The Prescott daily news., 1921-03-21

is early preparation Of the soll- As a matter of fact, both early prepara- ton and early planting are relative matters; both depend on the seasonal conditions and the condition of the soil. Good judgment must be used in planting any crOp-the weather conditions must be taken into ac- count.
 As a general rule in this section of the State, early planting of all our staple and special crops invariably pay the best. This assertion is based on actual experience and years of close observation However, the average farmer does not seem 10 realize the importance of early plant ing, much less early preparation of the soil. The trite old saying, "The early bird catches the worm" may have become so familiar to us that We have failed to realize it's signifi- canoe. but it embodies Q principle
 
 that applies to practically all crops grown in this section l. often oc- CUTS that excessive rains at this sea- son of the year interfere with pre- paration and early planting, yet on the other hand, when the land Is broken during the early winter months, il can almost always be fitted for planting much earlier in the spring, even with much rain, as the watre is readily absorbed and the surface dries of much faster, and usually a double discing is all that may be required to if the land for the planting of crops.
 As a concrete illustration of the advantages and the profits that may be secured by early planting, We would cite the instance of radishes at Arcadia this spring. Many of the farmers in this community planted their radishes the latter part of De- cember, and with relatively mild winter following they have tee7 oble 10 market their radish crop the first half of March, having started their shipments on the 2nd day of March, and by the 18th many of them have finished their crop of radishes and are ready to put in cantaloupes on the same ground, and what is of still greater importance, they have real ized the very top of the market for their radish crop. Now, there is en- bodied in this instance a principle ap- plicable to practically every crop we grow, being governed, of course, by good judgment and the weather and soil conditions.
 Cantaloupes.-We have always en- deavored to emphasize the import ance of planting cantaloupes as early as the weather conditions will permit. There are many reasons that might be cited as to why this should be done. It is well to state that late planted cantaloupes seldom ever pay the cost of production and marketing. This alone is sufficient argument for early planting. Late planted cantaloupes are subject to the attack of the striped beetle, the aphis and the blight to much greater extent than early planted crops, and further, talk ing into consideration the fact that we often have a drouth during the most critical period of the crop July-the early planted crop is prac- tically made by this time, whereas the late planted crop may be just be- ginning to fruit, and what is of still greater importance, early planting makes for larger yields, better quail ity and consequently higher prices. Could there be more potent argu- ment for early planting? Yet what constitutes early planting of canta- loupes? It is largely relative mat ter. If we stop and consider the question, we will find that we get our best prices for cantaloupes from the 4th to the 20th of July, and in order to bring our crop onto the market during this period, the plantings should be made from the last few days of March up to the 10 tn of April. Occasionally, however, bad weather interferes with early plant ing, but if the land has been well pre- pared during the early winter months