44 CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL 



CHAPTER VIII. 



PLOWING. 



In outlining' a general plan for the preparation of our 

 fields for the best possible results in crop growing and 

 grain yields, the plow takes first place as the all-important 

 tool. The kind of plow used is not so vital as the how 

 it is used, and what the condition of the soil is or should 

 be when used. 



Many have attempted to fix the time when the plow- 

 ing should be done, whether early or late, fall or spring, 

 in regard to which we would assert that there can be no 

 fixed rule for time or depth of plowing. For the purpose 

 of securing the best results the farmer must first take the 

 precaution to prepare the field for plowing as outlined 

 in the chapter headed "The Disk Harrow." 



Many experiments have been conducted by the various 

 agricultural colleges along the lines of determining a fixed 

 rule for plowing, but the wide difference in results one year 

 with another, when the attempts have been made to plow 

 the same time of year or the same depth, shows conclusively 

 that the simple fact of plowing three, four, six or eight 

 inches deep each year, or plowing spring or fall, late or 

 early, means but little, and the results shown cannot be 

 taken as any guide whatever unless we consider the 

 condition of the soil . when the plowing is done, 

 and what tillage has been done before plowing. If these 

 questions are not considered, then the final result of the 

 experimental crop is governed more by the soil condition 



