Roots Require Room 



Plant roots require room. The initial roots of the plant being fragile, 

 they naturally seek the course of least resistance. If the seed-bed is 

 shallow, they remain near the surface where they are apt to suffer for 

 moisture in case of drouth, but if the seed-bed is deep and mellow, they 

 take their natural course which is downward, and when they reach the 

 bottom of the furrow, they have strength and stability to penetrate the 

 more compact subsoils where they secure moisture, and, in some 

 instances, plant food. 



Air 



Soil bacteria being aerobic, or, in other words, oxygen-consuming 

 organisms, the seed-bed should be well aerated, a condition which can 

 be attained by deep and thorough tillage. In some instances drain tile 

 are necessary to facilitate the circulation of atmospheric oxygen through 

 the soil, but if the water line is not too near the surface, deep plowing 

 serves the purpose. 



Plant Food 



A deep seed-bed well stocked with organic matter, necessarily will 

 maintain more of the soil organisms than a shallow one. The greater 

 the number of bacteria and the more active they are, the more nitrogen 

 will exist and the more inorganic plant food elements will be made 

 soluble. 



Water 



The amount of available moisture depends, to a great extent, upon 

 the depth and tilth of the seed-bed. If the seed-bed is shallow, prima- 

 rily it does not absorb great quantities of water, and in case of drouth, 

 it dries out readily. If it is deep, mellow and spongy, it acts as a sur- 

 face reservoir to absorb and retain heavy downpours of rain until the 

 surplus can percolate into the storehouse below. If the seed-bed is 

 shallow, the soil is liable to wash away during heavy rains. 



Soil Which Admits of Deep Plowing 



In some sections of our country where the soil is rich in humus, which 

 is indicated by the black color, it is safe, after the first plowing, to till 

 deep, and, as a rule, the production will be in keeping with the depth 

 the ground is tilled. Rough, heavy clay soils should not only be plowed 

 deep, but plowed often. If such soils can be plowed twice or three 

 times for one crop, the physical condition is greatly improved, oxidiza- 

 tion is more perfect, and the permeability is increased; the farmer keep- 

 ing in mind, of course, the necessity of furnishing organic matter. 

 The arguments, based upon experience in favor of deep tillage when 

 the laws governing plant growth and plant food chemistry are 

 not violated, are so apparent the farmer cannot afford to ignore 



