WHEN TO PLOW 65 



stubble fields until spring. In other words, the bulk of 

 the plowing is left for spring work. This, in the light of 

 present day experiences, will have to be entirely reversed 

 or the maximum crops can never be grown. 



Wet spring plowing of clay soils always gives the 

 crops a poor start and makes after cultivation practically 

 impossible for the development and liberation of plant 

 food, particularly if the cultivating season is dry. It is 

 a matter of history that most wet springs are followed 

 by dry summers. Wet spring plowing of sandy soils 

 means the leaching away of plant food elements that 

 should be retained for the growing crop. 



The plowing of clay soils in the spring when they are 

 too dry and hard means plowing either a field of clods or 

 else turning the soil into a finely powdered condition 

 which becomes plastic upon the first rain. Plowing a 

 sandy soil when it is too dry means further escapement 

 of moisture. Therefore, plowing either when too wet 

 or too dry in the spring means a curtailment of the crop. 



The following information on corn and oat growing 

 shows why an understanding of the crops to be grown 

 and the physical condition of the ground necessary to 

 grow these crops should be considered before plowing. 



Corn requires 271 tons of water to produce one ton of 

 dry substance. This means 2.39 acre inches of water. 

 In other words, it requires 2.39 inches of water to grow 

 one ton of corn. It has been demonstrated that too 

 little or too much rainfall at flowering time is injurious 

 to the crop. If the corn grower expects his crop to have 

 this water just exactly as the plant needs it, neither too 

 much nor too little at any one time, he must of necessity 



