PLOWING UNDER GREEN MANURE 89 



A problem arises when plowing stubble with the idea 

 of making fertilizer out of it when the ground is so dry 

 and hard that there is little opportunity for enough 

 moisture to come up from below to rot the stubble 

 turned under. Since moisture is the only means to rot 

 this turned over stubble it is absolutely necessary to 

 bring about a condition in the ground whereby moisture 

 can come up from below. Obviously then, plowing 

 should be done to see that the trash is buried as deeply 

 as possible on the bottom of the furrow in such a way as 

 to interfere as little as possible with the upward trend of 

 moisture. 



Fertilizer crops of all kinds must always be plowed 

 under with the idea of their becoming well rotted and 

 decayed before the crop is planted. 



If the soil which the farmer desires to turn under is of 

 a loose, ashy-like composition and the rolling coulter 

 will not cut through the .vegetation, a condition is met 

 which is exceedingly difficult to handle. 



Soil of this kind is always lacking in humus. The 

 time that one usually desires to plow these fields is when 

 they are dry and in the ashy condition. If a strict 

 watch is kept upon the rainfall, and the ground should 

 be moist at the plowing depth during the growing period 

 of the cover crop, the ground can be plowed when the 

 moisture is sufficient to hold the soil together. Every 

 man is the best judge of his own farm in this respect. 



The reason for the ground being in the dry and ashy 

 condition is its lack of organic matter or humus. 



The purpose of growing the green manure crop is to 

 put this organic matter into the soil. If the plowing is 

 improperly done and the crop poorly plowed under the 



