88 THE OLIVER PLOW BOOK 



the green state. Regardless of the time of the year that 

 plowing is done, decomposition will proceed faster if the 

 matter plowed under is always green. Hence, the ideal 

 time for plowing under a crop of green manure would be 

 to do the plowing at a time of the year when the crop is 

 green. 



If the location is such that there is a scant supply of 

 rainfall a heavy green manure crop plowed under after 

 it reaches the starchy stage can ruin the following crop. 

 It has been known to do so in a great many cases al- 

 though it is a question whether the farmer, whose crops 

 were ruined, understood the reason for it. 



To cut a heavy crop and leave it lying loose on the 

 ground before turning it under loses an immense amount 

 of organic matter. The principal object of plowing 

 under green manure is to put organic matter into the 

 soil, hence there is nothing gained by plowing under 

 vegetation if it is mowed and left standing on the field. 

 It is far better to plow under the green crop without 

 cutting it. In this way all the organic matter is placed 

 in the soil in the proper condition. 



Spring plowing of rye sown in the early previous fall 

 is apt to cause trouble in the clay soils if the field is 

 pastured in the early spring and the ground happens to 

 be wet and later on when desiring to plow, the weather 

 turns off dry, because the ground is packed hard and 

 will not break into a friable condition. If rye is per- 

 mitted to grow until late in the spring and then plowed 

 under it is very likely to break up capillary connection 

 with the sub-surface and keep the ground so that it will 

 interfere very seriously with the crop from feeding on 

 what nourishment already is in the ground. 



