St. Tammany farmer., 1917-02-03
,o,di1v than heavier soils; hence
less precaution is necessary u pio
yor+ rnu-Off

readily than heavier so1ls' u0es
,osa nrecaution is necessary " pio
vent run-on. ho from
soonape to depts beyond the plant
roots Manure and decaying vege-
,abla matter check seepage and I'M
nrove soils of this character. AS
corn roots penetrate 3 to even leee,
larger Yields of corn are frequently
raised on sandy soils In semial1u
.ar;ons than ON surrounding haro
soils. .,oao+ox+ured
The heavy, hard, or close-te11ureu ~
soils require the most cultlvat1on ~
keep them in proper cono1tlon 80 as
to prevent moisture loss from Iun
off and evaporation. Unless the sur
face is kept broken or some"na
rongh. but little water will pc az
sorbed during hard rains ana a
GREATER loss will occur from evap-
erat;on To maintain the surface
soil in proper condition, cultivation
is necessary soon after heavy rama
If cultivation is too frequent no"
ovor so that the surface becomes tos
fne moisture can not penelrd. y
road;,v and blowing of the SOIL i
likely to occur. ~,
msSelure be made to penetrate set
era1 feet below the surface. IL
most soils this penetration IS SO"
and during hot, dry WeS.he1 sutlaos
evaporation is great. Surface mos
tnre can not penetrate frozen SUI
Summer and fall precipitation ma
time to penetrate several feet oeep
and he in a position to support
growing crop she next summer.
While it is seldom advisable to waste
a whole summer in storing moisture
for a corn crop the next year.
- ia advisable to beoin storing
mois.ure for a corn crop the next
wear. it is advisable to begin storlns
soil moisture as soon as the pieceu
ing crop will permit. The 1deal seeu
he'd for a good corn crop IN sem1arlu
regions is one with a loose, coarse
surface and a subsoil well filled Win
moisture to depth of several 1eet.
Preparing Land for Planting.
As lack of moisture, more tnan
ANYTHING else, limits corn yields IN
droughty regions, the first questlion
regulating each operation shoulo oe,
.sWhat will be its effect upon the soAi
moisture supply?" ,.
The authorities state that whlle
summer fallow frequently results IN
greater Yields of corn, the practlce
has not proved practicable. They,
therefore, advise beginning the prep.
aration of land to prevent loss ol
moisture and to put the surface lhto
condition to receive moisture as soon
as the preceding crop will permit
Cultivation after the removal or the
preceding crop is profitable II II
stops or prevents a growts OF Weeds.
Rut If the growing season IS past
dead weeds may catch more snow
than would be caught by cultivat-
ed surface.
Fall disFing, or listing, is usually
ben afcial in putting the land In bet
ter condition to prevent the SOIL
from blowing, to ho,d the snow, and
to prevent blow-off. The penetra-
ton of moisture is slow, and when
rains occur evaporation is rapid from
hard soil surfaces, such as usually
fallow the growing Of small grain.
The chances of storing moisture are
increased by loosening such compact
surfaces as early as possible
Whether plowing is necessary, how
ever, depends very much upon the
type Of soil Most heavy clay soils
are put proper condition by plow-
ing. Sandy or loan soils should not
be plowed in the fall and left bare
during the winter in regions where
soil blowing is likely to occur. II,
however, it becomes advisable to
plow such soils in the fall, blowing
Of the plowed area may be checked
by top-dressing with barnyard ma
nure.
Deep plowing should always DC
done in the fall or very cary in the
spring, TO allow more moisture tC
penetrate and the soil to settle be-
fore planting time.
On sloping land the plowing, list
ing, planting, and cultivating shoulo
follow on a level along the solpes or
around the hills.
The moisture saved makes this q
profitable practice, and very often
the prevention Of run-off is necessary
to avoid erosion, with the loss of