CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL 



confirms his conclusions, that in soil that is packed the 

 moisture moves upward from a depth of from one to four 

 feet much more rapidly than in loose soil. It is therefore 

 important to have this packing when a condition of 

 extreme drouth is reached, as it may be the one thing 

 that will save a crop. 



Another very marked advantage of this sub-packing 

 was found in our work at the Burlington model 'farm 

 at Holdrege, Nebraska. In 1005 a piece of ground was 

 plowed for corn; a strip was left unpacked but all was 

 well harrowed and the corn planted the same day. Where 

 the packing was done, the stand of corn was perfect, while 

 the strip not packed had hardly a two-thirds stand, and 

 the entire season's growth showed the advantage of pack 

 ing. While the use of the sub-surface packer has been 

 found valuable in Wisconsin and Illinois, the further west 

 we get into the semi-arid country, the greater is its import- 

 ance, while in the more arid portions of the semi-arid belt 

 its use is practically indispensible. 



It must be borne in mind that Professor King experi- 

 mented in packing at the extreme surface, where near- 

 ly all the moisture that had moved to this point was 

 lost by evaporation, and that had the packing been done 

 just below the surface the contrast would have been much 

 greater. Professor King's experiments were on the grounds 

 of the Wisconsin college, where soil moisture is invariably 

 found all through the soil down to sheet water. Had 

 they been made in our semi-arid region, the contrast would 

 have been greater. If we get our soil moistened here to 

 a depth of four or five feet we have exceeded by some 

 distance the usual conditions, and this depth of soil moist- 

 ure would be sufficient to carry us any ordinary season 

 in the successful growth of crops. Had Professor King's 



