252 Physics of the Soil 



316. Treatment of Ground After Plowing. Ground 

 plowed late in the fall, to act as a mulch, to allow the 

 moisture to penetrate deeply and to have its texture altered 

 by thawing and freezing, should be left with the natural 

 furrow surface rough and uneven. 



If plowed in the spring when the ground is a little over 

 wet and the turned furrow shows large polished surfaces 

 the ground should be gone over with a harrow but not im- 

 mediately, for if the soil is a little too wet it should be al- 

 lowed to dry just enough so as to crumble perfectly. 



If the soil is already a little too dry and a crop is to be 

 put on at once then the harrow should follow the plow 

 closely, otherwise the soil will become lumpy and the 

 whole furrow slice may become too dry for the best germi- 

 nation. 



If the plowing is for corn, potatoes or the garden and is 

 done some time before the ground is to be planted then the 

 surface is better left as it would be for fall plowing, pro- 

 vided the soil is in good condition when plowed, because 

 it will form a better mulch, it will take the rains better, 

 be less likely to become too much compacted by the rains 

 and will harrow down better when planting time comes. 



317. Plowing for Corn in the Fall. On soils which are 

 naturally mellow, where large areas are to be planted and 

 the spring's work is crowded it is often best to plow for 

 corn late in the fall, just before freezing. If such ground 

 is to be manured it can be plowed in then to advantage or 

 if the manure is not too coarse it may be applied as a sur- 

 face dressing during the winter and disked in the spring. 

 If the soils are very heavy and have a tendency to run to- 

 gether with the spring rains then there is danger that the 

 disc may not be able to bring the field into condition. 



318. Plowing Sod There are two methods of plowing 

 sod, 1st, skim-plowing, usually in the fall, turning over a 

 thin sod to kill the turf, expecting to cross plow in the 

 spring deep enough to bury the sod and turn Mp 



