Meade County news., 1916-12-07

prepared by the United States Depart
ment Of Agriculture.)
A deep seedbed well supplied with
soil moisture and well drained makes
big corn yield possible whether the
summer proves too dry or too wet. If
not well plowed, some lands are so
tmpervious that during several weeks
of rainy weather they remain dry be-
low depth of five or ten inches.
In many localities it is best to plow
in the fall or several months before
planting, in order to enable the soil
to store a sufficient quantity of wa
ter to produce corn crop. Fall plow-
ing cannot be recommended for all
soils and localities, but it should be
more generally practiced than at pres
ent. If cover crop or sod Is turned
under in the autumn, decomposition
will increase the amount of plant food
available for the crop the next sum-
mer. This is true to some extent,
even though the sod is not turned I'M
der, inasmuch as the simple loOsenlng
of the soil admits atmospheric oxygen
and increases chemical action on vege-
table and mineral matter. Besides,
fall and winter plOwing is one of the
best methods of combating grubworms
and corn rOot-wOrms, which are often
destructive to corn.
Fall Flowing Beneficial.
The fall plowing enables the rain
fall better to penetrate the subSoil,
thus relieving the surface of it's eX-
cess of moisture. In the spring fall
plOwed fields usually contain much
more moisture, but at the same time
have a drier surface than fields which
remain unplOwed until spring. In sec
tions where there is much rain dur
ing the winter, it is better not to har-
row the fall-plowed land in the au-
tumn. This is especially true of fine
clay soils that run together and pack
readily In comparative tests of fall
and spring plowing, preceding dry
summer, the fall-plOwed fields have
generally yielded better. The same is
true of subsoiling. Deep spring plOw-
ing and spring subsoiling are likely to
result in diminished crops, especially
if done after the spring rains. The
loosening of the soil to great depths at
this time admits air and facilitates the
loss of soil moisture; it also interrupts
the capillarity so that moisture is not
as readily drawn from greater depths,
and during a dry summer there is not
enough available moisture to support
a good crop.
Flowing in Spring.
If plowing is done in the spring
shortly before planting time, it is nee
essary that the soil be in proper cOndi-
tion to pulverize readily. Disking land
in the spring before plowing is a great
advantage. 1t makes the soil retain
moisture and keeps the land longer in
a good plOwing conGition. 1t also pull
verizes the surface portion of the
furrow slice before It is turned under
out of reach of the harrow Land
should never be plowed when too wet
to pulverize finely. However, plOw-
ing may be sometimes done In the fall
when the ground- is too -dry- u:intnr !
rains and freezing will pulverize the
clods.
Spring-plOwed land should be har-
rowed the same day it is plOwed. If |
very dry, harrow both at noon and |
night. The moisture saved by harrow
ing before the ground has had time |
to dry out is surprisingly great and, be- !
sides saving moisture, it will often put |
soil in better tilth than two harrow
ings after the clOds have dried. The |
change also makes the work less tir-
ing to the teams, which alone offsets |
the trouble caused by changing tools.
When the soil Is loose to a sufficient
depth, corn roots penetrate in abun-
dance to a depth of three or four feet.
The growing of clover and deep-roOt-
ed plants preceding corn loosens the
soil for the corn, and subsolling is
profitable practiced with some soils to
enable the corn roots to use the soil
TO greater depths and to increase the
water-absorbing capacity Of the soil
as well. AS the crop on an acre is linn
tied to 1880 square feet of surface,
IT should be enabled to use the acre
to a great depth. In compact soils
Dlowed but six inches deep and cul-