Judsonia weekly advance., 1917-03-07

good seed bed. Hard ground is not planting of any class of farm seeds, from the grasses, clovers and alfalfa to seeds of larger type, such as grains, corn and cotton, must be firn-not loose and not hard-and pulverized on top.
 The importance of thorough prepa. ration for planting has been urged and discussed from time fmmemorial, yet few people seem to understand the true meaning of good seed bed have seen people preparing land for alfalfa, which requires thorough pre- paration of a good seed bed, and these men have gone ahead on the assump- tion that the ground nAlst be well broken, pulverized on Bop, and the seed sown immediately This pro- vides loose seed beda and if rain is not forthcoming in q short time, these same men wonder Ehy they did not get a stand. They shaye follow ed a wrong pdinciple-that of provid-
 
 firm seed bed, we'll pulverized on top
 Young seedlings cannot secure sat isfactory growth on hard, inpenetra- ble soil. When land has been subject heavy rains, such as we have in dll parts of Arkansas in the course of the year, the soil particles are packed closer and closer together until the soil becomes practically iTpenetrable and there is little room for movement of these particles which is nee essary if roots are to grow down be- tween them; likewise there is lit tie room for storage of moisture, ard Therefore the young crop suffers from lack of root development and lack of moisture. A hard seed bed is very undesirable, and will result in snlstl- Ter crop.
 We oftentimes hear the remark that grasses and clovers must not be sown on loose soil, but that they must be sown on soil without preparation. This fig an erroneous idea, but it has arisen on the basis of good sound principle, in that no grass and clover crop will do well if seeded on loose soil. The truth of this suggestion lies in the fact that the ground should be broken from four to six weeks ahead of time for planting the grasses and clovers in order that the soil may have time to settle down and become firm In a period of that duration the soil will not have time to become packed and hard except on the surface, and this is remedied by frequent narrowing, so that at the time of planting you have seed bed firm, not hard, with the top well pulverized.
 This principle can very well be ap- piled to all agricultural crops. The remark is commonly heard that young cotton will not grow until the tap root strikes hard ground While the idea as. expressed is erroneous, there is an element of truth in the fact that cotton planted in loose, bed will not grow as well as cotton that is planted in ground that has been prepared sui ficiently far in advance for the soil to be well firmed at the time of seed- ing. Cotton planted on hard ridge cannot be expected to stand the irouth, nor to make the satisfactory growth to be obtained by cotton planted on land properly prepared, as explained above.
 In many sections it has become com mon in preparing land for cotton to throw up a thin layer of loose earth on hard ridges, harrow this loose soil down and plant. This leaves a hard ridge underneath, covered by a thin layer of rather fine soil. This does not constitute good preparation, be- cause this is a hard seed bed rather than a firm seed bed.
 The whole scope of proper prepara- tion for the planting of agricultural crops can be summed up as follows: Whatever the crop may be, break the land from three to six weeks ahead of planting time, keep the surface narrowed until planting time, and be-