FIELD PLANTING. 43 



PLANTING AFTER PLOWING. 



As a result of the experience of farmers whose fields were literally 

 blown away alter one or two years of cultivation it was not con- 

 sidered advisable to plow the ground completely before planting in 

 the sand hills. Much of the original slit planting was, therefore, done 

 in the sod, while some was done in single furrows, spaced from 4 to 6 

 feet apart, on contours. 



This furrow destroyed some native vegetation and gave the newly 

 planted trees a little better opportunity for obtaining moisture, but 

 allowed the trees to be covered by sand, which, when the sun shines 

 directly on it, becomes so hot as literally to bake anything in contact 

 with it. For some time, therefore, the desirability of furrows was in 

 question. Now, however, it is proved that they are neither necessary 

 nor desirable where the sand is loose and likely to be blown over the 

 trees. On the other hand, they are desirable and perfectly safe where 

 the sod is heavy and the soil firm. 



In 1909, for the first time, a small area was thoroughly plowed 

 before planting. The area was selected in a bottom situation where 

 the sod was very heavy. There was no blowing of the soil during 

 the first year, though the ground was once cultivated during the 

 summer. At the end of the season 92 per cent of the trees planted 

 were living in this area, as against 80 per cent in furrows and 57 per 

 cent where the sod had not been broken. By the end of 1911, how- 

 ever, the proportion of survivals in the plowed ground was consid- 

 erably less than in the other two situations. This was partly due to 

 the destructive work of pocket gophers in the plowed ground, and 

 partly due to the invasion of weeds which appeared to demand even 

 more moisture than the native grasses and herbs. 



Until further tests are made on a large scale the exact effect of 

 plowing for pine plantations can not be known. Even though 

 plowing and subsequent cultivation have a distinct effect in in- 

 creasing the proportion of survivals in Nebraska, it is doubtful if 

 the expense will be warranted. In Kansas, on the other hand, 

 experience indicates that only by thorough cultivation of the ground 

 can young trees be brought through the first year, if that happens to 

 be a dry one. Even there it is possible that double furrows, some 

 distance apart, subsequently cultivated as with listed corn, may be 

 effective and much safer, because of the smaller danger from blowing 

 of the soil. 



It is quite certain that the ground should never be plowed except 

 where the sod is dense and the soil heavy, and not even furrowed 

 where the sand is loose on exposed ridges and south slopes. 



