10 THE OLIVER PLOW BOOK 



It is important that a seed bed be in a well pulverized, 

 compact condition for the sprouting of seeds and grow- 

 ing of plants. The little kernels of wheat must sprout 

 and grow, but before they can do it the plant food must 

 be in the soil in available form for the little tender 

 roots to feed upon. Observe the sprouts running up 

 and the little roots going downward. One pinch of the 

 root with the fingers would kill it, yet, it is supposed to 

 grow and produce tenfold times. There is food enough 

 within the kernel, if it is good seed, to nourish the grow- 

 ing plant for a short time, but after that it must reach 

 out into the soil to find sustenance, and if that plant 

 grows rapidly it must have the food within convenient 

 reach just when it needs it. This is the great reason 

 why the preparation of the seed bed is the most im- 

 portant part of the crop growing operation. It matters 

 not how good the seed, if the soil is not in the right con- 

 dition to make plant food available to nourish the 

 starting plant, growth will be stunted. Pulverizing the 

 ground when plowing is the first and most vital step to 

 accomplish this end 



There is another reason why a compact seed bed is 

 necessary. After the seed has sprouted, and the plant 

 has acquired its growth, more food is necessary for the 

 flowering of the grain. The roots are searching through 

 the ground by means of their continued growth to find 

 this food. The better the seed bed is pulverized, the 

 more available food the roots find. They form a net- 

 work of food seekers entirely occupying the ground from 

 one plant to another. 



The corn field illustration, in which the rain has washed 

 away the earth from the roots, shows the interweaving 

 of the root system of corn. Each of the little hair 



