44 AGRICULTURE 



can not use water in this form. Indeed, water standing 

 around the roots will injure them by keeping them too 

 cold, and by shutting the air from them. Not until water 

 is absorbed by millions of minute particles of fine soil is it 

 ready for plant roots to drink. 



Preparing the seed bed. Ground is plowed in order 

 to loosen it. Fall plowing is usually best for corn. Fall 

 plowed ground presents a rough surface which holds the 

 snow better, and it also takes in and retains a larger supply 

 of moisture. Fall plowing also has plenty of time to settle, 

 so that it is in better condition for the crop than spring 

 plowing, and allows earlier planting. Spring plowed 

 ground, not having much time to settle, dries out more 

 easily than ground plowed in the fall. Especially should 

 sod land be plowed in the fall, so that the sod may have 

 a chance to rot and settle down on the subsoil. There 

 is also less danger from cutworms in fall plowed, sod land. 

 Stubble ground should usually be plowed early, and sod 

 late in the fall. 



Ground should not be plowed while it is wet, for most 

 soils, if turned while wet, have a tendency to bake and form 

 into clods that are hard to pulverize. Fall plowed ground 

 should not be harrowed until spring, but should be disked 

 or harrowed as soon as oats seeding is done. This will kill 

 young weeds, and save the moisture from drying out. 

 Spring plowing should usually be harrowed within a few 

 hours after it is turned, for it is then much more easily 

 pulverized than after it has dried. In very fine and mellow 

 soil this may not be necessary, but many farmers harrow 

 what they have plowed at the close of each half-day. 



Spring plowing should be disked and harrowed enough 

 to press the loosened soil down on the furrow bottom, so 

 that it will make good connection with the subsoil. This 

 will do much to prevent drying out. In fact, it is impos- 



