22 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



surface soil and all below this as the subsoil. Plowing turns the 

 surface soil bottom side up. Subsoiling does not change the posi- 

 tion of that part of the soil, but it breaks up and stirs the ground 

 below the ordinary depth of plowing. This may be effected by a 

 spur or prong attached to the plow which breaks up the soil at the 

 bottom of the furrow, or it may be done with a separate implement 

 to be drawn along through the soil beneath the bottom of the fur- 

 row after the plow, to stir the ground to greater depths than can be 

 done with a small attachment to the ordinary plow. This imple- 

 ment is called the subsoil plow and usually consists of a mole or a 

 more or less flat piece of iron pointed at one end and attached to the 

 beam by a strong flat vertical blade. When drawn through the soil 

 in the bottom of the furrow left by the plow this implement can be 

 made to break up and stir the subsoil to a depth of from one to two 

 or more feet. 



The advantages claimed for subsoiling are that it makes more 

 room for root development, and enables the plant to extract food 

 and moisture from a greater area, and that by loosening up more 

 of the soil its capacity for absorbing and retaining moisture is in- 

 creased. By the absorption of greater amounts of moisture in win- 

 ter and spring it is supposed that subsoiling provides against sum- 

 mer drouth. It is reasonable to suppose that this is what would 

 happen and the many favorable reports on subsoiling from humid 

 and semi-arid regions indicate that loosening the lower layers of soil 

 is a valuable way of conserving moisture for those regions. (Wyo. 

 Ex. Sta. B. 41.) 



Saving and Marketing: The same systematic planning adopted 

 as to the arrangements of the field and the determination of the 

 crops should be followed in the marketing of the products of the 

 farm. The proper determination of the crop to be raised is largely 

 dependent upon the market, but successful marketing is a thing by 

 itself. In many sections there are now community co-operation for 

 the sale of the crops of its members. The preservation of the crop 

 from loss or wastage after harvesting is a feature of correct farm 

 management. In many places this is done by field coverings. 



Every farmer should open an account with his farm, in which 

 the farm should be charged with interest on the value of the farm, 

 stock and equipments, and all items of expense in raising, harvesting 

 and marketing the product, together with a fair allowance for de- 

 terioration and for the services of the owner. The farm should be 

 given credit for all it produces, whether sold, fed on the farm or 

 used by the farmer, together with a fair rental for the house. By 

 this means the farmer will know each year whether his farm is 

 profitable or not, and what the profit or loss may be. 



CLEARING LOGGED OFF LAND. 



Until recent years clearing was almost wholly done by what is 

 now known as the by-hand method, where the farmer, equipped 

 with peavey, mattock, shovel, and ax, undertook to put under cul- 

 tivation the logger's stubble field. By this method the standing trees 

 and brush were slashed, generally during the summer months. Then, 



