THE TILLAGE OF STUBBLE LAND 149 



plowing. But "fall plowing dries out" and if left un- 

 plowed "the stubble holds snow/' If in plowing in the 

 fall to store moisture which seldom falls we prevent 

 the accumulation of snow in the stubble and also lose 

 some moisture that is already in the soil, what is the net 

 result ? 



121. The Control of Weeds, Grasses and Shrubs. The 

 surface of stubble fields is often infested in the fall with 

 weed seeds of various kinds. They seldom germinate 

 until the following spring when they make their appear- 

 ance in the growing crop, using up tons of moisture, 

 lessening the yield and increasing the cost of cutting, 

 stocking, threshing and marketing the crop. As a rule 

 such, plants mature and drop their seed either before or 

 at harvest time, making the problem of coping with 

 them still more difficult. 



In the control of annual weeds in stubble fields that 

 are to be cropped again the object should be to get as 

 many as possible of the weed seeds germinated in the 

 fall, as most of them will die when subjected to the low 

 temperatures of winter. Some form of cultivation will 

 best accomplish this result, while thorough late fall 

 cultivation or fall plowing will completely control the 

 biennial weeds which make the early part of their 

 growth in the late summer or fall. If, because of dry 

 weather, fall cultivation does not prove effective in start- 

 ing the weed seeds to grow, it will in any case induce 

 early spring germination and enable one to kill the 

 young plants by subsequent cultivation. This is of great 

 importance on land that is to be fallowed. Apart from 

 destroying the weeds themselves, anything that can be 

 done to insure a uniform and vigorous stand of grain in 



