CORN. 49 



tion. Thus, if a soil is very deep the principle of commi- 

 nuting the soil whereby greater latitude is given to the roots 

 of plants, would at once point to a great depth of plowing if 

 properly done ; while on the contrary, if a soil is shallow, 

 nothing could be more injurious or perhaps destructive to the 

 succeeding crop than to plow to a great depth, burying the 

 available surface soil beneath a large body of soil that had not 

 yet been properly prepared for plant food. In such cases the 

 transformation should be gradual from year to year, until 

 finally the desired depth can be attained. There can be no 

 doubt that where all the conditions are favorable, deep plow- 

 ing should be approved and practiced, since the greater the 

 amount of soil the plant has to work upon, other things being- 

 equal, the more favorable the results. Now if the crop of 

 corn is to be planted upon what is termed old land, it might 

 be appropriate to consider somewhat the time and manner of 

 plowing this. Upon the principle that the atmosphere and 

 frosts of winter act as disintegrators, it would undoubtedly be 

 advisable, if other circumstances would allow, to plow such 

 fields late in the fall, just before the setting in of winter, 

 whereby it becomes more easily acted upon by the rays of the 

 sun, and hence more readily worked, and that too, consid- 

 erably earlier in the spring. If such course should be pur- 

 sued, plowing should invariably be done in the spring also, 

 which leaves the land oftentimes in far better condition than 

 where the fall plowing is omitted. 



Passing now to manuring, important considerations present 

 themselves. In the first place, the best fertilizer that can be 

 used upon any farm-crop is the manure made upon the farm, 

 and this should at all times be liberally bestowed. If plowing 

 of greensward is done in the fall, then the manuring should 

 naturally be made in the spring. One general principle sliould 

 be observed in the application of manure, that it be so made 

 as to be most available for the plant ; then if the case is as 

 above, this can more naturally be done just before planting 

 in the spring, being thoroughly incorporated with whatever 

 fine dirt remains above the sod. If the sward be plowed in 

 the spring, then it would be advisable to spread thickly the 

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