring preparation 10 nevel
M deep az the land was when bro
ken in the fall or winter; With
nearly all field crops a firm seed
he'd 10 preferable. Only The first
few inches need to be freshened
and pulveriaed at planting time
When the cover crop ia drawn un'
der. the plowine should be just
deep enough to turn the crop under
well and the usual narrowing and
pulverizing to get fine soil before
seeding.
Where there has been no fall
and winter breaking done, al is the
rule in some sections, II 10 not ad'
visable to break as deeply in the
spring as in the fall; usually mol
more than two inches deeper thar
before, and then the clay subsoi
should not Do turned 10 the surface
The pillow can Get to edge the furrow
II is found more necessary TO gel
spring broken land finely pulverized
and thoroughly prepared before
planting. 1t is better to della,
planting several days rather thar
put the seed In a poorly prepared