The Bulletin. 9 



corporation of vegetable matter, and every available opportunity 

 should be used to grow it on the land. When soils of this character 

 are underdrained, plowed deep, and vegetable matter mixed in, it so 

 improves their texture and physical condition that they become won- 

 derfully productive. 



When the soil is not well drained it is advisable to break the land 

 in beds or ridges, rather than flat break it; this will keep the soil 

 above standing water and permit of surface drainage by means of the 

 dead or water furrows. 



For the average farmer it will probably be more economical to 

 deepen the soil gradually, by plowing say one or two inches deeper 

 each time he plows until the desired depth of soil is obtained. Or if 

 desired, the subsoil plow can follow the turn plow and the whole depth 

 be attained at once. Or better still, if the disc plow is used the whole 

 depth may be reached at one operation. Another method, though not 

 to be recommended as a general practice, and which applies more 

 particularly to stiff and heavy clays and where drainage is not suffi- 

 cient, and may be employed very advantageously at times when the 

 farmer can do no better, and often proves very efficacious on soils as 

 above described, is the use of the combined middle burster and sub- 

 soil plow, and operated as follows: run middle burster in center of 

 cotton middles, going over the field in this manner, then take off the 

 wings and run subsoil point in same furrow ; rye can then be sown at 

 the rate of three pecks to one bushel per acre, the stalks lifted with 

 middle burster and subsoil point run as in the middle. This method 

 will expose much of the soil to the weather and if done by middle 

 of December or before will permit the growing of a cover crop. At 

 any rate, this method is preferred to leaving the land bare and un- 

 plowed through the winter. 



Light sandy or leachy soils should not be plowed deep in the fall, 

 except when there is vegetable matter on the land to be turned under, 

 and then a winter cover crop of rye, at least, should be sown at the 

 rate of three pecks to one bushel per acre and covered with a harrow. 



It is not practical, or even possible, for the farmer to plow all of 

 his land deep every fall, but rotations can be so arranged and the 

 farm work so planned, that he can do deep plowing in the fall on a 

 portion of his farm, the next fall another portion, and the next an- 

 other, and thus have a rotation of deep plowing as well as of crops. 



Some of the advantages of doing deep plowing in the fall are (1) 

 the subsoil is dry, in the spring it is usually too wet; (2) the teams 

 are not otherwise employed for much of the time, the days are short 

 and cool, making it more comfortable for the team; (3) permits win- 

 ter weathering, thereby improving the textural, physical, and mechan- 

 ical condition of the soil, causing it to pulverize easily in the spring ; 

 (4) the winter rains sink into the soil readily and deeply, and mois- 



