98 



REN XII-: S AGRICULTURE. 



Manure and 

 Rib for Spring 

 Grain. 



Ribbing 

 Preserves 

 Plant Food. 



Spring 

 Cultivation. 



Advantages of 

 Ribbing. 



Ribbing North 

 and South. 



Quality of 

 Seed Grain. 



If it is decided to sow grain in the spring, instead 

 of fall wheat, coarser manure may be spread over 

 the surface and ribbed in October with a double 

 mould-board, plow, or ribbing attachment on a 

 cultivator frame. 



Ribbing prevents the soluble plant food from 

 leaching away during the winter. When the land 

 is "ribbed" the rains and melting snows run off in 

 the furrows without interfering with the manure 

 and humus which are preserved in the centre of the 

 ribs. Make the ribs about twenty inches wide. 

 When land is ribbed in the fall it allows the frost 

 to break up the subsoil and loosen it. Run across 

 furrows wherever necessary to carry off all surface 

 water and make proper outlets for same, so that 

 there will be no pools of water standing on the land 

 intended for seeding. 



In the spring, if the subsoil is a sandy loam, the 

 ribs are harrowed and cultivated down with a spring- 

 tooth cultivator; if the subsoil is clay it will be 

 necessary to use the stiff-tooth subsoiler to loosen 

 the subsoil ten inches deep. The ground should be 

 harrowed before the grain drill is used. 



Grain crops, such as wheat, oats or barley, 

 should be sown as earl}' in the spring as possible. 

 When the land has been ribbed and cross furrowed 

 in the fall it is in a fit state for seeding very much 

 earlier than land which has not been ribbed. 



An advantage is gained by running the ribs 

 north and south, so that the sun will shine into the 

 furrows and dry out both sides of the ribs. 



Use only sound and well matured grain for seed. 

 When every kernel is fully developed and the land in 

 a high state of cultivation, the following quantities 

 are quite sufficient per acre: Barley, one and one- 

 half bushels; wheat and oats, one and one-quarter 

 bushels. 



