182 APPENDIX 



straw, etc., with the soil, the surface two 

 inches or more, when turned under with 

 a plow, will produce a fine root bed, whereas if 

 all this material were left, as is often the case 

 on most farms, without disking, the dry earth, 

 stubble, etc., would be turned under all in one 

 mass, causing an open dry, condition which must 

 be an inhospitable home for the roots of plants. 

 Water from below the depth of the furrow cannot 

 reach the roots, neither can the roots reach the 

 water. As soon as the moisture in the surface 

 soil is exhausted the plants suffer. Fourth, by 

 covering weed seeds at this time, many will be 

 started to grow and freeze during the winter. 

 Those that do not die, or those that fail to grow 

 during the autumn, will grow early the next spring 

 and are then cared for. 



"I do not recommend burning the stubble, 

 unless there is too much of it to disk under. In 

 cases where a large amount of stubble is present 

 and many noxious weeds as well, I would certainly 

 resort to burning. I desire to put back into the 

 land as much humus as I can. By destroying 

 the stubble by fire, you do not improve your soil. 



HOW SUMMER TILLING IS DONE 



"After seeding is finished in the spring, I disk 

 the land to be summer tilled. This will kill many 

 weeds and cause others to grow; it also opens the 

 soil to receive and retain the rains. As soon as 

 the weeds have started growing, I begin plowing. 

 I turn a furrow of about six inches, and shall go 

 a little deeper each year until a sufficient depth 



