53 TEE FARM. 



a companion, that the gentleman had not done as he agreed, for he could see 

 that he had sown different kinds of grain upon the different plots, the size 

 and color of the growth both marking the lines, dividing the land plowed at 

 three different depths. But on arriving at the field he found nothing but 

 oats, and as stated by the owner, all sown on the same day, and treated pre- 

 cisely alike in every respect. 



On the shallow plowed section, the growth was short and the straw yel- 

 low; on the ten-inch plowing the oats were taller and less yellow, while on 

 the sub-soiled portion they were green and very heavy. The final tests 

 showed full one-third more graia on the sub-soiled part than on that •which 

 was plowed only seven inches deep. 



Now, it will not do for farmers to calculate that deeply stirring every kind 

 of soils would alone add fifty per cent, in the yield of crops grown upon 

 them the following two years, for they would doubtless be disappointed in 

 very many cases. Yet, as a rule,- a deep, mellow soil from which surplus 

 water can readily settle without making the land into mortar, and through 

 which the same moisture can again freely rise by capillary attraction, other 

 things being equal, will always bring a farmer the better results. 



There are soils which naturally are never too wet, and rarely too dry, and 

 it will tisually be found on exanunation, that they are in the same mechani- 

 cal condition for a considerable depth, say two feet or more, that one likes to 

 have his surface soil, light, Jfriable, and containing a due proportion of vege- 

 table matter. They will also be found to contain sand and clay in about the 

 right proportion to keep the soil both mellow and moist through the varying 

 climatic conditions. Deep plowing of stiff clays is often dangerous at first; 

 but a good dry soil suits all kinds of crops in all kinds of weather. Deep 

 plowing tends to make such a soil, but this alone will not always be sufficient. 

 Draining and manuring must accompany deep plowing. 



Early or Late Fall Plowing—There is tliis against early fall plow- 

 ing, that it favors the springing up of grass and weeds, which necessitates re- 

 plowing in the spring. The fall rains, should they bo heavy, will pack the 

 surface of clay soil, which the frost that follows does not always reheve, and 

 never if pressed during the winter by a deep snow. This not only compels 

 plowing in the spring, but the soil then turns up rough, and generally too 

 wet and sticky, and also it is necessarily done late in the season, so that fall 

 plowing, instead of benefiting, hurts it, and the crop for the season is lost or 

 seriously affected— the land showing it for a year or two more. But as the 

 season is now advanced, there is little danger from the rains; the land would 

 rather be benefited by them. Late plowing, therefore, is in order. Land 

 ordinarily the wettest can now be plowed to the gi-eatest advantage. II 

 requires more power to break it, but the improved condition in the spring 

 will more than pay the expense. This is a point not sufficiently considered. 



If lat« fall plowing is an advantage, better still if it can be done in winter 

 or early in spring, so as to be followed by freezing and thawing. My best 

 success has been obtained by winter and early spring plowing. Yet there ia 

 hardly a year in which one of the throe seasons — either late in the fall, during 

 the winter or early in the spring— is not available. To make as sure as pos- 

 sible, do the work in the fall, if the ground will admit, but avoid making 

 mortar. The same applies to winter and early spring. 



Other soils, especially the sand and leachy shales, have less to fear 

 from water; they are also less benefited by the frost. They are the soils, 

 therefore, that may be left unplowed till spring. One of the difficulties with 



