40 How THE FARM PAYS. 



I intend to plow. This is to prevent making a high ridge in the 

 centre, and to bring the field to a level finish. I plow for corn seven 

 inches deep by nine inches wide ; for oats, six by eight inches, and for 

 potatoes or root crops, nine by ten inches. 



Q. My plan is somewhat different from yours. I open a double 

 furrow first to the full depth. Then I plow the soil back again, and 

 close the furrow, and then go on with the plowing. In this way every 

 part of the land is plowed to the full depth, which for some crops is 

 very important. Why do you make any distinction between the depth 

 you plow for oats and for corn? I can understand why you make a 

 distinction between grain crops and root crops; but why do you 

 make a distinction between oats and corn? 



A. Oats have rather a tufted root and do not go down into the soil, 

 while corn will go down deeper, and it is necessary to give it plenty 

 of root space. In sowing oats, I find that the nearer the top of the 

 ground I can get them, the better. 



Q. I think you have said that in soils similar to yours, where you 

 have twelve or fifteen inches depth of top soil, with a sandy or gravelly 

 subsoil, there is no necessity for subsoiling ? 



A. It would be useless to subsoil on such lands as we have here. 

 On sandy or gravelly loam I do not think there is any benefit in it 

 at all. I think it is rather an injury as far as my experience has gone. 



Q. But in all cases where you have adhesive soils with stiff bottoms, 

 would you not think it an advantage, where time will admit? 



SUBSOIL PLOW. 



A. By all means in such cases subsoil what you can do thoroughly; 

 it is better to cultivate one acre right than to undertake ten and leave 

 such important work half done. The same amount of seed will be re- 

 quired, the same amount of plowing, harrowing, cultivating and har- 

 vesting must be done, and if subsoiling is left undone the crop will be 

 of little value on land having clay or hard gravel subsoils unless it is 

 stirred deep enough to allow the water to pass through. I used the 



