KAFIR CORN IN DRY REGIONS 109 



as some soils wash and pack more readily than 

 others. Listing, however, in the western and drier 

 sections is the favorite method of planting, as it 

 takes less work, encourages the roots to go deeper 

 into the soil, thus better resisting drought. The 

 rows should be about three feet apart, and the 

 seed dropped four to eight inches apart in the row 

 for the western part of the state. 



For surface planting, fall plowing is very gen- 

 erally favored. The disadvantages of fall plowing 

 are: The blowing of the loose soil, and the weeds, 

 which thrive best on fall plowing. Otherwise, a 

 good disking or fall plowing furnishes the ideal 

 seed-bed. 



Spring plowing should not be done until time to 

 plant. The plowing should not be deeper than is 

 necessary to turn the ground well and cover trash. 

 A very essential feature in the preparation of the 

 seed-bed is to compact the soil as soon as plowed, 

 so as to hold the moisture near the surface. The 

 plowed soil should not be left as smooth on the 

 surface as when a roller is used, nor as fine as 

 an ordinary harrow would leave it. The day the 

 land is plowed, it should be disked, harrowed, 

 then rolled, and harrowed again, to make the 

 surface fine and compact. The press drill, with 

 all the drills left on, is the best implement for 

 planting, if done the same day that the land is 

 plowed. 



