86 CHAPTER VI 



planting, the necessity for destroying weed seedlings whose 

 growth has been promoted by the early rains cannot be over- 

 emphasised. 



Virgin soil should be ploughed if possible during the latter 

 part of the rainy season, and should be pulverised during the 

 winter so as to get the soil into a hne physical state in which 

 the vegetation should be thoroughly incorporated with the soil, 

 thus assisting decomposition before planting takes place. It 

 must be remembered that the crop is not so much affected by 

 the immediate ploughing as by the previous treatment of the 

 soil. All land previously under cultivation should be ploughed 

 occasionally to a depth of 8 inches and deeper, especially heavy 

 soils, but in dry regions and on very sandy soil this will be re- 

 quired less often. The question of sub-soiling is a vexed one. 

 On the whole, under South African conditions it has not proved 

 a profitable practice. In some parts where the sub-soil is near 

 the surface it may be inadvisable to plough too deeply, for by 

 bringing up the inert sub-soil in too large quantities at a time 

 crops will not thrive. Land of this character is best shallow 

 ploughed, gradually increasing the depth of subsequent plough- 



Planting. — Maize is planted almost entirely by maize 

 planters, the wasteful and inefficient practice of broadcasting 

 the seed having long since been abandoned. The seed is planted 

 3 to 5 inches below the surface, depending on the nature of the 

 soil, whether heavy or light, in rows 3 to 3^ feet apart, and the 

 seed 12 to 24 inches in the rows. It may also be planted in 

 check rows, where by means of a device attached to the planter 

 the dropping of the seed is regulated for a certain distance in 

 the row. By this means the seed is dropped in hills, two to 

 three seeds per hill, 3 feet by 3 feet apart. The advantage of 

 this method is that cultivation can be done along and across 

 the rows. While this is the system in vogue in America, suffi- 

 cient experimental evidence has not been obtained to warrant 

 its use under our conditions, except on very weedy lands. List- 

 ing is also followed. The lister is essentially a double mould- 

 board or ridging plough, which converts the lands into a series 

 of small ridges. The seeds are planted in the bottom of the 

 furrows between these ridges. This method of planting is used 

 in the drier areas having sandy soils, and is a cheap method of 

 growing maize, as the ground is not ploughed before planting, 

 though it is usually disced. It is contended that maize planted 

 in this way will resist drought better than that planted in the 



