The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-03-13
ABSENCE OF WINTER RAINS
MAKES FALL PLOWED
FIELDS TOO LOOSE
HARROW SHOULD Be At WORK
Deep Flowing Is Good Policy But Rad.
leal Increase in Depth May
Hold Back Yields During
First Year.
BY Ralph T. Hemphill.

SVVH uOAt IOT great many years.
Early fall plowing is necessary and
essential to big crop production, but
the winter has been unusually dry
and there has not been sufficient rain.
fall 10 settle the soil and knit the
plowed soil back 10 the subsoil.
Before the plant food that is in the
soil can become available for the
plant 10 use, It must come in contact
with the air and that is one reason
why early fall plowing pays. Unless
the soil that has been plowed and the
subsoil are reunited, the moisture cur.
rents are not complete and the seeds
planted in the loose soil cannot do
much growing until the moisture cur.
rent Is started. Ordinarily we ex-
pect nature with the winter rains to
pack the seed bed for US, but this
winter there has been such a lack OF
moisture that the land, in most in.
stances, is as loose as it was when
1t was first plowed
There have been volumes written
about deep plowing and it is a sub.
ject that has been discussed since
the early days Of civilization. but il
is true that no positive rule can be laid
down regarding the time or the depth
Of plowing in Oklahoma. There is
one practice in plowing in Oklahoma,
however, that should be corrected
and that is the depth to which the
plow should be changed each year.
For instance, If We plow the same
field to a depth of 4 inches every
year we form plow sole that be.
comes hard, impery!ous to water. and
finally so hard that roots cannot
penetrate it. BY changing the depth
of plowing a little each year this
packing Of the subsoi can be over.
come. Then, in considering the depth
Is which to plow, It is well to increase
the depth gradually from year to
year. II field has never been
plowed more than three inches deep
it is not good policy to plow 1t eight
or ten inches the first time. The
depth should be increased gradually.
AL over OklahoDs, a few years ago,
when every town was putting in its
water systems and digging bitches
iB the streets, II was observed tha,
the aJst year following the digging
Of theae ditOhes 20 vegetation of any
kind grew upon the soil that was left
when the bitches were filled w. The
second year this soil produced a
larger crop Of weeds than any Of the
adjoining land. know a man in
Bryan County who bought n tractor a
few years ago. He believed in deep
plowing. He began in the late winter
to prepare his land for oats. 1t was
average Oklahoma prairie land. 1t
had been plowed to the average depth
for Oklahoma land (About 3iR
inches). Having q great deal OF pow.
er in his new tractor he dropped his
plows down and stirred the land up
from the bottom TO depth OF about
ten inches lie narrowed down the
surface and planted his oats. He told
me az harvest time that he hardly got
his seed back. And yet, the next year.
when this deeply plowed land had
! HuT ffv,4r 10 ,,tty tttfh a.. nT. ,vt L.,
food that It contained had become
available for the plant TO use, and
when nature had settled II back down
TO firm seed bed so that the cur
rents Of moisture continued to rise
through the soil and furnish the plant
with moisture, II beat its records in
the way Of production. The point if
this: II we are going to lower the
depth Of plowing It must be done
early and the seed bed must be well
pulverized.
Great numbers Of folks IN Oklahoma
were induced to pillow their land last
fall and to plow II deep. Nature has
not done for II what we expected II
would do. The winter rains that have
nearly always fallen In Oklahoma
have not come and we are startinl
into a crop season with the soil that
was plowed in the fall all loose ant
not packed back to the subsol
Certainly Il is dangerous to plan
crops on land In this condition ant
hope that nature will take care OF Il
That loose soil should be pulverizet
so as TO pack It back-firm the see,
bed before the spring crops ar,
planted Possibly one " the best way,
to do this Is TO set the discs straigh
and weight them down, single oi
double disc Il as the needs may re
Quiro and follow with the section har
row. can understand how porsol
can set along without a great manl
tools on q farm but cannot see how
much farming can be- done wilhou
a section harrow The section har
row furnishes the cheapest method o
cultivation that can be used. Their
re so many things that can be don,
with a harrow. II could he used u
dvantage at a time when the mois
urc Is scarce and getting away iron
s IN following behind each day
\ blowing. When the corn Is comini