478 * IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The seed sown on stony land, of which the Saviour speaks in the par- 

 able, was that on a rocky ledge where it had no depth of earth, and which, 

 while it grew quickly because of the greater heat of that kind of soil, per- 

 ished because water could not come up through the ledge of rock below. 

 Anything which will interfere with the rising of the water in the soil, whether 

 it be rock or an impervious clay in the subsoil, or coarse, undecayed manure 

 or vegetable matter, or great lumps in the bottom of the furrow, will make a 

 short crop inevitable. 



This is the reason why the winter wheat grower plows his stubble in 

 August and compacts it well, keeping the upper part loose, before sowing 

 his wheat. This is the reason why he does not plow his corn stubble land 

 before sowing his wheat in the fall. He doesn't want to interfere with the 

 upward movement of the water. This is the reason why a very cloddy field, 

 no matter how rich, doesn't develop rapid plant growth until the clods 

 become pulverized by some means and the airspaces closed up. This is one 

 reason why the farmer prefers to plow sod in the fall, in order that the 

 frost may break up the tough sod, in order that there may be close connec- 

 tion between the land turned by the plow and the soil below before any great 

 demand can be made by the plant for moisture. This is the reason why the 

 farmer in the belt of scant rainfall uses the subsoil packer. He wants to 

 restore the capillary action which the plow has disturbed. It is also the 

 reason why the gardener doesn't use any coarse manure and prefers com- 

 mercial fertilizers, because he does not wish to disturb this source of water 

 supply. So much for all seed beds. 



Provided the plowing has been properly done, and at the proper season, 

 there is not much difficulty in preparing a seed bed for corn. In fact, the 

 deep cultivation which most farmers give their corn at the first plowing in 

 ifself helps to settle the seed bed firmly at the bottom. If the land has been 

 plowed five or six inches deep and this deep cultivation is but three or four 

 inches deep, necessarily the lower two inches must be pressed down more 

 firmly upon the plow pan or the upper portion of the soil that is left 

 unturned. The subsequent cultivations have the same efifect but in a less 

 degree. 



The main thing to be avoided in turning over cornstalks or stubble is to 

 avoid the turning over large lumps, something which is very liable to happen 

 OQ heavy soils in the spring of the year, particularly in a dry time, unless 

 the farmer first discs his corn stubble or his oats stubble and thus prepares 

 a mulch of dry dirt on top. This mulch of dry dirt shuts off evaporation 

 and allows the water from below to rise up by capillary action, thus dis- 

 solving any lumps that may have been formed, and prevents the formation 

 of hard lumps or clods. 



To understand exactly what we mean, let any farmer go out into a piece 

 of heavy land that has been in corn last year and notice when a dry south- 

 west wind is blowing how rapidly these heavy soils crack open. These 

 cracks are the result of the eva])oration of the moisture into the thirsty air 

 from the crusted surface, causing, necessarily, a shrinkage and pulling 

 together of the soil particles, making large cracks or checks all through the 

 soil. These cracks mark the outlines of the clod which is in the course of 

 formation. When the plow turns it over still further evaporation occurs, 

 the clod becomes harder and harder; and hence we have often seen on this 



