The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1922-05-26

Verna Young, a seventh grade stu
dent Of Musselshell county, has won
the first prize in the countrywide es-
say contest, in which 200 students took
part and in which the whole county of
Musselshell showed an absorbing in
terest, with the following essay, which
shows a remarkable grasp of the prin-
ciples of summer tillage.
Much misunderstanding exists to-
day as to what summer following and
tillage in Montana are. Sometimes
a person may be heard to say, 4 re-
ceived poor results from summer fal
lowing But if he were questioned
closely it would be found that he had
not carried out one or more of the i'm
portant points. Unless each point is
carried out as it should be, we cannot
say that the system failed.
MANY successful farmers follow
the binder with a disc, cutting two
and one-half inches into the soil, the
purposes of which are as follows:
First, it buries the weed seeds and
with the first fall showers starts their
termination so that the frost will kill
them; second, when the soil is plowed
all loose soil falls to the bottom of the
furrow slice, closing air spaces and so
preventing evaporation. Many far
mers give the soil a thorough discing
after blowing, which serves about the
same purpose as discing before plow-
ing, but it is not so good, and some of
the advantages mentioned in the above
paragraph are lost.
Spring Flowing Best.
"The most successful time for plow-
ing is in the spring, when the soil is
moist, but not wet enough to bake. The
blowing should be done as follows:
First, pillow the soil after two discings
if the surface is packed; second, the
soil should be plowed to a depthof six
or ven inches; third, follow the plow
with a harrow and packer the same
day plowed or Immediately after the
pillow where possible, so as to pack
the soil down and prevent evaporation.
"Some farmers do not follow this
method, but plow the ground in the
fall, leaving the ground rough through
the winter to catch the snow. This is
not always profitable, as sometimes
we have a dry winter and in the spring
the clods are so hard it is difficult for
the disc to break them.
"When the soil is treated as describ-
ed in the above paragraph June rains
are absorbed readily and further COM
pact the soil, so it will close air spaces
and prevent evaporation. Free air cir
culation carries away moisture.
"a tandem or double disc, weighted
heavily and not set too sharp, pulled
after the pillow is necessary to pack
the soil. A subsurface packer that
cuts below the surface and packs the
lower portions of the soil should be
used, and where is is not available the
disc does we'll. The surface of the
soil should not be rubbed to fine.
1.-TWO civilizations where the weeds
are rot bad are usually enough, but
where the soil is badly infested with
weeds more civilizations are necessary.
It is not absolutely necessary to cul-
tivate after each rain, but each farmer
must see to his land that it does not
become baked and cracked.
"Vegetat'o on will rot quicker in damp
soils than in dry soils, so if the soil
can be kept moist all summer with n y
plant growth to use up the plant foo
more will remain for the crop. This
is the reason that cultivation is necs
sary.
"Some soils will blow. In this ease 6
c%ultivator is needed that will cut be
low the surface, but not p%ulverize the
top. A clod or granular mulch is pre-
ferable to a dust mulch. 1t will not
blow as bad and will not puddle after
heavy rains. In these soils the most
useful implements are the Clack weed
er, duck foot culti'-ator, Acme harrow
and the knife weeder., although some
farmers succeed splendidly with only
a harrow and a disc.
"When moisture has been carefully
kept in the soil in winter wheat sec,
tons, winter wheat should be planted
in August or early September. Under
very favorable conditions about &c
pounds of seed is enough. Under less
favorable conditions and later plant.
ing more seed is used; sometimes AZ
pounds is used.
although many farmers will agree
that a good crop of winter wheat will
outyield spring wheat, they prefer the
spring wheat because they are sure Of
a good start. Spring wheat should be
planted as early as possible, but moi
early enough to be out of season.
"Some soils will blow. The worst
are the light, sandy soils, but blowing
a usually be controlled. The sol
must not be cultivated too fine; if il