16 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE 



if the stalks are turned under as early as the 15th of April, 

 they will be thoroughly water-soaked and partially rotted by 

 the time the corn is cultivated the first time. Stalks add 

 some humus to the soil the first year, and the more humus 

 there is in the soil, the better its moisture retaining qualities. 



Decaying stalks are very beneficial in keeping the soil 

 loose. Loose soil allows the water to soak into the ground 

 during a rain. On the other hand, hard packed soil will shed 

 most of the rainfall "off, especially on hilly ground. On 

 hillsides, plowing stalks under is an additional benefit in that 

 it prevents washes. 



Discing before plowing serves a three-fold purpose. It 

 cuts up the stalks, levels down the ridges, and pulverizes 

 the top soil, making a mulch of from two to four inches in 

 depth. This mulch aids greatly in the re-establishing of capil- 

 larity between the furrow slice and the bottom of the furrow. 

 Pulverizing improves the physical condition of the soil by 

 cutting up clods which could never be broken after they had 

 been turned under. It is the buried clod that is more detri- 

 mental than the one on top. . We consider the disc fully as 

 important an implement on the farm as either the plow or 

 the harrow. Our discs are kept bright and sharp and are 

 used over more acres than are the plows. Before the corn is 

 planted, the field is disced at least once. By discing before 

 and after plowing the furrow slice is pulverized clear through. 



IMPORTANCE OP GOOD PLOWING 



Since plowing is the slowest and most expensive of any 

 single operation on the farm, every effort should be made to 

 do it right. The furrow should be straight and uniform in 

 width and depth. The furrow slice should be clear cut and 

 all of the dirt moved. This does not mean that there should 



