CULTURE OF MAIZE 22 1 



298. Subsoiling, or the loosening of the subsoil without 

 bringing it to the surface, usually to a depth of twelve to 

 eighteen inches, has been tried by a large number of stations. 

 In some cases benefits ; in other cases injury, both generally 

 slight, but in most instances no material difference, has 

 resulted. Subsoiling is nowhere a common practice, and the 

 experiments so far conducted would lead to the conclusion that 

 it will be found profitable for maize in humid regions only in 

 exceptional cases. Indeed, in humid regions there is danger of 

 puddling the subsoil, especially in the spring, where the subsoil 

 may be quite wet while the surface soil is in condition to plow. 

 In a co-operative test with fifty-nine farmers for three years, the 

 Nebraska Station ^ concludes that in Nebraska subsoiling is 

 beneficial on clay subsoils and useless or injurious on loam 

 subsoils. 



299. Preparing the Ground After Plowing. — Fall-plowed land 

 is left without further preparation until spring, as this exposure 

 aids weathering and the absorption of moisture. As soon as 

 the surface begins to dry out in the spring it may be pulverized 

 in order to give it a mulch, and thus prevent the soil from dr^'ing 

 out and becoming hard. When land is spring-plowed, the 

 upturned clods wdll, during a dry time, become exceedingly hard 

 and difficult to pulverize. To prevent this, the surface should 

 be pulverized before the drying has proceeded too far. Usually 

 it is best thus to treat each day's plowing on the day it is done. 

 This may be done with a wooden drag, a smoothing harrow, or 

 even a roller. 



A deep loose seed bed, with all large lumps pulverized, is 

 desirable, but fineness of pulverization is not so important as in 

 wheat The three tools most generally useful in preparing the 

 seed bed are the wooden drag, the disk harrow and the light 

 smoothing harrow. The roller may replace the drag, and the 

 spring tooth harrow may replace the disk harrow, especially on 



