THE CAMPBELL SUBSOIL PACKER JN S. W. MINN. 345 



to within about one inch of the top of the soil. We have taken a 

 spade after the packer has been used and cut down through the soil 

 to the bottom of the furrow and have found the soil to be in what 

 we have called a firmly packed condition. 



Where the Campbell packer may fail in giving good results. — 

 In case the growing season is reasonably moist, by reason of show- 

 ers at proper times, then it is evident that the work of the packer 

 would not be very valuable, as there would be but little need for 

 the plant to call upon the reservoir of moisture in the subsoil, and, 

 consequently, this dense condition that would be favorable to capil- 

 lary action would not be needed. Here is where we think the 

 Campbell packer has been discounted as to its value, because the 

 test was made in a season wdiere this condition existed. 



The Campbell packer aids in late plowing. — In case a farmer 

 has a piece of land that ought to be plowed deeper than he has 

 plowed it, and his work has been such that he could not do it in the 

 early part of the season, then by the aid of the Campbell packer he 

 can plow deeper in the late fall and restore the dense condition 

 that we have referred to as being so desirable by this artificial 

 method. In other words he can make the packer do what time and 

 gravity would have done, provided he had plowed in August, 



Another help can be gained from the packer in that we can 

 have a larger opportunity for breaking up the soil at a depth that 

 is desirable when it becomes too hard. There is no question but 

 what the continued plowing of the land at a certain depth tends by 

 reason of the pressure of the plow and the tramping of the teams 

 to make a density at the bottom of the furrow which is more than 

 is to be desired and very naturally checks the downward growth of 

 many of the roots of our crops. If one shall attempt to break this 

 by very deep plowing, regardless of time or the aid of this packer, 

 he is very apt to create a condition of looseness of the soil that 

 will seriously injure his crop for the next season, provided it is a 

 drouthy one. By means of the packer this danger can be avoided, 

 for regardless of time he may plow as deep as he wishes and 

 then restore the desirable condition of density at once by means of 

 this implement. 



One word of caution. — There might be a time when the soil 

 would be so moist that we should not use this packer, as it would 

 almost tend to puddle the land. This, however, is a condition of 

 things which rarely ever maintains in the section of the state that we 

 refer to. We should, however, keep this matter in mind in the 

 using of the packer, so that while we would want a moist condition 



