TILLAGE 



and rapidly. The rains have compacted it, the ground is hare, and 

 with the strong winds of March and April there is nothing to prevent 

 rapid loss of water. Deep, early disking in the preparation of the 

 seed bed will conserve moisture and in this way tend to eliminate 

 this danger from "firing." Thorough and deep disking also en- 

 c< urages the formation of large quantities of available nitrates. Jn 

 the case of shallow and insufficient disking the fall-plowed land is 

 left compact and somewhat cloddy, with conditions for nitrification 

 and conservation of moisture very unfavorable. Such preparation 

 has a tendency to encourage " firing/' 



The preparation of the seed bed from spring-plowed land does 

 not require so much working during the average season as for fall- 

 plowed land. The ground should be thoroughly worked with disk 

 or harrow immediately after plowing. A rotary harrow attached 

 to the plow does good work. This working should be continued at 

 intervals the same as for fall plowing. When ready to plant, the 

 harrow may be sufficient to put the soil in fine condition ( Fig. 1 (>(>). 

 All weeds should be killed. If very few rains occur in the spring 

 after plowing is done it may be necessary to use the roller, since 

 corn, like wheat, requires a firm seed bed with a mellow surface. 

 Too much work can never be done in the preparation of the seed 

 bed. The best time to destroy weeds in corn is before the crop is 

 planted. The cultivation at that time is much more efficient than 

 at any time thereafter. 



3. Oats. The almost universal practice in the corn belt is to 

 sow oats where corn grew the preceding year. It was an early 

 practice in some regions to sow the oats in February or March 

 without preparing any seed bed whatever. Sometimes fairly sat- 

 isfactory results were obtained. Hut as the physical condition of 

 the soil became poorer the necessity for a better seed bed for the 

 oat crop has become more imperative. A very good way for pre- 

 paring the ground for oats is to plow it in the fall and then disk 

 thoroughly in the spring. In the corn belt, however, the apparent 

 necessity for pasturing the corn-stalks does not favor this prac- 

 tice. Oats do not require a deep seed bed, but it should be well 

 prepared. The common practice in the corn belt is to disk the 

 ground from one to three times and give it a final harrowing. 

 The oats may be seeded at any time, either before the first disking or 

 between the two diskings. F.ven in the best of soils one disking is 

 not sufficient, although this is not an uncommon practice. The 

 stalks to a certain extent prevent the full efficiency of the disk and in 



