SOIL IMPROVEMENT 



95 



of it. If this moisture be allowed to escape before a crop is planted, 

 the crop is apt to suffer in. summer, especially on light, upland soils. 



Condition of Soil. At whatever season plowing is done, the 

 soil should be in good condition, neither too wet nor too dry. 

 When in condition for plowing, the furrow-slice breaks and roughly 

 pulverizes the soil. If too wet. soil, especially clay, ' bakes,' 

 or dries hard; if too dry, inbreaks in 

 large clods instead of pulverizing. In 

 either baked or cloddy land, much of 

 the plant food is unavailable. The 

 texture of the soil and its relations 

 to moisture and plant food are often 

 influenced for months by one day's 

 plowing. 



Depth oj Plowing. The depth of 

 plowing is determined largely by soil, 

 season, crop, and rainfall. As a rule, 

 fall and summer plow- 

 ing should be deep, and 

 spring plowing shallow. 

 Land in a region of' 

 scanty rainfall needs 

 shallow cultivation. So 

 does thin soil until it 

 can be improved and 

 deepened. Usually, 



however, Shallow Culti- The piant on the left was grown in subsoil ; the p"lant on 



vation means poor land, the right ' in soil from the same field> 



poor crop, and poor farmer. On deep-plowed land, crops flourish 

 in dry weather because they are stronger and have deeper root 

 range; they flourish in wet weather because drainage is better. 



