DEPTH OF PLOWING 59 



advantage of more moisture in the dryer season of the 

 year. This season is nearly always the flowering time 

 of the plant, and accounts in a large measure, for the 

 additional crops that are grown on deeper plowed seed 

 beds which are properly compacted and cultivated on 

 the surface for the retention of moisture. 



It is equally obvious that if the deep plowed ground 

 is not compacted properly on the start for the retention 

 of moisture and improperly cultivated, or not cultivated 

 later, that the deeper the seed bed the more moisture 

 will escape. 



Chapter V on handling soils brings out the fact that 

 the water holding content is determined by the size of 

 the soil grains, hence, we can expect sandy soils to dry 

 out much more rapidly than clay soils and thus produce 

 less unless the proper precautions are taken to save the 

 moisture. 



Sandy soils have less fertility to turn up in deep plow- 

 ing than clay soils, hence a farmer who has any type of a 

 sandy soil should be very careful in his plowing to see 

 that the plant food elements are in the surface after the 

 ground is plowed if he has to put them there by means 

 of artificial fertilizers. The very nature of sand prevents 

 it from puddling and forming clods, but is propitious to 

 the rapid escapement of moisture. 



A grave question arises in deep plowing as to the 

 value of spreading a heavy coat of manure on the surface 

 and turning it under providing the plowing is done 

 deeper than the habits or customs of the roots of the 

 plant for penetrating the soil. If the soil above the 

 spread manure contains sufficient fertility to grow the 

 crop it is easy for one to deceive himself into thinking 

 that he has accomplished a great deal by turning under 



