Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-12-02
the stores of plant food they neet
from ever-increasing areas.
Cxyce3, Necessary

the stores of plant food they need
from ever-increasing areas.
Cxyges. Necessary
By turning the soil we also enable
the air to penetrate it more readily
and the air containing oxygen pro-
notes fcrmenta ton or decay in the
land. oxygen is necessary to the
life activities of many forms of bac.
seria assoaia ted with profitable agrl-
cultural production. Then, by turn
.ng the land in the fall we enable
The soil to absorb and hold the max
imum amount of water. Water, OF
COURSE, is the great desideratum III
our agriculture. 1t is true that we
live in a humid climate, neverthe-
less it rarely happens that our crops
do not suffer from drouth at some
period during the year. If we can
harvest and store in the soil a sur
plus of moisture during the rainy
season there will be plenty of water
TO supply the needs Of the crop dur
ing dry spell.
The best method of increasing the
storage capacity Of the soil is to
break the land deeply in the au-
tumn so that it may absorb and hold
the largest possible per cent of the
water which falls as rain againsL
the period of dry weather which will
occur later on. By breaking the
land in autumn. and leaving it in d
rough condition we secure natures
aid in refining and pulVerizing II.
The frOstS occurring during the colo
months literally tear the soil TO
pieces and break up the particles OF
which it is composed into finer ana
finer parts. Through utilizing ma
ture as an ally we thus secure the
performance of a large amount OF
work which we would otherwise have
to accomplish through the eXpendl-
ture of much human and animal
labor and the utilizing of costly ana
complicated farm machinery.
In breaking land in the fall We
accomplish the heaviest and hardest
work for farm animals during the
year at a season when the weather
is cool and bracing. We utilize GU,
live stock to advantage at a season,
when they would otherwise be idle.
We lessen the labor and energy re-
quired to be expended in the early
spring in the preparation of the
land very materially. We gain al
least two weeks in the earliness OF
our planting operations, and now that
the boil weevil has infested the
state so completely this may easily
make a difference between success
and failure in the cultivation of COT
ton. 1t is self-evident, therefore,
that we have everything to gam
from breaking as much of our till
able land as possible in the autumn.
At this season of the year the ground
is, as a rule, in good condition &c
turn We can break it up to the
greatest possible depth without fear
of adverse results on crop produt-
ton, even though we may bring To
the surface large quantities of what
we sometimes denominate as tbs
sub-soil The frosts and rains Of
winter will transform this new lana
into a condition satisfactory to the
growth of plants thereon. Whenever
sub-soiling. becomes desirable Ii
should, as a rule, be done in the
autumn. The reason for this is due
70 the fact that the lower soil areas
are then rather dry. Hence there,
is no danger Of pudding the sRg@
soil as might easily be the case II
the performance of this work were
undertaken at some other season or
the year.