152 THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE 



4. Application of the Foregoing Principles 

 4a. Wheat 



256. Winter wheat does best when one or two 

 inches of the surface soil is fine and loose, and 

 the subsurface soil fine and fairly compact. 



257. To secure the ideal conditions, the 

 ground should be plowed some time before sow- 

 ing, and the manure spread on the rough 

 surface. The ground is immediately harrowed, 

 rolled, and harrowed again. In one or two 

 weeks afterward it is surf ace -tilled again, with 

 the implements best suited to the particular 

 soil. All this tends to divide and cover the 

 manure, compact the subsurface soil, form a 

 fine seed-bed, conserve moisture, and set free 

 pi ant -food. 



258. This treatment of the land causes the 

 roots to be many and fibrous, and to remain 

 near the surface, where the plant -food is 

 most abundant and available. If the manure 

 is plowed under and the soil remains loose, the 

 roots are less fibrous and descend to the 

 bottom of the furrow. In the spring, it often 

 freezes at night and thaws during the day. 

 This tends to lift the plants and to break 

 their roots. But if the roots are nearly hori- 

 zontal and near the surface, they tend to rise 



