38 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



Besides pulverizing the soil, the plow is useful for turning 

 under trash, weeds and manure. The jointer aids in turning 

 these under completely. It is desirable to have these turned 

 under so that the surface will be free in order to plant the 

 seed well. Furthermore, by decaying under ground, the ma- 

 terial will be more useful as plant food. 



Plowing may be done at any time of the year, except when 

 the ground is frozen. In general, land is plowed in the spring 

 or in the autumn. Where land is to be put in winter wheat it 

 is plowed early in the autumn, say August and September. 

 For corn and oats the land may be plowed in late autumn or 

 in the spring. 1. By plowing in the autumn the soil is ex- 

 posed to freezing and thawing weather which aids in break- 

 ing up the soil particles and makes more plant food ready 

 for plants. 2. It also catches the rain and snow better and 

 thus holds more moisture. If the land is well drained this is 

 desirable, for such land fall-plowed will have more moisture 

 for the plants next year than land plowed in the spring. 3. 

 Land plowed in the autumn will dry off quicker next spring 

 than unplowed land and so the crop can be put out sooner. 

 4. Plowing in the fall also turns up to the weather many in- 

 sects that live in the ground during the winter. Many of them 

 are picked up by the winter birds or are killed by the freezing 

 and thawing weather. It is better to plow sandy soil in the 

 autumn, if manure is to be turned under. Loam soils can be 

 plowed to good advantage in the fall, but if a clay has a habit 

 of running together when it thaws it would better not be 

 plowed until spring. Land that has a tendency to wash should 

 not be plowed in the autumn unless the furrows are thrown 

 across the direction that the washing will take place. Hill- 

 sides are often plowed this way in the fall. Fall-plowed land 



