LESSONS FROM EXPERIENCE 337 



Brandon have not corroborated this opinion. In the con- 

 trol of annual weeds one plowing followed by bare 

 cultivation is better than two, but where couch grass or 

 other persistent perennials are to be fought two plow- 

 ings are justified. 



The best implement for the cultivation of summer- 

 fallows is the stiff-tooth, duck-foot cultivator. Disc har- 

 rows and drag harrows should be used very sparingly if 

 at all. Only in exceptionally loose, soddy or lumpy land 

 is the use of the packer justified. A very full set of 

 experiments at Brandon show no returns from its use. 



287. Dangers of Fallowing. — The dangers of summer 

 fallowing are soil exhaustion and soil drifting. It 

 makes no provision for the return of plant food. This 

 result (loss of fertility) has not been felt as yet in Man- 

 itoba, but it is something that plans for the future must 

 take cognizance of. Soil drifting is here and is perhaps 

 the biggest difficulty in Western Manitoba farming to- 

 day. The grain and summerfallow system of the past 

 must be modified to control it. 



288. Substitutes for Summerfallow. — Corn is the best 

 substitute for the summerfallow. It should not be used 

 in very dirty fields as the cost of cleaning is too great. 

 The crop of grain produced on a well cultivated corn 

 field will usually equal and often exceed that on sum- 

 merfallow. 



Other intertilled crops such as mangels, turnips, po- 

 tatoes or sunflowers, may also be used in the same way 

 as corn, but none are so satisfactory as corn so far as 

 effectiveness as a substitute for fallow is concerned. 



A pastured fallow is sometimes substituted for bare 

 cultivation. It is not satisfactory in the real farming 

 districts; the pasture crop uses too much moisture, and 



