THE IKKIGATION AGE. 



177 



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BENEFITS OF DEEP TILLING 



We are presenting in this issue a number of 

 illustrations showing the benefits of deep tilling 

 through experiments carried on by the Spalding 

 Tilling Machine Company of Cleveland, Ohio. 



Mr. Francis R. Shryack of that company made 

 experiments to show the growth of corn roots 

 where there is a properly pulverized seedbed of 

 sufficient depth to permit the roots to extend down- 

 wards and secure food from the soil in its moistened 

 condition far below the surface. 



Box to the Left Contains Shallow Seed Bed with Hard Subsoil. Box 

 to the Right Contains Deep, Thoroughly Pulverized, Well Mixed 

 Seed Bed. 



The pictures 1, 2 and 3 show the results of the 

 experiment carried on in boxes at Cleveland. 



Two boxes were constructed, each 36 inches 

 long, 30 inches deep and 12 inches wide. In con- 

 structing these boxes a wire netting was stretched 

 around the inside of the boxes before the sides were 

 put in. place. This netting can be seen in picture 

 No. 2. 



When the boxes were completed the one shown 

 on the left of picture No. 1 was filled with soil to 

 approximately eight inches from the top. This soil 

 was then packed with sledge hammers, the purpose 

 being to make a condition similar to the tight, com- 

 pact subsoil, almost invariably found just beneath 

 the seedbed made by an ordinary moldboard plow. 

 Loose, well pulverized soil was then placed on top 

 of this compact soil. A quantity of fertilizer was 

 mixed with this top soil, making a seedbed about 

 eight inches deep. 



The box on the right was filled with the same 

 kind of soil as the top soil in box No. 1 (shallow 

 seedbed). However, it was not packed, but left 

 loose and well pulverized, the entire depth of the 

 box, making a seedbed about 26 inches deep. The 

 same quantity of fertilizer was mixed in this soil 

 as in box No. 1 (shallow seedbed). 



Grains of corn from the same ear were planted 

 in each box. Oats were also planted. 



It should be remembered that conditions were 

 exactly the same in each box, excepting that one 



box contained a compact subsoil while the other 

 was loose. 



Picture No. 1 shows corn and oats one month 

 after planting, and it may be noted that the oats 

 in the box on the left (shallow seedbed) are stand- 

 ing perfectly erect, while the oats in box on the 

 right are very much heavier. The difference in the 

 corn is very apparent. The corn in the box on the 

 left (shallow seedbed) is of a yellowish green color 

 and the stalks are spindling and the leaves narrow. 

 The corn in the box on the right (deep seedbed) 

 shows a sturdy stalk and a broad leaf, deep in color, 

 indicating a vigorous growth. 



It will be noticed also that the corn in the box 

 on the right has grown so tall in this thirty-day 

 period that it was necessary to build a rack to pro- 

 tect it from the wind. 



Ninety days after the planting, one side was 

 removed from each box and by means of a hose all 

 of the soil was washed out of the box shown at the 

 right of picture No. 1. Picture Xo. 3 shows the 

 result. 



In order to show this root development, the 

 camera was moved close to the box and, for that 

 reason, it was impossible to take the stalks, and in 

 making the plate the artist failed to show full 

 length of the roots. On the right of this picture 

 will be noticed a yard stick. Before beginning the 

 [process of washing, the stalks were tied to a stake, 

 so that they would remain in exactly the position 

 in which they grew. 



When the soil was washed away, the roots ap- 

 peared as shown in this picture. The fine hair roots 

 shown hanging below the box were stretched out 

 along the bottom, indicating that if the box had 

 been twice as deep and the soil had been of the 

 same looseness the deep roots would have gone to 



Result of Shallow Seed Bed. 



the bottom. As it was, these roots twined about 

 the wire netting, so that they remained in exactly 

 the same position as they grew in the soil. 



Picture No. 2 shows the side removed from 

 box on the left of picture No. 1 (shallow seedbed) 

 and it will be noticed in this picture the corn stalk 



